From TomDispatch.com :
American Grand Delusions
Why the Testimony of General Petraeus Will Be Delusional
By Tom Engelhardt
Yes, their defensive zone is the planet and they patrol it regularly. As ever, their planes and drones have been in the skies these last weeks. They struck a village in Somalia, tribal areas in Pakistan, rural areas in Afghanistan, and urban neighborhoods in Iraq. Their troops are training and advising the Iraqi army and police as well as the new Afghan army, while their Special Operations forces are planning to train Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps in that country's wild, mountainous borderlands.
Their Vice President arrived in Baghdad not long before the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched its recent (failed) offensive against cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in the southern oil city of Basra. To "discuss" their needs in their President's eternal War on Terror, two of their top diplomats, a deputy secretary of state and an assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs, arrived in Pakistan -- to the helpless outrage of the local press -- on the very day newly elected Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani was being given the oath of office. ("I don't think it is a good idea for them to be here on this particular day… right here in Islamabad, meeting with senior politicians in the new government, trying to dictate terms..." was the way Zaffar Abbas, editor of the newspaper ! Dawn, put it.)
At home, their politicians have nationally televised debates in which they fervently discuss just how quickly they would launch air assaults against Pakistan's tribal areas, without permission from the Pakistani government but based on "actionable intelligence" on terrorists.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174914/the_natives_of_planet_earth
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Thursday, April 03, 2008
In Iraq, Sadr rules...
From Inter Press Service via truthout.org:
"Handed Over" to a Government Called Sadr
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040308B.shtml
Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail, reporting for Inter Press Service, write, "Despite the huge media campaign led by U.S. officials and a complicit corporate-controlled media to convince the world of U.S. success in Iraq, emerging facts on the ground show massive failure."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
"Handed Over" to a Government Called Sadr
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040308B.shtml
Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail, reporting for Inter Press Service, write, "Despite the huge media campaign led by U.S. officials and a complicit corporate-controlled media to convince the world of U.S. success in Iraq, emerging facts on the ground show massive failure."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
In the matter of the Prez Candidates & religion....
An excerpt from:
http://morialekafa.blogspot.com/
The MSM pundits are starting to claim that Obama is going to suffer from his connection to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. The Brafia is going to repeat this over and over and Obama will continue to have to deal with it.
I don’t think this will fly for the Brafia because both Hillary and McCain are too vulnerable themselves. Remember that Hillary belongs to the “Fellowship,” a secret religious-type organization whose membership is composed mostly of ultra-right wingers, and she has belonged for quite a long time. Not only that the Pastor of the church she apparently attends has been indicted for child sexual abuse.
McCain is getting support from two or more of the most far out wingnuts there are, Magee and Parsons. These two make the Reverend Wright look like a schoolboy. While we aren’t hearing much about them from the MSM at the moment, that cannot last if they continue to focus on Obama/Wright.
[Use link above to read entire post]
Wrap...
http://morialekafa.blogspot.com/
The MSM pundits are starting to claim that Obama is going to suffer from his connection to the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. The Brafia is going to repeat this over and over and Obama will continue to have to deal with it.
I don’t think this will fly for the Brafia because both Hillary and McCain are too vulnerable themselves. Remember that Hillary belongs to the “Fellowship,” a secret religious-type organization whose membership is composed mostly of ultra-right wingers, and she has belonged for quite a long time. Not only that the Pastor of the church she apparently attends has been indicted for child sexual abuse.
McCain is getting support from two or more of the most far out wingnuts there are, Magee and Parsons. These two make the Reverend Wright look like a schoolboy. While we aren’t hearing much about them from the MSM at the moment, that cannot last if they continue to focus on Obama/Wright.
[Use link above to read entire post]
Wrap...
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
From torture to Congressional avatars...
From American Progress:
Think Fast...
In 2003, the Justice Department issued a legal memo "asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes." Former Justice Department lawyer Marty Lederman says the memo "effectively gave the Pentagon the green light to disregard statutory limits on torture" and "maltreatment."
Approximately one-third of U.S. soldiers "in hard-to-reach outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan lack timely access to mental health care, according to Pentagon officials and a recent survey." In Afghanistan, for example, "it can take an average of 40 hours for a psychologist to visit soldiers."
A new BBC World Service poll finds that the U.S. image abroad "has begun to improve after worsening for years, but the United States is still viewed more negatively than the European Union, Brazil, China, India and Russia." According to the new survey, 35 percent of the world believes the United States has a positive influence, but 47 percent still believe its influence is negative.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Army vice chief of staff Gen. Richard A. Cody said the 30,000-plus troop increase in Iraq and Afghanistan is "inflicting 'incredible stress' on soldiers and families and posing" a significant risk to the nation's all-volunteer military."
Six months after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced phased withdrawal from Iraq, "his defense secretary announced on Tuesday that the reduction had been postponed" after recent violence in Basra. The U.K. will maintain about 4,000 troops outside Basra instead of 2,500.
"The Pentagon is expected to shut a controversial intelligence office," known as the Counterintelligence Field Activity office, which has been described by critics as "part of an effort by the Defense Department to expand into domestic spying." In 2005, it was revealed that the office managed a database "that included information about antiwar protests planned at churches, schools and Quaker meeting halls."
Intelligence centers run by states called "fusion centers" have access “to personal information about millions of Americans, including unlisted cellphone numbers, insurance claims, driver's license photographs and credit reports." The centers were created after the 9/11 attacks.
Lawmakers urged Exxon Mobil yesterday to invest more in alternative energy, beyond its $100 million for research at Stanford University. "Does the oil fairy have to show up? ... When are you going to put some real money into it?" said Jay Inslee (D-WA).
And finally: Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's telecommunications subcommittee held a hearing on "online virtual worlds." The hearing was also broadcast online in Second Life, where several avatars -- including a pink cat, winged grasshopper, and "a naked man floating through the air" -- were allowed to participate. Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) noted that his avatar -- named EdMarkey Alter -- looked "like he's been working out." The guest avatars also "kept up a virtual dialogue," adding comments such as "smile," "wave," "hooo!" and "hahahaha."
Wrap...
Think Fast...
In 2003, the Justice Department issued a legal memo "asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes." Former Justice Department lawyer Marty Lederman says the memo "effectively gave the Pentagon the green light to disregard statutory limits on torture" and "maltreatment."
Approximately one-third of U.S. soldiers "in hard-to-reach outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan lack timely access to mental health care, according to Pentagon officials and a recent survey." In Afghanistan, for example, "it can take an average of 40 hours for a psychologist to visit soldiers."
A new BBC World Service poll finds that the U.S. image abroad "has begun to improve after worsening for years, but the United States is still viewed more negatively than the European Union, Brazil, China, India and Russia." According to the new survey, 35 percent of the world believes the United States has a positive influence, but 47 percent still believe its influence is negative.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Army vice chief of staff Gen. Richard A. Cody said the 30,000-plus troop increase in Iraq and Afghanistan is "inflicting 'incredible stress' on soldiers and families and posing" a significant risk to the nation's all-volunteer military."
Six months after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced phased withdrawal from Iraq, "his defense secretary announced on Tuesday that the reduction had been postponed" after recent violence in Basra. The U.K. will maintain about 4,000 troops outside Basra instead of 2,500.
"The Pentagon is expected to shut a controversial intelligence office," known as the Counterintelligence Field Activity office, which has been described by critics as "part of an effort by the Defense Department to expand into domestic spying." In 2005, it was revealed that the office managed a database "that included information about antiwar protests planned at churches, schools and Quaker meeting halls."
Intelligence centers run by states called "fusion centers" have access “to personal information about millions of Americans, including unlisted cellphone numbers, insurance claims, driver's license photographs and credit reports." The centers were created after the 9/11 attacks.
Lawmakers urged Exxon Mobil yesterday to invest more in alternative energy, beyond its $100 million for research at Stanford University. "Does the oil fairy have to show up? ... When are you going to put some real money into it?" said Jay Inslee (D-WA).
And finally: Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's telecommunications subcommittee held a hearing on "online virtual worlds." The hearing was also broadcast online in Second Life, where several avatars -- including a pink cat, winged grasshopper, and "a naked man floating through the air" -- were allowed to participate. Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) noted that his avatar -- named EdMarkey Alter -- looked "like he's been working out." The guest avatars also "kept up a virtual dialogue," adding comments such as "smile," "wave," "hooo!" and "hahahaha."
Wrap...
Intelligence...keep it to ourselves....
From Secrecy News:
DNI ISSUES NEW INFORMATION SHARING STRATEGY
A new "Information Sharing Strategy" from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warns that traditional security practices that restrict disclosure of information have become counterproductive.
"The Intelligence Community's 'need to know' culture, a necessity during the Cold War, is now a handicap that threatens our ability to uncover, respond, and protect against terrorism and other asymmetric threats," the document declares.
The new Strategy defines information sharing goals and as well as near-term and long-term implementation objectives. Goals include uniform government-wide information policies, improved connectivity, and increased inter-agency collaboration.
Notably absent from the document is any role for the public in information sharing. The DNI Strategy has no place for the notion of an engaged citizenry that has intelligence information needs of its own.
A copy of the new Strategy, which has not yet been released, was obtained by Secrecy News. See "U.S. Intelligence Community Information Sharing Strategy, "February 22, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/iss.pdf
In December 2007, DNI McConnell issued Intelligence Community Policy Memorandum (ICPM) 2007-500-3 on "Intelligence Information Sharing." A copy of the document, which has not been publicly released, is here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icpm/2007-500-3.pdf
Two related IC Policy Memoranda, which have been officially released, are these: "Preparing Intelligence to Meet the Intelligence Community's' Responsibility to Provide'," ICPM 2007-200-2, December 11, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icpm/2007-200-2.pdf
"Unevaluated Domestic Threat Tearline Reports," ICPM 007-500-1, November 19, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icpm/2007-500-1.pdf
Wrap...
DNI ISSUES NEW INFORMATION SHARING STRATEGY
A new "Information Sharing Strategy" from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warns that traditional security practices that restrict disclosure of information have become counterproductive.
"The Intelligence Community's 'need to know' culture, a necessity during the Cold War, is now a handicap that threatens our ability to uncover, respond, and protect against terrorism and other asymmetric threats," the document declares.
The new Strategy defines information sharing goals and as well as near-term and long-term implementation objectives. Goals include uniform government-wide information policies, improved connectivity, and increased inter-agency collaboration.
Notably absent from the document is any role for the public in information sharing. The DNI Strategy has no place for the notion of an engaged citizenry that has intelligence information needs of its own.
A copy of the new Strategy, which has not yet been released, was obtained by Secrecy News. See "U.S. Intelligence Community Information Sharing Strategy, "February 22, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/iss.pdf
In December 2007, DNI McConnell issued Intelligence Community Policy Memorandum (ICPM) 2007-500-3 on "Intelligence Information Sharing." A copy of the document, which has not been publicly released, is here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icpm/2007-500-3.pdf
Two related IC Policy Memoranda, which have been officially released, are these: "Preparing Intelligence to Meet the Intelligence Community's' Responsibility to Provide'," ICPM 2007-200-2, December 11, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icpm/2007-200-2.pdf
"Unevaluated Domestic Threat Tearline Reports," ICPM 007-500-1, November 19, 2007:
http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/icpm/2007-500-1.pdf
Wrap...
Navy JAG vs Bush's War Court....
From The Miami Herald:
AT THE WAR COURT
Navy Lawyer: Gitmo trials pegged to political campaign
Posted on Fri, Mar. 28, 2008
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
The Navy lawyer for Osama bin Laden's driver argues in a Guantánamo military commissions motion that senior Pentagon officials are orchestrating war crimes prosecutions for the 2008 campaign.
The Pentagon declined late Friday to address the defense lawyer's allegations, noting that the matter is under litigation.
The brief filed Thursday by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer directly challenged the integrity of President Bush's war court.
Notably, it describes a Sept. 29, 2006, meeting at the Pentagon in which Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, a veteran White House appointee, asked lawyers to consider Sept. 11, 2001, prosecutions in light of the campaign.
''We need to think about charging some of the high-value detainees because there could be strategic political value to charging some of these detainees before the election,'' England is quoted as saying.
A senior Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, declined to address the specifics, saying ``the trial process will surface the facts in this case.''
''It has always been everybody's desire to move as swiftly and deliberately as possible to conduct military commissions,'' he added. ``But I can tell you emphatically that leadership has always been extraordinarily careful to guard against any unlawful command influence.''
The brief quotes England as a stipulation of fact and cites other examples of alleged political interference, which Mizer argues makes it impossible for Salim Hamdan, 37, to have a fair trial.
It asks the judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, to dismiss the case against Hamdan as an alleged 9/11 co-conspirator on the grounds that Bush administration leadership exercises ``unlawful command influence.''
Allred has set hearings at Guantánamo for April 28.
Hamdan is the former Afghanistan driver of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden whose lawyers challenged an earlier war court format to the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down the war court as unconstitutional.
Pentagon prosecutors call him a war criminal for driving bin Laden in Afghanistan before and during the 9/11 attacks and allegedly working as his sometimes bodyguard. Even if he didn't help plot the suicide attacks, they argue, he is an al Qaeda co-conspirator.
As described the Hamdan brief, the England meeting came three weeks after President Bush disclosed in a live address that he had ordered the CIA to transfer ''high-value detainees'' from years of secret custody to Guantánamo for trial.
Bush also disclosed that the CIA used ''an alternative set of procedures'' to interrogate the men into confessing -- since revealed by the CIA director, Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, to include waterboarding.
They included reputed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other men against whom the Pentagon prosecutor swore out death-penalty charges in a complex Sept. 11, 2001, conspiracy case on Feb. 11.
The proposed 90-page charge sheets list the names of 2,973 victims of the 9/11 attacks. The men have not been formally charged. Instead they are in the control of a White House appointee, Susan J. Crawford, whose title is the war court's convening authority, and her legal advisor, Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann.
Under the law governing the commissions, the alleged 9/11 conspirators would formally be charged 30 days after Crawford approves them.
That currently leaves a seven-month window during the 2008 election campaign.
An expert on military justice, attorney Eugene Fidell, said the Hamdan motion brings into sharp relief the problem of Pentagon appointees' supervisory relationship to the war court.
''It scrambles relationships that ought to be kept clear,'' said Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice.
The quote attributed to England is ``enough that you'd want to hold an evidentiary hearing about it, with live witnesses. It does strike me as disturbing for there to be even a whiff of political considerations in what should be a quasi-judicial determination.''
England is a two-term White House appointee. He joined the Bush administration in 2001 as Navy secretary, briefly served as deputy Homeland Security secretary and then returned to the Pentagon, where he supervised the prison camps' administrative processes.
Crawford was a Republican attorney appointee in the Pentagon when Vice President Dick Cheney was defense secretary.
Hamdan's military lawyer argues that standard military justice has barriers that separate various functions, which he contends Pentagon appointees have crossed in the war court.
In April the defense team plans to call the former chief prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, who recounted the England remark since submitting his resignation, claiming political interference.
Davis, who had approved charges against Hamdan, served as former chief Pentagon prosecutor until he resigned over what he called political interference by general counsel William J. Haynes.
Haynes has since quit.
They also want to call as a witness the deputy chief defense counsel, a retired Army lawyer named Michael Berrigan, who, according to the filing, was mistakingly sent a draft copy of 9/11 conspiracy charges being prepared by the prosecution.
In the filing, Hartmann, the legal advisor, orders Berrigan to return it, which the defense team claims illustrates the muddied role of the legal advisor.
He supervised the prosecution, announced the 9/11 conspiracy charges on Feb. 11, then said he would evaluate them independently and recommend to Crawford how to proceed.
The Mizer motion is also the latest attack on the legitimacy of war-court prosecutions by a variety of feisty uniformed defense attorneys, who have doggedly used civilian courts and courted public opinion against the process since the earliest days.
Mizer sent the brief directly to reporters for major news organizations, rather than leave it to the Office of Military Commissions to post it on a Pentagon website.
