saddam would be proud

of taskforce 6-26

The NYT off-leads a huge feature on systematic military prison abuse by a Special Ops unit called Task Force 6-26. From Camp Nama, their base at Baghdad's airport, the elite soldiers regularly abused and degraded Iraqi detainees in attempts to elicit information as to the whereabouts of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Whether shooting prisoners with paintball guns or punching them repeatedly in their spines, the soldiers of Task Force 6-26 adhered to an unofficial motto: "If you don't make them bleed, they can't prosecute for it."

open message to bob schieffer

you SUCK. you finally have shown your true colors. for anybody who can sit down with that epitome of all that is wrong with America today and have a nice chit chat, lobbing softball questions as if you were some hard hitting journalist, strikes me of someone who is incapable of bringing me the nightly news with a fairness that is required of news anchors. if your whole premise was to bring on this born-again nazi and portray him in a light that we didn't see before, you failed miserably. all anybody saw was cbs trying to cozy up to the administration like a lapdog that just gnawed the ol' man's easy chair. pathetic doesn't begin to describe your appearance this morning. more like a danger to American democracy.

what the headline SHOULD have been

IS:

Pentagon hired contractor to advise on collecting information on churches, mosques, other U.S. sites

SHOULD BE:

Pentagon hired contractor (who pleaded guilty to bribing Rep. Duke Cunningham) to advise on collecting information on churches, mosques, other U.S. sites

talk about a waste of money

Web Exclusive| World
On Scene: How Operation Swarmer Fizzled
Not a shot was fired, or a leader nabbed, in a major offensive that failed to live up to its advance billing

from TIME magazine

Quote of the WeeQ

on the release of the ba'athist docs:

"One hates to be cynical so early in the morning, but seriously: what are the odds that these documents are going to be 'vetted on a nonpartisan and scholarly basis'? Every single piece of intelligence ever made public by the Bush administration — every single piece — has been cherry picked for maximum partisan effectiveness. Surely no one seriously believes it's going to be any different this time?"

--source

read more about them

to prove my point that there are some really dumb people out there

not only because bush is president, but ....

At a conference … [an] executive of General Mills Inc. … described the kind of e-mails and calls the company gets asking for cooking advice: the person who didn't have any eggs for baking and asked if a peach would do instead, for example; and the man who railed about the fire that resulted when he thought he was following instructions to grease the bottom of the pan—the outside of the pan.

thanks to today's papers for that tidbit.

this is how they cheat the system

and congress would be well within it's recourse to dissolve all attributes that make this possible. from today's papers:

The Journal fronts a long feature on stock-option grants to corporate executives that repeatedly fall on days when the company's stock price is at a low point. Soon after the options are granted, the stock takes off. The paper describes repeated examples of this phenomenon. This exerpt is representative: "In eight of [CEO Louis] Tomasetta's nine option grants from 1994 to 2001, the grants were dated just before double-digit price surges in the next 20 trading days. The odds of such a pattern occurring by chance are about one in 26 billion."

Quote Of The Day

i really hate myself to do this, but today's QOTD comes from none other than Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia:

EPA's approach would ostensibly require that the definition of "modification" include a phrase such as "regardless of size, cost, frequency, effect," or other distinguishing characteristic. Only in a Humpty Dumpty world would Congress be required to use superfluous words while an agency could ignore an expansive word that Congress did use. We decline to adopt such a world-view.

--source

Column Of The Day

“Hate cannot be conquered by force and punishment. It can only be conquered with assistance, understanding, and tolerance. All world experiences prove this to be so.

“We must change our approach from a war against terrorism to a war against poverty and hunger. We must direct our goals and trade to give more mutual benefit, respect and understanding in order to win their friendship.

“It’s no longer possible for us to control world resources for mostly our benefit. … The USA cannot play God … or unilaterally try to retain our economic advantage or force our moral standards on others. “We must give greater support and encouragement to the United Nations and world opinions.”

