Sunday November 18th 2007
No posts - mpg
Saturday November 17th 2007
The
U.S. Congress Legislates Genocide Of The Mind
Must Read - A
quote...."11/17/07 "ICH" -- A close reading within an historical
context – keeping especially in mind the Patriot Act and the Military
Commissions Act of 2006 and Presidential Executive Orders, pursuant to
which the government has engaged in massive surveillance of its own
citizens, as well as detentions, extraordinary renditions,
assassinations, and torture – leads me to the following conclusions:
· This is a “Thought
Crime” bill of the type so often discussed in an Orwellian context.
· It specifically
targets the civilian population of the United States.
· It defines “Violent
Radicalization” as promoting any belief system that the government
considers to be extremist.
· “Homegrown
Terrorism” and “Violent Radicalization” are defined as thought crimes.
· Since the bill does
not provide a specific definition of extremist belief system, it will
be whatever the government at any given time deems it to be.
A few extracts of the Bill are presented below to show you its tone or
“flavor.”
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Averting World
War III, Ending Dollar Hegemony And US Imperialism
Must Read - A
quote...."David Ludden’s article ‘America’s Invisible Empire’(4) sums
up the problem of the world’s most recent empire with remarkable
clarity. Constituting itself at a time when decolonisation was well
under way and other empires were disintegrating, US imperialism could
never openly speak its name. Initially, it disguised itself as the
defender of democracy against communism; when the Soviet Union ceased
to exist, the pretext became the “war against terror”. National
security and national interest were invoked as the rationale for global
dominance."
"Ludden’s description evokes the image of US citizens (and a few
others) living in a Truman Show world, a bubble of illusion created by
state deception and media complicity that prevents them from being
aware of the reality of empire, although everyone outside can see it
only too clearly. It sounds quite credible that ‘the empire will not be
undone until its reality and costs become visible to Americans’
(p.4777). However, Ludden’s claim that ‘US taxpayers and voters pay the
entire cost of the US empire’ (p.4776) is less credible. If that were
true, many more Americans would see their empire and oppose it; the
Democrats would have put up a principled opposition to the occupation
of Iraq and threatened war against Iran, and the overwhelming majority
of the US electorate would have supported them. But it is the rest of
the world that has been paying for the US empire: that is why it is
almost invisible within the US."
America's
Invisible Empire
Must Read - A
quote...."The American imperial empire has remained largely
invisible: only very recently have Americans just begun to learn about
their imperial history. But information about empire is fragmented and
extensively filtered and the American public remains by and large
unaware of the reality and costs of empire. Until empire is placed on
the public agenda, it can never be effectively criticised or made an
object of basic policy change. --
David Ludden --
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Saudi
minister warns of dollar collapse - posted at
BuzzFlash
A quote...."The dollar could collapse if Opec officially admits
considering changing the pricing of oil into alternative currencies
such as the euro, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister has warned. -
Prince Saud Al-Faisal was overheard ruling out a proposal from Iran and
Venezuela to discuss pricing crude in a private meeting at the oil
cartel's conference. - In an embarrassing blunder at the meeting in
Riyadh, ministers' microphones were not cut off during a key closed
meeting, and Prince Al-Faisal was heard saying: "My feeling is that the
mere mention that the Opec countries are studying the issue of the
dollar is itself going to have an impact that endangers the interests
of the countries. "There will be journalists who will seize on this
point and we don't want the dollar to collapse instead of doing
something good for Opec."
India:
Tourist Sites Refuse the Dollar - posted at
BuzzFlash
A quote...."The Ministry of Culture has begun insisting that tourists
visiting the country’s monuments, including the Taj Mahal, pay the
entrance fees in rupees rather than in dollars."
Cost Of
The Crunch? $2 Trillion, Says Goldman
A quote...."Leave it to Goldman Sachs, winner of the
"we-avoided-the-subprime-meltdown" derby (so far), to put a damper on
everyone else's pre-holiday weekend. - The firm's economic team put a
$2 trillion price tag on the ultimate economic cost of the credit
crunch, including $400 billion in losses directly tied to
mortgages--well north of recent estimates by economists, including
those at the Federal Reserve."
