Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who is a Terrorist, Who Will Fall? Updated

Well, we are pretty sure it won't be Osama-aren't we Dearest Readers?

Dead guys rarely cause much trouble-which could explain why there are so many of them turning up that way who have been involved in some dirty Enron stuff.

So, where is that latest tape "thought to be coming from Osama", ABC? Hmm?

Hot Links

WaPo Tech Trouble in the Voting Booth

So far, in this year's primaries, the problems have been related to the machines breaking down or being used incorrectly by election officials. For example, optical-scan machines used in a May primary in Cuyahoga County in Ohio could not read the ballots because the black lines separating sections were thicker than on ballots elsewhere in the state, and the fill-in ovals were in a different place, a review recently found. The result was a long delay in ballot counting.

Numerous other localities have experienced problems, most notably the delay in results of a March primary in Cook County, Ill.

The National Research Council analysis notes several potentially problematic areas. Some states may be unable to comply with the 2002 law's deadlines for upgrading technology, meaning it is not yet clear whether they will use old or new technology this year. There are questions about whether voters will be able to use the new equipment without confusion, and whether there is enough time to train poll workers.

"When organizations roll out technology, they do it in a small way. They do a lot of testing and prototyping. We're doing it in one fell swoop and that creates certain kinds of risks," said Herbert S. Lin, a senior research scientist who served on the staff of the committee.

Science? Technology? Gasp... And here the Ohio Republican Party thought they ran on Ken "Sambo" Blackwell magic.

Insight A case of stupid people calling someone else dumb! Dump Condi: Foreign policy conservatives charge State Dept. has hijacked Bush agenda

Conservative national security allies of President Bush are in revolt against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, saying that she is incompetent and has reversed the administration�s national security and foreign policy agenda.

The conservatives, who include Newt Gingrich, Richard Perle and leading current and former members of the Pentagon and National Security Council, have urged the president to transfer Miss Rice out of the State Department and to an advisory role. They said Miss Rice, stemming from her lack of understanding of the Middle East, has misled the president on Iran and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"The president has yet to understand that people make policy and not the other way around," a senior national security policy analyst said. "Unlike [former Secretary of State Colin] Powell, Condi is loyal to the president. She is just incompetent on most foreign policy issues."

The criticism of Miss Rice has been intense and comes from a range of Republican loyalists, including current and former aides in the Defense Department and the office of Vice President Dick Cheney. They have warned that Iran has been exploiting Miss Rice's inexperience and incompetence to accelerate its nuclear weapons program. They expect a collapse of her policy over the next few months.

Condi gets a warm welcome while traveling abroad

Harpers The Minister of Civil War Bayan Jabr, Paul Bremer, and the rise of the Iraqi death squads

Two of those pushing hardest for Jabr's removal were Michael Karem, Bremer's special adviser for housing and reconstruction, and Rick Clay, one of Karem's top aides. They accused Jabr and several of his deputies of demanding kickbacks, and of complicity in the theft of huge amounts of equipment belonging to the Housing Ministry. A memo Karem sent to Bremer on April 12, 2004, referred to “increasing allegations of corruption at the Ministry,” complained that Jabr had been “less than forthright about his practices,” and detailed what it called his “more egregious management practices,” including his engineering of “systematic work stoppages of time sensitive projects which you had designated a priority.”

The CPA officials were also alarmed by Jabr's ties to the Badr Brigade and his sectarian tendencies. The Iraqi minister, Karem wrote in the memo, “has shown an increasingly authoritarian style of leadership that is affecting work at all levels of the ministry and created a climate of fear and retribution among employees.” Karem reported a “growing pattern of religious discrimination at the Ministry,” particularly in recruiting Shiites for the “Facilities Protection Service,” a police force created by Bremer that later was suspected of playing a major role in political murders.

A few days after sending the memo, Karem and Clay were called to a meeting with Vice Admiral Scott Redd, the CPA's deputy administrator, and several other U.S. officials. “We were thrilled at the end of the meeting,” Karem recalled. “Everybody was shaking their head about the corruption. They said that they were going to get rid of the minister.” Days later, he and Clay were asked to return to Redd's office. They walked in expecting to hear that Jabr had been fired. Instead they were told that their services with the CPA were as of that moment terminated; the minister would stay on. “We were told that we had lost effectiveness because we couldn't work with the minister,” Karem recalled. “We were in shock.”