Three years later, no biological or chemical weapons found, billions of dollars in hock, lives lost, many maimed and psychologically damaged and more terrorism with no end in sight, only the most zealous empire builders would not like to turn the clock back three years, get our facts straight and let the family of nations chart the course.

--source

FARPOINT.FACTOID

... the richest 1 percent of households have, in the aggregate, almost 10 times the wealth of the bottom 46 percent.
--SOURCE

i'm glad i'm not the only one thinking civil war in iraq

it appears that there are iraqis who feel it as well:

Om Hussein, who was reluctant to give her full name, and her Shiite family are preparing for war. They've stocked up on food. They bought a Kalashnikov rifle and a second car -- so that there is space for all 13 members of their extended family should they need to flee in a hurry.

"We are afraid of what will happen in the coming days," she says. "Maybe there will be a monthlong curfew, or maybe fighting in the streets will force my family to stay in the house for days at a time."

In the past week, President Bush has tried to assure Americans that Iraq has stepped back from the brink of civil war. "Iraqis have shown the world they want a future of freedom and peace," he told the Foundation for Defense of Democracies on Monday.

Few Iraqis, however, share Bush's view that the crisis has been averted. They are readying themselves for the worst, fleeing likely flash points, stockpiling weapons and basic foodstuffs, barricading their neighborhoods, and drawing lines in the sand delineating Sunni and Shiite territory.
--source

progress? what progress?

hite House Says "Operation Swarmer" in Iraq "Tactical"

The White House said on Thursday that Operation Swarmer, believed to be the biggest one since March 2003, is a tactical decision made by U.S. generals in Iraq.

"Our commanders in the theater have the authorization to make tactical decisions about the operations that they undertake," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told a news briefing.

"This operation is part of our ongoing efforts to help move forward on the security front," he said.

McClellan said that U.S. President George W. Bush was briefed on the operation. But he denied that Bush authorized the operation. "This was not something that he needed to authorize," the spokesman said.

--source

oh really?

UNDER the watchful eye of drone spy planes, joint US-Iraqi patrols have surrounded and entered hamlets near Samarra on the second day of a major operation to find insurgents.

Around 50 suspects were detained during the first 24 hours of "Operation Swarmer" which kicked off Thursday morning in Al-Jalam, a large flat area of farmland and desert north of Samarra, but a third of those arrested were later released.
US officials also admitted that of the six weapons caches found, none were substantial.

"The individual caches are not huge," said Major John Callahan of the 101st Airborne Division.
--source

you should be outraged

The Bush administration could continue its policy of spying on targeted Americans without obtaining warrants, but only if it justifies the action to a small group of lawmakers, under legislation introduced yesterday by key Republican senators.

The four senators hope to settle the debate over National Security Agency eavesdropping on international communications involving Americans when one of the parties is suspected of terrorist ties. President Bush prompted a months-long uproar when he said that constitutional powers absolve him of the need to seek warrants in such cases, even though the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requires warrants for domestic wiretaps.

--washington post

you see that small group of lawmakers? they're all republican. it's as if democrats don't exist. i'm OUTRAGED!

a thread to watch

Technorati : bush, constitution, dictatorship, nsa, republican, spying, warrantless

remember this the next time you see bush talking about his "GOOD FRIEND" musharref

US AND Nato forces are following up reports that the Taliban has received vital component parts for American shoulder-fired Stinger missiles from Pakistani officials enabling them to be used against helicopters in Afghanistan.

Western sources say they are not sure whether the supplies, needed to make the American-made missiles operational, were provided by rogue elements within the Pakistani secret service or approved at a high level.

However, the effect of rearming the Stingers could be to make Nato aircraft vulnerable at a time when Britain is carrying out the deployment of a force of almost 6,000 in southern Afghanistan.

US and Nato forces have carried out a series of searches along the border areas in the hunt for the missiles with one large-scale operation taking place a month ago.

--source

and in case you're as confused as to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, here's a lil' primer:

The Taliban is a creation of Pakistan's ISI (same as our CIA). There is no difference. In fact, I would argue that Pakistan is the most dangerous enemy we have. Certain "business" relationships have made sure that the ISI continues to traffic in guns, drugs, and WMD and they are largely responsible for proliferation in the Mid-East.