Hat tip to
Mike
Whitney. - mpg
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Strange
Bedfellows — George W. Bush & the New York Times
Must Read - A
quote...."One of the curiosities of the New York Times is its habit,
since George W. Bush took office, of assigning a gal reporter to the
White House, apparently to generate warm and fuzzy puff pieces about
the Commander in Chief. I’ve had difficulty fathoming this obsequious
approach to a president who is otherwise diametrically at-odds with the
Times’ generally liberal profile."
The comments are just spot on. - mpg
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Iraq Occupation
Facts
A quote...."FACTS: There are 8 Million Iraqis in need of emergency aid.
43% of Iraqis suffer from absolute poverty. Child malnutrition 19% in
2003 and 28% in 2007. 92% of Iraqi children suffer from Learning
problems because of the situation. - According to the UNAMI report for
the 1st April untill 30th June 2007 states: 47% of IDPs are not
receiving their food rations. This is in contrast to a distribution
rate of 96% before the war in 2003.At least 40% of the educated and
experienced Iraqi workers have left the country. 70% of Displaced
Iraqis are women."
Suffer
the Children
A quote...."11/16/07 "ICR" No. 237, 16-Nov-07 -- Child mortality in
Iraq has spiralled because of the tense security situation,
deteriorating health services and lack of medical supplies, say
experts. - According to a report released in May 2007 by aid agency
Save the Children, “Iraq’s child mortality rate has increased by a
staggering 150 per cent since 1990, more than any other country.”
Regarding the two articles shown above see....
The
Method - 05-07-07 - mpg
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U.S.
accused of taking sides in Shiite factional fighting
A quote...."The U.S. is providing “logistic and intelligence
assistance” to a rival Shiite faction to weaken the Sadr Movement, a
movement’s senior official said. - Bahaa al-Araji said the Supreme
Islamic Iraqi Council, a leading ally of Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki, was working to undermine the movement and to provoke its
military wing. - The Mahdi Army, the movement’s military arm, has vowed
to suspend military operations targeting U.S. and Iraqi troops as well
as other militia factions. - But Araji said the movement, led by Shiite
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr may not be able to keep its promise with the
U.S. siding with one of its major rivals."
China
deals blow to Western efforts to punish Iran - posted at
BuzzFlash
A quote...."LONDON (Reuters) - China has dealt a blow to Western
efforts to increase diplomatic pressure on Iran over its nuclear
program by dropping out of a meeting to discuss tougher sanctions
against Tehran."
Farhi:
IAEA Finds Iran did not Divert Material to Weapons
A quote...."The IAEA is clearly frustrated with Iran for a) continuing
to enrich uranium (the Iranians say it is for fuel and international
law allows them to do this), and for not being 100% transparent about
their energy research program. But it finds no evidence that Iran even
has a weapons program, and finds a consistency between Iranian
statements and IAEA findings.
Iran
warns U.S. against damaging Iran-IAEA cooperation
A quote...."TEHRAN, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Saturday warned the
United States and some of its allies against damaging "productive
cooperation" between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), the official IRNA news agency reported."
Israel
Says Head of IAEA Should be Fired
A quote...."The right-wing American and Israeli administrations are
similar in many ways. For example, if someone presents facts that they
don’t like, leaders of both countries will work to replace that person
with someone who will say what they want them to say. Such is the case
with the head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, who has honestly stated
that there is no evidence suggesting that Iran intends to build nuclear
weapons. Because this fact invalidates Israel’s rationale for a war
with Iran, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz called Thursday
for Mohamed ElBaradei to be removed from office."
Russia
readies nuclear fuel bound for Iran
A quote...."MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Friday gave the clearest
indication yet that it was ready to send uranium to fuel Iran's first
atomic power station, upping the stakes in a diplomatic crisis
surrounding Tehran's nuclear program. - Russia's state-run nuclear fuel
producer said inspectors from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog
would later this month start sealing nuclear fuel bound for the Bushehr
plant, a major step to shipping the fuel to the Bushehr plant in Iran."
