I first saw this over at Morning Martini. Thanks Pop for posting this. I think it's a really devious angle on the reasons for the Iraq war. I wanted to post it as well.


The Guardian
Monday, March 20, 2006
by Greg Palast

Get off it. All the carping, belly-aching and complaining about George Bush's incompetence in Iraq, from both the Left and now the Right, is just dead wrong.

On the third anniversary of the tanks rolling over Iraq's border, most of the 59 million Homer Simpsons who voted for Bush are beginning to doubt if his mission was accomplished.

But don't kid yourself -- Bush and his co-conspirator, Dick Cheney, accomplished exactly what they set out to do. In case you've forgotten what their real mission was, let me remind you of White House spokesman Ari Fleisher's original announcement, three years ago, launching of what he called,

"Operation Iraqi Liberation."

O.I.L. How droll of them, how cute. Then, Karl Rove made the giggling boys in the White House change it to "OIF" -- Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the 101st Airborne wasn't sent to Basra to get its hands on Iraq's OIF.

"It's about oil," Robert Ebel told me. Who is Ebel? Formerly the CIA's top oil analyst, he was sent by the Pentagon, about a month before the invasion, to a secret confab in London with Saddam's former oil minister to finalize the plans for "liberating" Iraq's oil industry. In London, Bush's emissary Ebel also instructed Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum, the man the Pentagon would choose as post-OIF oil minister for Iraq, on the correct method of disposing Iraq's crude.

And what did the USA want Iraq to do with Iraq's oil? The answer will surprise many of you: and it is uglier, more twisted, devilish and devious than anything imagined by the most conspiracy-addicted blogger. The answer can be found in a 323-page plan for Iraq's oil secretly drafted by the State Department. Our team got a hold of a copy; how, doesn't matter. The key thing is what's inside this thick Bush diktat: a directive to Iraqis to maintain a state oil company that will "enhance its relationship with OPEC." ...... Please go here to read the rest.

Wow, this is deep, and beyond the typical rant about the war being about oil. I want of course to see documentation. facts. dates. But it really makes sense.

Tags: Iraq war bush Oil

Nothing in the last couple days has really motivated me much. nothing that isn't over covered elswhere at least. So I've been playing around with graphics and made a couple computer screen backgrounds. Click the image for full size and save as background.

Great show tonight. No spoilers here, but discuss in comments.

From the WAPO

A federal appeals court blocked the Bush administration's four-year effort to loosen emission rules for aging coal-fired power plants, unanimously ruling yesterday that the changes violated the Clean Air Act and that only Congress could authorize such revisions.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with officials from 14 states, including New York, California and Maryland, who contended that the rule changes -- allowing older power plants, refineries and factories to upgrade their facilities without having to install the most advanced pollution controls -- were illegal and could increase the amount of health-threatening pollution in the atmosphere.
The Environmental Protection Agency's New Source Review policy was formally issued in 2003 but has never taken effect because of legal challenges by state officials and environmental groups. The administration has long argued that the existing standards are too stringent and have discouraged utility plants and other industries from upgrading and expanding their facilities. But opponents have characterized the rule changes as a favor to administration allies in the utility and coal-producing industries that would greatly add to public health problems.
New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer, who led the court fight to block the administration's New Source Review policy, called yesterday's ruling "a major victory for clean air and public health" and a "rejection of a flawed policy."
"It will encourage industry to build new and cleaner facilities, instead of prolonging the life of old, dirty plants," Spitzer said.
In a statement, EPA spokesman John Millet said: "We are disappointed that the Court did not find in favor of the United States. We are reviewing and analyzing the opinion and cannot comment further at this time."

millet.john@epa.gov
Dear Sir, In regard to the recent ruling on coal fired plants you were quoted as saying “We are disappointed that the Court did not find in favor of the United States. “ My question to you is: Do you work for the Environmental protection Agency, or the Dirty Plant Protection Agency? I find it mind boggling that a ruling that is pro environment would be bad from your point of view. Think of all the people that could be employed renovating coal fired plants. Think of the research and intellectual properties that would be generated by making research into this area a priority. We could lead the world in clean energy technology, and export our equipment and know how around the world. Perhaps your agency should be scrapped all together. Quite frankly the mindset your agency exhibits is primitive and corrupt. Do you call a butcher a cow improvement technician?
B. Shilliday Tampa Fl

The Dems might have a plan, but is it a good one? According to the Washington Times, they want to stage events with active duty military personnel. The Republicans do it. Bush and Cheney almost always appear with the military. He is the Commander and chief, but he uses the backdrop of military personnel as if they approve of his policies, when in fact they are just ordered to come and sit. Will these soldiers that appear with Democrats speak? I understand that to Bush's base, these staged military appearances work. But does that make it right? Does a voluntary appearance by soldiers send a different message? Of course there are strict rules regarding military bases, and military personnel. The plan appears to circumvent some of these. I think it's a stupid idea. They will look like pencil necked geeks trying to come up tough. The events will look completely staged and unnatural.