No doubt-that's how things work in Bushworld. Nice guys and gals finish last.

The Hill-Also in today's Hill-Fifty of the Most Beautiful People on the Hill Prissy can't believe they wasted the ink on tabloid entertainment...Line-item may get Sept. vote

Senate Republican leaders may bring a White House-backed proposal for a line-item veto to the floor in September, even if it appears likely to fall on a filibuster.

White House budget chief Rob Portman continued a fierce lobbying blitz for the measure yesterday, even as Republican senators conceded they still do not have the 60 votes needed to ensure its passage.

Portman, director of the Office of Management and Budget, met first with members of Republican whip operation of Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and then with individual senators outside the party’s weekly policy luncheon.

“We’re still very optimistic about its passage,” said Portman, a former U.S. trade representative and House member from Ohio. “The timing is still in question.”

Prissy is guessing the ole fools forgot they tried this before: Supreme Court Deletes Line-Item Veto Clinton disappointed; Opponents of veto call it a victory for the Constitution June 25, 1998

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said the law of the land -- the Constitution -- applies to all, including the president. Levin

"Congress, in this particular line-item veto bill struck down today, tried to bend the Constitution. The court said it will not allow that to happen. Thank God it did, because this particular line-item bill would have given the president the power to repeal the law of the land without Congress participating," said Levin.

The law let the president sign a bill and within five days go back to reject specific spending items or tax breaks in it. Congress could then reinstate the item by passing a separate bill.

Nearly every president in the past century has sought the line-item veto as a tool for controlling "pork barrel" programs added by lawmakers. Most governors have similar authority over state spending.

CNN Report: Proposal would allow hearsay evidence against detainees

According to the draft, hearsay evidence would be allowed unless it was deemed to be unreliable. Defendants also would be barred from their own trials if it necessary to protect national security.

The legislation also would declare that a provision of the Geneva Conventions would not apply to detainees, meaning terror suspects could not file lawsuits in the future saying their Geneva rights were violated, the Times said.

The Supreme Court ruled last month that the international conventions do apply.

At the same time, however, the legislation would offer a few expanded protections for defendants, including a ban on statements obtained by the use of torture for use as evidence, according to the Times.

As Granny says "That's mighty white of them." Hearsay evidence is not allowed in the American justice system. Prissy cannot get over how these cads continue their attempts to bypass long held standards of justice.

Scotsman Investigation into claims of Scottish link to Israeli arms

As the crisis in Lebanon worsened after four UN observers were killed in an Israeli bombing attack, it was reported that some of the weapons used by Tel Aviv's forces had been shipped via Prestwick Airport.

The Israeli military needs the £5000 smart bombs to attack the bunkers being used by Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon.

It was claimed that two chartered Airbus A310 cargo planes filled with GBU28 laser-guided bombs landed at Prestwick for refuelling and crew rest after flying across the Atlantic at the weekend.

The move followed criticism of the alleged use of Prestwick and Edinburgh airports for CIA "rendition" flights to carry terrorist suspects for interrogation in countries where torture was used.

Arab American NewsA thousand protest in nation's capital

Last Tuesday, in the sweltering heat of Washington, DC, more than one thousand protestors gathered in front of the White House to demand an end to Israel's bombardment of Lebanon and the Palestinians. Sponsored by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the rally drew support from numerous national and Washington, D.C.-based groups.

With major media on hand, former Arab League Ambassador Clovis Maksoud, ADC Presdient Mary Rose Oakar and the Arab American Institute's James Zogby delivered speeches through a bullhorn. They called for an end to the senseless violence.

The largely Arab-American crowd marched in a circle in front of the President's residence, chanted, carried flags and held signs.

Washington Post 2 Dead, 2 Missing After U.N. Post Hit

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- An Israeli bomb destroyed a U.N. observer post on the border in southern Lebanon, killing two peacekeepers and leaving two others feared dead in what appeared to be a deliberate strike, U.N. chief Kofi Annan said.