They train terrorists at the same facilities ISI officers are trained in. They house the Bin Laden bunch and the head of the ISI passed 100k to Atta (via Dubai) before resigning when the story broke. In addition, an ISI agent killed Dan Pearl, although he was "arrested" there has been no trial and no one really knows where he is. Pakistan's far right military/mafia complex is in bed with the Turkish military/mafia complex and so forth.
--courtesy of my friend lala-rawraw

in april eh?

Teheran, 16 March (AKI) - The former reformist president of Iran, Mohammed Khatami, believes the option of a military strike by Washington is being seriously considered by the Pentagon. The daily Rooz on Line, close to the reformists, on Thursday reported that in a recent meeting in Tehran, Khatami revealed to a selected group some details of a message from the White House. According to the online daily, in the message relayed by an emissary of the White House to Khatami on a recent visit to Berlin, the American warned him of their intention to bomb Iran's nuclear installations if the government continued enriching uranium.

Rooz on Line goes on to quote Khatami, as saying that in the American message there was reference to an approximate date of an attack. "One month after the first meeting of the UN Security Council on the Iranian dossier," which is scheduled for Friday.

The Internet daily adds that on his return from Germany, Khatami immediately informed the authorities of the contents of the message.

--source

they seem to be a credible source. but i'll let you decide. i've heard april bashed about before in another forum, so maybe this only confirms that one. april is not far off. i'll have to pay more close attention to the iranian talk. especially bolton. he's so easily read.

Quote of the Day

The gasoline pump: Bushism's umbilical cord to your life.
--Voltaire99

attribution

what's the bushites' relationship with belarus?

The NYT reports on electoral strongarm tactics in Belarus, known as Europe's last dictatorship. Days before the presidential election, the current Lukashenko administration has been arresting opposition campaign workers and pledging to jail anyone who protests the election's outcome.

wanna bet that they talk monthly? maybe some renditions are completed there? who knows? you won't by reading the newbush times.

so the bushites are keeping us safe eh?

The Post fronts news that the company charged with manufacturing 25 million doses of a new anthrax vaccine by November is behind schedule and seeking an extension from the government. The VaxGen corporation's troubles typify the logistical problems that plague Project Bioshield, the federal biowarfare defense program that largely relies on small, underfunded companies to fulfill its contracts. Big Pharma wants no part of Project Bioshield, (shouldn't they have participated as a means of returning the favor that Medicare Part D gave them?) so smaller companies like VaxGen struggle to meet their deadlines with little government funding and almost no experience in projects of this magnitude.

(today's papers)

and for your St. Patrick's Day pleasure

St. Patrick Revealed
The man behind the green beer and myth.
--HERE

Letter Of The Day

President Bush laying a wreath at - of all places - the Mahatma Gandhi memorial is probably the most perfect example of hypocrisy I've ever seen.
- John Stiles, Granger.

attribution

cbsnews tonite must be out to satisfy the reich-wing

because their news tonite was nothing but a bow-down to karl rove.

shame on you cbs. shame on you.

the numbers

• Republicans are happier than Democrats.
• People who worship frequently are happier than those who don't.
• The rich are happier than the poor.
• Whites and Hispanics are happier than blacks.
• Married people are happier than the unmarried.
• Dog owners and cat owners rate the same.
• Sunbelt residents are happier than everyone else.

• 
  --source

the numbers

Do you favor or oppose the United States Senate passing a resolution censuring President George W. Bush for authorizing wiretaps of Americans within the United States without obtaining court orders?

All Adults: Favor 46% Oppose 44% Undecided 10%
Voters: Favor 48% Oppose 43% Undecided 9%
Republicans (33%): Favor 29% Oppose 57% Undecided 14%
Democrats (37%): Favor 70% Oppose 26% Undecided 4%
Independents (30%): Favor 42% Oppose 47% Undecided 11%

Do you favor or oppose the United States House of Representatives voting to impeach President George W. Bush?