If I hear “I'm workin' for the Amercin' people” one more time I'm going to spew all over myself. George Bush says he's always workin so hard.. but for who? He doesn't even know who the American people are. George, here's a news flash for you, people in Brazil and Chile are Americans too. Just like people in Chad are Africans. If you actually were working hard for the American people we wouldn't have a socialist revolution occurring in the Central and south Americas. Hugo Chavez, and Evo Morales wouldn't have been elected. CAFTA is bad for people in Central America, it enslaves them to corporate interests, and it makes polluting the environment easy and profitable. It also aids in the exporting of American jobs. Currently the Chinese government is training officers and troops from many Pan American countries, because we have made it illegal to assist them militarily. As they train, they are indoctrinated in Chinese ideology. We send in spooks, civilian contractors, and other shadowy groups to fight the war on drugs, and circumvent the rights and property of the native populations. We use Pan Americans how we want and when we want, then expect them to love us like a good neighbor. Workin' hard for the American people? Or hardly workin'?

Well? Are we broken or are we just maligned? Are we just outnumbered? Do we really not have a plan? I'm speaking as one that primarily identifies himself as a Democrat, and the problems of the Democratic Party. Is President Bush so strong with Republican representatives that we cannot pursue any of them to support progressive legislation? I think it is mainly a failure of will on our part. A failure of commitment and a lack of back bone. But we have said this over and over. We're accused of not having a plan. How can we even voice a plan if we did have one? Rumsfeld meets in private with Republican representatives to talk about selling the war. Republicans have policy meetings, and Democrats are literally locked out of the rooms. Are the Republicans afraid of Carl Rove and his threats? Do they really believe in what they are doing to our country? I remember when the Republicans took back Congress. Gingrich rallied the troops, he set the agenda. He pushed, and yelled, and eventually... he got what he wanted. Do we as Democrats have a void at the top of our ranks? Are Nancy Peloci, and Henry Reid just a couple of jerkloffs that are unable to accomplish the simplest of goals? I think before we can move foreword, we may have to take a step back. I think we may need to refresh our ranks with people that will fight for progressive ideals, and demand an equal voice in government. We need to find a leader that commands respect, and gets things done. Keeping ineffective Democratic representatives is in the long run unproductive. I would rather be weaker in the short run, and build, than continue on as we have been.
Tags: Democrat progressive Pelosi

Katherine Harris to stay in the Senate race. She has decided to use 10 million dollars of her own money to finance the campaign. She inherited this money from her father. As a Floridian I am very close to this race, and all I can say is that I hope this Plastic surgery disaster.. this manipulative shrew, spends all her money, then implodes into a mass of greasy feathers.

Tags: Katherine Harris Harris

Apparently President Franklin Roosevelt words carried little weight. He said “ "I don't want to see a single war millionaire created in the United States as a result of this world disaster" . Or consider that Truman referred to some profiting during war time as “treason”. In these times of war not only do we not have to sacrifice, but we're expected to profit. No meatless Tuesdays here, or rubber drives. We're not asked to buy war bonds, or grow hemp. Hell, if we're rich enough we get a tax break. Some companies are given 'No Bid” contracts, contrary to the notion in America of good competition. Halliburton and it's subsidiaries have made hundreds of millions of dollars, even though in many respects they did not perform their duties as stated, or deliver goods per contract. Since when does a sitting Vice President's former company get awarded no bid contracts, and no one does a thing about it? He does stand to profit, because his differed stock options rely on the companies current and future profitability. Not that money matters to this ghoul anyway, as power is his real trip. Money is just what the people who grub around beneath him crave. He produces it for them , and they capitulate with giving him unprecedented power. Power for powers sake has this government is the grip of paralysis. Money runs through the veins of our elected officials to the extent that they jingle when they swing their golf clubs. They have become the living essence of corporate greed sporting a beltway pimp suit and a tan. So where am I going with this? I want all political campaigns to be publicly funded. No trips! No Gifts! No intangible perks! I want, and demand a government of the people, for the people. I want the peace that can only come when the money is taken out of war, and politics.