The bomb made a direct hit on the building and shelter of the observer post in the town of Khiyam near the eastern end of the border with Israel, said Milos Struger, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL.

An Israeli military vehicle drives inside Lebanon after crossing over the border from northern Israel Tuesday, July 25, 2006. Israel will carve out a An Israeli military vehicle drives inside Lebanon after crossing over the border from northern Israel Tuesday, July 25, 2006. Israel will carve out a "security zone" in south Lebanon until an international force is deployed there or Hezbollah guerrillas and their rocket launchers are pushed back from the Israeli border, Israel's defense minister said Tuesday.

Annan issued a statement saying two U.N. military observers were killed with two more feared dead. Earlier, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the Security Council was informed that four officers were killed, but he had no other information.

Nor does Bolton care to-war is a good thing to him...Bolton throwing one of his infamous temper tantrums, as the world calls for an immediate cease fire in Lebanon.

New Yorker HOLY TOLEDO

Pastor Rod Parsley stood on a flag-bedecked dais on the steps of Ohio’s Statehouse last October and, amid cheers from the crowd below, proclaimed the launch of “the largest evangelical campaign ever attempted in any state in America.” A nationally known televangelist and the leader of a twelve-thousand-member church on the outskirts of Columbus, Parsley had gathered a thousand people for the event, and attracted bystanders with a multimedia performance involving a video on a Jumbotron and music by Christian singers and rappers broadcast so loud that it reverberated off the tall buildings south of the Statehouse. TV crews from Parsley’s ministry taped the event. “Sound an alarm!” he boomed. “A Holy Ghost invasion is taking place. Man your battle stations, ready your weapons, lock and load!” In the course of the performance, Parsley promised that during the next four years his campaign, Reformation Ohio, would bring a hundred thousand Ohioans to Christ, register four hundred thousand new voters, serve the disadvantaged, and guide the state through “a culture-shaking revolutionary revival.”

Among those who spoke at the rally were Senator Sam Brownback, of Kansas, and Representative Walter B. Jones, of North Carolina, both Christian conservatives, and J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio’s secretary of state, who is now the Republican nominee for governor. All talked about the need to bring God and morality back into government. “We refuse to give up or back up or shut up until we’ve made a better world for all,” Blackwell said.

Blackwell, a six-foot-four African-American former college football star, is a thoroughgoing conservative. He’s a supply-sider who for years has advocated a flat tax and a constitutional limit on state spending. His views on abortion, gay marriage, school vouchers, and stem-cell research coincide with those of the religious right, and his position on concealed weapons with that of the N.R.A. He is also a media-savvy politician who has held statewide offices for the past twelve years, and he is well connected in George Bush’s Washington. (His backers include Grover Norquist, Newt Gingrich, Governor Jeb Bush, and Senator John McCain.) With rimless glasses and a small mustache, Blackwell, at the age of fifty-eight, has an air of authority, and he is at ease with all kinds of audiences. At a breakfast for young executives in Columbus, in April, he began, as he often does, with a humorous story about his days as a football player, then told them what he had learned from a peanut seller he had worked for as a kid about the importance of “asset building” as a way out of poverty. (Blackwell is, in fact, a rich man, thanks to an investment he made in a broadcasting company in the nineteen-nineties.) Turning to the economic problems facing the state, he spoke about confiscatory taxes inhibiting capital flows and the need for a new budgeting process. No one challenged him—though some certainly held doubts. In debates, he is aggressive and given to cutting one-liners. He said of one opponent, “He has a difficult time holding a consistent position for six months without fainting from exhaustion.”

Now if Blackwells connections aren't enough to make one run from the room get this: Rumor around Ohio is that Rod Parsley sexually harrasses women. Prissy can tell you she isn't getting close enough to find out...but he certainly would not be the first religious leader that mistreats women.

And this one really makes Prissy and Betty Buckaneer laugh in a mocking manner that will take the big boy down a notch or three. With rimless glasses and a small mustache, Blackwell, at the age of fifty-eight, has an air of authority, and he is at ease with all kinds of audiences.

Would that include the white supremist organization-he takes money from them too.