The Pentagon has been releasing motions for the public to read after they have been argued -- and ruled on by the judge.
With delays in other cases, the Hamdan case is now on track to be the first full-blown U.S. war-crimes tribunal since World War II.
The current time frame would put the trial before the Supreme Court rules on an overarching detainee rights case in June.
Wrap...
AT THE WAR COURT
Navy Lawyer: Gitmo trials pegged to political campaign
Posted on Fri, Mar. 28, 2008
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
The Navy lawyer for Osama bin Laden's driver argues in a Guantánamo military commissions motion that senior Pentagon officials are orchestrating war crimes prosecutions for the 2008 campaign.
The Pentagon declined late Friday to address the defense lawyer's allegations, noting that the matter is under litigation.
The brief filed Thursday by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Mizer directly challenged the integrity of President Bush's war court.
Notably, it describes a Sept. 29, 2006, meeting at the Pentagon in which Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, a veteran White House appointee, asked lawyers to consider Sept. 11, 2001, prosecutions in light of the campaign.
''We need to think about charging some of the high-value detainees because there could be strategic political value to charging some of these detainees before the election,'' England is quoted as saying.
A senior Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, declined to address the specifics, saying ``the trial process will surface the facts in this case.''
''It has always been everybody's desire to move as swiftly and deliberately as possible to conduct military commissions,'' he added. ``But I can tell you emphatically that leadership has always been extraordinarily careful to guard against any unlawful command influence.''
The brief quotes England as a stipulation of fact and cites other examples of alleged political interference, which Mizer argues makes it impossible for Salim Hamdan, 37, to have a fair trial.
It asks the judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, to dismiss the case against Hamdan as an alleged 9/11 co-conspirator on the grounds that Bush administration leadership exercises ``unlawful command influence.''
Allred has set hearings at Guantánamo for April 28.
Hamdan is the former Afghanistan driver of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden whose lawyers challenged an earlier war court format to the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down the war court as unconstitutional.
Pentagon prosecutors call him a war criminal for driving bin Laden in Afghanistan before and during the 9/11 attacks and allegedly working as his sometimes bodyguard. Even if he didn't help plot the suicide attacks, they argue, he is an al Qaeda co-conspirator.
As described the Hamdan brief, the England meeting came three weeks after President Bush disclosed in a live address that he had ordered the CIA to transfer ''high-value detainees'' from years of secret custody to Guantánamo for trial.
Bush also disclosed that the CIA used ''an alternative set of procedures'' to interrogate the men into confessing -- since revealed by the CIA director, Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, to include waterboarding.
They included reputed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other men against whom the Pentagon prosecutor swore out death-penalty charges in a complex Sept. 11, 2001, conspiracy case on Feb. 11.
The proposed 90-page charge sheets list the names of 2,973 victims of the 9/11 attacks. The men have not been formally charged. Instead they are in the control of a White House appointee, Susan J. Crawford, whose title is the war court's convening authority, and her legal advisor, Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann.
Under the law governing the commissions, the alleged 9/11 conspirators would formally be charged 30 days after Crawford approves them.
That currently leaves a seven-month window during the 2008 election campaign.
An expert on military justice, attorney Eugene Fidell, said the Hamdan motion brings into sharp relief the problem of Pentagon appointees' supervisory relationship to the war court.
''It scrambles relationships that ought to be kept clear,'' said Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice.
The quote attributed to England is ``enough that you'd want to hold an evidentiary hearing about it, with live witnesses. It does strike me as disturbing for there to be even a whiff of political considerations in what should be a quasi-judicial determination.''
England is a two-term White House appointee. He joined the Bush administration in 2001 as Navy secretary, briefly served as deputy Homeland Security secretary and then returned to the Pentagon, where he supervised the prison camps' administrative processes.
Crawford was a Republican attorney appointee in the Pentagon when Vice President Dick Cheney was defense secretary.
Hamdan's military lawyer argues that standard military justice has barriers that separate various functions, which he contends Pentagon appointees have crossed in the war court.
In April the defense team plans to call the former chief prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, who recounted the England remark since submitting his resignation, claiming political interference.
Davis, who had approved charges against Hamdan, served as former chief Pentagon prosecutor until he resigned over what he called political interference by general counsel William J. Haynes.
Haynes has since quit.
They also want to call as a witness the deputy chief defense counsel, a retired Army lawyer named Michael Berrigan, who, according to the filing, was mistakingly sent a draft copy of 9/11 conspiracy charges being prepared by the prosecution.
In the filing, Hartmann, the legal advisor, orders Berrigan to return it, which the defense team claims illustrates the muddied role of the legal advisor.
He supervised the prosecution, announced the 9/11 conspiracy charges on Feb. 11, then said he would evaluate them independently and recommend to Crawford how to proceed.
The Mizer motion is also the latest attack on the legitimacy of war-court prosecutions by a variety of feisty uniformed defense attorneys, who have doggedly used civilian courts and courted public opinion against the process since the earliest days.
Mizer sent the brief directly to reporters for major news organizations, rather than leave it to the Office of Military Commissions to post it on a Pentagon website.
The Pentagon has been releasing motions for the public to read after they have been argued -- and ruled on by the judge.
With delays in other cases, the Hamdan case is now on track to be the first full-blown U.S. war-crimes tribunal since World War II.
The current time frame would put the trial before the Supreme Court rules on an overarching detainee rights case in June.
Wrap...
RE: Michigan/Florida election messes....
From The Huffington Post via truthout.org:
Wayne Barrett The Untold Story of How the GOP Rigged Florida and Michigan
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040208M.shtml
Wayne Barrett writes for the Huffington Post: "The Republican role is not some irrelevant anecdote. The DNC is charged, under its rules, to determine whether the Democrats in a noncompliant state made a 'good faith' effort to abide by the party's electoral calendar, and to impose the full weight of its available penalties, namely a 100 percent takedown of a state's delegation, only if Democratic leaders in that state misbehaved.
So the fact that it was Republicans who fomented the move-up of primaries in both these states to dates out-of-line with the DNC calendar is at the heart of the matter."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Wayne Barrett The Untold Story of How the GOP Rigged Florida and Michigan
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040208M.shtml
Wayne Barrett writes for the Huffington Post: "The Republican role is not some irrelevant anecdote. The DNC is charged, under its rules, to determine whether the Democrats in a noncompliant state made a 'good faith' effort to abide by the party's electoral calendar, and to impose the full weight of its available penalties, namely a 100 percent takedown of a state's delegation, only if Democratic leaders in that state misbehaved.
So the fact that it was Republicans who fomented the move-up of primaries in both these states to dates out-of-line with the DNC calendar is at the heart of the matter."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
"The Red Leather Diary" is one terrific book....
Consider this:
"Retrieved from a dumpster on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a discarded diary brings to life the glamorous, forgotten world of an extraordinary young woman."
And does it ever!
It seems that New York Times reporter, Lily Koppel, ventured out to the alley behind her apartment building and there she saw a mass of very very old trunks in the dumpster. The apartment manager had decided to clear out those same trunks, left behind years ago by former tenents, from the basement.
In one, Koppel discovered the 5-year diary of one Florence Wolfson that covered the years from 1929-1934...Wolfson's life from the time she was 13 through her 18th year. Koppel also found Wolfson, now 90 years old, and ended up writing a book based on that diary. The book is entitled, "The Red Leather Diary", and it is something very special indeed.
To read that book, one is immersed in those times and those places completely and totally. I've not read a book before that so thoroughly puts a reader back in a time period we think we know about. Not hardly. "The Red Leather Diary" is a revelation of what it was really like, not what one thought it was like. Nowhere near. Reading this book, one is there and nowhere else. The present day ceases to exist entirely.
Koppel is one hell of a fine writer, and no booklover is going to want to miss this one when it hits those bookstore shelves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1ReSJYOWMg See video here...
Wrap...
"Retrieved from a dumpster on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a discarded diary brings to life the glamorous, forgotten world of an extraordinary young woman."
And does it ever!
It seems that New York Times reporter, Lily Koppel, ventured out to the alley behind her apartment building and there she saw a mass of very very old trunks in the dumpster. The apartment manager had decided to clear out those same trunks, left behind years ago by former tenents, from the basement.
In one, Koppel discovered the 5-year diary of one Florence Wolfson that covered the years from 1929-1934...Wolfson's life from the time she was 13 through her 18th year. Koppel also found Wolfson, now 90 years old, and ended up writing a book based on that diary. The book is entitled, "The Red Leather Diary", and it is something very special indeed.
To read that book, one is immersed in those times and those places completely and totally. I've not read a book before that so thoroughly puts a reader back in a time period we think we know about. Not hardly. "The Red Leather Diary" is a revelation of what it was really like, not what one thought it was like. Nowhere near. Reading this book, one is there and nowhere else. The present day ceases to exist entirely.
Koppel is one hell of a fine writer, and no booklover is going to want to miss this one when it hits those bookstore shelves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1ReSJYOWMg See video here...
Wrap...
Bloggers as military propogandists????
From Information Clearing House:
Military Report: Secretly 'Recruit or Hire Bloggers':
The report introduces the military audience to the "blogging phenomenon," and lays out a number of ways in which the armed forces -- specifically, the military's public affairs, information operations, and psychological operations units -- might use the sites to their advantage.
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/03/report-recruit.html
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Military Report: Secretly 'Recruit or Hire Bloggers':
The report introduces the military audience to the "blogging phenomenon," and lays out a number of ways in which the armed forces -- specifically, the military's public affairs, information operations, and psychological operations units -- might use the sites to their advantage.
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/03/report-recruit.html
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
From national health to Bush demands credit....
From American Progress:
Think Fast...
59 percent: Doctors who "support legislation to establish a national health insurance program," according to a new survey of more than 2,000 U.S. doctors. This number is up from 49 percent in the 2002 study.
"Fighting between Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militiamen last month has driven civilian deaths in the country to their highest level in more than six months," according to new Iraqi government figures. A total of 923 Iraqi civilians were killed in March, "up 31 percent from February and the deadliest month since August 2007."
Prior to testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, House Republicans are launching a "full-fledged assault" on Democratic leaders, whom they accuse of trying to "legislate defeat" in Iraq. The campaign will include a "steady stream" of "op-eds and editorial board memos," an "aggressive" TV and radio operation, and an effort to "engage conservative bloggers."
Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) "said Monday that Don Siegelman should not testify before Congress because it could endanger the former governor’s criminal defense and distract the committee from its broader investigation of political influence in the U.S. Justice Department."
Today, the nation's top oil executives "return to the hot seat" as the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming "examines rising gasoline prices and the industry’s opposition to efforts to repeal $18 billion in tax breaks." The money would be reinvested in renewable energy.
While most agree the subprime mortgage crisis sparked the current economic downturn, "some economists argue the Iraq war is deepening the economic pain." Even the "most conservative economists acknowledge that Americans will eventually pay the price at home for a war financed entirely with borrowed money."
Last month, President Bush said he would attend the Olympics in Beijing this summer because he views it as "a sporting event." But given China's poor human rights record, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Bush should consider “boycotting the opening ceremony."
And finally: President Bush is getting sensitive about making sure he gets credit. While at the Washington Nationals home opener on Sunday, "play-by-play man Jon Miller" said to Bush, “Every year since you've been president, George [Will] has put on a special baseball dinner held at the White House." Bush quickly took umbrage at giving the conservative pundit all the credit, responding, "That's one way to put it. Another way is that George W. Bush hosts the dinner and George attends. He puts together the list."
Wrap...
Think Fast...
59 percent: Doctors who "support legislation to establish a national health insurance program," according to a new survey of more than 2,000 U.S. doctors. This number is up from 49 percent in the 2002 study.
"Fighting between Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militiamen last month has driven civilian deaths in the country to their highest level in more than six months," according to new Iraqi government figures. A total of 923 Iraqi civilians were killed in March, "up 31 percent from February and the deadliest month since August 2007."
Prior to testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, House Republicans are launching a "full-fledged assault" on Democratic leaders, whom they accuse of trying to "legislate defeat" in Iraq. The campaign will include a "steady stream" of "op-eds and editorial board memos," an "aggressive" TV and radio operation, and an effort to "engage conservative bloggers."
Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) "said Monday that Don Siegelman should not testify before Congress because it could endanger the former governor’s criminal defense and distract the committee from its broader investigation of political influence in the U.S. Justice Department."
Today, the nation's top oil executives "return to the hot seat" as the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming "examines rising gasoline prices and the industry’s opposition to efforts to repeal $18 billion in tax breaks." The money would be reinvested in renewable energy.
While most agree the subprime mortgage crisis sparked the current economic downturn, "some economists argue the Iraq war is deepening the economic pain." Even the "most conservative economists acknowledge that Americans will eventually pay the price at home for a war financed entirely with borrowed money."
Last month, President Bush said he would attend the Olympics in Beijing this summer because he views it as "a sporting event." But given China's poor human rights record, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Bush should consider “boycotting the opening ceremony."
And finally: President Bush is getting sensitive about making sure he gets credit. While at the Washington Nationals home opener on Sunday, "play-by-play man Jon Miller" said to Bush, “Every year since you've been president, George [Will] has put on a special baseball dinner held at the White House." Bush quickly took umbrage at giving the conservative pundit all the credit, responding, "That's one way to put it. Another way is that George W. Bush hosts the dinner and George attends. He puts together the list."
Wrap...
Mixed selection of interesting books....
From Publishers Lunch Weekly:
FICTION/DEBUT:
Matthew Dicks's SOMETHING MISSING, about a charming, obsessive and anti-social thief who has for years only stolen things his "clients" won't notice missing (salad dressing, toilet paper, rarely worn earrings) and who decides to break his own careful rules of thievery -- playing the part of a rather odd guardian angel -- to humorous and heartwarming results, to Melissa Danaczko at Broadway, in a pre-empt, by Taryn Fagerness of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (world). Foreign: rgardner@randomhouse.com
Glenn Cooper's LIBRARY OF THE DEAD, about an FBI agent's struggle to crack an unsolvable link of serial killings which sets him on a historical trail of dark secrets from a medieval monastery, to clandestine British security efforts during World War II, to the shrouded workings of the U.S. government's top-secret Area 51 military installation, to Lyssa Keusch at Harper, in a two-book deal, by Steve Kasdin of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
[NOTE: Looks like Sandy has hit the jackpot once again. Very good agency]
MYSTERY/CRIME:
Associate concertamaster of the Utah Symphony Gerald Elias's DEVIL'S TRILL, a classical music world mystery series featuring a blind, vulgar, reclusive, miserable violin master, who stands accused of theft (of a three-quarter-sized violin) and murder (of a rival) and must clear his name by journeying through the halls of wealth and across continents, to Michael Homler at Minotaur, in a two-book deal, for publication in Fall 2009, by Josh Getzler, in his first deal at Writers House, on behalf of Simon Lipskar (World).jgetzler@writershouse.com
THRILLER:
NYT bestselling author David Morrell's THE SPY WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS, to Roger Cooper at Vanguard Press, for publication in November 2008, by Jane Dystel at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (NA).
GENERAL/OTHER:
Internationally bestselling author Carlos Ruiz Zafón's El Juego del Angel (The Angel's Game), a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind set in 1920s Barcelona, combining a love story, a mystery, a fantasy and an exploration of literature, moving to Stephen Rubin at Doubleday, with Bill Thomas editing, for publication in summer 2009, by Thomas Colchie at The Colchie Agency, on behalf of Antonia Kerrigan (NA).
Margaret Mascarenhas's PASSION FRUIT, set in Venezuela against the background of the worship of a folk goddess, a novel about a long-missing teenager who appears ghostlike in her friend's dream, prompting a search to discover what really happened to her, to Selina McLemore at Grand Central, by Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group (NA).
CHILDREN'S:
International bestselling author and American abroad Francesca Simon's HORRID HENRY series starring the world's most mischievous child, his perfect little brother and a humorous cast of other characters with sales of 12 million copies in the UK, a TV show and translations in 25 languages, to Lyron Bennett at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, for publication in 2009, by Orion.