Tags: war cheney halliburton

Patricia over at Morning Martini has written a spectacular piece on the war in Iraq. I think you'll find her imagery to be horrific, and true. Please take a moment and give her a read.

What can you get for 8.18 trillion dollars? I don't know, but our thrifty government is asking for it as an extension to our national debt ceiling.

Crooks and Liars has a great posting here. It features a scene from the TV show Boston Legal in which James Spader gives an argument in court concerning the rights of a defendant to protest. He goes right down the List of Bush Whitehouse abuses, and how our rights are being subverted. It's about 5 minutes long, and awesome. I encourage you to view it here.
Tags: Bush Boston Legal Abuses Spader

I just saw this story over at The Truth Will Set You Free. Apparently a group of Scholars has examined the events of 9/11, and have come to some stunning conclusion, and have made available information that was excluded from the much maligned 9/11 report. The basic premise? That just as Moussaoui who is being tried for having foreknowledge of 9/11, so did Dick Cheney, and he could be more easily prosecuted for the crime. JC has done an excellent job constructing this story and all the supporting links, please go read it.. This information is new and quite revealing.
Tags: Cheney9/11 Moussaoui

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) went to the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon and displayed an enormous sign that read (Dangerously Incompetent) while giving a speech attacking the Bush administration over first responder and Homeland Security funding.
Ripped off from Drudge


Yet another thing the Republicans have royally messed up. One example being that fire departments in Nebraska getting the same percentage of funding as Fire fighters in NYC.

They won't support Sen. Feingold's move to censure the President. They won't stand up against Republican corruption. If they won't do the job, they need to go. I urge anyone who agrees with this to make this button a part of their blog or website, and link it to MoveOn, or another url site that supports strong courageous Democrats.

I have included a black background button , and one with a transparent blackground.

censureFeingoldimpeachBush

In 1989 the Exxon oil tanker Valdez, under the command of drunken captain Joesph Hazelwood, ran aground and dumped eleven million gallons of oil into the pristine waters of Prince William sound. The oil spread out over thousands of miles of coastline killing thousands of birds, otters, fish. The local population of Prince William Sound, mostly fisherman, were instantly put out of business. Where fishing could previously make them $100,000 per season, they were now jobless and contending with foreclosures, bankruptcy, and addiction. The courts, citing Exxon's fault in the matter, awarded the people in the town of Cordova 5 billion dollars. Exxon has yet to pay ANY of those damages. Even though in 2005 they made a record 35 Billion dollars. So keep on driving your big SUV gas hogs. Keep supporting a company that fucks Americans, then charges them for the service. Don't demand accountability from any corporation. Don't demand accountability from your elected officials who are partners in crime. Where is Sen Ted Stevens? Oh, he's building bridges to nowhere, and deflecting accusations away from the Bush administration.
Exxon

Over at Clusterfuck Nation Jim Kunstler, has written what in my mind is the definitive explanation of what is going on with America today. His criticism is right on, and the humor is acidic. We have a Mommy and Daddy nation, and we're as dysfunctional as any family that has appeared on the Jerry Springer show

The Bush Whitehouse is just like that idiot cheerleader that fell on her head recently. Being carried out on a stretcher with a fractured neck, they still continue to cheer.

Cowards, for letting Sen. Feingold hang
Cowards, for letting Republicans win every time
Cowards, for letting Bush ruin the country
Cowards, for not standing up to the GOP
Cowards, for not supporting Russ Feingold
Cowards, for capitulating to stronger Republicans
Cowards, for silencing pregressive Democrats
Cowards, for not fighting for censure
Cowards, for cutting progressives from funding
Cowards, for towing the same tired line
Cowards, for notstanding behind Sen. Feingold
Cowards, for beleiving that being bold is risky
Cowards, for acting like gutless weinies