Axis of Logic Did you know? hat tip to WRH

“I, Tsilli Goldenberg, Israeli citizen 'Accuse you - Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel, Amir Peretz, Minister of Defense, Dan Halutz Head of Staff Chief Commander of the Israeli Army, of committing this bestial barbaric slaughter in Lebanon.

I accuse you of committing Crimes against Humanity towards the Palestinian People. I accuse you of deserting our soldiers, when their lives could be saved by negotiations, and I accuse you of starting an unjustified war in my name.” - Tsilli Goldenberg, Masarik 11, Jerusalem 93106 Israel

Did you know that “the daughter of Israel’s newly elected prime minister added her voice to those of the anti-Israel [sic] forces around the world when she actively participated in a demonstration outside the home of IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, calling him a ‘murderer’”?

Why not?

Did you know that “45% of those killed in Lebanon are children and of the 500,000 people who have fled to safety, some 200,000 are children”?

Let me remind you hate is taught, nothing like the trauma of a war to make sure the lesson is well learned.

The Thin Line Between War and Genocide...

A Call For a Worldwide "Up-Wising" July 25, 2006 by Steve Bhaerman

Here’s the problem with war: It’s always justified. So let’s get it out of the way right now. The Israelis are justified for wanting to secure their borders from rocket attacks and homicide bombers. The Palestinians are justified in not wanting to live in refugee camps under the thumb of an occupying army. With the war fully “justified,” all sides then take the “logical” step of justifying whatever actions are necessary to win. Inevitably, every war starts out as a “just war,” and ends up as ... just war.

So here we are again, round 5,736,428 of that self-destructive habit we humans just haven’t been able to shake. And in this shrinking world that could definitely use a good shrink, this time the dysfunctional pattern and its deadly fallout is more in our face than ever -- and will be until we turn the corner and find an alternative that works. Because as it stands right now, the “right” to make war (and the “might” behind the right that gives war its “punch”) is the bottom line every country holds to “when all else fails ... “

But then again, why wait till all else fails? Why not initiate the war against the enemies who have vowed to kill you, and save all that grief at the other end? Consider that the enemies of Israel have declared their intention to put Israel out of existence. It’s not a big stretch at that point to pick up the gauntlet and intone, “Not if I put you out of existence first.”

And so, out of a combination of disheartenment with the peacemakers and manipulation by the war-makers, the Israeli people -- and, unfortunately, many Jewish people and others who support Israel’s right to live in peace -- have fallen in line with this latest military escalation. Yes, it was in “response” to Hezbollah’s capture of soldiers. But like our own Iraq misadventure, the invasion of Lebanon (by leaders still trying to prove their macho credentials, something Ariel Sharon didn’t have to do) has been in the planning stages for some time. A pro-Israel demonstration held in San Francisco (and many other American cities) this past weekend blindly reinforced the belief that this latest attack was necessary for Israel’s survival. But those who showed up to support Israel, and the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel counter demonstrators all missed the point: War isn’t the solution, it’s the problem.

Steve is such a reasonable guy. We could all take a lesson from that. See below for our other problem:

CNN Money Surfing the Web with nothing but brainwaves

SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) - -- Two years ago, a quadriplegic man started playing video games using his brain as a controller. That may just sound like fun and games for the unfortunate, but really, it spells the beginning of a radical change in how we interact with computers - and business will never be the same.

Someday, keyboards and computer mice will be remembered only as medieval-style torture devices for the wrists. All work - emails, spreadsheets, and Google searches - will be performed by mind control.

If you think that's mind-blowing, try to wrap your head around the sensational research that's been done on the brain of one Matthew Nagle by scientists at Brown University and three other institutions, in collaboration with Foxborough, Mass.-based company Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems. The research was published for the first time last week in the British science journal Nature.

Nagle, a 26-year-old quadriplegic, was hooked up to a computer via an implant smaller than an aspirin that sits on top of his brain and reads electrical patterns. Using that technology, he learned how to move a cursor around a screen, play simple games, control a robotic arm, and even - couch potatoes, prepare to gasp in awe - turn his brain into a TV remote control. All while chatting amiably with the researchers. He even learned how to perform these tasks in less time than the average PC owner spends installing Microsoft (Charts) Windows.

