usdemocrats.com political news weblog
SEPTEMBER 2006
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usdemocrats.com political news weblog
SEPTEMBER 2006
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What we have learned since
9/11 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
read source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/09/03/coverstory.tm/index.html Editor's note: The following is a summary of this week's Time magazine cover story. (Time.com) -- An American businessman, traveling in India when the planes struck the towers, made his way back to the U.S. the following week as quickly as he could. That meant hopscotching across the Middle East, stopping in Athens, Greece, overnight to change planes. He spent the evening taking supper in a local taverna. No one in the restaurant spoke English, but when the owner realized he had an American in the house just two nights after 9/11, he asked his guest to stand up, face the other diners and listen to a toast. And indeed, the entire room stood up, raised their glasses and said, as one, "Shoulder to shoulder, until justice is done." Five years later, after an invasion of Afghanistan and an occupation of Iraq, and amid talk of war with Iran, it is fair to ask: Would they say it again tonight? Would we say it to each other? This has become the loss with no grave, no chance for mourning, because we still live it every day: the loss of that transcendent unity, global goodwill, common purpose born of righteous anger that wrapped us like a bandage those first months after the attacks: a president with a 90 percent approval rating, a congress working as one, expressions of sympathy and offers of help from every corner of the planet. We are all Americans, said Le Monde. That unity was never going to last. The world more easily loves a superpower when it's wounded and weakened than when it rises and growls. But we have not merely returned to the messy family arguments of September 10. We are broken, divided at home, dreaded abroad, in need of a hard conversation about America's vital interests and abiding values -- but too bitter and suspicious to have it. All wars, even the noblest, bring a reckoning of means and ends. The war on terrorism has long since lost its crisp moral lines. Who foresaw that the battle would require a national seminar about when it's OK for Americans to torture prisoners and whether near-drowning counts? Or a debate over which clauses of the Constitution might be expendable? We may agree that terrorism is wicked, but we're still unsure about how to answer it. Presidents make their hard decisions and then abide forever with their mistakes and regrets. "I guess not many presidents have been understood in their own time," Lyndon Johnson said, reflecting on all the good he'd tried to do for people, who despised him nonetheless. George W. Bush swats away the judgments that anniversaries invite. "There's no such thing as short-term history, as far as I'm concerned," he said last week. We can't know how the story ends; but we know that there was a time five years ago when every day was Memorial Day, when we never would have imagined that we'd care what Brad and Angelina's baby looked like or dread air travel more for its inconvenience than its dangers. Is that good news, a return to normalcy, a mark of resilience? Or does it too mark a kind of loss? In the weeks after 9/11, out of the pain and the fear there arose also grace and gratitude, eruptions of intense kindness that occurred everywhere, a sharp resolve to just be better, bigger, to shed the nonsense, to rise to the occasion. And yet five years later, more than two-thirds of Americans say they are unhappy with how things are going -- exactly the opposite of the weeks after the attacks, when people were crushed but hopeful. We saw back then what we were capable of at our best, and now find ourselves just moving on, willing to listen to our leaders but not necessarily believe them, supporting the troops but disputing their mission, waiting, more resigned than resolved, for the next twist in the plot. No, we don't know how the story ends. The idea that history is written by the victors has been wrongly credited to Winston Churchill, but he did say that, "If you are going through hell, keep going." But you wonder whether years from now -- five? 10? 50? -- there will come a day when the victors actually know that they've won, that the battle is over and they can set about the writing. And whether even then, they will be sure that they have got the story right. Click here for the entire cover story on Time. Copyright © 2006 Time Inc. |
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George Bush faced with mid-term
elections -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read source: http://www.agoravox.com/article.php3?id_article=5155 The unpopular war in Iraq, the fifth anniversary
of 9/11, doubts about the potential for success in the war on
terrorism, and the pending mid-term elections in the USA are
all combining to make life uncomfortable for President Bush.