Feingoldcowardssenatedemocrats
censure

Tags:Bush2006 budget

Senator Dr. Bill Frist is rich. Bill Frist even owns a 7.7 million dollar house in Washington DC. His tax alone on this 1927 mansion is over $33,000 per year. Some back ground on Dr. Bill Frist. He is a surgeon. During medical school he went to local animal shelters and adopted cats under the pretense of wanting a pet. He then conducted experiments on them resulting in the death of the cats. Nice start to your professional life there Bill. Senator Frist believes intelligent design should be taught in schools. He cetainly cow tows to the religious right. Dr. Frist travels all over the world paid for by the pharmaceutical industry. Then when legislation comes up regarding that industry, he capitulates. Frist is also being investigated for shady stock deals regarding drug company stocks. When Terry Schiavo had her feeding tube removed, Dr. Frist watched a video of her and concluded that she would be able to be rehabilitated. That she was the victim of bad care. After Mrs. Schiavo death, the autopsy concluded her brain was actually nearly non functioning, and that she had very little living brain tissue left. Why talk about Bill Frist? Because he looks to be the leading Republican so far in the 2008 presidential election.
Tags: Frist

So this morning Soledad O'Brien interviewed Russ Feingold. Let me just say.. I don't even know why I still watch the cnn morning show. She is such an idiot! (Miles is too, but thats a different story.) The whole time she interviewed him she sounded absolutely dumbfounded that someone would actually try to censure Bush. She sounded just like a Bush Cultists. (but, the Senate hasn't proven it's illegal) (Senators think it's wrong to censure a president during a time of war.) I wish I had been taping this because she was just terrible. Feingold got her though when he said that the White house had a lot of people deceived. (speaking to her). It's no wonder so many of our populace are unthinking automatons. The people that are suppose to inform them are brain dead.
tags:feingoldcensure

Big Love?... Big cool
The Sopranos? Better than ever. What great writing. Just when I thought it was over, a senile and delusional Uncle Junior shoots Tony right in the gut. Thats gotta hurt.

You don't say: "The Iraqi people responded to terrorist outrages by pulling back from the abyss of a civil war" Gen. Peter Pace. Hmm , If this is pulling back , I would hate to see what civil war really looks like. I guess thousands dead, new attacks, executions, and kidnappings everyday is just as Rumsfeld would put it, "folks feelin' their oats." Pace is in his postition for one reason. He is compliant to Bush Whitehouse manipulations. Time for truth, time for censure of the bush Whitehouse. Let the hearings begin.

Tonight, March 12 is the season premiers for several TV series. Starting at 9pm there is Desperate Housewives, and The Sopranos. My advice? Watch Housewives, then catch The Sopranos in the second showing.(gotta love HBO) At 10pm is the premier of Big Love. This is the story of a Utah bigamist and his complex family. If you don't have HBO, I would tell you it's one of the best bargains in cable/satellite tv. HBO not only features The Sopranos, and Deadwood, but also has Bill Mahr, and the HBO Sex series. I'm considering having a once a week Sopranos thread.

It's like a fucking brain hemorrhage wrapped in a riddle. I look at this blog, and man it just blows my mind... the fish box, the notes. This is unlike anything you've probably ever read. You will read, then you'll have to get away from this blog. But you'll come back.. because you don't know.. You want to though. So why was it left? Why was it created? I'm not sure, but I think you should read the explanation, then the disclaimer, then the fish box. Just me, but however you delve into it, you will be left scratching your head. What does the symbol mean? It's called Necromerica. Thanks Gugon for revealing this.

John McCain on crack? Doubtful, but when you hear what he said at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, you may think so. During the event a straw poll was to be held to see who might be looking good as a 2008 Republican candidate. You see, Bill Frist may actually be looking better than McCain, and rather than face a loss, McCain told people to vote for Bush. He said Bush is our leader for the next three years and we should stand behind him. One activist said, "McCain voted against all the Bush tax cuts... maybe he should have voted for the president then, instead of waiting for a political stunt to try and distract." Senator McCain.. It would seem that President Bush is standing behind you... real close if you know what I mean.

According to the WAPO, former top Bush aide Claude Allen has been caught scamming retail stores for a sum that is thought to be greater than $5000. Allen resigned from the White House on Feb. 9, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. At the time of his resignation, Allen denied reports that he was leaving to protest military guidelines that required chaplains to perform only nondenominational services. Allen worked for the Virginia state attorney general's office and as state health and human resources secretary. In that job, he earned a reputation as a staunch conservative; once he kept Medicaid funds from an impoverished rape victim who wanted an abortion. I investigated further and found that Allen also serves on the board of directors of Peacemaker Ministries. I am waiting correspondence from them as to his status there. What would cause a man with this background to become a suspected scam artists? Did he pick up bad habits while serving the Bush Whitehouse?