NON-FICTION/BIOGRAPHY:
Associate Professor of English Linda Leavell's POSSESSED TO WRITE: The Biography of Marianne Moore, the first biography to be written with the full cooperation of the Moore Estate, and the first to relate Moore's unusual private life to her poetry, to Jonathan Galassi at Farrar, Straus, by Susan Rabiner.
BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:
THE COMING ECONOMIC COLLAPSE author Stephen Leeb's GAME OVER: How the Collapsing Economy Will Shrink Your Wealth by 50% or More Unless You Know What to Do, providing key financial steps that Americans need to follow now as the confluence of growing inflation, the weakening American dollar, the constantly rising price of oil, our multi-trillion-dollar debt, and increasing industrial competition from China and India are making for a "perfect economic storm," to Rick Wolff at Business Plus, by Al Zuckerman at Writers House (NA).
Author of King of The Club: Richard Grasso and the Survival of the New York Stock Exchange Charles Gasparino's THE SELLOUT: How Wall Street Greed and Stupidity Destroyed America's Dominance of the Global Financial System, about how the leaders of numerous major US banks -- including Bear Stearns' Jimmy Cayne -- caused their firms to lose billions of dollars by going into the ill-advised business of packaging and underwriting bonds containing sub-prime mortgages that they then sold off to investors, to Ethan Friedman at Collins Business, for publication in 2009, by Todd Shuster at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency.
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick's book telling his life story while offering a series of lessons and insights on life and leadership, including such topics as self-truth, grace, faith, courage, and compassion, as well as the importance of forgiveness, and embracing optimism and hope to make good outcomes possible, providing "a whole new sense of what is possible in both personal and civic lives," to Bill Thomas at Broadway, with Stacy Creamer editing, at auction, for publication in 2010, by Todd Shuster and Lane Zachary of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency.
HUMOR:
Editors of Slate's THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BARACKTANNICA, from the website that brought us Bushisms, dozens of definitions from the new lexicon in the world of Obama from your Obalma mater where you first learned about Barack to the nonstop state of being Barackupied, to Zachary Schisgal at Touchstone Fireside, in a nice deal, for publication in July 2008, by Jeff Posternak at The Wylie Agency (NA).
MEMOIR:
Recent college grad Adam Shepard's SCRATCH BEGINNINGS, originally self-published and said to have sold 10,000 copies, in which the author, in a sort of "anti-NICKEL AND DIMED" experiment to see if the American Dream is still alive, with no concrete plan and nothing but $25 and a backpack, gets off a train in Charleston, SC, and spends 70 days in a homeless shelter, with the goal of having $2,500 and a place to live by the end of a year, to Serena Jones at Collins, by Dan Strone at Trident Media Group (NA).
POP CULTURE:
Rock journalist and cultural historian David Dalton's BOB'S BRAIN, a biographical oral history of Bob Dylan in the tradition of Stein and Plimpton's Edie, weaving together a tapestry of voices that will include Keith Richards, Patti Smith, Suze Rotolo and Dylan himself, to Will Balliett and Bob Miller at Hyperion, by Eileen Cope at Trident Media Group (world).
Wrap...
FICTION/DEBUT:
Matthew Dicks's SOMETHING MISSING, about a charming, obsessive and anti-social thief who has for years only stolen things his "clients" won't notice missing (salad dressing, toilet paper, rarely worn earrings) and who decides to break his own careful rules of thievery -- playing the part of a rather odd guardian angel -- to humorous and heartwarming results, to Melissa Danaczko at Broadway, in a pre-empt, by Taryn Fagerness of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (world). Foreign: rgardner@randomhouse.com
Glenn Cooper's LIBRARY OF THE DEAD, about an FBI agent's struggle to crack an unsolvable link of serial killings which sets him on a historical trail of dark secrets from a medieval monastery, to clandestine British security efforts during World War II, to the shrouded workings of the U.S. government's top-secret Area 51 military installation, to Lyssa Keusch at Harper, in a two-book deal, by Steve Kasdin of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
[NOTE: Looks like Sandy has hit the jackpot once again. Very good agency]
MYSTERY/CRIME:
Associate concertamaster of the Utah Symphony Gerald Elias's DEVIL'S TRILL, a classical music world mystery series featuring a blind, vulgar, reclusive, miserable violin master, who stands accused of theft (of a three-quarter-sized violin) and murder (of a rival) and must clear his name by journeying through the halls of wealth and across continents, to Michael Homler at Minotaur, in a two-book deal, for publication in Fall 2009, by Josh Getzler, in his first deal at Writers House, on behalf of Simon Lipskar (World).jgetzler@writershouse.com
THRILLER:
NYT bestselling author David Morrell's THE SPY WHO CAME FOR CHRISTMAS, to Roger Cooper at Vanguard Press, for publication in November 2008, by Jane Dystel at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (NA).
GENERAL/OTHER:
Internationally bestselling author Carlos Ruiz Zafón's El Juego del Angel (The Angel's Game), a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind set in 1920s Barcelona, combining a love story, a mystery, a fantasy and an exploration of literature, moving to Stephen Rubin at Doubleday, with Bill Thomas editing, for publication in summer 2009, by Thomas Colchie at The Colchie Agency, on behalf of Antonia Kerrigan (NA).
Margaret Mascarenhas's PASSION FRUIT, set in Venezuela against the background of the worship of a folk goddess, a novel about a long-missing teenager who appears ghostlike in her friend's dream, prompting a search to discover what really happened to her, to Selina McLemore at Grand Central, by Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group (NA).
CHILDREN'S:
International bestselling author and American abroad Francesca Simon's HORRID HENRY series starring the world's most mischievous child, his perfect little brother and a humorous cast of other characters with sales of 12 million copies in the UK, a TV show and translations in 25 languages, to Lyron Bennett at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, for publication in 2009, by Orion.
NON-FICTION/BIOGRAPHY:
Associate Professor of English Linda Leavell's POSSESSED TO WRITE: The Biography of Marianne Moore, the first biography to be written with the full cooperation of the Moore Estate, and the first to relate Moore's unusual private life to her poetry, to Jonathan Galassi at Farrar, Straus, by Susan Rabiner.
BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:
THE COMING ECONOMIC COLLAPSE author Stephen Leeb's GAME OVER: How the Collapsing Economy Will Shrink Your Wealth by 50% or More Unless You Know What to Do, providing key financial steps that Americans need to follow now as the confluence of growing inflation, the weakening American dollar, the constantly rising price of oil, our multi-trillion-dollar debt, and increasing industrial competition from China and India are making for a "perfect economic storm," to Rick Wolff at Business Plus, by Al Zuckerman at Writers House (NA).
Author of King of The Club: Richard Grasso and the Survival of the New York Stock Exchange Charles Gasparino's THE SELLOUT: How Wall Street Greed and Stupidity Destroyed America's Dominance of the Global Financial System, about how the leaders of numerous major US banks -- including Bear Stearns' Jimmy Cayne -- caused their firms to lose billions of dollars by going into the ill-advised business of packaging and underwriting bonds containing sub-prime mortgages that they then sold off to investors, to Ethan Friedman at Collins Business, for publication in 2009, by Todd Shuster at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency.
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick's book telling his life story while offering a series of lessons and insights on life and leadership, including such topics as self-truth, grace, faith, courage, and compassion, as well as the importance of forgiveness, and embracing optimism and hope to make good outcomes possible, providing "a whole new sense of what is possible in both personal and civic lives," to Bill Thomas at Broadway, with Stacy Creamer editing, at auction, for publication in 2010, by Todd Shuster and Lane Zachary of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency.
HUMOR:
Editors of Slate's THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BARACKTANNICA, from the website that brought us Bushisms, dozens of definitions from the new lexicon in the world of Obama from your Obalma mater where you first learned about Barack to the nonstop state of being Barackupied, to Zachary Schisgal at Touchstone Fireside, in a nice deal, for publication in July 2008, by Jeff Posternak at The Wylie Agency (NA).
MEMOIR:
Recent college grad Adam Shepard's SCRATCH BEGINNINGS, originally self-published and said to have sold 10,000 copies, in which the author, in a sort of "anti-NICKEL AND DIMED" experiment to see if the American Dream is still alive, with no concrete plan and nothing but $25 and a backpack, gets off a train in Charleston, SC, and spends 70 days in a homeless shelter, with the goal of having $2,500 and a place to live by the end of a year, to Serena Jones at Collins, by Dan Strone at Trident Media Group (NA).
POP CULTURE:
Rock journalist and cultural historian David Dalton's BOB'S BRAIN, a biographical oral history of Bob Dylan in the tradition of Stein and Plimpton's Edie, weaving together a tapestry of voices that will include Keith Richards, Patti Smith, Suze Rotolo and Dylan himself, to Will Balliett and Bob Miller at Hyperion, by Eileen Cope at Trident Media Group (world).
Wrap...
Border fence..."forget the laws"...
From AP via truthout.org:
Feds to Bypass Laws to Build Border Fence
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040108S.shtml
According to Eileen Sullivan, The Associated Press, "The Bush administration will use its authority to bypass more than 30 laws and regulations in an effort to finish building 670 miles of fence along the southwest US border by the end of this year, federal officials said Tuesday."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Feds to Bypass Laws to Build Border Fence
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040108S.shtml
According to Eileen Sullivan, The Associated Press, "The Bush administration will use its authority to bypass more than 30 laws and regulations in an effort to finish building 670 miles of fence along the southwest US border by the end of this year, federal officials said Tuesday."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Insurance companies are very very slick....
From Levine Breaking News:
NSURERS FAULTED AS OVERLOADING SOCIAL SECURITY:
The Social Security system is choking on paperwork and spending millions of dollars a year screening dubious applications for disability benefits, according to lawsuits filed by whistle-blowers. Insurance companies are the source of the problem, the lawsuits say.
The insurers are forcing many people who file disability claims with them to also apply to Social Security -- even people who clearly do not qualify for the government program.
Wrap...
NSURERS FAULTED AS OVERLOADING SOCIAL SECURITY:
The Social Security system is choking on paperwork and spending millions of dollars a year screening dubious applications for disability benefits, according to lawsuits filed by whistle-blowers. Insurance companies are the source of the problem, the lawsuits say.
The insurers are forcing many people who file disability claims with them to also apply to Social Security -- even people who clearly do not qualify for the government program.
Wrap...
Weapons..not only late but VERY expensive....
From The Washington Post via truthout.org:
GAO Blasts Weapons Budget
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040108A.shtml
Writing for the Washington Post, Dana Hedgpeth reports: "Government auditors issued a scathing review yesterday of dozens of the Pentagon's biggest weapons systems, saying ships, aircraft and satellites are billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.
The Government Accountability Office found that 95 major systems have exceeded their original budgets by a total of $295 billion, bringing their total cost to $1.6 trillion..."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
GAO Blasts Weapons Budget
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040108A.shtml
Writing for the Washington Post, Dana Hedgpeth reports: "Government auditors issued a scathing review yesterday of dozens of the Pentagon's biggest weapons systems, saying ships, aircraft and satellites are billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.
The Government Accountability Office found that 95 major systems have exceeded their original budgets by a total of $295 billion, bringing their total cost to $1.6 trillion..."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Monday, March 31, 2008
Obama goes bowling...
From AP via truthout.org :
Obama's Penn State Rally Draws 20,000
By Devlin Barrett
The Associated Press
Sunday 30 March 2008
University Park, Pennsylvania - Shivering in blankets of Penn State's colors, some 20,000 people filled a campus lawn Sunday to hear Barack Obama say he can win the Democratic nomination even if rival Hillary Rodham Clinton stays in the race.
Supporters stood in long lines for hours to hear Obama ahead of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.
On a sunny day with temperatures in the low 40's, most bundled up for the type of large-scale rally that has become the candidate's trademark.
"It's been a while, and it's a little cold, but we really like Barack. He's inspiring," said 19-year-old Caitlin McDonnell, wrapped in a blue Nittany Lions blanket.
Pennsylvania's primary is the next contest in the Obama-Clinton fight for the Democratic presidential nomination. The Keystone State, which will allocate 158 delegates, is the biggest single delegate prize remaining in the Democratic primaries.
Some Democrats, particularly Obama's supporters, have voiced concern that the hard-fought, drawn-out race is already hurting the party's chances to win in November.
The Illinois senator told the crowd not to worry.
"As this primary has gone on a little bit long, there have been people who've been voicing some frustration," Obama said.
"I want everybody to understand that this has been a great contest, great for America. It's engaged and involved people like never before. I think it's terrific that Senator Clinton's supporters have been as passionate as my supporters have been because that makes the people invested and engaged in this process, and I am absolutely confident that when this primary season is over Democrats will be united."
Clinton's husband, the former president, said Sunday that those voicing concern about the duration of the nomination fight should just "chill out" and let the race run its course.
Obama's rally drew an estimated 20,000 to 22,000 people, according to university official Richard DiEugenio - by far the biggest in a weekend of smaller, face-to-face campaign stops since Obama launched a six-day bus tour through the state on Friday.
From Penn State, he traveled to the state capital of Harrisburg, where he delivered the same call for party unity. He also took aim at Republican nominee-to-be John McCain, saying the Arizona senator undercut his own credibility by supporting the lengthening of Bush administration tax cuts he previously opposed.
"The wheels on the Straight Talk Express came off," Obama said, referring to the nickname for McCain's campaign vehicle. "He wants to extend those same tax cuts that he said were irresponsible."
Earlier in the day, he visited a university-run dairy farm and fed a slurping one-month calf, laughing as the calf sucked hard on the nipple of the bottle, eventually draining it. "She chowed that sucker down," Obama said.
His weekend of campaigning also included a comical trip to the lanes at a bowling alley in Altoona, where he was, by his own admission, terrible.
"My economic plan is better than my bowling," Obama told fellow bowlers Saturday evening at the Pleasant Valley Recreation Center.
"It has to be," one man called out.
As he laced up his bowling shoes, Obama let everyone know he hadn't bowled since Jimmy Carter was president.
He shared a lane with Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr., who endorsed him Friday and joined him on the bus tour, and local homemaker Roxanne Hart. As the game went on, several small children bowled with Obama as well.
Obama's first ball flew well off his hand but ended up in the gutter. On his second try, he knocked down four pins.
About five lanes over, a young man in a T-shirt that said "Beer Hunter" fell on his backside while bowling and still recorded a strike.
The crowd of regulars pressed in to take pictures, get autographs and rib him on his poor skills.
Obama did improve, nearly getting a strike in one frame, and in the seventh, picking up a spare, giving him a score of 37. Casey had a score of 71 after getting a strike, and Hart, with one less frame, racked up a score of 82.
"I was terrible," Obama laughed as he shook hands with people in a crowd that gathered outside once word spread he was there.
Asked about his game, Hart sounded like a politician, saying: "He has potential."
Wrap...
Obama's Penn State Rally Draws 20,000
By Devlin Barrett
The Associated Press
Sunday 30 March 2008
University Park, Pennsylvania - Shivering in blankets of Penn State's colors, some 20,000 people filled a campus lawn Sunday to hear Barack Obama say he can win the Democratic nomination even if rival Hillary Rodham Clinton stays in the race.
Supporters stood in long lines for hours to hear Obama ahead of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.
On a sunny day with temperatures in the low 40's, most bundled up for the type of large-scale rally that has become the candidate's trademark.
"It's been a while, and it's a little cold, but we really like Barack. He's inspiring," said 19-year-old Caitlin McDonnell, wrapped in a blue Nittany Lions blanket.
Pennsylvania's primary is the next contest in the Obama-Clinton fight for the Democratic presidential nomination. The Keystone State, which will allocate 158 delegates, is the biggest single delegate prize remaining in the Democratic primaries.
Some Democrats, particularly Obama's supporters, have voiced concern that the hard-fought, drawn-out race is already hurting the party's chances to win in November.
The Illinois senator told the crowd not to worry.
"As this primary has gone on a little bit long, there have been people who've been voicing some frustration," Obama said.