There is a real danger that his Congressional power base could
soon evaporate, leaving him shorn of real power for the rump
of his presidency. In a speech yesterday, Bush called the war on terror ’the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st Century and the calling of our generation,’ adding that "it is a struggle for civilisation. We are fighting to maintain a way of life enjoyed by free nations." He continued by claiming that the war on terror would not be over "until either we or the extremists emerge victorious." He also played the nuclear threat card, claiming that failure to succeed will lead to a "Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons’ " presumably a reference to Iran; North Korea must have slipped off his radar for the moment. The President went on to argue that despite mistakes that might have been made in Iraq (perhaps he was referring to invading Iraq on the false premise that Saddam Hussein was linked to the 11 September attack and was also building and hoarding weapons of mass destruction that would destabilise the region), it was clear that terrorists would continue to threaten the USA as long as terrorists survive; that is why it was critical for the USA to win the battle on the streets of Iraq. Bush’s remarks were given added resonance by a new al-Qaeda video that urges Muslims to increase resistance against the US and which also claims that actions of al-Qaeda were legitimised further by the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon - an action that appears to have carried the tacit support of Bush. While Bush acknowledged that the al-Qaeda network responsible for the 9/11 strikes is now active in Iraq, he failed to add that this was probably as a result of the US invasion of Iraq. This seems to be the case given that there have been no recent claims that al-Qaeda was funded, trained, armed or given sanctuary by Saddam Hussein, as was indicated at the time of the invasion, or suggestions that al-Qaeda was active in Iraq prior to the US invasion. Although Bush ignored this particular point, he did note, without clarification, that ’al-Qaeda and other extremists from across the world have come to Iraq to stop the rise of a free society in the heart of the Middle East. They have joined the remnants of Saddam’s regime and other armed groups to foment sectarian violence and drive us out.’ It seems to be a bit of a chicken and egg argument. It is clear that Bush has to work hard to defend his administration’s increasingly unpopular decision to invade Iraq; to date it has cost the USA more than $400 billion and the lives of 2,670 servicemen and women, neither of which goers down well with the voters - there have also been numerous deaths of civilians and armed forces personnel of other nations. The Democrats have seized on the unpopularity of the war in Iraq to make it a central issue in their midterm election campaign. It appears that in his speech yesterday and others recently the President has been retaliating by stressing the need for unity in the fight against terrorism and the associated national security issues that terrorism brings. It is not an easy task for Bush given that recent polls show that a majority of Americans do not see Iraq as part of the war on terrorism and that there is increasing public disapproval of the war in Iraq and concern at the rising number of body bags heading back to the States from that unhappy country. While the fervour of the 9/11 anniversary might help the Republicans in the short-term, it is unlikely that the 9/11 effect will linger until the November elections. Bush will not be looking forward to the results with anything other than trepidation.
URL TRACKBACK : http://www.agoravox.com/tb_receive.php3?id_article=5155 |
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Annan: Mideast leaders view
Iraq war as disaster -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said leaders of Middle Eastern nations believe the Iraq war has "been a real disaster" for the region. His comments to reporters on Wednesday came after a two-week trip through the Middle East and on a day when separate bomb attacks killed at least 22 people in Baghdad. "Honestly, most of the leaders I spoke to felt the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath has been a real disaster for them," Annan said. "They believe it has destabilized the region." read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/09/13/iraq.main/index.html
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Convention (III) relative to the Treatment
of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Persons taking no active part in the
hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid
down their arms and those placed ' hors de combat ' by sickness,
wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances
be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded
on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or
any other similar criteria. (a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (b) taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples. (2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for. An impartial humanitarian body, such as
the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services
to the Parties to the conflict. http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/0/e160550475c4b133c12563cd0051aa66?OpenDocument
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Bush: Without my plan, detainee
questioning won't continue -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Questioning of suspected terrorists "won't go forward" unless Congress clarifies a U.S. standard for the treatment and interrogation of detainees, President Bush warned Friday. The remarks appeared to be an attempt to put Congress on the spot about the future of a program that Bush says has helped thwart terrorism. read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/15/bush/index.html
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Georges Bush and Clooney -
who's doing the hard work these days? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-wells/georges-bush-and-clooney-_b_29592.html George Clooney gave a superb, impassioned and deeply moving speech to the Security Council at the UN on Thursday. He spoke on behalf of those who are voiceless in Darfur. He spoke with a depth of understanding of the complex issues in Sudan that would have been impressive in a diplomat but appears to be lacking in the highest levels of this administration.
The other George, one George Bush, President of the United States of America famously declared: "Not on my watch" when the atrocities in Rwanda penetrated his murky consciousness. He has spoken out about genocide in Darfur from time to time, but on his watch another genocide has unfolded and is about to reach its darkest hours. On September 30th the insufficient African Union forces that have been trying to bring some measure of relief and protection to the 3 million Darfurians whose lives have been uprooted over the last 3 years will have to leave Sudan. A bloodbath will follow. Jan Engelund of the UN predicts that 100,000 people will die each month. By the New Year that will add up to as many deaths as in Rwanda in 1994. Clooney deserves much credit for taking up the mantle that should be worn by our political leaders. There is a rally in Central Park in New York tomorrow, organized by the Save Darfur Coalition to coincide with the general assembly of the UN. The organizers ask the UN and the Bush administration the following: • Strengthen the understaffed and
overwhelmed African Union peacekeeping force already in Darfur. There are other rallies and events across the country and across the globe. This is not a hidden genocide. It has taken place in plain view, at least in the plain view of those who have the empathy, curiosity and compassion of George Clooney, the members of the Save Darfur Coalition and the thousands of people across the globe who want to stop genocide. Why is this not enough? When I stop putting this issue on the front
burner I only have to think of a man I met last year, a refugee
from unspeakable atrocities in Darfur, his name was Adam. He
was my translator. He is gone now....gone with his wife, five
children and an orphaned niece and nephew. No-one knows what
happened to them, they fled into the desert in the night. We
are probably too late to save this family, but what about the
others? They must be protected. Write the President, go to the
rally tomorrow, send money, join the Save Darfur Coalition, play
the mtvU video game Darfur is Dying...do Something. We all should.