Jack Cafferty read me again tonight on CNN Situation Room! This is the third time. Just lucky I guess.
The question was: Has your opinion of Islam changed since 9/11?

My answer was: No. My opinion has not changed. Islam like Christianity has two faces, they preach peace and forgiveness until being brutal and vindictive suits them better.

Congratulations to the folks at NASA. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has successfully entered into orbit around the red planet. The official NASA site has great pictures, movies and explanations of everything related to this mission.

This is Chris Angel, the magician. The trick he does here is just amazing.

There is a case in the courts right now that involves Roe VS Wade. But in a way you may not imagine. Back when R.V.W was being argued before the supreme court, opponents argued that a women could choose not to have sex. Feminists (who I generally support) argued that it should be a womans choice. Today there is a case in which a young man is being sued for child support. Before the couple had sex he emphatically stated to the woman he did not want to be a father, she told him that due to a medical condition, that she could not become pregnant... she did. She is now seeking child support from him. She had a several choices, she could have put the child up for adoption, got an abortion, choose to be a single mother without burdening him with financial responsibility, or choose to be a mother and force financial fatherhood on the young man. Ok, what choices did he have? To not have sex... thats it. The fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is the Equal Protection Clause. Does this not apply to the young man? I'm not really sure where I stand on this issue, I do feel though that his reproductive rights seem to be subjugated beneath hers.

Senator John Warner and DPW spokesperson announced today that Dubai Ports World is to divest itself of all American Interests. DPW says they will give control to an American company. Is this a sneaky ploy as one of my readers points out in comments?

The absurdity never ends with our elected officials. So they have all but gutted any legislation that would change the way lobbyist control them. According to a story in the WAPO, the bill includes a portion that states that anyone voting against a congressional pay raise would not get one if such a bill passes. Imagine the abuse. Imagine the things that could be added to pay raise bills. Who would vote against? Thank you Sen. Inhofe of Oklahoma.

Thank to Born at the Crest of the Empire for the heads up on this one.

Great timing. Secretary of State Condoleza Rice is touring the Mid East, and the State Department releases it's Annual Human Rights Report. At the very moment Rice is saying what great guys countries like the UAE are, the report says they are abusing human rights in many ways. Amoung the abuses the UAE is accused of are as follows.

• no citizens' right to change the government and no popularly elected representatives of any kind
• flogging as judicially sanctioned punishment
• arbitrary detention
• incommunicado detention permitted by law
• questionable independence of the judiciary
• restrictions on civil liberties--freedom of speech and of the press, and assembly
• restrictions on right of association, particularly for human rights groups
• restrictions on religious freedom
• domestic abuse of women, sometimes enabled by police
• trafficking in women and children
• legal and societal discrimination against women and non citizens
• corruption and lack of government transparency
• abuse of foreign domestic servants
• restrictions on and abuses of workers' rights.

These are the guys we want running our ports? These are our buddies in the war on terror? You see, when they want to portray a friendly face for western cameras they trot out some Prince who has all but grown up in the US, American educated, and speaking perfect American English. I know these guys, when I was living in an international dorm at Eastern Michigan University, some of my best party buddies were from places like Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. They weren't very religious, they were well educated,wealthy, and they loved to party. But you see, these guys aren't the population of these countries, they are the elite. The Average middle Easterner is poor or lower middle class, religious, and does not party. So when you see a spokesman on the news know that they are not representative of the general populace. Does Condi have egg on her face? She wouldn't know, she's so plastered with yolk and ovalbumin, that she is oblivious to any new splatters of reality.

Today in a joint press briefing with Secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld, President George Bush said he is sending the 2nd battalion 5th marines to the Canary Islands to make a preemptive strike against Bird Flu. President Bush said he is committed to winning the war against Bird Flu, and will bring the full might of the American military to bear. Secretary Rumsfeld said the name of the exercise would be Operation Bird Brain. When asked about the cost of the operation Rumsfeld said that the cost would be payed for with bananas.

South Dakota Senator Bill Napoli says “..most abortions are performed for what he calls "convenience." He insists that exceptions can be made for rape or incest under the provision that protects the mother's life. A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life.”