"I want everybody to understand that this has been a great contest, great for America. It's engaged and involved people like never before. I think it's terrific that Senator Clinton's supporters have been as passionate as my supporters have been because that makes the people invested and engaged in this process, and I am absolutely confident that when this primary season is over Democrats will be united."
Clinton's husband, the former president, said Sunday that those voicing concern about the duration of the nomination fight should just "chill out" and let the race run its course.
Obama's rally drew an estimated 20,000 to 22,000 people, according to university official Richard DiEugenio - by far the biggest in a weekend of smaller, face-to-face campaign stops since Obama launched a six-day bus tour through the state on Friday.
From Penn State, he traveled to the state capital of Harrisburg, where he delivered the same call for party unity. He also took aim at Republican nominee-to-be John McCain, saying the Arizona senator undercut his own credibility by supporting the lengthening of Bush administration tax cuts he previously opposed.
"The wheels on the Straight Talk Express came off," Obama said, referring to the nickname for McCain's campaign vehicle. "He wants to extend those same tax cuts that he said were irresponsible."
Earlier in the day, he visited a university-run dairy farm and fed a slurping one-month calf, laughing as the calf sucked hard on the nipple of the bottle, eventually draining it. "She chowed that sucker down," Obama said.
His weekend of campaigning also included a comical trip to the lanes at a bowling alley in Altoona, where he was, by his own admission, terrible.
"My economic plan is better than my bowling," Obama told fellow bowlers Saturday evening at the Pleasant Valley Recreation Center.
"It has to be," one man called out.
As he laced up his bowling shoes, Obama let everyone know he hadn't bowled since Jimmy Carter was president.
He shared a lane with Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr., who endorsed him Friday and joined him on the bus tour, and local homemaker Roxanne Hart. As the game went on, several small children bowled with Obama as well.
Obama's first ball flew well off his hand but ended up in the gutter. On his second try, he knocked down four pins.
About five lanes over, a young man in a T-shirt that said "Beer Hunter" fell on his backside while bowling and still recorded a strike.
The crowd of regulars pressed in to take pictures, get autographs and rib him on his poor skills.
Obama did improve, nearly getting a strike in one frame, and in the seventh, picking up a spare, giving him a score of 37. Casey had a score of 71 after getting a strike, and Hart, with one less frame, racked up a score of 82.
"I was terrible," Obama laughed as he shook hands with people in a crowd that gathered outside once word spread he was there.
Asked about his game, Hart sounded like a politician, saying: "He has potential."
Wrap...
Housing Sec resigns * Duvall will play Cheney in film...
From American Progress:
Think Fast...
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson -- who has come under widespread criticism for cronyism and corruption within his department -- "is expected to announce his resignation Monday." "The exact reasons for Mr. Jackson's decision couldn't be learned."
Former Housing and Urban Development secretary and current Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) told CNN yesterday that he'd give John McCain an "incomplete" for saying that it's "not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly whether they're big banks or small borrowers."
After days of violence in oil-rich Basra, Iraqi lawmakers said that "Iranian officials helped broker a cease-fire agreement Sunday between Iraq's government and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr." Despite the truce, violence continued in Baghdad today as the city's fortified Green Zone came under mortar and rocket attack.
Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell said the paper erred in not reporting the sexual orientation of fallen soldier Maj. Alan Rogers, who died in Iraq on March 14. The Post did not report Rogers was gay in its story last week. Howell said the Post's story "would have been richer" had the paper reported Rogers's feelings about "don't ask, don't tell," which he opposed.
Campaign reform advocates are questioning why Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has "retreated from his longtime commitment to public financing of campaigns." After supporting full public financing, he now opposes the idea at the federal level. David Donnelly of the Public Campaign Action Fund said, "It's a legitimate question to ask the reformer, John McCain, why hasn't he made public financing the policy he will pursue if he becomes president?"
"Average gasoline prices hit another all-time high, according to a survey conducted for motorist organization AAA. The average price of regular rose to $3.287 a gallon, up from $3.286 the previous day, according to the AAA Web site. The price averaged $3.165 a month ago. A year ago, American drivers were paying $2.673."
"The number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid program began in the 1960s." The economic slowdown caused the "recent rises in many states," say officials and experts. At the same time, after rising by 100,000 for the second month in a row, the number of Americans working part time jobs out of economic necessity reached the highest level since 1993.
And finally: Director Oliver Stone currently casting his next film, Bush: The Movie. "Word from Hollywood is that he's negotiating with Elizabeth Banks (the nutty sexaholic in The 40 Year-Old Virgin) for the role of Laura Bush. Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) will play the prez." And Robert Duvall is being rumored to play Dick Cheney.
Wrap...PS: Hard disk crashed this past Thursday. Fixed yesterday aft. Gawd, what a session!
Think Fast...
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson -- who has come under widespread criticism for cronyism and corruption within his department -- "is expected to announce his resignation Monday." "The exact reasons for Mr. Jackson's decision couldn't be learned."
Former Housing and Urban Development secretary and current Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) told CNN yesterday that he'd give John McCain an "incomplete" for saying that it's "not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly whether they're big banks or small borrowers."
After days of violence in oil-rich Basra, Iraqi lawmakers said that "Iranian officials helped broker a cease-fire agreement Sunday between Iraq's government and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr." Despite the truce, violence continued in Baghdad today as the city's fortified Green Zone came under mortar and rocket attack.
Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell said the paper erred in not reporting the sexual orientation of fallen soldier Maj. Alan Rogers, who died in Iraq on March 14. The Post did not report Rogers was gay in its story last week. Howell said the Post's story "would have been richer" had the paper reported Rogers's feelings about "don't ask, don't tell," which he opposed.
Campaign reform advocates are questioning why Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has "retreated from his longtime commitment to public financing of campaigns." After supporting full public financing, he now opposes the idea at the federal level. David Donnelly of the Public Campaign Action Fund said, "It's a legitimate question to ask the reformer, John McCain, why hasn't he made public financing the policy he will pursue if he becomes president?"
"Average gasoline prices hit another all-time high, according to a survey conducted for motorist organization AAA. The average price of regular rose to $3.287 a gallon, up from $3.286 the previous day, according to the AAA Web site. The price averaged $3.165 a month ago. A year ago, American drivers were paying $2.673."
"The number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid program began in the 1960s." The economic slowdown caused the "recent rises in many states," say officials and experts. At the same time, after rising by 100,000 for the second month in a row, the number of Americans working part time jobs out of economic necessity reached the highest level since 1993.
And finally: Director Oliver Stone currently casting his next film, Bush: The Movie. "Word from Hollywood is that he's negotiating with Elizabeth Banks (the nutty sexaholic in The 40 Year-Old Virgin) for the role of Laura Bush. Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) will play the prez." And Robert Duvall is being rumored to play Dick Cheney.
Wrap...PS: Hard disk crashed this past Thursday. Fixed yesterday aft. Gawd, what a session!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Keeping the candidates alive...
From www.stratfor.com :
The U.S. Election Season: Security Challenges and Conventional Wisdom
Stratfor Today »-->March 26, 2008
By Fred Burton and Scott Stewart
As the struggle grinds on in the United States for the Democratic presidential nomination, it appears there will be no clear winner before the Democratic National Convention begins Aug. 25 in Denver, Colo. This contest of firsts — the first female presidential candidate in Hillary Clinton and the first African-American candidate to win so many primaries and delegates in Barack Obama — has been hard-fought, and likely will become even more heated between now and the convention.
The Obama campaign has leveled claims of racism over remarks made by former President Bill Clinton before the January South Carolina primary, and more recently over the widely publicized comments by Geraldine Ferraro, who was forced to resign from the Clinton campaign. The Obama campaign also has had to face racism charges over controversial comments made from the pulpit by Obama’s longtime friend and pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who until February was pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
From a security perspective, each election cycle brings huge challenges. The task of protecting presidential candidates has become ever larger and longer as campaigns and primary elections have been pushed ever earlier. In fact, when Obama received U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protection in May 2007, he made history by being the candidate to receive USSS protection the earliest. Much of the rationale behind the decision to provide Obama with protection so early was based on the conventional wisdom that radical white racists would seek to harm him. A review of several radical white racist Web sites, however, shows that many radical white racists would prefer that Obama be elected, rather than Clinton or Republican candidate John McCain, both of whom they consider to be controlled by Jewish interest groups. Perhaps the greatest threat to all three of the candidates — as is nearly always the case — would be a mentally disturbed lone gunman, and such a person could choose to target any of the candidates for any number of reasons.
Challenges
Major presidential candidates have been afforded USSS protection since the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy at the site of a campaign event. Presidential elections give the USSS and other security personnel headaches for a number of reasons. Foremost among these is the fact that campaigns are, by their very nature, fast, furious and geographically diverse. In the run-up to an important primary — or on a day like Super Tuesday, when there are multiple primaries — candidates can hopscotch across a state or even across the country. Candidates’ schedules often are packed with events that start before sunrise and last until long after dark, and each of the events on that very full schedule requires a great deal of security planning and preparation.
Each site on the candidate’s itinerary must first be visited by a security advance team or agent, who will survey the site, gather all the details of the event and then create a plan, called a security survey, for the measures to be put in place for the event. In the case of a 10-minute stop at a diner, for example, the plan can simply outline which entrance should be used and how the agents should be deployed, as well as provide emergency evacuation procedures.
Such small events often can be handled by the security detail itself, as are most of the impromptu stops and events. In general, the threat is smaller at an impromptu stop than it is at a planned event, because the spontaneous nature of the impromptu stop does not give potential malefactors the opportunity to make attack plans. Large, well-publicized events, on the other hand, can provide ample opportunity to plan, and because of this they require additional security measures.
In the case of a large planned function, security measures can be expanded to include bomb sweeps, access control and screening, countersniper coverage, sweeps for hazardous materials, etc. Any event that is swept for bombs by an explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) team must then be watched, or “posted,” for the entire period between the sweep and the event.
Advance work, pre-posting, close protection, protective intelligence, liaison with local and state police agencies and access control all require bodies. Consider the manpower required to secure one such event, multiply that by several similar events daily and by the number of candidates being protected — and then spread it over a period of many months — and it becomes apparent why the USSS, with its 3,200 special agents and 1,200 uniformed officers, is hard-pressed during an election season.
Add to all of that the fact that the USSS is required to maintain its normal protective coverage of the s itting president and vice president, first lady, former presidents and first ladies, and visiting heads of state. In fact, the USSS frequently lacks the manpower for all of these functions and often will borrow special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives and the Internal Revenue Service, or deputies from the U.S. Marshals Service.
Another challenge during election season is the fact that candidates are compelled to meet and greet supporters, kiss babies and press the flesh. This means they need to enter crowds. This is the aspect of the job that protection agents most abhor, because danger can lurk in a crowd. The compact nature of a crowd makes it very difficult for agents to see bulges and bumps that can indicate that a person is armed. Moreover, the sheer number of people makes it difficult for agents to spot individuals who are behaving abnormally. That said, U.S. protective agencies such as the USSS and the Diplomatic Security Service spend much time and effort training their special agents to “work the crowd.” They are the best in the world at it, but that does not mean it is an easy task or one the agents enjoy.
As we have discussed in relation to the two assassination attempts against Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, crowds are a security nightmare. This is true anywhere in the world. Indeed, a number of assassins and would-be assassins in the United States have struck from crowds.
President William McKinley was greeting a crowd at an exposition in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1901, when he was shot by anarchist Leon Frank Czolgosz, who had concealed a revolver in a handkerchief. Presidential candidate George Wallace was shot in 1972 by Arthur Bremer, who emerged from a crowd during a campaign stop in Laurel, Md. Wallace survived the attempt, but the attack left him disabled for life. Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme and Sarah Jane Moore both attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford from crowds in September 1975. John Hinckley also used a crowd of reporters (an area known as t he press pen) as camouflage in his 1981 assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan.
n the past, one radical group threatened to stab politicians working the crowds with HIV-infected needles, and other groups have plotted to attack prominent politicians with toxins such as ricin.
Conventional Wisdom
At present, the conventional wisdom holds that Obama, as an African-American, is under a greater threat than either Clinton or McCain. However, a close look at the rhetoric on many radical white racist Web sites reveals a couple of things that appear to contradict the conventional wisdom. In fact, the rhetoric seems to indicate that all three remaining candidates are at risk.
First, many people who post comments on these types of sites believe the real problem is not African-Americans, but Jews, whom they believe are using African-Americans as a tool to oppress white Americans. In other words, they see African-Americans as a symptom of a larger Jewish problem. They believe that a cabal of Jews — an entity they call the Zionist Occupation Government (ZOG) — secretly controls the U.S. government. They further believe that both McCain and Clinton are totally controlled by the ZOG, and that the ZOG will oppose Obama because he is not toeing the line. Using the logic that an Obama victory would be bad for the ZOG, these racists would rather see Obama get elected than either the “ZOG-controlled” Clinton or McCain.
Many of these same radical white racists also believe that Obama is a godsend to them. First, they believe that if he is defeated in either the primaries or the general election, it will spark huge riots in inner cities across the United States — riots that, they say, will demonstrate the “true nature” of African-Americans. Even if Obama is elected, many white racists believe he will behave in a manner that will inflame racial tensions, causing a polarization that will assist them in their recruiting efforts and ultimately in their fight to wrest control of the United States from the ZOG. Of course, some white racists also say they hope a lone wolf will assassinate Obama in an effort to spark a race war. This is the reason he is under USSS protection.
But Obama is not the only candidate at risk from right-wing extremists. In addition to the white racists who believe McCain and Clinton are Jewish puppets, there are other right-wing radicals who are unhappy with both McCain and Clinton over their respective stances on immigration. Right-wing radicals also were not fond of the Bill Clinton presidency. When they discuss the prospects of a Hillary Clinton presidency, they frequently refer to people such as former Attorney General Janet Reno and incidents such as the Waco siege and the air campaign against Serbia.
All of the presidential candidates also face the threat of a mentally disturbed lone wolf, like Hinckley or Bremer. Such individuals have long posed one of the most severe threats to prominent individuals in the United States.
McCain also has the additional threats of radical leftists who oppose his stance on the war in Iraq, though frankly they are more likely to embarrass him than seriously harm him. More concerning is the real threat posed by radical Islamists, of both the jihadist and Hezbollah variety, who see McCain’s stance on the war in Iraq, his unequivocal support of Israel and his tough rhetoric toward Iran as threatening.
Any election season poses difficult security challenges for the USSS, but the unique circumstances of this year’s election are making the job especially tough on the already overtaxed protection service.
Tell Fred and Scott what you think
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Wrap...
The U.S. Election Season: Security Challenges and Conventional Wisdom
Stratfor Today »-->March 26, 2008
By Fred Burton and Scott Stewart
As the struggle grinds on in the United States for the Democratic presidential nomination, it appears there will be no clear winner before the Democratic National Convention begins Aug. 25 in Denver, Colo. This contest of firsts — the first female presidential candidate in Hillary Clinton and the first African-American candidate to win so many primaries and delegates in Barack Obama — has been hard-fought, and likely will become even more heated between now and the convention.
The Obama campaign has leveled claims of racism over remarks made by former President Bill Clinton before the January South Carolina primary, and more recently over the widely publicized comments by Geraldine Ferraro, who was forced to resign from the Clinton campaign. The Obama campaign also has had to face racism charges over controversial comments made from the pulpit by Obama’s longtime friend and pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who until February was pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
From a security perspective, each election cycle brings huge challenges. The task of protecting presidential candidates has become ever larger and longer as campaigns and primary elections have been pushed ever earlier. In fact, when Obama received U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protection in May 2007, he made history by being the candidate to receive USSS protection the earliest. Much of the rationale behind the decision to provide Obama with protection so early was based on the conventional wisdom that radical white racists would seek to harm him. A review of several radical white racist Web sites, however, shows that many radical white racists would prefer that Obama be elected, rather than Clinton or Republican candidate John McCain, both of whom they consider to be controlled by Jewish interest groups. Perhaps the greatest threat to all three of the candidates — as is nearly always the case — would be a mentally disturbed lone gunman, and such a person could choose to target any of the candidates for any number of reasons.
