Pushing American Election Strategies in Iraq


Rumsfeld was asked about his comments today on the fact that many Iraqis coud possibly be excluded from voting in the upcoming election in their country:

"Well, so be it. Nothing's perfect in life, so you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet," he said.

This strategy seems to be taken right from the US elections of 2000 where many blacks in Florida were kept from voting because of murky laws that state you can't vote if you have a criminal record. Many were barred because they had the same names (and in some cases if the names were even spelled somewhat similar) as others who were on the blacklist (no pun intended).

If you don't want certain people (who would traditionaly vote against you) to be allowed to vote, then make up rules and bend the ones that are there to help you out.

Bush and his buddies know all about imperfect elections.




- posted by Kevin@1:26 PM

 
Blinded By Ignorance





- posted by Kevin@9:51 PM

 
"Soundtrack To War" - Americans In Iraq Live In A Fantasy World





- posted by Kevin@10:04 PM

 



- posted by Kevin@12:42 AM

 
Families In Baghdad Should Start Lining Up At America's Door

I love this story....I feel bad for both families and their losses, but I hope the American families win this lawsuit. I heard on the radio just now, that the Americans are suing for $10 million and that they said that it is not about money, it's about justice.

If the Americans win this battle, then it will (I hope) legally open the door for all kinds of lawsuits. This could then pave the way for the families of thousands of Iraqis that have suffered wrongful deaths as the result of a wrongful invasion and massacre. What's the difference? I see no difference. Let's make sure this gets done. It's not about money, it's about getting justice!

Note: As I had just finished this article, Sgt. Morris had just been interviewed by a radio journalist and was asked if he was injured in the battle with Khadr....he wouldn't answer the question. I find that interesting. Also, when asked about the fact that they had been shooting at Khadr for 45 minutes before Khadr retaliated and why shouldn't he have the right to fight back, his reply was "....I don't know what that has to do with anything."

- posted by Kevin@6:10 PM

 
My Message For George W.
I was once asked "If you knew Dubya was to read your blog, what would you say?"

Hmmmmm......I guess this was the first thing that came to my mind:


........................./´¯/)
......................,/¯..//
...................../..../ /
............./´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
........../'/.../..../......./¨¯
........('(...´(..´.(....(~/'...')
.........\.................\/..../
..........''...\.......... _.·´
............\..............(
..............\.............

Translation: F**k you.



- posted by Kevin@9:45 PM

 
Dubya Should Learn To Just Shut His Mouth


"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

- George W. Bush (AT THE SIGNING OF H.R. 4613, THE DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005)



Thank you Mr. Moore for finding this gem.



- posted by Kevin@7:29 PM

 
Federal Agents Raid Mosque in Albany
ALBANY, N.Y. — Federal agents and Albany police raided a Muslim mosque overnight Wednesday and arrested two men for helping someone they thought was a terrorist, a law enforcement official confirmed to FOX News on Thursday.


The article goes on to say:

“A block of downtown Albany was sealed off with armed officers for several hours after the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agents executed search warrants at the Masjid As-Salam mosque and two Albany-area residences, officials said.”

I have a problem with the way FOX has reported this story.

First of all, by adding a link to the mosque’s website (and street address), FOX has given all the racist rednecks that read the news from this biased and agenda driven news source, a way to verbally attack and abuse the many innocent Muslim people that are associated with this religious establishment. I thought that America was working to limit the amount of religious hatred that would no doubt be occurring due to 9/11 and the (wrongful) invasion of Iraq.

Secondly, FOX even mocks the mosque’s name by translating the name in their story. “Some mosque members held morning prayers Thursday on a nearby sidewalk since they weren't allowed to enter the building, which is located at 276 Central Ave. near the corner of N. Lake Ave., just a few blocks from Washington Park. The mosque's name means "mosque of peace." FOX didn’t have to do this. They never translated any other Arabic names in the story, so why do that one? The only reason they did it was to mock the Muslim religion, thus inciting hatred against them by closed-minded idiots who think all Muslims are terrorists. This serves no good purpose!