I have a suggestion for Sen. Napoli.. bend over, have a man overpower you and shove a pineapple up your ass. Then carry it there for nearly 10 months. Then "give birth" to it and plant it in a pot. Then get up every hour on the hour for several months and deal with the sleep deprivation. Also burn a $100 bill every week and use the ashes to fertilize the pineapple. For the next 18 years this pineapple will be the focus of your life. You will learn to love it. Then when the guy that shoved it up your ass gets out of jail, he will want to have partial custody. He is legally the dad.

I first saw this cartoon over at Sumo Merriment. Always great pics over there.

Oh Duke, Duuuuuuke! What have you said? Who have you squealed on to make your prison sentence only eight years? Did you say Mitch Wade? Did you say he was dealing with the Whitehouse too? Iran? What? What are you saying? I cant hear you, you sound muffled.. what? Prison Bitch? Oh I see.. well have fun, I'll get the story elsewhere. Over at TPM is this little story. Start there to get the lead in then go to todays story to get the dirt. Just what are the intelligence services that were procured from the Whitehouse?

pictured is Mitchell "Pig Vomit" Wade

This is a great Flash animation depicting all those that have wronged Dick Bruce Cheney apologizing to him. It's about time!

First, I hope you read my post "What about Israel". it's about Iraeli spying in the US, and the Telecommunications company Amdocs that is run mainly in Israel. The video go into great detail. it's quite an interesting story if you take the time.
So..anyhow, I was just doing the blogger "next blog" button thing, exploring finding new blogs, and I ran acrossed this very odd blog. the top posting in the blog is entitled A rare day at Amdocs. Of course running across a blog talking about this particular company is alittle strange, but as I read the post, I thought it was even more bizzar. There is something about the way it is written that causes me to think there is more than just a story about ones work day. Am I going mad? Is it just me?

So South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds has signed a bill outlawing nearly all abortions. The only exception being if the life of the mother is in danger. No exceptions for instances of rape or incest. Under the new law, a rapist will have legal claim on the child as it's father. The mothers only options are to give the child up for adoption or put into an orphanage (with the consent of the rapist father). The rapist father could then be able to make his claim for the child when he leaves prison. Imagine that, a rapist having rights concerning the child that was a product of his rape... unimaginable! Of course this law will only affect poor and middle class women and girls, because the rich can always travel for abortions, and do. Before legalized abortion “trips” to Europe were common for those with money. I have mixed feeling about abortion. I was born in 1966 and was adopted. I guess I think about it in these terms, that it should be legal, and rare.

According to a recent Zogby poll of our troops in Iraq:
U.S. Troops in Iraq: 72% Say End War in 2006
Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll shows just one in five troops want to heed Bush call to stay “as long as they are needed”

• While 58% say mission is clear, 42% say U.S. role is hazy

• Plurality believes Iraqi insurgents are mostly homegrown

• Almost 90% think war is retaliation for Saddam’s role in 9/11

• Most don’t blame Iraqi public for insurgent attacks

• Majority of troops oppose use of harsh prisoner interrogation

• Plurality of troops pleased with their armor and equipment

OMG! 90% of them think this is about Saddam's role in 9/11!!! WTF papers are they reading? Who is telling them this crap?! It's no wonder so many of them come back home, and are confused as fuck. Thats like going into a Ford auto plant, and the workers think their making huge, wasteful vehicles that Americans won't buy. Um.. wait a minute.... bad reference. Anyhow..We owe it to our young soldiers to know what the hell they're fighting for. You know.. um democrajesufreedoliberty stuff. Yea thats worth loosing a leg or a life over.

I was thinking the old template just didnt do it for me. I liked that black under the white text, but having the whole screen black was to much. The Blogger website has few themes to choose from so I googled blogger templates, and came up with alot of sites. Finally I saw this one from Layout Studios. Of course she didnt have My logo picture at the top so i got out Bryce 3d and whipped up the basic picture in 3d, then photoshopped the lens flare and text. The rest of the customization was just cut and paste. Still alittle work to do, but I think the overall look is fresher and more appealing.

Here is a great little Flash game where you try to drop little green brains into George Bush's empty skull. Nice thing about it, is that everytime one goes in, you hear a classic Bush quote, and there are alot of them.