Challenges
Major presidential candidates have been afforded USSS protection since the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy at the site of a campaign event. Presidential elections give the USSS and other security personnel headaches for a number of reasons. Foremost among these is the fact that campaigns are, by their very nature, fast, furious and geographically diverse. In the run-up to an important primary — or on a day like Super Tuesday, when there are multiple primaries — candidates can hopscotch across a state or even across the country. Candidates’ schedules often are packed with events that start before sunrise and last until long after dark, and each of the events on that very full schedule requires a great deal of security planning and preparation.
Each site on the candidate’s itinerary must first be visited by a security advance team or agent, who will survey the site, gather all the details of the event and then create a plan, called a security survey, for the measures to be put in place for the event. In the case of a 10-minute stop at a diner, for example, the plan can simply outline which entrance should be used and how the agents should be deployed, as well as provide emergency evacuation procedures.
Such small events often can be handled by the security detail itself, as are most of the impromptu stops and events. In general, the threat is smaller at an impromptu stop than it is at a planned event, because the spontaneous nature of the impromptu stop does not give potential malefactors the opportunity to make attack plans. Large, well-publicized events, on the other hand, can provide ample opportunity to plan, and because of this they require additional security measures.
In the case of a large planned function, security measures can be expanded to include bomb sweeps, access control and screening, countersniper coverage, sweeps for hazardous materials, etc. Any event that is swept for bombs by an explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) team must then be watched, or “posted,” for the entire period between the sweep and the event.
Advance work, pre-posting, close protection, protective intelligence, liaison with local and state police agencies and access control all require bodies. Consider the manpower required to secure one such event, multiply that by several similar events daily and by the number of candidates being protected — and then spread it over a period of many months — and it becomes apparent why the USSS, with its 3,200 special agents and 1,200 uniformed officers, is hard-pressed during an election season.
Add to all of that the fact that the USSS is required to maintain its normal protective coverage of the s itting president and vice president, first lady, former presidents and first ladies, and visiting heads of state. In fact, the USSS frequently lacks the manpower for all of these functions and often will borrow special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives and the Internal Revenue Service, or deputies from the U.S. Marshals Service.
Another challenge during election season is the fact that candidates are compelled to meet and greet supporters, kiss babies and press the flesh. This means they need to enter crowds. This is the aspect of the job that protection agents most abhor, because danger can lurk in a crowd. The compact nature of a crowd makes it very difficult for agents to see bulges and bumps that can indicate that a person is armed. Moreover, the sheer number of people makes it difficult for agents to spot individuals who are behaving abnormally. That said, U.S. protective agencies such as the USSS and the Diplomatic Security Service spend much time and effort training their special agents to “work the crowd.” They are the best in the world at it, but that does not mean it is an easy task or one the agents enjoy.
As we have discussed in relation to the two assassination attempts against Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, crowds are a security nightmare. This is true anywhere in the world. Indeed, a number of assassins and would-be assassins in the United States have struck from crowds.
President William McKinley was greeting a crowd at an exposition in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1901, when he was shot by anarchist Leon Frank Czolgosz, who had concealed a revolver in a handkerchief. Presidential candidate George Wallace was shot in 1972 by Arthur Bremer, who emerged from a crowd during a campaign stop in Laurel, Md. Wallace survived the attempt, but the attack left him disabled for life. Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme and Sarah Jane Moore both attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford from crowds in September 1975. John Hinckley also used a crowd of reporters (an area known as t he press pen) as camouflage in his 1981 assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan.
n the past, one radical group threatened to stab politicians working the crowds with HIV-infected needles, and other groups have plotted to attack prominent politicians with toxins such as ricin.
Conventional Wisdom
At present, the conventional wisdom holds that Obama, as an African-American, is under a greater threat than either Clinton or McCain. However, a close look at the rhetoric on many radical white racist Web sites reveals a couple of things that appear to contradict the conventional wisdom. In fact, the rhetoric seems to indicate that all three remaining candidates are at risk.
First, many people who post comments on these types of sites believe the real problem is not African-Americans, but Jews, whom they believe are using African-Americans as a tool to oppress white Americans. In other words, they see African-Americans as a symptom of a larger Jewish problem. They believe that a cabal of Jews — an entity they call the Zionist Occupation Government (ZOG) — secretly controls the U.S. government. They further believe that both McCain and Clinton are totally controlled by the ZOG, and that the ZOG will oppose Obama because he is not toeing the line. Using the logic that an Obama victory would be bad for the ZOG, these racists would rather see Obama get elected than either the “ZOG-controlled” Clinton or McCain.
Many of these same radical white racists also believe that Obama is a godsend to them. First, they believe that if he is defeated in either the primaries or the general election, it will spark huge riots in inner cities across the United States — riots that, they say, will demonstrate the “true nature” of African-Americans. Even if Obama is elected, many white racists believe he will behave in a manner that will inflame racial tensions, causing a polarization that will assist them in their recruiting efforts and ultimately in their fight to wrest control of the United States from the ZOG. Of course, some white racists also say they hope a lone wolf will assassinate Obama in an effort to spark a race war. This is the reason he is under USSS protection.
But Obama is not the only candidate at risk from right-wing extremists. In addition to the white racists who believe McCain and Clinton are Jewish puppets, there are other right-wing radicals who are unhappy with both McCain and Clinton over their respective stances on immigration. Right-wing radicals also were not fond of the Bill Clinton presidency. When they discuss the prospects of a Hillary Clinton presidency, they frequently refer to people such as former Attorney General Janet Reno and incidents such as the Waco siege and the air campaign against Serbia.
All of the presidential candidates also face the threat of a mentally disturbed lone wolf, like Hinckley or Bremer. Such individuals have long posed one of the most severe threats to prominent individuals in the United States.
McCain also has the additional threats of radical leftists who oppose his stance on the war in Iraq, though frankly they are more likely to embarrass him than seriously harm him. More concerning is the real threat posed by radical Islamists, of both the jihadist and Hezbollah variety, who see McCain’s stance on the war in Iraq, his unequivocal support of Israel and his tough rhetoric toward Iran as threatening.
Any election season poses difficult security challenges for the USSS, but the unique circumstances of this year’s election are making the job especially tough on the already overtaxed protection service.
Tell Fred and Scott what you think
This analysis was just a fraction of what our Members enjoy, Click Here to start your Free Membership Trial Today!
If a friend forwarded this email to you, click here to join our mailing list for FREE intelligence and other special offers.
Please feel free to distribute this Intelligence Report to friends or repost to your Web site linking to www.stratfor.com.
Wrap...
Pentagon disappears American soldiers....
From AlterNet via truthout.org:
Penny Coleman Pentagon Holds Thousands of Americans "Prisoners of War"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032608D.shtml
Penny Coleman, writing for AlterNet, says the Pentagon holds thousands of Americans "prisoners of war." She says: "There are at least 60,000 of them, but they're not on the DOD's list of soldiers missing in action."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Penny Coleman Pentagon Holds Thousands of Americans "Prisoners of War"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032608D.shtml
Penny Coleman, writing for AlterNet, says the Pentagon holds thousands of Americans "prisoners of war." She says: "There are at least 60,000 of them, but they're not on the DOD's list of soldiers missing in action."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Homeland Security...What, where, why, how?
From Secrecy News:
HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL FADES TO BLACK
The Homeland Security Council (HSC), a White House agency that advises the President on homeland security policy, has become one of the darkest corners of the U.S. Government. The Council was established by President Bush shortly after September 11, 2001 and it was chartered as an agency within the Executive Office of the President in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
"Thereafter, the HSC disappeared from the public record," a new report from the Congressional Research Service noticed. In particular, according to CRS: The Homeland Security Council "does not appear to have complied with requirements for Federal Register publication of such basic information as descriptions of its central organization." It has never disclosed "where, from whom, and how the public may obtain information about it."
Nor has it published the required "rules of procedure, substantive rules of general applicability, and statements of general policy."
Moreover, "No profile of, or descriptive information regarding, the HSC or its members and staff has appeared, to date, in the annual editions of the United States Government Manual.
"This peculiar state of affairs was described by Harold C. Relyea of the Congressional Research Service in "Organizing for Homeland Security: TheHomeland Security Council Reconsidered," March 19, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RS22840.pdf
Last week, President Bush appointed assistant attorney general Kenneth L. Wainstein to be homeland security adviser and chair of the Homeland Security Council, succeeding Frances F. Townsend.
Wrap...
HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL FADES TO BLACK
The Homeland Security Council (HSC), a White House agency that advises the President on homeland security policy, has become one of the darkest corners of the U.S. Government. The Council was established by President Bush shortly after September 11, 2001 and it was chartered as an agency within the Executive Office of the President in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
"Thereafter, the HSC disappeared from the public record," a new report from the Congressional Research Service noticed. In particular, according to CRS: The Homeland Security Council "does not appear to have complied with requirements for Federal Register publication of such basic information as descriptions of its central organization." It has never disclosed "where, from whom, and how the public may obtain information about it."
Nor has it published the required "rules of procedure, substantive rules of general applicability, and statements of general policy."
Moreover, "No profile of, or descriptive information regarding, the HSC or its members and staff has appeared, to date, in the annual editions of the United States Government Manual.
"This peculiar state of affairs was described by Harold C. Relyea of the Congressional Research Service in "Organizing for Homeland Security: TheHomeland Security Council Reconsidered," March 19, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RS22840.pdf
Last week, President Bush appointed assistant attorney general Kenneth L. Wainstein to be homeland security adviser and chair of the Homeland Security Council, succeeding Frances F. Townsend.
Wrap...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The lowdown on the start of Iraq "war"....
From Information Clearing House:
Bush's War: Frontline. PBS Video:
How the war began and how it has been fought, both on the ground and deep within the government
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/
Wrap...
Bush's War: Frontline. PBS Video:
How the war began and how it has been fought, both on the ground and deep within the government
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/
Wrap...
Guard the nukes!!!!
From International Herald Tribune:
U.S. mistakenly shipped ballistic missile parts to Taiwan
By Thom Shanker
Published: March 25, 2008
WASHINGTON: Instead of sending helicopter batteries, the United States shipped four electrical fuses for Minuteman nuclear missile warheads to Taiwan, a mistake that was discovered only last week - a year and a half after the shipment, Pentagon officials disclosed Tuesday.
Officials said the nose-cone fuses contained no nuclear material and were similar in function to the ones used for conventional munitions, though these were designed specifically to send an electrical signal to the trigger of the MK-12 nuclear warhead as it was approaching the ground.
Even so, the incident is another embarrassment for America's nuclear weapons establishment, in particular the air force, which previously disclosed that a B-52 bomber mistakenly carried six nuclear cruise missiles on a flight from North Dakota to Louisiana last year.
The U.S. government is one of the most relentless advocates of halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, their components and the ballistic missiles to carry them, and has made public cases against potential adversaries like North Korea and Iran. It has also criticized Russia for not sufficiently safeguarding its stockpile of weapons.
By losing control of the four missile nose-cone fuses that fit atop a nuclear warhead, the United States risks significant diplomatic criticism from China, which has complained about American weapons sales to Taiwan, an island that Beijing considers a renegade province.
"Though this will likely be chalked up to a bureaucratic snafu, the Chinese will view this through the prism of their own suspicions about U.S. intentions," said Robert Litwak, an expert on proliferation at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were informed of the discovery Friday, and Gates immediately ordered an investigation. "The department has initiated a complete physical inventory of all of these devices," said Ryan Henry, principal under secretary of defense for policy.
He said Gates told the air force and navy secretaries "to conduct a comprehensive review of all policies, procedures as well as a physical site inventory of all nuclear and nuclear-associated material or equipment across their respective programs."
Meanwhile, officials said, the fuses have been returned to U.S. custody.
Admiral Kirkland Donald, the director of Navy Nuclear Propulsion, will lead an investigation into how the nose-cone fuses came to be sent to Taiwan.
Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the four nose-cone assemblies were shipped in March 2005 from F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming for storage at a Defense Logistics Agency warehouse at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
Then, in the autumn of 2006, the four fuses, stored in canisters, were shipped to Taiwan to fill an order for helicopter batteries. It remained unclear, Wynne said, at which of the two American bases the canisters were misidentified as batteries.
The nose cone fuses are just under two feet long, and the authorities in Taiwan have assured the Pentagon that the canisters have remained unopened and in storage the entire time Taiwan had them, officials said.
Even so, part of the investigation will include intelligence and technical analysis to determine whether the fuses were examined or otherwise tampered with.
Officials said the error came to light last week when Taiwanese officials alerted the United States.
Henry said the United States Government was assessing whether the incident violated any domestic laws or treaty obligations.
"If there was something that was amiss, it clearly was not intentional," he said. "The United States stands up to its treaty obligations. And we're dealing with this in the most straightforward manner we can."
Henry said the United States had spoken to the government of China and that "we will continue to have dialogue with them."
Officials could not explain how the absence of the fuses was not discovered during the standard inventory reviews carried out four times a year.
Wrap...
U.S. mistakenly shipped ballistic missile parts to Taiwan
By Thom Shanker
Published: March 25, 2008
WASHINGTON: Instead of sending helicopter batteries, the United States shipped four electrical fuses for Minuteman nuclear missile warheads to Taiwan, a mistake that was discovered only last week - a year and a half after the shipment, Pentagon officials disclosed Tuesday.
Officials said the nose-cone fuses contained no nuclear material and were similar in function to the ones used for conventional munitions, though these were designed specifically to send an electrical signal to the trigger of the MK-12 nuclear warhead as it was approaching the ground.
Even so, the incident is another embarrassment for America's nuclear weapons establishment, in particular the air force, which previously disclosed that a B-52 bomber mistakenly carried six nuclear cruise missiles on a flight from North Dakota to Louisiana last year.
The U.S. government is one of the most relentless advocates of halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, their components and the ballistic missiles to carry them, and has made public cases against potential adversaries like North Korea and Iran. It has also criticized Russia for not sufficiently safeguarding its stockpile of weapons.
By losing control of the four missile nose-cone fuses that fit atop a nuclear warhead, the United States risks significant diplomatic criticism from China, which has complained about American weapons sales to Taiwan, an island that Beijing considers a renegade province.
"Though this will likely be chalked up to a bureaucratic snafu, the Chinese will view this through the prism of their own suspicions about U.S. intentions," said Robert Litwak, an expert on proliferation at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.
President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were informed of the discovery Friday, and Gates immediately ordered an investigation. "The department has initiated a complete physical inventory of all of these devices," said Ryan Henry, principal under secretary of defense for policy.
He said Gates told the air force and navy secretaries "to conduct a comprehensive review of all policies, procedures as well as a physical site inventory of all nuclear and nuclear-associated material or equipment across their respective programs."
Meanwhile, officials said, the fuses have been returned to U.S. custody.
Admiral Kirkland Donald, the director of Navy Nuclear Propulsion, will lead an investigation into how the nose-cone fuses came to be sent to Taiwan.
Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the four nose-cone assemblies were shipped in March 2005 from F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming for storage at a Defense Logistics Agency warehouse at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
Then, in the autumn of 2006, the four fuses, stored in canisters, were shipped to Taiwan to fill an order for helicopter batteries. It remained unclear, Wynne said, at which of the two American bases the canisters were misidentified as batteries.
The nose cone fuses are just under two feet long, and the authorities in Taiwan have assured the Pentagon that the canisters have remained unopened and in storage the entire time Taiwan had them, officials said.
Even so, part of the investigation will include intelligence and technical analysis to determine whether the fuses were examined or otherwise tampered with.
Officials said the error came to light last week when Taiwanese officials alerted the United States.
Henry said the United States Government was assessing whether the incident violated any domestic laws or treaty obligations.
"If there was something that was amiss, it clearly was not intentional," he said. "The United States stands up to its treaty obligations. And we're dealing with this in the most straightforward manner we can."
Henry said the United States had spoken to the government of China and that "we will continue to have dialogue with them."