As far as the FBI goes, I’d like to know why these men ”had been under surveillance for some time” was it due to a credible threat that was initially uncovered, or just because of racial profiling? The story goes on to say “They were picked up Thursday morning because of law enforcement's concern that the two were flight risks; one of the men reportedly tried to buy a plane ticket recently.” There were no other details as to why they were a flight risk. Was it just because they were Muslim men trying to fly somewhere? How many people are being monitored just because they are flying somewhere? I would love to see those stats. I’m sure it would shock a great many people.


FOX News' Liza Porteus and Anna Stolley have pretty much labelled these guys “guilty as charged” as soon as they were arrested and have helped to increase the hatred towards Muslims by their flagrant mockery of the Muslim religion by the way they wrote this story.

But then again, this is FOX, so why should I expect anything different. Unfortunately the idiots that abound in the USA will take these types of stories as “the truth and nothing but” and carry on the anti-Muslim sentiment that is constantly growing in the uneducated parts of America (which occupy a vastly expanding area).





- posted by Kevin@7:00 PM

 
The Real Reason Disney Had To Dump Moore's "Fahrenheit 911"
I copied this part of Michael Moore's speech when he was in Boston for the Democrat's convention:


"......this whole experience with Disney not releasing the film and it's like what--you know, the film has gone on now to make more money than any Disney film this year. And it's like--(applause)--it shocked me at the time, because the way I have been able to get my work out there over the years is that usually when the media companies, greed always supercedes politics or personal animosity toward me. Oh, I can't stand the guy. Oh, how many books did he sell last week? Well, ok. Print a few more. You know this incredible flaw of capitalism that has always worked in my favor. [laughter] You know the old saying that the rich man will sell you the hope to hang yourself with if he can make a dollar off it? That will eventually be their undoing. But this time it didn't happen. This time a film made for a very small amount of money that will now make, you know, at least a quarter billion dollars around the world by the time it's done, [cheers] the greed didn't motivate them to release this film. I couldn't figure it out for the longest time and it took a Canadian journalist to finally do the story and thank god for the Canadians, you know? (applause) they are just like us. Only better. [laughter] They are sort of like the red sox. You know? Their time will come. They like us. The Canadians really do like us. They just wish we would read a little more and--but it took a Canadian journalist to write that perhaps one of the problems that Mr. Moore had with Disney is the fact that the Saudi world family owns almost 17% of Euro-Disney. And that in 1994, Prince Walid, one of the richest men in the world, and a member of the Saudi Royal Family, wrote Michael Eisner and Disney a check for over $300 million to bail out Euro-Disney. And the people that helped put the thing together to bring the two together was a company called the Carlisle group. Now my film was already done, you know, but I was like can it get any worse? Are they everywhere? But no journalist will ask Mr. Eisner or Disney the question: will that have anything to do with the decision because their good friends maybe don't look that good in this movie. But this is what, just a small example of what we have come to expect. But the good news is that things are going to change very soon."

It all becomes very clear.....thank you Michael Moore.



- posted by Kevin@3:07 AM

 
How About This For NRA Mentality:
Here are a few brain cramps that I found on one of the National Rifle Association websites called "The NRA Fact Sheet":


"Gun bans can't reduce crime: Guns are used in only one-quarter of violent crimes reported to police." (I guess that 1/4 of the crimes in a country of over 300 million people is insignificant to them)

"FBI reports contradict the Violence Policy Center's claim about "assault weapons" and the police. FBI incident summaries indicate that the guns are rarely used to kill police officers." (...but I guess regular guns that kill police are just fine and dandy?)

"'Gun control' supporters are wrong, in trying to exploit the D.C. "sniper" and Columbine crimes. The gun used in D.C., and three of the guns used in Columbine, were not 'assault weapons.' Also, in each of the D.C. crimes only one shot was fired, and in Columbine the killers fired slowly, moving casually between victims. The guns used in these crimes had no bearing on their outcomes." ("...the killers fired slowly, moving casually between victims." Is it just me? Or am I the only one that recognizes that the victims were still killed by kids who had easy access to GUNS and AMMUNITION? Who cares how fast they fast they shot at them!)