See you there. |
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Dobbs: Voting machines put
U.S. democracy at risk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Lou Dobbs Adjust font size: NEW YORK (CNN) -- Democrats and Republicans are desperately trying to nationalize the midterm elections, now only 48 days away. Democrats are seeking to focus voter attention on President Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq, while Republicans are trying to convince voters that the president and all Republicans should be given credit for the conduct of the war on terror, and the fact that there has not been a terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. And voters will also choose which party to support on a host of other issues, local and national: illegal immigration, border security, the state of the economy, the escalating cost of health care, failing public schools, record budget and trade deficits, and the declining standard of living for the middle class. read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/09/19/Dobbs.Sept20/index.html
member is offline
Joined: Nov 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But there is additional uncertainty about the outcome of our elections that is intolerable and inexcusable, and which could make the contested 2000 presidential election look orderly by comparison. As of right now, there is little assurance your vote will count. As we've been reporting almost nightly on my broadcast for more than a year, electronic voting machines are placing our democracy at risk. Across the nation, eight out of every 10 voters will be casting their ballots this November on electronic voting machines. And these machines time and again have been demonstrated to be extremely vulnerable to tampering and error, and many of them have no voter-verified paper trail. There is simply no way in which election officials and their staffs of thousands of volunteers with limited experience and often poor training can possibly carry out reliable recounts. Only 27 states have laws requiring the use of voter-verified paper trails in electronic machines. Eight more states utilize a paper trail in their machines but don't require it, leaving 15 states with no mandated requirements for safeguarding your vote. But with no national law in place, our midterm elections are being threatened by a system lacking any real regulation and standards. The problems with electronic voting aren't necessarily new, yet we're still not ready for the midterms. During the 2004 presidential election, one voting machine in a Columbus, Ohio, suburb reportedly added nearly 3,900 additional votes to Bush's total. Officials caught the machine's error because only 638 voters cast presidential ballots at that precinct, but in a heavily populated district, can we really be sure the votes will be counted correctly? The May primary election in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, was nothing less than a complete debacle. A report from the Election Science Institute found the electronic voting machines' four sources of vote totals -- individual ballots, paper trail summary, election archives and memory cards -- didn't even match up. The totals were all different, and the report concluded that relying on the current system for Cuyahoga County's more than 1.3 million people should be viewed as "a calculated risk." Are we really willing to risk our democracy? This problem is obviously not limited to Ohio. During Illinois' March primary, Cook County delayed the results of its crucial county board elections for a week as a result of human and mechanical problems at hundreds of sites with the new voting machines. The recent primary elections in Montgomery County, Maryland, also highlighted just how unprepared many polling places are for the midterms. The state election administrator is demanding to know what went wrong after election workers did not receive access cards to operate the Diebold voting machines for the county's 238 precincts on time, forcing as many as 12,000 voters to use provisional paper ballots that ran out quickly. Some were simply told to come back later and vote. There are four main manufacturers of electronic voting systems, none of which has been demonstrated to be more secure than the others. Diebold is the most well-known, but a new Princeton University study concerning Diebold's AccuVote-TS machine found that hackers can easily tamper with electronic voting machines by installing a virus to disable machines and change the vote totals. Princeton researchers found that "malicious software" running on a single voting machine can steal votes with little, if any, risk of detection, and that anyone with access can install the software. The study also suggests these machines are susceptible to voting-machine viruses. Diebold says the unit used in the test was two generations old and to its knowledge is not used anywhere in the country. A 2005 Government Accountability Office report on electronic voting confirmed the worst fears of watchdog groups and election officials. That report said, "There is evidence that some of these concerns have been realized and have caused problems with recent elections, resulting in the loss and miscount of votes." That is simply unacceptable. Congress and the White House need to immediately take steps to assure the integrity of electronic voting with paper trails that could be audited in any recount, or provisions must be made for paper ballots if the reliability of e-voting cannot be assured before November 7. When voters lose confidence in our elected
representatives, we can vote the bums out. But what is the recourse
if American voters lose confidence in our electoral system? |
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Nations call for Thai democracy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Governments and human rights advocates demanded that Thailand swiftly return to democracy Wednesday after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted overnight in a bloodless coup. read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.reax.ap/index.html
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Ted Turner: Iraq war among