IAEA
Again Verifies Iranian Compliance
A quote...."Hallelujah! The International Atomic Energy Agency has,
once again, verified "the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in
Iran." It seems the Iranians continue to provide the IAEA access to all
"special nuclear materials" – as proscribed by the Treaty on
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – and all relevant nuclear
material accountancy reports, as well as access to all activities
involving said materials. -- So, let the dancing in the
streets commence!
But wait a minute.....
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Seizure of
Iranians Failed to Validate Bush Line
A quote...."WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (IPS) - The George W. Bush
administration's campaign to seize and detain Iranian Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials in Iraq, presented by Bush
himself last January as a move to break up an alleged Iranian arms
smuggling operation in Iraq, appears to have run its course without
having been able to link a single Iranian to any such operation. -
Despite administration rhetoric suggesting that the U.S. military had
solid intelligence on which to base a campaign to break up
Iranian-sponsored networks supplying armour-piercing weapons, what is
now known about the kidnapping operations indicates that the actual
purpose was to obtain some evidence from interrogations that would
support the administration's line that the IRGC's elite Quds Force is
involved in assisting Shiite forces militarily."
For more on this see....
Fake
Intel - IED's & EFP's
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Russia's
Ilyushin Finance to supply Tu-204 planes to Iran
A quote...."MOSCOW, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Ilyushin
Finance plans to sign a preliminary contract with Iran Airtour at the
Dubai Air Show on Monday to supply Iran with 30 Tu-204-100 aircraft, a
source close to negotiations said on Friday."
Two
Years After Murtha's Call: Another 1,800 American Troops Dead
A quote...." (November 17, 2007) -- Two years ago today, I wrote in
this space that perhaps a kind of "Cronkite moment" had arrived in what
already seemed like a long war in Iraq. The hawkish Rep. John Murtha
(D-Pa.) had suddenly, that day, come out with a call to start rapidly
removing U.S. troops from the war zone. I wondered if editorialists and
pundits would finally embrace that notion, rather than continue to lag
behind the views of the American public. - They didn't, Congress also
failed to act, and where are we two years later? We have even more
troops in Iraq now -- and far fewer Iraqis there, as the mass exodus
and ethnic cleansing has, if you will pardon the expression, "surged."
While rampant violence has declined lately, there has been little or no
political progress in that country."
Turks
Favor Invasion
A quote...."from a Reuters article - The number of people saying Turkey
should conduct a cross-border military operation against militants of
the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) stood at 81 percent, up
sharply from 46 percent in the last poll in July.'
Turkish
tanks advancing near borders with Iraq - posted at
AntiWar
A quote...."Duhuk, Nov 16, (VOI) – Turkish tanks were seen advancing
towards the Iraqi borders on a background of Turkish threats to raid
northern Iraq to hunt down fighters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) holed up in mountainous areas on the Iraqi side of the
joint frontiers, border guards and witnesses in Duhuk said on Friday."
Nigeria:
Militants Bomb Shell's Oil Pipeline in Delta - posted at
AntiWar
A quote...."MILITANTS in the early hours of yesterday blew up with
explosives a crude oil delivery pipeline, belonging to the Shell
Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Delta State amidst fears that
the execution of the multi-billion dollars Escravos Gas-to-Liquid
project of the American oil giant, Chevron Nigeria Limited, may be
truncated following a fresh threat by the people of oil-rich Ugborodo
community, Warri South West local government area."
China,
RF reach agreement on setting gas prices
A quote...."BEIJING, November 17 (Itar-Tass) - China National Petroleum
Corporation and Russia’s Gazprom have reached agreement on setting gas
prices, Gazprom deputy board chairman Alexander Medvedev said on
Saturday."
Demonstrators
protest against U.S. radar base in Prague
A quote...."PRAGUE, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Several hundred people rallied
Saturday in the city center of Prague, the capital of the Czech
Republic, to voice disagreement with the planned stationing of a U.S.
radar base in the country."