"Semi-automatics are not machine guns. Machine guns have been regulated by the National Firearms Act since 1934. By comparison, semi-automatics, like other guns, fire only one shot at a time." (....one shot at a time and as fast as you can pull the trigger, which can be just as fast as a machine gun. Nice try idiots!)

- posted by Kevin@10:00 PM

 
Neo-Conservative Hawks Are At It Again


What the Bush administration has been saying lately:

"The US claimed Iran allowed eight al-Qaida future airplane hijackers to pass through Iran from Afghanistan between seven and 11 months prior to the attacks on America."

"Unnamed senior Bush administration officials also claim Iran proposed collaborating with al-Qaida in 2000, but was rejected by Osama bin Laden. 'Maybe we attacked the wrong country'."


Here are a few counterpoints from columnist Eric Margolis that I strongly agree with:

"There has been no real evidence produced that Iran knew of the 9/11 attacks or assisted them. In fact, the Bush administration has still never produced the white paper promised by Colin Powell in late 2001 proving bin Laden and al-Qaida were behind 9/11."

"Why would Iran, knowing it was in Bush's gunsights, join in a monstrous terrorist attack that, if linked to Tehran, could have conceivably brought U.S. nuclear retaliation?"

"The Iran-Afghan border is 1,000 km of wild, broken terrain that is extremely difficult to police. Large numbers of smugglers cross this border on countless hidden trails, bringing hashish and gems into Iran. The U.S., with fleets of planes, helicopters and sensors, cannot stop a flood of undocumented Mexicans crossing its own southwestern borders. Why should the poorly equipped Iranians do any better?"

"Didn't these same 9/11 hijackers also enter the U.S. unchallenged? Of course. They slipped unnoticed into Iran and the U.S. No one knew their intentions."

"But far more important are two key facts that most media and the government aren't telling you: Iran and al-Qaida were bitter enemies."

In Afghanistan, al-Qaida ardently backed the Pushtun-dominated, Sunni Taliban movement, which hated Shia as heretics and killed large numbers of them. Shia Iran (and Russia) armed and supported the Taliban's greatest foe, Ahmad Shah Massoud and his Northern Alliance, composed of Dari (a Persian dialect)-speaking Tajiks, Afghan communists, and Shia. Massoud was a long-time collaborator with Soviet/Russian intelligence.

"After the Taliban killed a group of Iranian intelligence agents, Iran almost invaded Afghanistan to overthrow them. Just before 9/11, al-Qaida assassinated Massoud."

"Iran quietly aided the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan that overthrew the Taliban, and jailed scores of al-Qaida members, including one of bin Laden's sons."

"This column has long predicted the Bush administration would orchestrate a pre-election crisis over Iran designed to whip up patriotic fervour in the U.S. and distract public and media attention from the Iraq fiasco."

"The growing clamour over Iran's nuclear intentions, with rumblings about air strikes against Iran's reactors in the fall, may prove to be a part of just such a manufactured crisis."




- posted by Kevin@2:24 PM

 
Celebrity Feedback





The positive feedback about Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 911" by people all over the world has been overwhelming. Below are just a few samples of what has been said. You can view all the quotes HERE.


Rob Reiner: "I think this is one of the most important films ever made. It has the potential of actually affecting the election, and if it does, it will change the world. There are very few films or works of art that have a profound effect on world affairs," he said, mentioning "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang." "But this actually has a chance to change the world."

Tom Hanks: "I want Michael Moore to have my seven bucks for that movie."

Princess Caroline of Monaco to Michael Moore: "My mother would have been so proud of your movie."

Bill Clinton: "I think every American ought to see it."

Leonardo DiCaprio: "I think a lot of people are going to be talking about this film. And I think a lot more people who are on the fence about who to vote for, after they see the film, they'll be solidified in their vote."

John Fogerty: "With the Michael Moore movie, certain conservative talk show hosts call him un-American. Him and anybody else who says anything about the war. .... To question your country's policy, especially in a war that kills people, is definitely not un-American. It's probably the most patriotic thing you can do."