history's 'dumbest' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/09/20/turner.reut/index.html NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The U.S. invasion of Iraq was among the "dumbest moves of all time" that ranks with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the German invasion of Russia, billionaire philanthropist Ted Turner said Tuesday. The founder of CNN and unabashed internationalist also defended the right of Iran to have nuclear weapons and the effectiveness of the United Nations and, in a jocular mood, advocated banning men from elective office worldwide in a Reuters Newsmaker appearance. Alternately combative and humorous, Turner spoke nine years after his pledge to donate $1 billion to the United Nations over 10 years and on the same day President Bush addressed the U.N. General Assembly a mile away. The U.S. invasion of Iraq has caused "incalculable damage" that will take 20 years to overcome "if we just act reasonably intelligently." "It will go down in history, it is already being seen in history, as one of the dumbest moves that was ever made by anybody. A couple of others that come to mind were the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the German invasion of Russia," Turner told the forum. "It literally broke my heart. You don't start wars just because you don't like somebody. ... I wouldn't even start a war with Rupert Murdoch," Turner said, referring to his onetime cable network rival. Often contrarian, Turner called it a "joke" that Bush demanded that Iran abandon any ambitions for nuclear weapons while at the same time hoping to ban all such bombs. "They're a sovereign state," Turner said of Iran. "We have 28,000. Why can't they have 10? We don't say anything about Israel -- they've got 100 of them approximately -- or India or Pakistan or Russia. And really, nobody should have them. "They aren't usable by any sane person." 'Men should be barred from public office' "Men should be barred from public office for 100 years in every part of the world. ... It would be a much kinder, gentler, more intelligently run world. The men have had millions of years where we've been running things. We've screwed it up hopelessly. Let's give it to the women." In the meantime, the United Nations represents the best hope, Turner said. While the world body is ridiculed as ineffective and irrelevant by its harshest critics and often criticized by its strongest advocates, Turner offered what was then one-third of his net worth to the world body nine years ago. "I am absolutely certain we would not have made it through the Cold War without the U.N.," Turner said. "When Khrushchev at the U.N. took his shoe off and hit podium he was so mad, but he had a place to let off steam. If the U.N. hadn't been there, that would have been war right then." When a questioner from the audience challenged Turner on the United Nations's value, Turner shot back. "The war between Lebanon and Israel
and Hizbollah would still be going on if it hadn't been for the
U.N., and that's only in the last two weeks, Bubba." |
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Planning to Vote in Austin?
Don't Bother -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A404282 Travis County is ranked even higher than
the Longhorns football team! Unfortunately, our No. 6 ranking
is for an unquestionably dubious honor – our placing on
Mother Jones magazine's listing of America's 11 worst places
to vote. |
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Adults tapping Internet for election news -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TECH/interne....reut/index.html (Reuters) -- American adult users of the Internet in August 2006 spent some time reading about politics or the coming U.S. election, a big increase from November 2004, according to a survey released on Wednesday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The non-partisan think tank said 26 million Americans -- or 19 percent of adult users -- turned to the Internet in August to read political news and information, compared to 21 million in November 2004 when a presidential election was held. The latest figure is noteworthy because August is typically a quiet month in political campaigns due to summer vacations, said John Horrigan, associate director of the Pew project. "We think that increase is due to
more and better content about politics than there was a couple
of years ago," Horrigan said. |
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Clooney blasts US media for
failure to report on Bush’s policies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read source: http://news.sawf.org/Entertainment/21729.aspx Hollywood activist George Clooney has slammed the US media for neglecting their responsibilities towards the country. Washington, Sept 22: Hollywood activist George Clooney has slammed the US media for neglecting their responsibilities towards the country. The 'Ocean's Eleven' star, who joined Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel to address the United Nations Security Council about the problems in Darfur last week (Sept. 14), believes that journalists have betrayed the public by not reporting the truth about President George Bush's administration. member is offline
Joined: Nov 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clooney also stressed the need for responsible media, and appealed to the journalists to be careful before publishing anything. "We already had a Congress on the same side as the White House. We needed a Fourth Estate more than ever, to say, 'Let's at least ask questions before we do these things,'" he said. And, Clooney did not even spare the American public, who he feels contributed to the failure of media in reporting the truth by focusing too much on reality TV shows instead of real news. "The media's failings reflect on the
rest of us too. It took, what, three months after September 11
before reality shows became big again? There's a responsibility
to be upheld," he said. (ANI) |
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U.S. report says Iraq war
has fueled terror threat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A classified intelligence report concludes that the Iraq war has worsened the terrorist threat to the United States, U.S. officials told CNN Sunday. Some intelligence officials have said as much in the past, but the newly revealed document is the first formal report on global trends in terrorism by the National Intelligence Estimate, which is put out by the National Intelligence Council. read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/09/24/iraq.main/index.html
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Leaked Iraq report shows need
for new direction -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/25/nie.iraq/index.html WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Part of a classified intelligence report that says the war in Iraq has increased the threat of terrorism has fueled calls by congressional Democrats for a new direction in the nation's war on terrorism. U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials Sunday confirmed to CNN the contents of the leaked portion of the National Intelligence Estimate, which was first reported in the Sunday editions of The New York Times and The Washington Post. Some intelligence officials have said as much in the past, but the newly revealed document is part of the first formal report on global trends in terrorism since the Iraq war began from the National Intelligence Council, which represents all government intelligence agencies. (Full story) "Press reports say our nation's intelligence