Officials could not explain how the absence of the fuses was not discovered during the standard inventory reviews carried out four times a year.
Wrap...
PZ Meyers & Michael Reagan Show
Driving home tonight, happened to tune into Mike Reagan's talk show on 1700AM here in San Diego....just in time to hear PZ get raked over the coals regarding the meeting he was barred from, by both Reagan and a religious film producer. PZ has been writing about that event on his blog:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/03/lying_by_press_release.php
Wrap...
An Extravagant Mix of Books.....
From Publishers Lunch Weekly:
FICTION/DEBUT:
Shawna Yang Ryan's LOCKE 1928, which weaves history and mythology around a community of Chinese immigrants in a small California town in 1928, exploring the lives of a beautiful young prostitute in love with the preacher's daughter; a husband and wife mysteriously reunited after ten years; a lovesick brothel owner who can see into the past and the future, and the ghosts haunting them all, to Jane Fleming at Penguin Press, at auction, by Daniel Lazar at Writers House (NA).
GENERAL/OTHER:
John Parker, Jr.'s ONCE A RUNNER, the story of a college senior who gives up everything in his life and submits to a brutal training regimen in a quest to become a world champion, originally published in 1978 andBookfinder's most in demand out of print book last year, to Brant Rumbleat Scribner, by Byrd Leavell at the Waxman Literary Agency (NA).
J. Robert Lennon's CASTLE, in which a military veteran returns to his home town to repair an old house and discovers a mysterious structure in the nearby woods, and PIECES FOR THE LEFT HAND, a story collection, to Ethan Nosowsky at Graywolf, for publication in Spring 2009, by Jim Rutman at Sterling Lord Literistic (NA).
YOUR BODY IS CHANGING and AWESOME author Jack Pendarvis's SHUT UP, UGLY, an accidental detective story, relating the adventures of a would-be adulterer who, while hiding from a psychopathic husband in a dubious bed-and-breakfast, is mistaken for a private eye and eagerly fakes his way into an exciting and dangerous new life, again to MacAdam/Cage, with David Adams editing, for publication in 2009, by Paul Bresnick at Paul Bresnick Agency (world).
Celebutantes authors Amanda Goldberg and Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper's CELEBUTANTES: Take Deux, which takes the trio of Hollywood insiders to the Cannes Film Festival, to Jennifer Weis at St. Martin's, by Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider (NA).UK rights to Susan Lamb at Orion.
WE ARE ALL FINE HERE author Mary Guterson's I HOPE YOU'RE VERY HAPPY, about a young woman recovering from a breakup with the "help" of her meddling mother, her clueless father, and a golden retriever she's dognapped from her ex-boyfriend, to Hilary Rubin Teeman at St. Martin's, by Sarah Burnes at The Gernert Company (NA).
T. Greenwood's TWO RIVERS, about a good man who has done a terrible thing, to Peter Senftleben at Kensington, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in February 2009, by Henry Dunow at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner (World).
CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT:
Sarwat Chadda's THE DEVIL'S KISS, the story of a fifteen-year-old girl conscripted into the modern-day remnant of the Knights Templar, to Donna Bray at Hyperion, in a major deal, for publication in Fall 2009, and to Lindsey Heaven at Puffin, in a very nice deal, sold simultaneously, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication Spring 2009, by former Macmillan UK children's publishing director Sarah Davies in her first deal at her Greenhouse Literary Agency. Foreign: AlexandraDevlin@rightspeople.com
NON-FICTION/BUSINESS, INVESTING, FINANCE:
The Last Tycoons author William Cohan's MELTDOWN, examining the collapse of Bear Stearns in the broader context of the present financial crisis, using it as a canvas to explore why we are yet again facing a disastrous financial bust after a heady financial boom" and what, if anything, should be done to prevent a recurrence, to Bill Thomas at Doubleday, by Joy Harris of the Joy Harris Agency (world English).
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Pulitzer Prize-winner, Philadelphia Daily News writer, and writer of the blog Attytood's Will Bunch's THE REAGAN MYTH MACHINE: The Legend of Ronald Reagan and the Threat to the American Presidency, a breakdown of the key myths about the 40th president and his record, identifying the intentional creation of a cult of personality in the 1990s and the 2000s and, most notably, their use in the 2008 presidential race, to Martin Beiser at Free Press, for publication in early 2009, by Will Lippincottat Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (World).
HUMOR:
Oonagh O'Hagan's I LICK MY CHEESE, the humorous guide for roommates, in all their weirdness, told through the notes they leave each other, to David Cashion of Abrams Image, at auction, by Peter McGuigan of Foundry Literary + Media, on behalf of Gordon Wise of Curtis Brown.
MEMOIR:
Nine-time Grand Slam tennis winner and current contestant on 'Dancing with the Stars' Monica Seles's memoir, exploring her journey of brilliant tennis, fame, tragedy, loss and self-discovery, to Megan Newman at Avery, at auction, for publication in March 2009, by Dana Beckat Bill Adler Books.
NYT bestselling author Charles Brandt and Special Agent Lin DeVecchio's WE'RE GOING TO WIN THIS THING, a true account of DeVecchio's life inside the organized crime world and his groundbreaking acquittal, to Denise Silvestro at Penguin, by Frank Weimann at The Literary Group.
[NOTE: Weimann runs an excellent agency]
NARRATIVE:
Leading Boston divorce attorney Gerald Nissenbaum's MONEY TO BURN, an insider's perspective on the world of divorce among the extravagantly wealthy, co-written with IN MY BLOOD author John Sedgwick, to Luke Dempsey at Hudson Street Press, in a pre-empt, by Dan Conaway at Writers House (NA).
POP CULTURE:
Jason Zinoman's SHOCK VALUE, based on his recent Vanity Fair article, offering a definitive look at the golden age of the modern horror movie by examining the infamous directors who revolutionized the business, exploded taboos, and brought a new brand of intellectualism and politics to the genre, to Jane Fleming at Penguin Press, by Farley Chase at the Waxman Literary Agency (NA).
Wrap...
FICTION/DEBUT:
Shawna Yang Ryan's LOCKE 1928, which weaves history and mythology around a community of Chinese immigrants in a small California town in 1928, exploring the lives of a beautiful young prostitute in love with the preacher's daughter; a husband and wife mysteriously reunited after ten years; a lovesick brothel owner who can see into the past and the future, and the ghosts haunting them all, to Jane Fleming at Penguin Press, at auction, by Daniel Lazar at Writers House (NA).
GENERAL/OTHER:
John Parker, Jr.'s ONCE A RUNNER, the story of a college senior who gives up everything in his life and submits to a brutal training regimen in a quest to become a world champion, originally published in 1978 andBookfinder's most in demand out of print book last year, to Brant Rumbleat Scribner, by Byrd Leavell at the Waxman Literary Agency (NA).
J. Robert Lennon's CASTLE, in which a military veteran returns to his home town to repair an old house and discovers a mysterious structure in the nearby woods, and PIECES FOR THE LEFT HAND, a story collection, to Ethan Nosowsky at Graywolf, for publication in Spring 2009, by Jim Rutman at Sterling Lord Literistic (NA).
YOUR BODY IS CHANGING and AWESOME author Jack Pendarvis's SHUT UP, UGLY, an accidental detective story, relating the adventures of a would-be adulterer who, while hiding from a psychopathic husband in a dubious bed-and-breakfast, is mistaken for a private eye and eagerly fakes his way into an exciting and dangerous new life, again to MacAdam/Cage, with David Adams editing, for publication in 2009, by Paul Bresnick at Paul Bresnick Agency (world).
Celebutantes authors Amanda Goldberg and Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper's CELEBUTANTES: Take Deux, which takes the trio of Hollywood insiders to the Cannes Film Festival, to Jennifer Weis at St. Martin's, by Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider (NA).UK rights to Susan Lamb at Orion.
WE ARE ALL FINE HERE author Mary Guterson's I HOPE YOU'RE VERY HAPPY, about a young woman recovering from a breakup with the "help" of her meddling mother, her clueless father, and a golden retriever she's dognapped from her ex-boyfriend, to Hilary Rubin Teeman at St. Martin's, by Sarah Burnes at The Gernert Company (NA).
T. Greenwood's TWO RIVERS, about a good man who has done a terrible thing, to Peter Senftleben at Kensington, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in February 2009, by Henry Dunow at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner (World).
CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT:
Sarwat Chadda's THE DEVIL'S KISS, the story of a fifteen-year-old girl conscripted into the modern-day remnant of the Knights Templar, to Donna Bray at Hyperion, in a major deal, for publication in Fall 2009, and to Lindsey Heaven at Puffin, in a very nice deal, sold simultaneously, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication Spring 2009, by former Macmillan UK children's publishing director Sarah Davies in her first deal at her Greenhouse Literary Agency. Foreign: AlexandraDevlin@rightspeople.com
NON-FICTION/BUSINESS, INVESTING, FINANCE:
The Last Tycoons author William Cohan's MELTDOWN, examining the collapse of Bear Stearns in the broader context of the present financial crisis, using it as a canvas to explore why we are yet again facing a disastrous financial bust after a heady financial boom" and what, if anything, should be done to prevent a recurrence, to Bill Thomas at Doubleday, by Joy Harris of the Joy Harris Agency (world English).
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Pulitzer Prize-winner, Philadelphia Daily News writer, and writer of the blog Attytood's Will Bunch's THE REAGAN MYTH MACHINE: The Legend of Ronald Reagan and the Threat to the American Presidency, a breakdown of the key myths about the 40th president and his record, identifying the intentional creation of a cult of personality in the 1990s and the 2000s and, most notably, their use in the 2008 presidential race, to Martin Beiser at Free Press, for publication in early 2009, by Will Lippincottat Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (World).
HUMOR:
Oonagh O'Hagan's I LICK MY CHEESE, the humorous guide for roommates, in all their weirdness, told through the notes they leave each other, to David Cashion of Abrams Image, at auction, by Peter McGuigan of Foundry Literary + Media, on behalf of Gordon Wise of Curtis Brown.
MEMOIR:
Nine-time Grand Slam tennis winner and current contestant on 'Dancing with the Stars' Monica Seles's memoir, exploring her journey of brilliant tennis, fame, tragedy, loss and self-discovery, to Megan Newman at Avery, at auction, for publication in March 2009, by Dana Beckat Bill Adler Books.
NYT bestselling author Charles Brandt and Special Agent Lin DeVecchio's WE'RE GOING TO WIN THIS THING, a true account of DeVecchio's life inside the organized crime world and his groundbreaking acquittal, to Denise Silvestro at Penguin, by Frank Weimann at The Literary Group.
[NOTE: Weimann runs an excellent agency]
NARRATIVE:
Leading Boston divorce attorney Gerald Nissenbaum's MONEY TO BURN, an insider's perspective on the world of divorce among the extravagantly wealthy, co-written with IN MY BLOOD author John Sedgwick, to Luke Dempsey at Hudson Street Press, in a pre-empt, by Dan Conaway at Writers House (NA).
POP CULTURE:
Jason Zinoman's SHOCK VALUE, based on his recent Vanity Fair article, offering a definitive look at the golden age of the modern horror movie by examining the infamous directors who revolutionized the business, exploded taboos, and brought a new brand of intellectualism and politics to the genre, to Jane Fleming at Penguin Press, by Farley Chase at the Waxman Literary Agency (NA).
Wrap...
Monday, March 24, 2008
What the DIA's purpose is....
From Secrecy News:
DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY MISSION AND FUNCTIONS
The functions and responsibilities of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) are detailed in a 27-page directive that has been newly re-issued by the Department of Defense.
"DIA shall satisfy the military and military-related intelligence requirements of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the DNI, and provide the military intelligence contribution to national foreign intelligence and counterintelligence."
See "Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)," DoD Directive 5105.21, March18, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/d5105_21.pdf
Wrap...
DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY MISSION AND FUNCTIONS
The functions and responsibilities of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) are detailed in a 27-page directive that has been newly re-issued by the Department of Defense.
"DIA shall satisfy the military and military-related intelligence requirements of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the DNI, and provide the military intelligence contribution to national foreign intelligence and counterintelligence."
See "Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)," DoD Directive 5105.21, March18, 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/d5105_21.pdf
Wrap...
From 36% to Spitzer effect on the Mayflower Hotel...
From American Progress:
Think Fast...
According to Merrill Lynch, at the end of 2007, "36 percent of consumers’ disposable income went to food, energy and medical care, a bigger chunk of income than at any time since records were first kept in 1960."
Health-care costs are "whacking away" at the wages of working class Americans. Premiums for family health coverage have increased 78 percent since 2001. "Even though workers are producing more, inflation-adjusted median family income has dipped 2.6 percent — or nearly $1,000 annually since 2000."
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has consistently "condemned the influence of ’special interest lobbyists.'" Yet of "the 66 current or former lobbyists working for the Arizona senator or raising money for his presidential campaign, 23 have lobbied for telecommunications companies in the past decade." McCain has received $765,000 in donations from these individuals and their spouses, co-workers, and clients.
"[E]vidence from nonprofit credit and mortgage counselors suggests that the number of people using these so-called ‘pay day loans’ is growing…a negative sign for economic recovery." A pay day loan "is typically for a few hundred dollars, with a term of two weeks, and an interest rate as high as 800 percent."
In addition to U.S. troop deaths reaching 4,000 in Iraq, "American forces have just experienced the most violent two-week period in Iraq since September 2007." Between March 10 and 23, twenty-five soldiers were killed in Iraq.
The average price of gasoline has hit a record $3.26 a gallon, with diesel at a record $4.06. The average coast of gasoline jumped nearly 7 cents from two weeks earlier.
Young Army and Marine captains "have extensive combat experience and are regarded as the military’s future leaders." But "the hardships of repeated tours are taking their toll," sending these individuals back to "civilian life." Capt. Kirkner Bailey of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment in Mosul said that "8 of my 10 friends who are captains are leaving the army."
In talks Sunday night, JPMorgan Chase discussed offering Bear Stearns $10 a share, instead of its initial offering of $2, "in an effort to pacify angry Bear shareholders." The New York Times reported that the Fed "was balking at the new offer price," making it "possible" that the new deal could "collapse entirely."
And finally: Since former New York state governor Eliot Spitzer's "tête-à-tête with a call girl at the famous Mayflower Hotel," business has been flourishing. The hotel's gift shop "has been booming with people picking up Mayflower coffee mugs and post cards" and the venue's bar "is busier than normal."
Wrap...
Think Fast...
According to Merrill Lynch, at the end of 2007, "36 percent of consumers’ disposable income went to food, energy and medical care, a bigger chunk of income than at any time since records were first kept in 1960."
Health-care costs are "whacking away" at the wages of working class Americans. Premiums for family health coverage have increased 78 percent since 2001. "Even though workers are producing more, inflation-adjusted median family income has dipped 2.6 percent — or nearly $1,000 annually since 2000."
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has consistently "condemned the influence of ’special interest lobbyists.'" Yet of "the 66 current or former lobbyists working for the Arizona senator or raising money for his presidential campaign, 23 have lobbied for telecommunications companies in the past decade." McCain has received $765,000 in donations from these individuals and their spouses, co-workers, and clients.
"[E]vidence from nonprofit credit and mortgage counselors suggests that the number of people using these so-called ‘pay day loans’ is growing…a negative sign for economic recovery." A pay day loan "is typically for a few hundred dollars, with a term of two weeks, and an interest rate as high as 800 percent."
In addition to U.S. troop deaths reaching 4,000 in Iraq, "American forces have just experienced the most violent two-week period in Iraq since September 2007." Between March 10 and 23, twenty-five soldiers were killed in Iraq.
The average price of gasoline has hit a record $3.26 a gallon, with diesel at a record $4.06. The average coast of gasoline jumped nearly 7 cents from two weeks earlier.
Young Army and Marine captains "have extensive combat experience and are regarded as the military’s future leaders." But "the hardships of repeated tours are taking their toll," sending these individuals back to "civilian life." Capt. Kirkner Bailey of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment in Mosul said that "8 of my 10 friends who are captains are leaving the army."