Israel is without a doubt the United States best friend in the middle east. With our help they became holders of nuclear weapons, and their military is better trained than nearly any in the world, save the US. Israel also spy's on the US more than any other country. Liberal American policies for student visas and work programs make it easy for Israeli agents to come to the US and set up cover.
I believe one of the keys assets to Israeli intelligence is a company called Amdocs. Amdocs headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri but primarily based in Ra'anana, Israel.The company does billing and collects information on telephone services. Twenty eight American telecommunications companies use Amdocs, that's 90%. While Amdocs does not record individual communications it does record who talks to who and for how long. This is important to know because datamining techniques can be employed to derive quite a bit of valuable information. According to the AP, in one case Israeli police have questioned an executive from Amdocs, one of Israel's largest companies, in connection with a growing corporate espionage case that has shaken the country's business world. That story is just an example of the kind of abuses that are suspected. What if the abuses involved national intelligence, and law enforcement?
Fox news, much to their credit did a series of four stories related to Israeli spying and ties to Amdocs. After the stories however, nothing more was ever said about it. Some of the information and speculation related directly to the events of 9/11. The much maligned Al Jazeera networked also did a story on possible Israeli knowledge of 9/11. At some level these stories seem to tie together because the information must have came from somewhere, and Amdocs would be a likely place of origin .Before I go further I would like to direct you to these two video pieces. (Fox News story) ( Al Jazeera)


At this point I would caution drawing to many conclusions from this information, and speculation. However I think it is worth investigation and scrutiny.
I would like to credit and thank JC and The Truth will set you Free for originally posting the Fox video. Antiwar.com follows the entire series of events in a very concise manner here. Better than trying to rehash it all myself. Also thanks to Mike over at Born at the Crest of the Empire I have this link to The Information Clearinghouse who does the 4 part Fox series with transcripts.

Shades of Terry Gilliam's (of Monty Python fame) movie Brazil. In case you've never seen this incredible movie, it's about a fictional government that perpetrates terrorism on it's own population to perpetuate an eternal police state. The movie itself was born of the Irish Republican Army's bombings of English targets during the 70's and early 80's, but it shows much relevance in terms of current times. It's seems that there may be English SAS operations that may involve the terrorist like bombings of Iraqi civilian targets, and that the specter of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is being evoked to support the continued bombing of Iraqi civialian areas. By many reports Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been dead since the beginning of the war. Our presence in Iraq must be justified. Our continued harvesting of Iraqi resources depends on a continued occupation and control of Iraqi government and military. Civil war is that justification, as is the perception of a vast terrorist network operating there. This Story will tell you much more about these events.

Reposted from one of my early, and unseen postings.

I took this test awhile ago, and just retook it. Nearly the same result but interesting non the less. It's a political leanings test that asks a multitude of questions and attempts to place you within an understandable demographic.. You may be surprised. When you take it don't over-think the implications of your answers, just be honest. I will reveal my results after some others have.

Reports are surfacing that since Carl Rove was assigned the rebuilding efforts from hurricane Katrina, that he has lost control of the Bush spin machine. (Pictured here in his decompression chamber) Mixed messages are the order of the day for the Bushies it may seem, as they simultaneously tout their toughness on homeland security, and sell off vital national assets to global sponsors of terrorism. When asked about this mind numbing breach of good sense Rove replied, “poopy, baby poopy.”

The word on the street is that Michael Chertoff is going to have a change of vocation quite soon. He is seen here preparing for his new gig.

The Situation: The leader of a gang hears from sources that a rival gang leader has been staying at the house of your neighbor. He orders people under him to kill the rival. In the process of going after the rival, several members of your neighbors family are killed. The rival leader had not been there. The gang leader is arrested, and at his trial explains that the killing of your neighbor's family had been an accident, and that he had gotten bad information. Should his sentence be any less? What if on his orders over 30000 innocent people had been killed? What if the gang leader was the leader of a nation? What if he was George Bush?

This is a repost of one of my first blog postings. Nobody read the first 50 or 60 so I thought I would get some milage out of them. ;)

On tonights Bill Maher show on HBO Michael Brown, former FEMA director will be a guest. Also appearing.. comedian DL Hughley, editor/journalist Graydon Carter and correspondent Dana Priest.