US Politics flashback Bush Appointee Husband of CIA Case Reporter

President Bush has appointed Democratic lawyer Robert D. Lenhard to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). Neither the White House press statement nor the Washington Post notes that his wife is Viveca Novak, who recently testified before Special Counsel Fitzgerald in the Valerie Plame case. Novak's testimony provided "the foundation for Karl Rove's defense" according to Firedog Lake. Editor & Publisher laments the fact that Novak, like Bob Woodward, failed to tell her editors about her involvement. Moreover, she "had a two-hour chat with the special prosecutor about it well before telling her superiors:" But keep in mind that the key is exactly when Novak spoke with Karl Rove’s attorney, Robert Luskin. This might even determine if Rove is indicted. Exactly when Luskin spoke with Novak suggests whether Rove had lied to special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald about his conversation with Cooper, or honestly forgot about it until Novak nicely helped him recall it (via Luskin).

Blog BereiutThe future is bright!

Over the past few days I have been inundated with photos of dead children strewn on the streets. Their decapitated carcasses mutilated and mangled almost beyond recognition. These are purportedly the victims of the current Israeli invasion on Lebanon.

I am unsure about the authenticity of some of these photos (I heard some may be of Iraqi children in Baghdad and not Beirut) who cares, it does not make me any less sad to see them. Pictures of dead children whoever they may be are simply diabolical and unacceptable. Not only do they show the unjust and premature termination of tender lives, but also our primitivism as adults and how on par or less than monkeys we truly are.

Once upon a time the halls of human history were graced by great men like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and others who triumphed over evil through non-violence. These great men had insight and understood the mechanics of life and evolution. They recognized that all oppressive systems are destined to implode and self destruct given the right time. All that was required from them was to keep their people calm in the face of the storm until their imminent victory. When the inevitable eventually transpired and their oppressors fell to the ground, the oppressed won by default without even lifting a finger. The Art of War by SunTzu teaches us that the best way to win a war is not by fighting.

ABC 'They Know Everything'

— On the Israeli border today diplomacy meant very little as troops prepared to expand the war into southern Lebanon. On one road in the north, we counted 20 tanks lining up and more on the way.

Israeli officials said they plan to form a security zone running the length of the border with Lebanon, while sending more forces along more crossing points.

They won't say how far into Lebanese territory they'll go, but some of the troops will remain until an international force is deployed and Hezbollah positions are destroyed.

"They really cannot be destroyed from the air," said Maj. Michael Oren of the Israeli Defense Forces. "There's really no alternative but to send in ground forces."

Maybe Charlie Rangel was right when he said, "they say rich kids can't fight." Prissy doesn't want any kids to fight, not even the rich kids.

More tomorrow...Sing, sing and sing some more! Prissy adores their spunk.

Quotes of the Day

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."-- Carl Jung

"Whenever I dwell for any length of time on my own shortcomings, they gradually begin to seem mild, harmless, rather engaging little things, not at all like the staring defects in other people's characters."-- Margaret Halsey

None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear.--Ferdinand Foch (1851 - 1929)

It is when power is wedded to chronic fear that it becomes formidable.--Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983), The Passionate State of Mind, 1954

Remember this warriors...You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.--Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983) Dubya's finally safe!

Monday, July 24, 2006

ATTN: Armchair Activists, Call Now

Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414

Email the Dubya! Email the Dick!

Tell them to for once do the right thing for America-resign!

Be not intimidated... nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberties by any pretense of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery and cowardice.--John Adams

Hot Links

Unite Press International Analysis: Chronology of a war

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would tour the Middle East this week, talking with various leaders. Except the secretary will not be talking with either Syria or Iran, two countries that hold part of the key to a lasting solution in the area. Nor is she about to talk with Hamas or Hezbollah, the two parties directly concerned by the conflict, and who hold other pieces of the key.

U.S. policy is not to engage any of the above-mentioned parties in any political discourse. The Bush administration's policy -- or lack thereof -- is to talk only to its friends while ignoring its foes. Yet if one is to make peace it is with one's enemies, not one's friends, and that dialogue needs to be started. Is the lack of progress in trying to bring about stability in the Middle East anything to be surprised about?

Hey Israeli government-just how is it you decide friend or foe?