In talks Sunday night, JPMorgan Chase discussed offering Bear Stearns $10 a share, instead of its initial offering of $2, "in an effort to pacify angry Bear shareholders." The New York Times reported that the Fed "was balking at the new offer price," making it "possible" that the new deal could "collapse entirely."
And finally: Since former New York state governor Eliot Spitzer's "tête-à-tête with a call girl at the famous Mayflower Hotel," business has been flourishing. The hotel's gift shop "has been booming with people picking up Mayflower coffee mugs and post cards" and the venue's bar "is busier than normal."
Wrap...
Say What?!!! A Mini-Convention?
From McClatchy Newspapers via truthout.org :
Dems Consider Mini-Convention to Pick Nominee
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032408R.shtml
Dave Helling of McClatchy Newspapers reports: "Democrats, looking for a way out, are pondering a new idea: an unprecedented 'mini-convention' to bring their punishing presidential season to an early close."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Dems Consider Mini-Convention to Pick Nominee
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032408R.shtml
Dave Helling of McClatchy Newspapers reports: "Democrats, looking for a way out, are pondering a new idea: an unprecedented 'mini-convention' to bring their punishing presidential season to an early close."
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Sen Clinton's speech on Iraq...
From NY Times via truthout.org :
Frank Rich The Republican Resurrection
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032408B.shtml
Frank Rich, writing for The New York Times, asks: "The day before Barack Obama gave The Speech, Hillary Clinton gave a big speech of her own, billed by her campaign as a 'major policy address on the war in Iraq.'
What, you didn't hear about it?"
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Frank Rich The Republican Resurrection
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032408B.shtml
Frank Rich, writing for The New York Times, asks: "The day before Barack Obama gave The Speech, Hillary Clinton gave a big speech of her own, billed by her campaign as a 'major policy address on the war in Iraq.'
What, you didn't hear about it?"
[Use link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Some things just aggravate me...
For instance:
The too often shown lack of respect for Hillary Clinton's formal position. She is Senator Clinton, and deserves to be addressed that way...as are Senator McCain and Senator Obama. I've seen and heard many, many times in the media phrases such as "Sen. Obama said...", "Sen McCain thinks...", and "Hillary feels...". Additionally, it might be the last names: "Obama said...", McCain thinks..." but again, "Hillary feels..." Overly familar. Overly careless. And definitely not respectful. Sheesh!
That's not right.
And I'm getting mighty weary of all the hell raising over whose pastor is more of an asshole....Obama's or McCain's. Here's where I think those two are getting unfair treatment when it comes to religion...which has no place in political life to begin with...not one word about Sen Clinton's religion other than that she's a strong believer. Okay. That's fine. Apparently, they're all strong believers. But then, I came across this article about Sen. Clinton written originally for Mother Jones mag and recently reprinted in The Nation:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html
The writer is the author of the investigative book, "Nickeled and Dimed", and she's known for her good research. It's a shocking piece of work and has to do with the Weekly Prayer Breakfast in Congress. Yeah. Congressional people. Which is why I do think that the connection with our elected representatives has caused people to back of and fall silent on the matter.
Perhaps I'll have to google and see what I find.
Wrap...
The too often shown lack of respect for Hillary Clinton's formal position. She is Senator Clinton, and deserves to be addressed that way...as are Senator McCain and Senator Obama. I've seen and heard many, many times in the media phrases such as "Sen. Obama said...", "Sen McCain thinks...", and "Hillary feels...". Additionally, it might be the last names: "Obama said...", McCain thinks..." but again, "Hillary feels..." Overly familar. Overly careless. And definitely not respectful. Sheesh!
That's not right.
And I'm getting mighty weary of all the hell raising over whose pastor is more of an asshole....Obama's or McCain's. Here's where I think those two are getting unfair treatment when it comes to religion...which has no place in political life to begin with...not one word about Sen Clinton's religion other than that she's a strong believer. Okay. That's fine. Apparently, they're all strong believers. But then, I came across this article about Sen. Clinton written originally for Mother Jones mag and recently reprinted in The Nation:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/hillarys-prayer.html
The writer is the author of the investigative book, "Nickeled and Dimed", and she's known for her good research. It's a shocking piece of work and has to do with the Weekly Prayer Breakfast in Congress. Yeah. Congressional people. Which is why I do think that the connection with our elected representatives has caused people to back of and fall silent on the matter.
Perhaps I'll have to google and see what I find.
Wrap...
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Clinton lost after Iowa...
From Buzzflash. com ;
Hillary Clinton and Her Self-Constructed Temple of Doom
Submitted by pmcarpenter on Sat, 03/22/2008 - 7:07am. P.M. Carpenter
THE FIFTH COLUMNIST
by P.M. Carpenter
Political reporters Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen of The Politico have finally said with prodigious, black-and-white clarity what so many others in the mainstream press have been fudging and dancing around: "One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning."
Thank you.
That wasn't so hard, was it?
In all immodesty, however, I said much the same on Iowa's morning after, although for more ecumenical reasons (which we'll get back to shortly) than those delineated yesterday by Vandehei and Allen.
For them, now, as it has been for the realistically grounded for some time, it is all about -- yep -- the math. You can cut, slice, rearrange and bounce the pledged-delegate and popular-vote numbers any which way you want, but they always come back to one inalterable conclusion: Barack Obama wins.
Ah, but there are those superdelegates, you say, who are beholden to nothing and nobody but their own consciences and political futures. One never knows which way those winds may be blowing down the road, so there's still a chance. To which, with butcher knives in hand, Vandehei and Allen had this to say:
"The only way she wins [with] Democratic superdelegates [is if they're] ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party’s most reliable constituency." Then, the two journalists' death blow to such fantastical musings: "People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet."
In effect, Vandehei and Allen continue, the mainstream press and broadcast media have been playing mind games with the electorate -- and especially Hillary's supporters. "Journalists have become partners with the Clinton campaign in pretending that the contest is closer than it really is," and mostly, almost exclusively, because journalists love a good horse race and didn't want to see this one at the finish line.
Virtual and honestly reported fait accomplis don't sell newspapers or ramp up ratings. Can you hear it? Tune in again tomorrow, folks, when we'll remind you, again, that it's seven long months to the next major showdown.
Click. This far out, covering Betty Crocker Bake-offs would hold more news-consumer appeal.
So those journalistic partners with the Clinton campaign perpetuated "the myth," as the Politico titled its story, of Hillary's fighting viability. Oh, the drama of it all.
But to get back to what I promised, the real and determining drama of the Obama-Clinton race came decisively on the evening of January 3. The following morning I opened a column with, "Barack Obama can start taking drape measurements at the White House," for "it's hard to see how, and by whom, he can be stopped now." I closed it with this: "You may pre-order your Obama Inaugural Ball tickets today."
I wasn't riding some personal wave of Obamamania when I wrote that. In fact, in a moment of mistaken objectivity I had largely written off Obama's chances in an earlier piece. It was, merely, that Iowa delivered a crushing confirmation of what most voters were screaming for -- "change."
Abrupt, incontrovertible, unmistakable change. That hung in the air, voters would not be denied, and it didn't take many tea leaves to read the immediate electoral future. That was the new objectivity, only this time there was proof.
And that was the wave on which Hillary tumbled -- early, decisively and irreversibly. She and her staff of old-politics, 45-percent-coalition advisers immeasurably misread the national mood.
After seven years of vastly experienced presidential lying, conniving, weaseling, obfuscating, twisting, manipulating and swindling, the last thing most voters wanted was more Washington experience. But what did Hillary give them? Thirty-five bloody years of it. Reams of it. Mountains of it. Endless lectures and tutorials about it.
For a candidate known for her slyly calculating nature, it was one of the most colossal miscalculations in American political history. And that, I'm sure, is how future political historians will write her political obituary of 2008, just after noting another colossal and preceding miscalculation -- her 2002 Iraq war vote.
So again, thank you, Messrs. Vandehei and Allen, for finally writing what other journalists already knew but shied away from saying with such piercing clarity at point-blank range. Once the striking reality of it dawns on Hillary's base, perhaps a new day of progressive unity will dawn as well. Or at least begin dawning.
It's about time. Because this race was over as of January 4. It just took a while for journalists to get around to reporting it.
Please respond to the commentary by leaving comments below and sharing them with the
BuzzFlash community. For personal questions or comments you can contact P.M. at fifthcolumnistmail@gmail.com
THE FIFTH COLUMNIST by P.M. Carpenter
Wrap...
Hillary Clinton and Her Self-Constructed Temple of Doom
Submitted by pmcarpenter on Sat, 03/22/2008 - 7:07am. P.M. Carpenter
THE FIFTH COLUMNIST
by P.M. Carpenter
Political reporters Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen of The Politico have finally said with prodigious, black-and-white clarity what so many others in the mainstream press have been fudging and dancing around: "One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning."
Thank you.
That wasn't so hard, was it?
In all immodesty, however, I said much the same on Iowa's morning after, although for more ecumenical reasons (which we'll get back to shortly) than those delineated yesterday by Vandehei and Allen.
For them, now, as it has been for the realistically grounded for some time, it is all about -- yep -- the math. You can cut, slice, rearrange and bounce the pledged-delegate and popular-vote numbers any which way you want, but they always come back to one inalterable conclusion: Barack Obama wins.
Ah, but there are those superdelegates, you say, who are beholden to nothing and nobody but their own consciences and political futures. One never knows which way those winds may be blowing down the road, so there's still a chance. To which, with butcher knives in hand, Vandehei and Allen had this to say:
"The only way she wins [with] Democratic superdelegates [is if they're] ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party’s most reliable constituency." Then, the two journalists' death blow to such fantastical musings: "People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet."
In effect, Vandehei and Allen continue, the mainstream press and broadcast media have been playing mind games with the electorate -- and especially Hillary's supporters. "Journalists have become partners with the Clinton campaign in pretending that the contest is closer than it really is," and mostly, almost exclusively, because journalists love a good horse race and didn't want to see this one at the finish line.
Virtual and honestly reported fait accomplis don't sell newspapers or ramp up ratings. Can you hear it? Tune in again tomorrow, folks, when we'll remind you, again, that it's seven long months to the next major showdown.
Click. This far out, covering Betty Crocker Bake-offs would hold more news-consumer appeal.
So those journalistic partners with the Clinton campaign perpetuated "the myth," as the Politico titled its story, of Hillary's fighting viability. Oh, the drama of it all.
But to get back to what I promised, the real and determining drama of the Obama-Clinton race came decisively on the evening of January 3. The following morning I opened a column with, "Barack Obama can start taking drape measurements at the White House," for "it's hard to see how, and by whom, he can be stopped now." I closed it with this: "You may pre-order your Obama Inaugural Ball tickets today."
I wasn't riding some personal wave of Obamamania when I wrote that. In fact, in a moment of mistaken objectivity I had largely written off Obama's chances in an earlier piece. It was, merely, that Iowa delivered a crushing confirmation of what most voters were screaming for -- "change."
Abrupt, incontrovertible, unmistakable change. That hung in the air, voters would not be denied, and it didn't take many tea leaves to read the immediate electoral future. That was the new objectivity, only this time there was proof.
And that was the wave on which Hillary tumbled -- early, decisively and irreversibly. She and her staff of old-politics, 45-percent-coalition advisers immeasurably misread the national mood.
After seven years of vastly experienced presidential lying, conniving, weaseling, obfuscating, twisting, manipulating and swindling, the last thing most voters wanted was more Washington experience. But what did Hillary give them? Thirty-five bloody years of it. Reams of it. Mountains of it. Endless lectures and tutorials about it.
For a candidate known for her slyly calculating nature, it was one of the most colossal miscalculations in American political history. And that, I'm sure, is how future political historians will write her political obituary of 2008, just after noting another colossal and preceding miscalculation -- her 2002 Iraq war vote.
So again, thank you, Messrs. Vandehei and Allen, for finally writing what other journalists already knew but shied away from saying with such piercing clarity at point-blank range. Once the striking reality of it dawns on Hillary's base, perhaps a new day of progressive unity will dawn as well. Or at least begin dawning.
It's about time. Because this race was over as of January 4. It just took a while for journalists to get around to reporting it.
Please respond to the commentary by leaving comments below and sharing them with the
BuzzFlash community. For personal questions or comments you can contact P.M. at fifthcolumnistmail@gmail.com
THE FIFTH COLUMNIST by P.M. Carpenter
Wrap...
Friday, March 21, 2008
Dems may vote for McCain?!!!
From Levine Breaking News:
POLL: DIVISIVE DEM CONTEST COULD BOOST MCCAIN:
The lengthy Democratic primary contest bodes well for Republican chances of holding the White House, a new poll suggests.
As Democratic Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York slug it out for the nomination, many of their supporters -- at least in Pennsylvania, site of the next major primary -- aren't committed to the party's ticket in November, according to a Franklin & Marshall College Poll.
Wrap...
POLL: DIVISIVE DEM CONTEST COULD BOOST MCCAIN:
The lengthy Democratic primary contest bodes well for Republican chances of holding the White House, a new poll suggests.
As Democratic Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York slug it out for the nomination, many of their supporters -- at least in Pennsylvania, site of the next major primary -- aren't committed to the party's ticket in November, according to a Franklin & Marshall College Poll.
Wrap...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
What's in Iraqi Documents?
From Secrecy News:
DOD REPORT ON CAPTURED IRAQI DOCUMENTS
A Defense Department-sponsored report that examined captured Iraqi documents for indications of links between Saddam Hussein and terrorist organizations is now available online.
The five-volume report affirmed that there was "no 'smoking gun' (i.e., direct connection) between Saddam's Iraq and al Qaeda." But it also said there was "strong evidence that links the regime of Saddam Hussein to regional and global terrorism."
Although the report was publicly released on March 13, the Department of Defense declined to publish it online, offering instead to provide copies on disk. The full five-volume study has now been posted on the Federation of American Scientists web site.
See "Iraqi Perspectives Project: Saddam and Terrorism: Emerging Insights from Captured Iraqi Documents," Institute for Defense Analyses, November 2007, redacted and released March 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/iraqi/index.html
The study was first reported prior to release by Warren P. Strobel of McClatchy Newspapers. The first of the five volumes was previously posted on the ABC News web site. The latter volumes include hundreds of pages of captured Iraqi documents, declassified and translated into English.
The Defense Intelligence Agency "made every effort to balance national security concerns, requirements of law, and the needs of an informed democracy and focused the redactions to the necessary minimum," the report states.
The Iraqi documents themselves are an eclectic, uneven bunch. One of them, a fifty-page Iraqi "intelligence" analysis, disparages the austerely conservative Wahhabi school of Islam by claiming that its eighteenth century founder, Ibn 'Abd al Wahhab, had ancestors who were Jews.
In what must be the only laugh-out-loud line in the generally dismal five-volume report, the Iraqi analysis states that Ibn 'Abd al Wahhab's grandfather's true name was not "Sulayman" but "Shulman."
"Tawran confirms that Sulayman, the grandfather of the sheikh, is (Shulman); he is Jew from the merchants of the city of Burstah in Turkey, he had left it and settled in Damascus, grew his beard, and wore the Muslim turban, but was thrown out for being voodoo" (at page 20 of 56).
The analysis, produced by the Air Defense Security System of Iraq's General Military Intelligence Directorate, is not a very reliable guide to Islamic or Jewish history, though it may explain something about Iraq's air defenses.
"The Birth of Al-Wahabi Movement and Its Historic Roots" appears in volume 5 of the Defense Department report and is also available in this extract (13 MB PDF):
http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/iraqi/wahhabi.pdf
Wrap...
DOD REPORT ON CAPTURED IRAQI DOCUMENTS
A Defense Department-sponsored report that examined captured Iraqi documents for indications of links between Saddam Hussein and terrorist organizations is now available online.
The five-volume report affirmed that there was "no 'smoking gun' (i.e., direct connection) between Saddam's Iraq and al Qaeda." But it also said there was "strong evidence that links the regime of Saddam Hussein to regional and global terrorism."