Madonna: "I don't think I ever cried so hard at a movie in my life. I urge each and every one of you to see it."




- posted by Kevin@2:31 PM

 
Blundering Bush



 
"Fool me once, shame on…shame on…you; fool me…you can't get fooled again."

This is the soon to be legendary quote by George W. that closes the documentary "Fahrenheit 911" by Michael Moore.  I've seen this film twice now.

Please see it....especially if you're an American.  Here's a useful tip for the people to the south of me (I'm Canadian): 

In November; let's not make the same mistake twice, OK guys?

 
Here are a few links that I find very laughable and troubling at the same time:

The George W. Bush  air force bust.

The "52 Reasons" deck of George W playing cards.
  
 



- posted by Kevin@9:31 PM

 
A Silver Lining For The Bush Campaign?

"Embattled U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday he feels "terrible" about the gruesome torture of Iraqi prisoners on his watch, wants to compensate them and warned there are many more graphic photos, even videos, of abuse the world hasn't seen."

I'm afraid to say that this may even help Bush in the long run. These acts torture and humiliation were done by soldiers "supposedly" of their own will. With Rumsfeld and Bush apologizing and saying they "feel terrible" for someone else's actions and wanting to compensate the victims because of all this, it gives the administration the appearance of a more humanitarian and sympathetic side which they haven't had before. It will no doubt garner some votes from people who don't follow the news beyond what they are fed by Fox, CNN, and the like.

Somewhere out there a Bush campaign manager is smiling....




- posted by Kevin@11:42 AM

 
Disney Has Blocked the Distribution of My New Film... By Michael Moore

This is a disturbing bit of news that I found on Michael's website tonight:


"Yesterday I was told that Disney, the studio that owns Miramax, has officially decided to prohibit our producer, Miramax, from distributing my new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." The reason? According to today's (May 5) New York Times, it might "endanger" millions of dollars of tax breaks Disney receives from the state of Florida because the film will "anger" the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. The story is on page one of the Times and you can read it here (Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush).

There is much more to tell, but right now I am in the lab working on the print to take to the Cannes Film Festival next week (we have been chosen as one of the 18 films in competition). I will tell you this: Some people may be afraid of this movie because of what it will show. But there's nothing they can do about it now because it's done, it's awesome, and if I have anything to say about it, you'll see it this summer -- because, after all, it is a free country."



I hope this movie makes it out this summer or fall, because it will become a major weapon in the fight to send Bush back to his ranch in Texas (where he spends most of his time anyway). This movie should be successful in bringing out people who wouldn't normally vote and to swing the vote in the Democrat's favour.




- posted by Kevin@12:10 AM

 
Does This Wolfowitz Jackass Even Give A Shit?

WASHINGTON - Asked how many American troops have died in Iraq, the Pentagon's No. 2 civilian estimated Thursday the total was about 500 — more than 200 soldiers short.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was asked about the toll at a hearing of a House Appropriations subcommittee. "It's approximately 500, of which — I can get the exact numbers — approximately 350 are combat deaths," he responded.

American deaths Thursday were at 722 — 521 of them from combat — since the start of military operations in Iraq last year, according to the Department of Defense.




- posted by Kevin@11:51 PM

 
History Doomed To Repeat Itself?

The so-called VOTING REFORM

"The nascent Election Assistance Commission (EAC) (created in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the 2000 election debacle) holds its first meeting on electronic voting today. Unfortunately, the commission is "so woefully underfunded it can't be expected to forestall widespread voting machine problems, which would cast doubt on the election's integrity." To date the Bush administration has provided only $1.2 million of the $10 million appropriated by Congress. The funding shortfall has "forced the EAC to abandon or delay much of its intended mission." For example, according to a report it released Friday, the commission "won't be able to develop a national system for testing voting machines." Moreover, most of the $3.9 billion in federal money designated to help states improve their voting systems for the 2004 election has yet to be distributed."