All Adults: Favor 42% Oppose 49% Undecided 9%
Voters: Favor 43% Oppose 50% Undecided 7%
Republicans (33%): Favor 18% Oppose 80% Undecided 9%
Democrats (37%): Favor 61% Oppose 30% Undecided 9%
Independents (30%): Favor 47% Oppose 40% Undecided 13%

http://americanresearchgroup.com/

the bushites use our men in unform as cannon fodder

The top U.S. military intelligence officer at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq testified yesterday that he inappropriately approved the use of dogs for interrogations without consulting higher-ranking officers, accepting responsibility for giving his subordinates an aggressive tool that was used to terrify detainees.

--source

oh really? shame on the post for forgetting:

The techniques, approved by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld for use in interrogating Mohamed Qahtani -- the alleged "20th hijacker" in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- were used at Guantanamo Bay in late 2002 as part of a special interrogation plan aimed at breaking down the silent detainee.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35612-20...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...
http://globalization.about.com/od/humanrights/a/rumsfel...
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-06/23/con...

anybody see what's wrong with this picture?

The Post and NYT go inside with local officials in a town north of Baghdad saying a U.S. raid that included airstrikes killed about a dozen members of one family, including five children and six women. The military said it was just returning fire. One GI was also killed in an attack elsewhere.

--today's papers

Letters of the WeeQ

Let’s just start a list: Lies about the weapons of mass destruction, an illegal war and now civil chaos in Iraq, loss of our best in the military, bungled Katrina response, suppression of information and illegal wiretapping of U.S. citizens, Medicare prescription-plan fiasco, encouraging nuclear capabilities in India while blacklisting other countries, attempting to “reclassify” information as classified to hinder research, etc.

Now tell me again why 26 percent of the country supports this man? Never in our history has there been such an accumulation of disasters both in this country and worldwide created by a U.S. president.
— Diane Lansink, Cedar Falls.

and

Richard Doak is discovering who the enemy is in the war on terror in “What If Gitmo Detainees Aren’t Really Terrorists?” (March 5 column). Libertarians (yes, the party kept out of the gubernatorial debates in 2002) have known that all along.

As our benevolent dictatorship creates enemies worldwide in its phony quest of the “evil-doers,” we will discover that once the line between defense and offense is crossed, anyone can become the enemy of the state.

But Doak still doesn’t get it. It’s not this administration. Democrats and Republicans both voted for the Patriot Act and the war in Iraq. And most of them didn’t read the bills first.

When people can be held without being charged or tried, our own government is the enemy.
— Fritz Groszkruger, Dumont.

attribution

Letter Of The Day

It appears state legislators and those who hate government intervention (except when it intervenes in your life because they know you have to be watched over), have latched onto another issue to demagogue — TouchPlay gambling machines.

Excuse me, I have to check my online gambling account — hey, a winner.

Now, back to the machines — how dare these “altars of the devil’s worship” remain in our state. I have to run get my Powerball ticket, a few pull tabs and scratch tickets.

Back to the demon machines. Darn those electronic bandits. Is that the mail carrier I hear. Great, I got my quarterly stock reports. My gamble on growth stocks is paying off — sorry, poor choice of words. No gamble to the stock market — that’s why they call your money “investments,” see? Speaking of the stock market, did you see where the Enron guys are coming up for trial?

Back to those machines that beckon like a siren’s song as you happen by one. Diabolical inventions! Don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait to get some bets down in the NCAA pools (pick your location: work, friends, bar, etc.). Does anyone know when the new casino opens west of Northwood? If it’s anything like the tracks and casinos we already have, I’m sure it will turn over a few “entertainment” dollars. Incredible “economic growth” measure, that new casino — and it promises to be more fun than my bingo nights.

Speaking of bingo, I love church picnics — you know, the ones with the paddle wheels, poker hands, ring tosses and even the cakewalks for the kids. Does anyone know where I can get my hands on a few of those charity raffle tickets I keep hearing about?