services have confirmed that President Bush's repeated missteps
in Iraq and his stubborn refusal to change course have made America
less safe," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada,
said. |
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Marines face courts-martial
in Iraqi man's death -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/09/25/marines.court.martial/index.html (CNN) -- Three Marines will face courts-martial in the death of an Iraqi man near Hamdaniya in April, the Marine Corps said Monday. The victim, identified in a Marine press release as Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, was killed on April 26. In June, a source close to the case said Navy investigators had statements from some of those involved that the man's death was staged. The men, who have been jailed at Camp Pendleton, California, allegedly removed Awad from his home in the village of Hamdaniya and fatally shot him, then planted an AK-47, shell casings and a shovel near his body to make it look like he was an insurgent who was planting a bomb. Facing charges of murder, conspiracy, assault and housebreaking is Pfc. John J. Jodka. Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda faces charges of murder, conspiracy, making a false official statement, larceny and housebreaking. Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate faces murder, conspiracy, larceny and housebreaking charges. Shumate faces an additional assault charge in a separate incident, the alleged assault of another Iraqi man on April 10. A specification of wrongfully seizing and holding the victim against his will was added to the charges against each Marine. The murder charges are non-capital, according to the release, which means the accused could not be sentenced to death if convicted. The schedule for cases has not been announced. One Marine, Lance Cpl. Henry D. Lever,
had the only charge against him, assault, dismissed. |
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U.N.: New leads in Hariri
probe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/09/25/hariri.un/index.html UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- A "considerable number of new leads" have emerged in the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, according to the latest report released Monday by a commission of U.N.-appointed investigators. While the report does not detail the new leads, it says they are related to the crime scene of the bomb blast that killed Hariri and 22 others as his motorcade drove through a Beirut street, and the "immediate perpetration of the crime." The report says investigative work is under way on the new leads, which are characterized as "the circumstances surrounding particular individuals and vehicles at the crime scene before, during and in the immediate aftermath of the explosion" as well as "allegations of tampering with the crime scene after the explosion." The report also says the investigative commission is "pursuing leads" on individuals "who knew something about the forthcoming attack" and those who knew something and "somehow tried to deliver a warning to Hariri or a person close to him." Evidence has emerged, the report says,
that Hariri -- an outspoken critic of Syrian involvement in Lebanon
-- was himself aware of a "heightened threat" against
him and that he discussed this "at length" with individuals. |
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Bill Clinton: Nobody does
it better -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2006/09/bill_clinton_no.html If I were Karl Rove or the Republican National Committee, I would pray former President Bill Clinton stays off television. You just don’t want too many voters thinking that by voting for Democrats this November, they just might be voting for him. If you haven’t seen Clinton’s performance during the interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, you really owe it to yourself. It was pure Clinton. Agree with him or not, he’s just incredibly entertaining, downright riveting to watch. One of Clinton’s strengths is that he does passion really well (please, no Monica jokes.) He understands that as a politician you can have the facts on your side in a political argument all you want. But if you can’t fire the emotions of voters, if you can’t get them to connect with you, you’re done for. For weeks, for months, other Democrats have been making the same arguments Clinton did yesterday: that the war in Iraq distracted the U.S. from the effort to get Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, that the Clinton administration did act to get bin Laden, that Democrats have useful ideas about how to fight the war on terror, that Democrats are not wimps. But nobody does it better than Clinton. In a matter of minutes he put across the Democratic talking points more effectively than the host of Democrats in Congress have managed to do. And in that deft, Clintonesque way, he managed to criticize Republicans while giving a respectful shoutout to Karl Rove. He even broke down the Republican game plan like he was John Madden drawing the x’s and o’s. WALLACE: Let's talk some politics. In that same New Yorker article, you say that you are tired of Karl Rove's B.S., though I'm cleaning up what you said. CLINTON: But I do -- but I also say, I'm not tired of Karl Rove. I don't blame Karl Rove. He -- if you've got a deal that works, you just keep on doing it. WALLACE: So what is the B.S.? CLINTON: Well, every even-numbered year, right before an election, they come up with some security issue. In 2002, our party supported them in taking weapons inspections in Iraq, and was 100 percent for what happened in Afghanistan, and they didn't have any way to make us look like we didn't care about terror. And so, they decided they would be for the homeland security bill that they had opposed, and they put a poison pill in it that we wouldn't pass, like taking the job rights away from 170,000 people, and then say that we were weak on terror if we weren't for it. They just ran that out. This year, I think they wanted to make the questions of prisoner treatment and intercepted communications the same sort of issues, until John Warner and John McCain and Lindsey Graham got in there, and it turns out there were some Republicans that believed in the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions, and