Does this bullshit surprise you? Not me! I expected such criminal behavior by the Bush administration. They need all the help they can get to try and retain the Whitehouse. He didn't get elected the first time around, so what makes you think he would try and "win" it fairly this time?



- posted by Kevin@11:46 PM

 
It's Always About Politics And Never About Lives


Sinclair Broadcast Group has ordered its seven ABC stations not to broadcast Friday's "Nightline" that will air the names and photographs of the more than 500 U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war.

In a statement online, the Sinclair group said the "Nightline" program " appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq."

According to campaign finance records, four of Sinclair's top executives each have given the maximum campaign contribution of $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. The executives have not given any donations to the campaign of Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, the records showed.

You tell me what's more politically motivated: The airing of the show or the attempts to block it. Judging by the financial contributions, I think it has now become obvious.

I find it funny how politically motivated these CEO types are; giving the maximum to one party and nothing to the other. $2,000 is nothing to them. It's would be like me throwing a nickel to a homeless person. The amount of money is so insignificant that is doesn't matter what you do with it. Yet most executives in the USA would never give money to the Democrats, yet if they do contribute, it's usually 10 - 20 percent to the Dems and the rest to Republicans.

This could be one of the many reasons why Bush is so loved by executives.





- posted by Kevin@12:22 PM

 
Bob Woodward's New Book "Plan Of Attack" and his Bush interviews:


Below is an excerpt from A "60 Minutes" interview with author Bob Woodward that absolutely shocks me. One major point is that Colin Powell is informed about the decision to go to war AFTER Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador has been told and given an unbelievable amount of access to the "inner circle's" plans.

The following is a reprint of the most amazing part of the article and I had to put it all here for people to read. IT IS A MUST READ:


On Dec. 21, 2002, Woodward says CIA Director George Tenet brought his deputy, John McLaughlin, to the oval office to show the president and the vice president their best evidence that Saddam really had weapons of mass destruction.

”McLaughlin has access to all the satellite photos, and he goes in and he has flip charts in the oval office. The president listens to all of this and McLaughlin's done. And, and the president kind of, as he's inclined to do, says ‘Nice try, but that isn't gonna sell Joe Public. That isn't gonna convince Joe Public,’” says Woodward.

In his book, Woodward writes: "The presentation was a flop. The photos were not gripping. The intercepts were less than compelling. And then George Bush turns to George Tenet and says, 'This is the best we've got?'"

Says Woodward: “George Tenet's sitting on the couch, stands up, and says, ‘Don't worry, it's a slam dunk case.’" And the president challenges him again and Tenet says, ‘The case, it's a slam dunk.’ ...I asked the president about this and he said it was very important to have the CIA director – ‘Slam-dunk is as I interpreted is a sure thing, guaranteed. No possibility it won't go through the hoop.’ Others present, Cheney, very impressed.”

What did Woodward think of Tenet’s statement? “It’s a mistake,” he says. “Now the significance of that mistake - that was the key rationale for war.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was just two weeks later when the president decided to go to war.

“That decision was first conveyed to Condi Rice in early January 2003 when he said, ‘We're gonna have to go. It's war.’ He was frustrated with the weapons inspections. He had promised the United Nations and the world and the country that either the UN would disarm Saddam or he, George Bush, would do it and do it alone if necessary,” says Woodward. “So he told Condi Rice. He told Rumsfeld. He knew Cheney wanted to do this. And they realized they haven’t told Colin Powell, the Secretary of State.”

“So Condi Rice said, ‘You better call Colin in and tell him.’ So, I think probably one of the most interesting meetings in this whole story. He calls Colin Powell in alone, sitting in those two famous chairs in the Oval Office and the president said, ‘Looks like war. I'm gonna have to do this,’” adds Woodward.

“And then Powell says to him, somewhat in a chilly way, ‘Are you aware of the consequences?’ Because he'd been pounding for months on the president, on everyone - and Powell directly says, ‘You know, you're gonna be owning this place.’ And the president says, ‘I understand that.’ The president knows that Powell is the one who doesn't want to go to war. He says, ‘Will you be with me?’ And Powell, the soldier, 35 years in the army, the president has decided and he says, ‘I'll do my best. Yes, Mr. President. I'll be with you.’” And then, the president says, ‘Time to put your war uniform on.’"