We need to get rid of those machines — they’re corrupting influences. Gambling — who needs it?
--Roger Crimmins, Mason City

attribution

the numbers

Most Americans (58%) believe Congress acted appropriately in strenuously opposing the deal, while just 24% say lawmakers made too much of the situation. While there is broad support for the way Congress handled the dispute, more Americans think Democratic leaders showed good judgment on the ports issue than say the same about GOP leaders (by 30%-20%).

The new Pew survey underscores the public's alarm over the prospect that an Arab-owned company could have operated U.S. ports. Fully 41% say they paid very close attention to news about the debate, which is unusually high interest for a Washington story and is only slightly lower than the number tracking Iraq war news very closely (43%). There was broad opposition to the proposed deal from across the political spectrum, including two-to-one disapproval among conservative Republicans (56%-27%).

Bush's overall approval measure stands at 33%, the lowest rating of his presidency. Bush's job performance mark is now about the same as the ratings for Democratic and Republican congressional leaders (34% and 32%, respectively), which showed no improvement in spite of public approval of the congressional response to the ports deal.

--source

the abu ghraib files

279 photographs and 19 videos from the Army's internal investigation record a harrowing three months of detainee abuse inside the notorious prison -- and make clear that many of those responsible have yet to be held accountable.

--salon

and finally, to Mike Wallace

Good Night and Good Luck!

and if you believe that one, i've got a bridge to sell

(from today's papers)

The Palestinian prisoners taken by Israel had been held at a jail where British and American monitors were tasked with keeping a watch on things. Since Hamas won the elections, the monitors had been complaining of slackening security. They pulled out yesterday; soon after Israeli forces went in—though the U.S. and Britain said they didn't coordinate with Israel.

what a line of bullshit.

Quote of the Day

"I don't think in the annals of criminal law there has ever been a case with this many significant problems."
--Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui

attribution

is there ANYTHING this administration can do without bungling it to shreds? iraq, katrina, medicare, 9/11, and now the moussaoui trial (the only part of 9/11 to be resolved in court)

oh and speaking of the administration's record on terrorism:

The LAT focuses on the administration's near-perfect record of blowing—and overselling—terrorism cases. "There have been a lot of flubs," said one law prof. "The good news may be that there are not as many threatening people out there as we once thought."

from today's papers

ya mean, the bushites made up all those boogie men?

from today's papers

The New York Times leads with the Israeli army raiding a Palestinian jail in Jericho and seizing six men, most implicated in the 2001 killing of Israel's tourism minister. Two Palestinians were killed, including a prison security guard, and about a dozen were wounded.

so let me get this straight: israeli's raided a JAIL? and look at what resulted: more palestinian violence. so when you hear about palestinian terrorists, think about the israeli terrorists who forced them first.

The incursion was the biggest in the West Bank in months, and in response, Palestinian militants and mobs attacked a handful of Western-affiliated offices and kidnapped nine foreigners, most of whom were quickly released.

then we have this:

The Wall Street Journal tops its world-wide newsbox with, and others front, as many as 85 bodies turning up in Baghdad, most shot execution-style or strangled. USA Today leads with an interview with a top U.S. general who tells the paper that Iraqi investigators recently uncovered a kidnapping and extortion gang comprised of Iraqi police and apparently led by a general.

so the next time bush talks about how they've trained the police and security forces, think about what he's really telling you.

Letter Of The Day

Old-timers would say the current health system in the United States is “cattywampus.” If you hope to switch health insurance companies to get a savings on premiums, you are out of luck.

A new insurance company will exclude coverage on any pre-existing conditions.

So you are stuck with your existing insurance company, who knows it has you by the throat. Your existing company knows you cannot switch and get coverage so it continues to strangle you with escalating premiums.

I have never been a fan of governmental interference in commerce, but something must be done.

The very people who built this great country are being trampled on by insurance companies. Is anyone listening?
— Philip Schneider, West Des Moines.

attribution

i'm watching cbs' new show, the unit

and i'm thinking.... nobody can make this shit up.

there's some truth to this show.
the idear is how much.
*snicker*

always blame someone else

and of course, iran is convenient and all the more to get our natives riled up against a county ya wanna bomb.