had their own ideas about how best to fight terror. The Democrats, as long as the American people believe that we take this seriously, and we have our own approaches, and we may have differences over Iraq, I think we'll do fine in this election. But even if they agree with us about the Iraq war, we could be hurt by Karl Rove's new foray if we just don't make it clear that we too care about the security of the country. But we want to implement the 9/11 commission recommendations which they haven't for four years. We want to intensify our efforts in Afghanistan against bin Laden. We want to make America more energy independent. And then they can all, if they differ on Iraq, they say whatever they want on Iraq. But Rove is good. And I honor him. I've always been amused at how good he is, in a way. But on the other hand, this is perfectly predictable. We're going to win a lot of seats if the American people aren't afraid. If they're afraid and we get divided again, then we may only win a few seats WALLACE: And the White House, the Republicans want to make the American people afraid? CLINTON: Of course they do. Of course they do. They want us to be -- they want another homeland security deal. And they want to make it about, not about Iraq, but about some other security issue where, if we disagree with them, we are, by definition, imperiling the security of the country. And it's a big load of hooey. We've got nine Iraq war veterans running for the House seats. We've got President Reagan's secretary of the Navy is the Democratic candidate for the Senate in Virginia. A three-star admiral who was on my National Security Council staff, who also fought terror, by the way, is running for this seat of Curt Weldon in Pennsylvania. We've got a huge military presence here in this campaign, and we just can't let them have some rhetorical device that puts us in a box we don't belong in. That's their job. Their job is to beat us. I like that about Rove. But our job is not to let him get away with it. And if they don't we will do fine. Watching the “interview” was at times like watching a bear hunt in which the bear turns the tables. By the end of it, Clinton was pretty much picking Wallace’s bones clean. I think I even saw Clinton smacking his lips. There was a moment when I almost felt sorry for Wallace before I remembered how much more he gets paid then I do. It was when Clinton kept telling Wallace to “Tell the truth, Chris.” It was like a scene from the OJ trial. CLINTON: It was a perfectly legitimate question. But I want to know, how many people in the Bush administration you ask this question of. I want to know how many people in the Bush administration you ask, "Why didn't you do anything about the Cole?" I want to know how many people you ask, "Why did you fire Dick Clarke?" I want to know how many people you ask about this. WALLACE: We ask, we ask -- have you ever watched "Fox News Sunday," sir? CLINTON: I don't believe you ask them that. WALLACE: We ask plenty of questions -- CLINTON: You didn't ask that, did you? Tell the truth, Chris. WALLACE: On the USS Cole? CLINTON: Tell the truth, Chris. WALLACE: With Iraq and Afghanistan, there's plenty of stuff to ask, sir. CLINTON: Tell the truth, Chris. Did you ever ask that? You set this meeting up because you're going to get a lot of criticism from your viewers because Rupert Murdoch's supporting my work on climate change. And you came here on false pretenses and said that you'd spend half the time talking about -- WALLACE: I -- CLINTON: About -- you said you'd spend half the time talking about what we did out there to raise $7 billion plus, in three days, from 215 different commitments, and you don't care. WALLACE: I -- President Clinton, if you look at the questions -- CLINTON: I thought you'd (have an audience here ?). WALLACE: You'll see half the questions about it. I didn't think this was going to set you off on such a tear. CLINTON: You launched into it. It set off on a tear because you didn't formulate it in an honest way, and because you people ask me questions you don't ask the other side. WALLACE: Sir, that's not so. CLINTON: And Richard Clarke -- WALLACE: That is not true. CLINTON: Richard Clarke made it clear in his testimony -- WALLACE: Would you like to talk about the Clinton Global Initiative? CLINTON: No, I want to finish this thing. WALLACE: All right. And finish the thing, Clinton did. Again, one of the smartest moves the Republicans could make would be to figure out how to keep Clinton out of the country on his global initiative from now till election day.
in Bill Clinton Comments |
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Army extends troops' Iraq
duty yet again -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4213417.html By ROBERT BURNS AP Military Writer WASHINGTON — The Army is stretched so thin by the war in Iraq that it is again extending the combat tours of thousands of soldiers beyond the promised 12 months _ the second such move since August. Soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division had been expecting to return to their home base in Germany in mid-January. Instead, they will stay an extra 46 days in Iraq, until late February, the Pentagon announced Monday. The soldiers are operating in western Anbar province, one of the most violent parts of Iraq. The Pentagon also announced that the 4th
Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division will deploy to Iraq 30 days earlier
than scheduled, starting in late October. The announcement did
not say why the speedup was deemed necessary, but three officials
who spoke on condition of anonymity said it is part of a plan
to beef up forces in Baghdad, where U.S. and Iraqi troops are
struggling to contain insurgent and sectarian violence. |
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Iraq war fuels Islamic radicals:
retired U.S. general -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenew....&archived=False WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The conduct of the Iraq war fueled Islamic fundamentalism across the globe and created more enemies for the United States, a retired U.S. Army general who served in the conflict said on Monday. The views of retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste buttressed an assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies, which intelligence officials said concluded the war had inspired Islamist extremists and made the militant movement more dangerous. The Iraq conflict, which began in March 2003, made "America arguably less safe now than it was on September 11, 2001," Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-2005, told a hearing on the war called by U.S. Senate Democrats.