Chavez launches
initiative to back OPEC, Iran
A quote...."Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pursued an ambitious
diplomatic mission Saturday aimed at persuading OPEC nations to
maintain oil prices at their current level, defending Iran's nuclear
program, and stepping up efforts to get Colombian rebels to release
hostages. - Chavez wants the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries summit in Saudi Arabia this week to take on a stronger
"political and geopolitical" role and return to its stance of the 1970s
when it tightened the screws on consumer nations."
Accused
Terrorist May Yet Face Justice
A quote...."Thursday's hearing on suspected terrorist Luis Posada
Carriles -- an extremist anti-Casto Cuban exile -- marks the first
congressional foray into a drama where the Justice Department has
severely bungled attempts to hold and prosecute a man described by the
committee chairman as having "a reputation as a notorious terrorist"
with "a well-documented history of violence." - "What was significant
about this hearing is that is signals the exercise of congressional
oversight of the scandalous situation that the Bush administration has
created with Luis Posada," Peter Kornbluh, director of the National
Security Archive's Cuba programme, told IPS."
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To
a Fascist, ALL Americans are Terrorists
According to the wannabe-fascists:
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Pound Poised for Biggest Weekly Drop Against Dollar Since 2005
A quote...."Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The pound headed for its biggest
weekly drop against the euro in more than two years as signs economic
growth is slowing fueled speculation the Bank of England will cut its
key interest rate as early as next month."
France:
Rank-and-file workers force continuation of rail strike &
German
train drivers intensify their strike
It appears the European elite's recent adoption of
Neo-Liberal-Capitalism as an economic plan doesn't sit to well with the
rank and file. - mpg
Atlanta
May Have to Drink the Dregs
A quote...."ATLANTA (AP) — With drought tightening its grip on the
Southeast, the Atlanta area's reservoirs are almost down to the dregs —
the dirtier, more bacteria-laden water close to the bottom — and it's
going to require more aggressive and more expensive purification."
Climate
changes now "irreversible," U.N. report warns
A quote...."The United Nations' Nobel Prize-winning panel on climate
change approved the final installment of its landmark report on global
warming Friday, concluding that even the best efforts at reducing
carbon-dioxide levels will not be enough. The world, the report says,
also must focus on adapting to "abrupt and irreversible" climate
changes."
Friday November 16th 2007
Basra
attacks down 90% since British troops left
A quote...."
The
British army says violence in Basra has fallen by 90% since it withdrew from the
southern Iraqi city earlier this year. Around 500 British
soldiers left one of Saddam Hussein's palaces in the heart of the city
in early September and stopped conducting regular foot patrols." -
bold/italics by website author.
So another one of the utterly fraudulent and pathetically lame excuses
for staying in
Iraq - "
we're there to provide
stability" - bites the dust leaving the only really
true excuse left....
Iraq's oil.
- mpg
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Mahathir: US
wants Iran's oil
Complete quote...."Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
says the US and Britain seek a war on Iran to gain control over its oil
resources.
The US and Britain lied about the existence of weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq and used it as an excuse to invade the country,
Mahathir said in a statement.
Now, they are using the same tactic against Iran, he said.
A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency showed there is no
evidence that Tehran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program but the 'war
mongering nations are once again claiming otherwise and demanding this
to be an excuse for war', said the former prime minister.
"Clearly they are lying again,"he added.
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Iran
wants Western "apology" after IAEA report
A quote...."TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran called on its Western foes on
Friday to apologize to the Islamic Republic after the release of a U.N.
nuclear agency report which Tehran said showed it had been telling the
truth about its atomic plans, according to state media."
Abercrombie:
Bush Doesn't Have Authority to Attack Iran
A quote...."A key House Democrat on defense issues says Congress should
clarify that President Bush does not have the authority to attack Iran."
OPEC Summit
Delegates: OPEC Not To Blame For Record Prices, Prices May Hit $150
A quote...."Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AHN) - Speakers at the Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries summit have said that OPEC is not
to blame for the surge in oil prices; rather, they maintained that the
record prices were a result of short-term supply disruptions and the
decline in the dollar."
Army
Desertion Rate Highest Since 1980
A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) - Soldiers strained by six years at war are
deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number
of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the
United States invaded Iraq in 2003."