Jurist US commanders authorized widespread abuse of Iraqi detainees: HRW report

[JURIST] US military commanders in Iraq regularly authorized torture and abusive interrogation practices even in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal [JURIST news archive], and military lawyers brought in to brief interrogators erroneously told them that the Geneva Conventions [ICRC materials] did not apply to their detainees, according to a new Human Rights Watch report released Sunday. The report, based partly on interviews with US soldiers, also says that soldiers who objected to the harsh interrogation methods were regularly discouraged from making or pursuing complaints. Two US detention facilities in Iraq - an off-limits site at Baghdad airport called Camp Nama [JURIST report] whose inmates were never registered with the Red Cross, contrary to international law, and another site in Mosul - were singled out as being particularly abuse-prone.

John Sifton, who authored the HRW report, said '“These accounts rebut U.S. government claims that torture and abuse in Iraq was unauthorized and exceptional - on the contrary, it was condoned and commonly used.'” While several enlisted soldiers were court-martialed in connection with Abu Ghraib, not one intelligence officer or commander has yet been prosecuted for detainee abuses. Responding to the report, a US military spokesman said that "The standard of treatment is and always has been humane treatment of detainees in DOD's custody."

USA Today ABA blasts Bush for law interpretations

The ABA group, which includes a one-time FBI director and former federal appeals court judge, said the president has overstepped his authority in attaching challenges to hundreds of new laws.

The attachments, known as bill-signing statements, say Bush reserves a right to revise, interpret or disregard measures on national security and constitutional grounds.

"This report raises serious concerns crucial to the survival of our democracy," said the ABA's president, Michael Greco. "If left unchecked, the president's practice does grave harm to the separation of powers doctrine, and the system of checks and balances that have sustained our democracy for more than two centuries."

Some congressional leaders had questioned the practice. The task force's recommendations, being released Monday in Washington, will be presented to the 410,000-member group next month at its annual meeting in Hawaii. ABA policymakers will decide whether to denounce the statements and encourage a legal fight over them.

The task force said the statements suggest the president will decline to enforce some laws. Bush has had more than 800 signing statement challenges, compared with about 600 signing statements combined for all other presidents, the group said.

Think Progress Bush Refuses To Estimate Future Costs of Iraq War, Violating Federal Law

Congress passed a law requiring the Bush administration to estimate the future costs of the war in Iraq. HereÂ’s an excerpt:

The President shall "provide to the Congress a report detailing the estimated costs over the period from fiscal year 2006 to 2011 of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, or any related military operations in and around Iraq and Afghanistan, and the estimated costs of reconstruction, internal security, and related economic support to Iraq and Afghanistan" the report referenced above shall be submitted no later than January 1, 2005.

There is an exemption if the administration certifies that estimates '“cannot be provided for purposes of national security.'” But the President hasn'’t done that. From Bloomberg:

Instead of a presidential waiver, Joshua Bolton, director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote congressional leaders in May 2005 that the Pentagon couldn'’t compile the estimates because 'there are too many variables to predict accurately.'

Especially when the books are cooked, aye Josh?

All Headline Use Bush Remains Adamant To Immediate Mideast Cease-fire

Washington DC (AHN) - President George W. Bush on Monday held onto his initial position, against immediate cease-fire, as a solution to stop the violence that has struck the Middle East lately, White House officials have said.

Saudi King Abdullah has pleaded for Bush to intervene in Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The AP quotes the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal telling reporters, "We requested a cease-fire to allow for a cessation of hostilities."

Saud added that, "I have brought a letter from the Saudi king to stop the bleeding in Lebanon, and there has been an agreement to save Lebanese lives, Lebanese properties and what the Lebanese have built, and to save this country from the ordeal it is facing,"

Christian Science Monitor John Murtha

On what would change if the Democrats retook control of the House: "Accountability is going to be the key. Corruption, talk about corruption ... there [are] billions of dollars that disappeared and we don't know where it is. We have all kinds of stories which haven't been followed up.... The biggest deficiency among all the other mistakes is no accountability in this administration ... I think checks and balances have gotten out of kilter."

On why he is running for House majority leader: "I think I can help because I am more conservative.... There is an idea that [the Democrats'] leadership is very liberal and I think I bring some balance to that leadership."