"If we had seriously laid out and
considered the full range of requirements for the war in Iraq,
we would likely have taken a different course of action that
would have maintained a clear focus on our main effort in Afghanistan,
not fueled Islamic fundamentalism across the globe, and not created
more enemies than there were insurgents," Batiste said. |
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FDA Say Pressured by Bush
Administration Policies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by Richard Johnson Critics have asserted that the Bush Administration has used political pressure and a public relations strategy to define their own brand of science during George Bush, Jr.'s term as U.S. president. According to findings released by two public interest groups, scientistsand staff members working for the Food and Drug Administration say political and commercial pressures are compromising their mission to provide truthful and accurate public health and safety information. The Union of Concerned Scientists and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said their survey of 997 FDA staff members suggests the"culture of science is under attack and struggling at the FDA." "Science must be the driving force for decisions made at the FDA. These disturbing survey results make it clear that inappropriate interference isputting people in harm's way," said Francesca Grifo, a senior scientistwith the Union of Concerned Scientists. In a statement the FDA disputed the conclusions and cast aspersions on thesurvey. "The survey is highly unscientific, with a number of leading questions and innuendo, and it is unclear what percentage of those who replied to it areactually involved in scientific decision making here at FDA," agency spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said. The survey found about 17 percent of respondents said they had been askedto exclude or alter technical information in an FDA documents, and morethan 40 percent said they knew of cases where political appointees hadinappropriately involved themselves in cases where they had commercial interests. read at source: http://www.market-day.net/article_28228/....on-Policies.php |
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Musharraf: Iraq war makes
world more dangerous -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/26/musharraf.terror/index.html (CNN) -- The war in Iraq has not made the world safer from terror, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has told CNN, saying he stands by statements on the subject he makes in his new book, "In the Line of Fire." In the book, Musharraf -- a key ally who is often portrayed as being in complete agreement with U.S. President George W. Bush on the war on terror and other issues -- writes he never supported the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. "I stand by it, absolutely,"
Musharraf told CNN's "The Situation Room." Asked whether
he disagreed with Bush, he said, "I've stated whatever I
had to ... it [the war] has made the world a more dangerous place." |
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PETITIONS: Royalton supervisor
candidate pleads guilty in election fraud -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Tasha Kates/katest@gnnewspaper.com read at source: http://www.lockportjournal.com/local/local_story_268222429.html The fifth person implicated in a string of election petition fraud cases has admitted he left his Republican petitions on the counter of his business. William N. Dust Sr., 65, 7858 Chestnut Ridge Road, Town of Royalton, pleaded guilty Monday to attempted misconduct in relation to campaign petitions. District Attorney Matthew Murphy said Dust reportedly left the Republican designating petitions on the counter of Olear’s Inc. Three people signed statements saying they had signed the petitions for the Royalton Town Supervisor spot July 14, 2005, without Dust’s watchful eye. A phone call to Dust was not immediately returned. Dust is the first Republican to plead guilty
in the fraud cases. Wilson supervisor candidate Edward Hastings,
county Legislature candidate William Boulden of Pendleton, state
senator candidate Matthew Bova and Anne Riester, wife of Pendleton
Supervisor James Riester, have already pleaded guilty. |
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Clinton tells Blair's party
to avoid Democrats fat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/27/uk.clinton.labour.ap/index.html MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton sought to boost the badly divided Labour Party Wednesday, warning supporters that if they let Britons take the government's achievements for granted the party could suffer the fate of America's defeated Democrats. Delegates at Labour's annual conference gave a celebrity's welcome to a president they love far better than the current one, George W. Bush, who is widely despised in the party. Clinton charmed a packed auditorium with a 40-minute speech in which he lavished praise on Prime Minister Tony Blair and Treasury chief Gordon Brown, Blair's likely successor. He said that because Labour had been so successful in strengthening Britain's economy and modernizing its society, there was a danger that voters would assume the improvements were "just a part of the landscape" and that any party that came to power would make similar choices. "I have been there," he said,
recalling that his administration had cut America's deficit drastically
only to watch it balloon after Bush took office. "I say
that to remind you that it can change quickly." |
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The Odd Id and Fat Superego
of George Bush -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Odd Id and Fat Superego of George Bush by Missy Comley Beattie http://www.opednews.com read at source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_missy_co_060926_the_odd_id_and_fat_s.htm Daily, the reality becomes more distorted. Our president calls others "evildoers" because they kill civilians and, then, he retaliates, slaughtering another country's civilians-a country that had nothing to do with the original carnage. How can we condone acts of atrocity and call ourselves good? The National Intelligence Estimate has reported that the war in Iraq not only has increased terrorism but, actually, has spawned a new generation of terrorists. Meanwhile, George Bush and the Republicans are campaigning in the run up to the November elections, exploiting the electorate by using fear with the utterly outlandish lies that only they can protect us from those who wish to harm us on our own soil-this homeland that they have done so little to secure. Meanwhile, the hapless Democrats are slinking around like pimply-faced adolescents with low self esteem, afraid to show a smidgen of chutzpah lest they seem soft on terror, lest they open themselves to criticism, lest they show their huge deficits of confidence. Karl Rove, the diabolical genius, is, well, a diabolical genius, providing twisted therapy to George. Let's call him Frank Lloyd Wrong, the "architect" of Bushian psychology. He strokes W's id, that pleasure principle, the part of the personality that says, "I want what I want and I want it now regardless of the consequences." When George demands something, nothing else matters. Cindy Sheehan asked for an audience with Bush. He, of course, refused to meet with her to answer her question about the noble cause for which her son and now more than 2,700 United States troops have died. Instead, the president said it was important for him to go on with his life. No thought of Casey Sheehan's life or Cindy Sheehan's grief. In other words, the second component of personality, the ego, that piece recognizing other people's needs, is undeveloped in George Bush. Forget Bush's superego-he either doesn't have this essential or it's morbidly obese. The superego is the element of personality that dictates conscience-right and wrong. If it becomes too massive, a person is motivated by moral rigidity. Sound familiar? That's an affirmative. George W. Bush, the 'DECIDER' said, 'I've earned capital in this election and I'm going to spend it.' He certainly has. He's frivolously spent the lives of our troops and Iraqis in a war that has inspired terrorism all over the globe and hatred of Americans throughout the world while squandering any money that could have funded education, homeland security, health care, and relief from natural disasters. Fear led Americans to trust this failed president. Perhaps, fear of his policies will lead us to demand peace and justice. Finally.