President Bush has accused Iran of helping Shi'ite militias in Iraq build more effective roadside bombs, the most lethal weapon against U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians.
--source

seems to me, it was the unguarded ammo dumps is where all the roadside bombs were getting their materials from.

talking out both sides of their mouths

on one side:

US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said Saturday that his country did not want permanent military bases in Iraq.

"We want Iraq to stand on its own feet, we have no goal of establishing permanent bases here," he said in an interview with Iraq's Ash-Sharqiya television, according to a transcript obtained by AFP.

"Our goal is a working, a workable government, so that we can leave Iraq and let Iraqis handle all their circumstance themselves. That's our goal, and were very serious about this, we mean it," he said.

on the other side:

The United States may want to keep a long-term military presence in Iraq to bolster moderates against extremists in the region and protect the flow of oil, the Army general overseeing U.S. military operations in Iraq said on Tuesday.

"Clearly our long-term vision for a military presence in the region requires a robust counter-terrorist capability," Abizaid said. "No doubt there is a need for some presence in the region over time primarily to help people help themselves through this period of extremists versus moderates."

Abizaid also said the United States and its allies have a vital interest in the oil-rich region.

who's telling us the truth? i'm beginning to think THEY don't even know what the fuck is going on.

so things are going "very very well" in iraq eh general pace?

American forces have dramatically increased airstrikes in Iraq during the past five months, a change of tactics that may foreshadow how the United States plans to battle a still-strong insurgency while reducing the number of U.S. ground troops serving here.

--source

Quote of the Day

Democrats are Doers
Republicans are Reactors

and then there was katrina

i've always maintained that bush will suffer the effects of katrina.

and sure enough, kudos to the nytimes who posted lots of emails and documents

is cherry picking intel to go to war

the same as lying to the American people about the necessity for war?

you decide

Summary: During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, writes the intelligence community's former senior analyst for the Middle East, the Bush administration disregarded the community's expertise, politicized the intelligence process, and selected unrepresentative raw intelligence to make its public case.

PAUL R. PILLAR is on the faculty of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. Concluding a long career in the Central Intelligence Agency, he served as National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia from 2000 to 2005..

a MUST READ

http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2006/1294

on the feingold censure ...

onebluesky writes:

Republicans = Chickenhawks . . . Democrats = Chickenshits .

Senate Democrats on Monday blocked an immediate vote on a call by one of their own to censure President Bush for his eavesdropping program.
--source

like someone also mentioned, it's the republicans who want the vote NOW. and this is only a way of keeping it alive.

who knows.

oooops

Sea ice in the Arctic has failed to re-form for the second consecutive winter, raising fears that global warming may have tipped the polar regions in to irreversible climate change far sooner than predicted.
--source

laws gone awry

or in bushspeak: right on target.

Kevin Kjonaas set up a website with details about businesses that use animals for research information, and now he and five other activists have been convicted of inciting terrorism
--source

like all things repuke, it backfires

... the WP goes Page One with Iranian dissidents inside the country complaining, as many have suggested from the outset, that the U.S.'s funding of opposition groups is counterproductive. "This is something we all know, that a way of dealing with human rights activists is to claim they have secret relations with foreign powers," said one activist in Tehran. "This very much limits our actions. It is very dangerous to our society."

Asswipe of the Day

Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton did not quite suggest it (the possibility of nuclear negotiations with iran) was there, saying, "I don't think we have anything to say to the Iranians."
--source

Question of the Day

"Why is it that Moussaoui's story hasn't changed much in four years, while the government has downgraded him from hijacker to secret-keeper?"
--Dahlia Lithwick

source

Quote Of The Day

"It’s not as important that people change immediately as that seeds are planted."
--Dotti Berry

attribution

Quote of the Day

and it pains me to have a republican win QOTD, but this was rich.

"They (GOP activists) look like young Hitlers to me. … They’re so grim and deadly serious about the cause.
--Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH)

attribution