On whether the press has been an active enough watchdog during the war in Iraq: "I blame some of you guys, too. You guys knew this wasn't going well. You didn't say a damn word, either. You just sat back and were afraid to speak out. I don't know whether it was access or what. But you sat back and did nothing either. So I blame us all. The public, man, they were ahead of us."

Ansa Italy Lawyers follow cabbies' lead

The lawyers are up in arms over a deregulation decree presented in a surprise move by the new, centre-left government at the end of June .

The decree, which has already come into effect but will lapse unless it is approved by parliament over the next two months, abolishes the minimum-fee regime used by lawyers. Part of the effect would be to allow no-win, no-fee practices to be introduced into Italy .

Lawyers would also be allowed to advertise their services, set up partnership firms and claim a percentage of settlements in civil cases . The government says the reforms, which have been championed by consumer rights' groups, will introduce greater competition and bring the profession into line with practices prevalent in many European Union countries .

But lawyers say the changes will only benefit big companies and drive those operating individually, who are the majority, out of business .

Ohio ElectsStrickland far ahead, early poll indicates

Democrat Ted Strickland has surged to a surprising lead of 20 percentage points in the first Dispatch Poll on Ohio's Nov. 7 race for governor.

Meanwhile, Democrat Sherrod Brown holds an 8-point edge in his bid to unseat two-term Republican Sen. Mike DeWine.

StricklandÂ’s 47-to-27 advantage over GOP rival J. Kenneth Blackwell is fueled by a more than 3-to-1 lead among independent voters, combined with BlackwellÂ’s inability to sell himself to Ohio Republicans.

"I kind of feel like the Republican Party has run the state government like an old boys club for a long time" and it is time for a change, said poll participant Stuart Hinnefeld, 53, a federal worker from the Cincinnati area who backs De-Wine but not Blackwell.

That federal worker must work for NSA if he still has love for DeWine.

DeWine, as you may recall, made attempts to legalize Dubya's illegal wiretapping...his draft was laughed out of the senate it was sooo unconstitutional!Congress expresses their outrage, after being given PrissyBalls

WaPo Rice Makes Unannounced Visit to Beirut

Because the Israeli raids have damaged Beirut's airport, Rice's official plane landed in Cyprus and she helicoptered with aides and reporters from there to Beirut, reversing the journey made by thousands of Americans who have fled Lebanon during the past 10 days.

The visit, which Rice said was requested personally by President Bush, is designed in part to show support for Lebanon's government, the first anti-Syrian regime in years, and also to determine what Lebanon needs to support itself and possibly get control over its southern region, now used by Hezbollah to fire rockets into Israel.

"If they could control the country, we would not be in this situation. The status quo has never been stable," said a senior official accompanying Rice.

North County Times, CA Military families speak out against the Iraq war

Lessin said her group is not against the military."Our loved ones all volunteered. They all signed a contract to protect and defend the United States of America," she said. "But there's a betrayal that has happened here. Our loved ones should not have been sent off to a war that is based on lies. The most important thing we can be doing is speaking out against a war that should never have happened."

Lessin said Operation House Call will not end when Congress recesses in early August and representatives and senators head home to their districts. MFSO now has 26 chapters across the county. The closest to Temecula is in Orange County, but Tim Kahlor hopes to start one soon in Southwest County. "Each of those chapters is planning activities and exhibits outside the (local) offices of Congress members," Lessin said. "We want them to know this war doesn't end for (military families). There should be no rest for them either."

A letter home

"Parents,

The world keeps turning and so does the war in Iraq. Yesterday my soldier and friend was shot and killed. A sniper with an armor piercing round shot PFC Potocki. He was 21 years old. He bled out during surgery. He is the first in our platoon to be killed. His death has started an uproar of emotion in the platoon. Two people since have said they quit and will no longer fight. This is adding to those who have already said they are done fighting this war. No one understands why we are here and what our mission is. Potocki was a soldier who could not be replaced. He hated the army but never quit or bitched. The army did nothing but s--- on him and he still geared up every day. He wanted to go back to school when he got out but now his Mom will have to bury him before his time.