Missy Beattie lives in New York City. She's
written for National Public Radio and Nashville Life Magazine.
An outspoken critic of the Bush Administration and the war in
Iraq, she's a member of Gold Star Families for Peace. She completed
a novel last year, but since the death of her nephew, Marine
Lance Cpl. Chase J. Comley, in Iraq on August 6,'05, she has
been writing political articles. |
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Pollster: Bush 2000 win due
to media calling race -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_ham...._calling_race/ CONCORD, N.H. --A former national pollster argues in his new book that Al Gore really won the 2000 presidential election, but premature calls by the media for George Bush took Gore's victory away. Moore, a former University of New Hampshire professor, said he knows his premise is a "hard sell" and insists the book is not partisan. His former bosses -- the Gallup Poll -- disagreed and fired him after he told them about the book last spring, he said. Gallup General Counsel Steve O'Brien told the Concord Monitor on Wednesday that writing the book was a "colossally stupid" thing for Moore to do given the polling firm's nonpartisan mission. O'Brien scoffed at the idea that any book with such a title could be impartial. Moore disagrees and believes he was being "as objective as you can be about what really happened." "All I do is present evidence about how an election was stolen," he said. Moore founded the University of New Hampshire Survey Center in the 1970s but left in 1993 to take a job with the Gallup Poll. His book focuses on the people who analyzed the votes for network television in 2000. He argues that the networks too quickly put Florida in Bush's win column -- effectively giving him the electoral votes needed for victory and influencing the ultimate outcome when the fight over who won Florida went to court. Moore said even though the networks rescinded the call within hours, Gore looked like a sore loser for seeking a recount in Florida. That impression influenced not only public opinion but also judicial outlook, making it possible for the U.S. Supreme Court to shut down the recount, Moore argues. Fox called the race for Bush at 2:15 a.m. NBC followed, then CBS/CNN's joint team and finally ABC. Two hours later, they all retracted that projection. Moore also noted Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is Bush's brother and a cousin, John Ellis, was on Fox's team that called the race. Ellis said he made the call by looking at the vote tallies and making back-of-the-envelope calculations. "Why would Jeb Bush care whether Fox
called it at 2:15 in the morning or at 8:15 in the morning? Why
would he care?" Moore told the Monitor. "Why would
you care if you know you're going to win, if you absolutely know
you're going to win, does it matter whether Fox calls it? Of
course not." |
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Ramadan Holy Month -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read full thread at source: http://www.clubvibes.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=428971 the US needs to impeach and remove bush
and company, get out of Iraq, install an International UN flagged
security force and apologize that America allowed Bush to break
international laws to illegally invade that country and pay reparations
and say sorry they were wrong and hope to God or Allah or whoever
these people respect that these people over there forgive them
for breaking international laws, fabricating a bunch of bullshxt,
invading their sovereign country and killing and injuring hundreds
and thousands of their people.. in regards to Bush spouting crap
about this being some sort democratic cut and run.. its nothing
but taking proper steps and positive progress towards fixing
the retarded crap Bush got america into in the first place. People
need to wake up and not be so hypnotized by what this guy says
all the time.. people should just disregard pretty much anything
he says as bullshxt and contrary to the interests of everyday
americans and that anything he does do is really to benefit and
enrich himself and his oil energy, war profiteering and drug
pharmaceutical friends he has under the table kickbacks with
and that theres more than enough obvious in your face evidence
to show that this is true and that he almost enjoys ****ing over
his own people. This guy and his other criminal friends in the
administration are nothing but a bunch of lying crooks who are
laughing at how gullible and sheeplike common americans are.
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Iraq situation is 'dire,'
says Straw -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/29/iraq.straw/index.html LONDON, England (CNN) -- The current situation in Iraq is "dire" according to former British foreign secretary Jack Straw. Straw -- now the leader of Britain's House of Commons -- blamed "mistakes" made by the U.S. administration in the aftermath of the invasion for the current problems. "The current situation is dire," he said during an appearance on BBC1's Question Time. "I think many mistakes were made after the military action -- there is no question about it -- by the United States administration. "Why? Because they failed to follow
the lead of Secretary (of State, Colin) Powell. |
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