120
US war veteran suicides a week
A quote...."THE US military is experiencing a "suicide epidemic" with
veterans killing themselves at the rate of 120 a week, according to an
investigation by US television network CBS. - At least 6256 US veterans
committed suicide in 2005 - an average of 17 a day - the network
reported, with veterans overall more than twice as likely to take their
own lives as the rest of the general population."
To be swallowed by the yawning chasm between the evil soul shriveling
lie of what is
said
by many in this country...and what is actually
done by many in
this country. A contradiction that many people simply find
impossible to live with. – mpg
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So,
George W. Bush sees himself as the great defender of the U.S.
Constitution.
A quote...."In a Nov. 15 speech to the right-wing Federalist Society,
the President embraced the Constitution’s checks and balances as a
vital protection against tyranny. And he demanded that federal judges
act as fair referees, not political or ideological partisans. - To many
Americans who have been aghast at Bush’s six-plus years of trampling
the Constitution, such pronouncements might represent a textbook case
of “cognitive dissonance,” a psychological term describing the
uncomfortable tension when one’s stated principles are at odds with
one’s actions."
On the other hand there are creatures among us who have no problem
living with the contradictions between what they say....and what they
do. - mpg
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Special
Relationship: Bush Family Friends Flay Rape Victim
A quote...."The ever-estimable Buzzflash asks the pertinent question:
Will Laura Bush, renowned campaigner on behalf of the oppressed women
of Islam, take up the cudgels for the "Girl from Qatif": a 19-year-old
woman who was gang-raped – and has now been sentenced by a Saudi court
to six months in jail – and 200 lashes – for the "crime" of being in
the car of a man who was not her relative?"
A
Review of America’s ‘Investment’ in El Salvador
A quote...."On November 16, 1989, six Jesuit priests, their cook and
her daughter were murdered execution-style by the right-wing Salvadoran
military government. The priests were killed for teaching their
students ideas about liberating themselves from the oppression of the
rich families that owned most of the country’s wealth. The cook and her
daughter were killed because they were on the premises and potential
witnesses to the crime."
Bush's
Irrational Exuberance
A quote...."....those who say that Bush has already started pulling
troops out are jumping the gun: "The latest news of declining violence
comes as the U.S. troop contingent in Iraq has reached an all-time
high. This week, the U.S. troop number will hit 175,000 -- the largest
presence so far in the 4 1/2 -year war -- as units that are rotating in
and out overlap briefly. But those numbers are scheduled to come down
rapidly over the next several months, which will place an increasing
burden on Iraqi security forces and an Iraqi government that has yet to
demonstrate it is up to the challenge, senior military officials said."
The
Palestinian path to peace does not go via Annapolis
A quote...."World opinion is still on the side of the people of the
occupied territories.
But as long as they are
divided, talks are futile -- (for more on being "
devided" see
US
Sponsored Civil Wars- Palestine - mpg) As the United
States-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian meeting in Annapolis, Maryland,
approaches, the key question is what follows when it fails. Fiasco is
looming, so what do the Palestinians do next? In their decades-long bid
for justice, they have already tried everything."
Benazir
vs. Musharraf is Punch vs. Judy
A quote...."Shlent was the marvelous onomatopoeic term we used in my
student activist days, as verb or noun, to describe the stage managing
of an event or process in a manner that allowed its appearance to
camouflage a power play. (The sound shlent to me always evoked heavy
pieces falling smoothly into place.) And I can think of no better term
to describe the bogus “showdown” we’re being sold involving Pakistan’s
General Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. In
fact, appearances aside (although they camouflage very little), it’s
plain that Bhutto and Musharraf are still involved in an elaborate
U.S.-brokered negotiation process to divide the spoils of power
in what might be called Pakistan’s Team America."
Turkey
preparing for cross-border strike in Iraq: general
A quote...."Turkey is preparing for a military strike against Kurdish
rebels in northern Iraq, a senior general said Thursday, but gave no
details on the timing or scale of such an operation."
Brazil
eyes nuclear sub to defend oil
A quote...."This month's discovery of a monster offshore oil reserve
justifies Brazil's plan to build a nuclear submarine because it would
be used to protect the find, the defense minister said."