I would like to direct your attention to this article by Paul Craig Roberts entitled How the Economic News is Spun. I'm no economist, I hold no advanced degrees, (Come to think of it I hold no degrees) but I think people should be aware of this. I know first hand that the economy is not as rosy as the administration would have us think. I know they are lying. Reading this just further enforces my thoughts. You see, when we are lied to, it's always done with just enough truth to keep the typical American filled up with feel good fluff. We're given positive employment numbers, but the new jobs are worse than the old ones. they don't tell us that. People who have been unemployed for an extended period of time aren't even counted. People who make hamburgers are in manufacturing. It's all crap. Currently our economy is being fueled by housing, the bulk of new jobs are in contruction, financing, insurance, etc. These people then buy a house. The housing market blooms. At what point do the ones that want a house have one, the new home orders dry up, and the whole pyramid collapses? Foreign nations aren't buying our debt as they once did. Oil producing nations are going off the US petro dollar. So many woeful signs that are economy will soon be a wreck, and we have ourselves to blame. Why? Because to many people carnival issues like gay marriage and abortion made them vote for people who did not have their best interest in mind, and are clueless on economic issues. Because we have politicians that are so indebted to corporations that they can't vote against corporate interests no matter how short sighted and harmful. Because we elect people like Tom Delay who only want to further their own interests. Because we're to busy talking on our cell phones, and watching reruns of friends to pay attention to what’s going on.

This is dedicated to Neil and all the commentors over at Neil Shakespear.

Bush

So yesterday Bush was in India welcoming them to the Nuclear Big Boy Club. Many in the west are scratching their heads and asses over this. Today Bush will be in Pakistan, they have not made any stink over this. Curious? I'm sure we'll be reading today or tomorrow that Bush gave them a little political “reach around” as well. I really don't see what the fuss is about. India is the biggest democracy in the world, and they have had nukes for some time now. With this agreement they can stop sneaking around with it, and with US assistance, use safer technology. Nations treated as rouges tend to act as rouges. India is the fastest growing economy in the world, and it would behoove us to maintain a good relationship with them. On a side note it was odd to see Bush visit the memorial to Ghandi. Kind of like mixing oil and water.

Bush India Nuclear agreement

Al-Qaeda sends letter to UAE, claiming they have infiltrated them at every level. IN 2002!
The letter, translated by the United States Government, is publicly available on the website of the West Point Combating Terrorism Center . This is the kind of partner in the War on Terror the Bush Whitehouse values. What could be the reason? Stupidity, greed, blackmail? Thank you Think Progress for posting this.

bush katrina incompetent brown lie chertoff

Iraqis pause the throwing of flowers at US troops to tell other Iraqis to leave religiously mixed neighborhoods. I would be curious to know what Rumsfeld would call this, harkening back to his comments made during the looting that followed the “end of the war”. The argument?... One side says the leaders of Islam should be elected, the other says that leaders should be blood relatives of Muhammad. To bad the Bush team doesn't read history or have any understanding whatsoever of peoples who are not white, rich, and Christian. So the religious civil war heats up, fueled by folks in Iran. The Iranian president poking sticks at the eyes of NeoCons. He's just like Bush.. He's itching for the Muslim end of days, (yes they have one too folks) and he'll do anything he can to bring it about. See, I don't discriminate against religion, I have equal disdain for all of them. Of course we really don't care about getting things straightened out in Iraq. As long as they are divided, we're still in charge. The Iraqi military is officially down to Zero battalions that are capable of operating without US assistance. So it looks like we'll be there indefinitely. Since no change will happen there, we can devote more time to Iran. Problem with Iran is that they are switching thier petro dollars to Euros, thats bad for the US. Very bad. With that happening other countries are reticent to purchase our debt, as I wrote of several days ago. I hope the housing bubble doesn't burst, it's the only thing we have. So we will go back and forth to the UN, making a big to do over the Iranian nuclear program. If things don't go our way.. well, we have a contingency for that.

Just released Video shows Michael Brown telling Bush and Chertoff that Katrina would be a huge disaster, and that preparations need to be made and fast. Six full hours of inside video tells much of the real story. However, Bush administration is already dismissing it. From what I've seen of the tapes, Brown WAS scapegoated. Yes he made mistakes, but the Whitehouse and DHS are still screwing things up. They are the ones that won't take responsibility, they are the ones who fired the one guy that is mostly vindicated. During the session that is pictured, Bush didnt even ask any questions. Talk about being removed from the situation. Remember, the Whitehouse said they had no idea the storm would be such a problem, that the levees could break. They were told.. It's right here... they lied.
Thanks to Casey over at Open your Minds Eye for the new video link