Although the report was publicly released on March 13, the Department of Defense declined to publish it online, offering instead to provide copies on disk. The full five-volume study has now been posted on the Federation of American Scientists web site.
See "Iraqi Perspectives Project: Saddam and Terrorism: Emerging Insights from Captured Iraqi Documents," Institute for Defense Analyses, November 2007, redacted and released March 2008:
http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/iraqi/index.html
The study was first reported prior to release by Warren P. Strobel of McClatchy Newspapers. The first of the five volumes was previously posted on the ABC News web site. The latter volumes include hundreds of pages of captured Iraqi documents, declassified and translated into English.
The Defense Intelligence Agency "made every effort to balance national security concerns, requirements of law, and the needs of an informed democracy and focused the redactions to the necessary minimum," the report states.
The Iraqi documents themselves are an eclectic, uneven bunch. One of them, a fifty-page Iraqi "intelligence" analysis, disparages the austerely conservative Wahhabi school of Islam by claiming that its eighteenth century founder, Ibn 'Abd al Wahhab, had ancestors who were Jews.
In what must be the only laugh-out-loud line in the generally dismal five-volume report, the Iraqi analysis states that Ibn 'Abd al Wahhab's grandfather's true name was not "Sulayman" but "Shulman."
"Tawran confirms that Sulayman, the grandfather of the sheikh, is (Shulman); he is Jew from the merchants of the city of Burstah in Turkey, he had left it and settled in Damascus, grew his beard, and wore the Muslim turban, but was thrown out for being voodoo" (at page 20 of 56).
The analysis, produced by the Air Defense Security System of Iraq's General Military Intelligence Directorate, is not a very reliable guide to Islamic or Jewish history, though it may explain something about Iraq's air defenses.
"The Birth of Al-Wahabi Movement and Its Historic Roots" appears in volume 5 of the Defense Department report and is also available in this extract (13 MB PDF):
http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/iraqi/wahhabi.pdf
Wrap...
From McCain to Oscar, the Grouch....
From American Progress:
Think Fast...
"As the economy sours, voters are increasingly demanding immediate government relief," which is a problem for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), "whose focus has been on longer-term solutions such as tax and spending cuts and free trade." "The notion of 'the market will straighten things out, be patient' -- that has photos of Herbert Hoover juxtaposed with it," said pollster John Zogby.
Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), a key player in covering up the Mark Foley page scandal, will reportedly announce his retirement today. Reynolds was recently the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which has come "under fire after millions of dollars went missing in an accounting scandal during Reynold's leadership."
The LA Times reports that "turmoil over the war has increased" inside the Pentagon, with some commanders, including Gen. Davis Petraeus, advocating continued high troop levels in Iraq. On the other side "are the military service chiefs who fear that long tours and high troop levels" will leave "the Army and Marine Corps hollowed out and weakened."
Five years after the invasion of Iraq, military recruiters acknowledge that much of the Middle Eastern immigrant community "remains deeply suspicious of the Army." The military "has met recruitment goals for its translator program since 2006 after falling short in the first three years of the war." In 2006, it recruited 277 translators, but dropped to 250 in 2007.
Former U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix writes that "responsibility for the war must rest...on what those launching it knew by March 2003." At the time, "Unmovic inspectors had carried out some 700 inspections at 500 sites without finding prohibited weapons. The contract that George Bush held up before Congress to show that Iraq was purchasing uranium oxide was proved to be a forgery."
A senior Bush administration official told the Politico that confusion over a long-term agreement with Iraq resulted from a sloppy Arabic translation. But, as Jonathan Schwarz reports, Arabic experts say "the available Arabic versions of the Declaration of Principles are almost exactly the same as the official English version, and are likely direct translations from it."
U.S. and European intelligence officials said that throughout the last ten years, "U.S. spy agencies have had little luck recruiting well-placed informants" within Al-Qaeda "and are finding the upper reaches of the network tougher to penetrate than the Kremlin during the Cold War."
Vice President Dick Cheney visited Afghanistan today, meeting with President Hamid Karzai ahead of a NATO summit in April "where Washington will urge its allies to send more troops to the war-torn country." At the same time, Cheney declared that there had been "remarkable progress" in the country, even though 2007 was its "most violent year since 2001."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday "that climate change and pandemic disease threaten international security as much as terrorism and that Britain must radically improve its defenses." Brown met with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in London today.
And finally: Tuesday was a "historic day at the Supreme Court" -- it marked the first time "Oscar the Grouch entered the annals of Supreme Court jurisprudence." Justice Antonin Scalia mentioned the character in a "tart rebuke aimed at Chief Justice John Roberts." Scalia compared Washington state's primary system to "allowing 'Oscar the Grouch (Sesame Street's famed bad-taste resident of a garbage can)' to endorse Campbell's soup repeatedly, without allowing the soup company to disavow his statement."
Wrap...
Think Fast...
"As the economy sours, voters are increasingly demanding immediate government relief," which is a problem for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), "whose focus has been on longer-term solutions such as tax and spending cuts and free trade." "The notion of 'the market will straighten things out, be patient' -- that has photos of Herbert Hoover juxtaposed with it," said pollster John Zogby.
Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), a key player in covering up the Mark Foley page scandal, will reportedly announce his retirement today. Reynolds was recently the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which has come "under fire after millions of dollars went missing in an accounting scandal during Reynold's leadership."
The LA Times reports that "turmoil over the war has increased" inside the Pentagon, with some commanders, including Gen. Davis Petraeus, advocating continued high troop levels in Iraq. On the other side "are the military service chiefs who fear that long tours and high troop levels" will leave "the Army and Marine Corps hollowed out and weakened."
Five years after the invasion of Iraq, military recruiters acknowledge that much of the Middle Eastern immigrant community "remains deeply suspicious of the Army." The military "has met recruitment goals for its translator program since 2006 after falling short in the first three years of the war." In 2006, it recruited 277 translators, but dropped to 250 in 2007.
Former U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix writes that "responsibility for the war must rest...on what those launching it knew by March 2003." At the time, "Unmovic inspectors had carried out some 700 inspections at 500 sites without finding prohibited weapons. The contract that George Bush held up before Congress to show that Iraq was purchasing uranium oxide was proved to be a forgery."
A senior Bush administration official told the Politico that confusion over a long-term agreement with Iraq resulted from a sloppy Arabic translation. But, as Jonathan Schwarz reports, Arabic experts say "the available Arabic versions of the Declaration of Principles are almost exactly the same as the official English version, and are likely direct translations from it."
U.S. and European intelligence officials said that throughout the last ten years, "U.S. spy agencies have had little luck recruiting well-placed informants" within Al-Qaeda "and are finding the upper reaches of the network tougher to penetrate than the Kremlin during the Cold War."
Vice President Dick Cheney visited Afghanistan today, meeting with President Hamid Karzai ahead of a NATO summit in April "where Washington will urge its allies to send more troops to the war-torn country." At the same time, Cheney declared that there had been "remarkable progress" in the country, even though 2007 was its "most violent year since 2001."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday "that climate change and pandemic disease threaten international security as much as terrorism and that Britain must radically improve its defenses." Brown met with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in London today.
And finally: Tuesday was a "historic day at the Supreme Court" -- it marked the first time "Oscar the Grouch entered the annals of Supreme Court jurisprudence." Justice Antonin Scalia mentioned the character in a "tart rebuke aimed at Chief Justice John Roberts." Scalia compared Washington state's primary system to "allowing 'Oscar the Grouch (Sesame Street's famed bad-taste resident of a garbage can)' to endorse Campbell's soup repeatedly, without allowing the soup company to disavow his statement."
Wrap...
Women's health care being undermined...
From Campus Progress via truthout.org :
Campus Progress
White House Chips Away Women's Right to Health Care
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/032008HA.shtml
Campus Progress writes, "Women of America, take note - a letter veeeerry quietly sent by the director of Health and Human Services last week may make it harder for you to get a doctor's care."
[Click link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Campus Progress
White House Chips Away Women's Right to Health Care
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/032008HA.shtml
Campus Progress writes, "Women of America, take note - a letter veeeerry quietly sent by the director of Health and Human Services last week may make it harder for you to get a doctor's care."
[Click link above to continue reading]
Wrap...
Most amazing blog I've seen in a long time...
From Anuj Agarwal :
I thought I should let you know about my new blog "Slideshows for your website and Blogs"
link : http://slideshows.nachofoto.com/?i=0
My blog basically consists of slideshows which fall in 12 different categories.If you like any of the slideshows, you are welcome to embed it in your own blog.
-anuj
Wrap...
I thought I should let you know about my new blog "Slideshows for your website and Blogs"
link : http://slideshows.nachofoto.com/?i=0
My blog basically consists of slideshows which fall in 12 different categories.If you like any of the slideshows, you are welcome to embed it in your own blog.
-anuj
Wrap...
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Morris: Obama can't be beat...
From Levine Breaking News:
LBN-POLITICAL BRIEFING By DICK MORRIS:
Will the Gospel According to Jeremiah Wright sink the Obama candidacy? Not very likely.
Let's start with a basic fact: Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has already won the Democratic nomination. It's over. Regardless of how the remaining primaries and caucuses go, including Michigan and even Florida, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) can never catch Obama in elected delegates.
His current lead of 170 pledged delegates will not be overcome no matter what happens. Even if Clinton beats him by 10 points in each of these primaries, he will still lead among elected delegates by over 100. The superdelegates will not override the will of the voters unless Obama is in jail. They will not let themselves in for a civil war by overruling a black man who is beloved by the young by going over the heads of the electorate and naming the candidate that lost the primaries as the nominee.
Regardless of how damaged Obama may be by the Wright tapes, it will not provide sufficient cover or cause for them to do so.
Wrap...
LBN-POLITICAL BRIEFING By DICK MORRIS:
Will the Gospel According to Jeremiah Wright sink the Obama candidacy? Not very likely.
Let's start with a basic fact: Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has already won the Democratic nomination. It's over. Regardless of how the remaining primaries and caucuses go, including Michigan and even Florida, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) can never catch Obama in elected delegates.
His current lead of 170 pledged delegates will not be overcome no matter what happens. Even if Clinton beats him by 10 points in each of these primaries, he will still lead among elected delegates by over 100. The superdelegates will not override the will of the voters unless Obama is in jail. They will not let themselves in for a civil war by overruling a black man who is beloved by the young by going over the heads of the electorate and naming the candidate that lost the primaries as the nominee.
Regardless of how damaged Obama may be by the Wright tapes, it will not provide sufficient cover or cause for them to do so.
Wrap...
Dem SEAL running for Repub Duncan Hunter's seat...
From NavySEALs.com :
As a former Navy SEAL, I am writing to ask you to support one of my teammates today. Commander Mike Lumpkin, a good friend of mine, is running for Congress in California. And whether or not you normally participate in political campaigns, this is one you cannot sit out. We need SEALs in Congress to ensure that our Special Operations Forces are well represented.
Commander Lumpkin served 21 years as a SEAL. He served 8 operational tours across the world, including the current conflicts overseas, was in charge of all West Coast SEAL Teams, and commanded one of the Teams. He has served his country with honor and now wants to continue to serve in a new theater of operations – the United States Congress. And he needs your help now.
There are two ways you can help:
1) Go to www.VoteVets.org right now and vote for Mike Lumpkin. VoteVets is an organization that exists to help veterans get elected to Congress. Their goal is to help elect veterans who will best represent the interests of the military and military families. If Mike receives the most votes he will receive an additional $4000 from VoteVets to help his campaign win.
2) Go to www.lumpkinforcongress.com and make a contribution to Mike’s campaign. Every dollar helps him get his message out and that much closer to representing our values in Congress. Please do these two things right now to support a fellow Frogman.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mark DivineNavySEALS.com, Founder
Wrap...
As a former Navy SEAL, I am writing to ask you to support one of my teammates today. Commander Mike Lumpkin, a good friend of mine, is running for Congress in California. And whether or not you normally participate in political campaigns, this is one you cannot sit out. We need SEALs in Congress to ensure that our Special Operations Forces are well represented.
Commander Lumpkin served 21 years as a SEAL. He served 8 operational tours across the world, including the current conflicts overseas, was in charge of all West Coast SEAL Teams, and commanded one of the Teams. He has served his country with honor and now wants to continue to serve in a new theater of operations – the United States Congress. And he needs your help now.
There are two ways you can help:
1) Go to www.VoteVets.org right now and vote for Mike Lumpkin. VoteVets is an organization that exists to help veterans get elected to Congress. Their goal is to help elect veterans who will best represent the interests of the military and military families. If Mike receives the most votes he will receive an additional $4000 from VoteVets to help his campaign win.
2) Go to www.lumpkinforcongress.com and make a contribution to Mike’s campaign. Every dollar helps him get his message out and that much closer to representing our values in Congress. Please do these two things right now to support a fellow Frogman.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mark DivineNavySEALS.com, Founder
Wrap...
Goodread's book reviews....
From Goodreads:
Movers & shakers
These books rocketed to the top of our charts this month:
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart TolleA book for anyone who wants to make change on a personal or global scale. Goodreads member Elly says, "I can see why Oprah is making such a big deal about it. I've read my share of pop-psychology and spirituality books, but this is nothing like them. This is THE book for a better Earth."
Suite Francaise by Irene NemirovskyWritten as Nazi forces occupied France, this work was left unfinished when the author was deported to Auschwitz. Arwen tells us, "The very air is heavy with waiting and grief and the madness of dealing with a world turned upside down during a beautiful summer, with birds singing and strawberries ripening as if nothing were different."
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa SeeThe closeted world of Chinese women in the 19th century comes to life. Goodreads member Jennifer placed this book on her "strong-female-characters" shelf and quotes one character's reaction to women's lack of power during this time period in Chinese history: "Obey, obey, obey, then do what you want."
People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine BrooksAn Australian rare-books expert delves into the history of the ancient text Sarajevo Haggadah in this thriller, which was inspired by a true story. Sarah dubs it "the intelligent person's Da Vinci Code" and Kate writes, "I read about this book during the third quarter of the Super Bowl. I was probably the only person more engrossed in the New York Times Book Review than the game, but so much the better for me."
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver RelinTrue story from a failed mountain climber who thanked the poor village in Pakistan where he was nursed back to health by promising to return and build a school. Debbi writes, "I wish Goodreads had a 10-star rating for this book. Anyone who has ever feared their own small voice was too small a drop in the bucket to matter MUST read this book."
Wrap...
Movers & shakers
These books rocketed to the top of our charts this month:
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart TolleA book for anyone who wants to make change on a personal or global scale. Goodreads member Elly says, "I can see why Oprah is making such a big deal about it. I've read my share of pop-psychology and spirituality books, but this is nothing like them. This is THE book for a better Earth."
Suite Francaise by Irene NemirovskyWritten as Nazi forces occupied France, this work was left unfinished when the author was deported to Auschwitz. Arwen tells us, "The very air is heavy with waiting and grief and the madness of dealing with a world turned upside down during a beautiful summer, with birds singing and strawberries ripening as if nothing were different."
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa SeeThe closeted world of Chinese women in the 19th century comes to life. Goodreads member Jennifer placed this book on her "strong-female-characters" shelf and quotes one character's reaction to women's lack of power during this time period in Chinese history: "Obey, obey, obey, then do what you want."
People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine BrooksAn Australian rare-books expert delves into the history of the ancient text Sarajevo Haggadah in this thriller, which was inspired by a true story. Sarah dubs it "the intelligent person's Da Vinci Code" and Kate writes, "I read about this book during the third quarter of the Super Bowl. I was probably the only person more engrossed in the New York Times Book Review than the game, but so much the better for me."
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver RelinTrue story from a failed mountain climber who thanked the poor village in Pakistan where he was nursed back to health by promising to return and build a school. Debbi writes, "I wish Goodreads had a 10-star rating for this book. Anyone who has ever feared their own small voice was too small a drop in the bucket to matter MUST read this book."
Wrap...
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