What country does Brazil think would come and attack them for their
oil? Perhaps the same country that has already attacked, and is
threatening to attack, several countries in the Middle East....hmmmmmm?
- mpg
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Russia
abandons key Cold War arms treaty
A quote...."MOSCOW (AFP) - The Russian senate voted Friday to suspend
compliance with a key Cold War treaty limiting conventional military
forces across Europe, drawing renewed Western criticism."
Another "victory" for the MIOC elites of this country....perpetual war.
- mpg
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Countdown:
Thicker Than Blackwater - (YouTube - 5 min 53 sec -
Added: November 14, 2007)
Video - A quote...."Keith
[Olbermann] gives his report on the House Oversight Committee hearing
in which it was revealed that the State Department's Inspector Howard
"Cookie" Krongard had a serious conflict of interest with his brother's
ties to Blackwater and that he's on their advisory board. Howard
Krongard is charged with oversight of Blackwater in Iraq. Richard
Wolffe weighs in."
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SPECIAL
REPORT: Turning The Police State Apparatus Against Dissenters
A quote...."Second major
phase of the coordinated destruction of freedom in America targets
those who refuse to go along with it - A sustained media propaganda
campaign in support of the move to swing the apparatus of tyranny away
from phantom Muslim terrorists and towards the American people is in
full operation and may pave the way for further attacks on US soil to
be blamed on dissenting Americans who speak out against the war and the
rise of the domestic police state."
Freedom Is Not
Free – And Americans Are Poised To Lose Everything, Part 1
Related article - A quote...."Preface: After writing for over three
years, I consider this to be the most important Op-Ed I have ever
written; forget who I am and please concentrate on the facts and the
evidence contained herein - and then form your own opinion. I am only
the messenger, but the facts speak for themselves, and our nation faces
a grave crisis that the majority of the population doesn’t even know
exists.
USNORTHCOM
General Would Deploy Troops On U.S. Soil During Domestic Emergency
A quote...."COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The commander of USNORTHCOM says
he's prepared to obey any order from the president to deploy U.S.
troops on American soil in response to a domestic emergency."
Regarding the three articles shown above, see also....
Thirty
Five Acts to
Restore Americans' Rights 11-10-06 - mpg
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Ron
Paul and the Defeat of the Liberventionists
A quote...."For the last six years, I have stood in horror, seeing the
freedom movement divided over the issues of war and peace – a division
that has always afflicted the movement but which became particularly
apparent and germane in the wake of 9/11."
If
Kucinich launches Impeachment hearings, will this make him a front
running presidential candidate?
A quote...."Millions of Americans (not just so called "dems") will be
infinitely grateful to Dennis Kucinich if impeachment hearings FINALLY
get airborne. And it seems reasonable to assume that most of them
will not forget him in the primaries and (God willing) as a
presidential candidate."
Gonzales
Defense Fund Set Up
A quote...."Supporters of former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales
have created a trust fund to help pay for his legal expenses, which are
mounting in the face of an ongoing Justice Department investigation
into whether Gonzales committed perjury or improperly tampered with a
congressional witness."
Playing
'chicken' with the markets
Must Read - A
quote...."Any parent knows that sometimes you have to tell a child
something more than once to get your point across. If you’re dealing
with a teenager who has been allowed to have his or her own way for too
long, you may have to repeat the message that things have changed, that
there are new expectations, a few times before it sinks in. - That’s
what US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is doing with the markets
these days - trying to send the message that he’s instituting new rules
of conduct, of proper behavior, for both the Fed and the markets."
How Dry We Are -
A Question No One Wants to Raise About Drought
A quote...."Georgia's on my mind. Atlanta, Georgia. It's a city in
trouble in a state in trouble in a region in trouble. Water trouble.
Trouble big enough that the state government's moving fast. Just this
week, backed up by a choir singing "Amazing Grace," accompanied by
three protestant ministers, and 20 demonstrators from the Atlanta
Freethought Society, Georgia's Baptist Governor Sonny Perdue led a
crowd of hundreds in prayers for rain."