Woodward says he described Powell as semi-despondent “because he knew that this was a war that might have been avoided. That’s why he spent so much time at the United Nations.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But, it turns out, two days before the president told Powell, Cheney and Rumsfeld had already briefed Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador.

”Saturday, Jan. 11, with the president's permission, Cheney and Rumsfeld call Bandar to Cheney's West Wing office, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Myers, is there with a top-secret map of the war plan. And it says, ‘Top secret. No foreign.’ No foreign means no foreigners are supposed to see this,” says Woodward.

“They describe in detail the war plan for Bandar. And so Bandar, who's skeptical because he knows in the first Gulf War we didn't get Saddam out, so he says to Cheney and Rumsfeld, ‘So Saddam this time is gonna be out, period?’ And Cheney - who has said nothing - says the following: ‘Prince Bandar, once we start, Saddam is toast.’"

After Bandar left, according to Woodward, Cheney said, “I wanted him to know that this is for real. We're really doing it."

But this wasn’t enough for Prince Bandar, who Woodward says wanted confirmation from the president. “Then, two days later, Bandar is called to meet with the president and the president says, ‘Their message is my message,’” says Woodward.

Prince Bandar enjoys easy access to the Oval Office. His family and the Bush family are close. And Woodward told 60 Minutes that Bandar has promised the president that Saudi Arabia will lower oil prices in the months before the election - to ensure the U.S. economy is strong on election day.

Woodward says that Bandar understood that economic conditions were key before a presidential election: “They’re [oil prices] high. And they could go down very quickly. That's the Saudi pledge. Certainly over the summer, or as we get closer to the election, they could increase production several million barrels a day and the price would drop significantly.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For his book, Woodward interviewed 75 top military and Bush administration officials, including two long interviews with the president himself. Mr. Bush spoke on the record, but others talked to Woodward on condition that he not reveal their identities.



NOTE:On the 60 Minutes link I provided in my blog story, click on the video link on the top left side of the CBS page called "How History Will Judge Bush". It is pretty unbelievable what comes out of Bush's mouth. Now I fully understand why he doesn't give many press conferences.

I viewed the rest of the short video clips on the right side menu (under the "Multimedia" heading) as well. The video is nice and clear and the interviews are amazing.

This is a book I'm going to have to buy tomorrow.





- posted by Kevin@11:31 PM

 
God Made Me Do It


Here are a few passages from a "60 Minutes" interview with writer Bob Woodward. He has had intimate and exclusive access to Bush for quite some time now. His new book paints some terrifying pictures of how Bush's mind works:

About going to war with Iraq: Did Mr. Bush ask his father for any advice? "I asked the president about this. And President Bush said, 'Well no,' and then he got defensive about it," says Woodward. "And then he said something that really struck me. He said of his father, 'He is the wrong father to appeal to for advice. The wrong father to go to, to appeal to in terms of strength.' And then he said, 'There's a higher father that I appeal to.'"

Going into this period, I was praying for strength to do the Lord's will. I'm surely not going to justify the war based on God. . . Nevertheless, in my case I pray that I be as good a messenger of His will as possible. And then of course I pray for personal strength and forgiveness.

Says Woodward, succinctly, of Bush: "He's not an intellectual." He's not. But Woodward makes clear that Bush is perfectly capable of disguising his godly work from people who disagree, such as Colin Powell, who wasn't told of the decision to go to war even after war planning was well underway:
And there's this low boil on Iraq until the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 21, 2001. This is 72 days after 9/11. This is part of this secret history. President Bush, after a National Security Council meeting, takes Don Rumsfeld aside, collars him physically, and takes him into a little cubbyhole room and closes the door and says, "What have you got in terms of plans for Iraq? What is the status of the war plan? I want you to get on it. I want you to keep it secret."




- posted by Kevin@11:09 PM