"Dad, keep up your fight to send the troops home. This war is lost. We aren't helping these people we are just dying and getting injured. I can't imagine what his mother is going through right now. He was all she had. He never knew his father so they worked together to keep their house going, now he is gone.

"Love, Ryan."

NYT Hospital Giant HCA Announces a Record Buyout

The group of buyers is led by the family of Senator Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader. His father, Thomas Frist Sr., and his brother, Thomas F. Frist Jr., founded HCA.

After merging with Columbia Hospital Corporation in 1994, HCA became the subject of a sweeping federal Medicare fraud investigation; it agreed to pay $1.7 billion to settle the matter. Thomas Frist Jr., who had left HCA's management before the fraud charges arose, eventually returned as chief executive in 1997. He stepped down as chairman in 2002, but he remains on the company's board of directors.

Senator FristÂ’s ties to the company have drawn criticism over the years, as he has been active in the Senate on a variety of health-care initiatives that have the potential to affect the large hospital company. Last fall, the Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation into his decision to sell stock, once estimated to be worth more than $10 million, which was held in a trust.

Mr. Frist sold the stock in June 2005, just as the price of HCA stock peaked and shortly before it fell the following month; the sale was disclosed in September. He has said that the timing of the sale was a coincidence, the result of a decision to divest his holdings in the company, and that he is cooperating with the investigation.

More about HCA, Frist, Dubya and Enron...from the New Criminologist

The Frist family put George Bush on the map by buying the Texas Rangers. Then, in payback, Bush made Frist the Senate majority leader and the heir to the Republican nomination. Bush is protecting Frist everyway possible, and the US press are lapdogs.

Enron paid for Bush's lawyers before the supreme court. HCA paid for the Rangers. HCA and Enron are the kingmakers of the last decade of presidential politics. If unchecked, mobsters at HCA will literally place their favorite son as the leader of the free world.

Chicago Tribune Bush's power-grab 'dangerous'

The ABA report notes: "From the inception of the republic until 2000, presidents produced fewer than 600 signing statements taking issue with the bills they signed. According to the most recent update, in his one-and-a-half terms so far, President George Walker Bush . . . has produced more than 800."

The numbers do not represent separate signing statements, the ABA notes, but rather the specific number of challenges to laws contained within many signing statements. As of July 11, the ABA found that Bush has issued a total of 807 challenges.

While the White House has asserted that it only expresses reservations, the ABA has cited examples in which Bush has indicated his intentions not to follow provisions

And look at what else the ABA tells us:

The recent history: Objections to legislation have been raised by recent presidents in their signing statements:

71: Ronald Reagan

232: George H.W. Bush

105: Bill Clinton

807: George W. Bush

Gonzo is one of their most famous graduates...see his graduation picture below:

Hindustan Times, PakistanPak refuses remark on US media report

Refusing to confirm whether a new reactor was being built in Khushab, Aslam, however, said the reactor site was not under the International Atomic Energy Association's (IAEA) safeguards.

Citing independent analysts, the Washington Post on Monday reported, "Satellite photos of Pakistan's Khushab nuclear site have shown what appears to be a partially completed heavy-water reactor capable-- a 20-fold increase from Pakistan's current capabilities."

Village Voice Rabbis Against Torture Invoking centuries of Jewish law, hundreds of American rabbis confront Bush by Nat Hentoff July 16th, 2006

"The Geneva Conventions" which ban torture as a war crime, —were drafted and adapted by the nations of the world in response to the atrocities of Nazi Germany. As Jews, we have a special sensitivity to the immorality and costs of torture."

And now, on June 29, the Supreme Court, led by Justice John Paul Stevens, instructed the president and his chief adviser on the Constitution, Dick Cheney, that they were dead wrong in ordering that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to the prisoners in Guantinamo.

However, this administration and the Republican-controlled Congress may find a way to significantly undermine this Supreme Court decision.

al-Ahram Point of convergence Hamas and Fatah seem close to hammering out their differences, with an agreement likely to be reached within days, reports Khaled Amayreh from the West Bank

This week's deaths brought the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation army since the beginning of June to more than 40.

The Israeli army claimed, predictably, that the deaths of the children were unintentional. It is an excuse that beggars belief. You do not have to be a military expert to know that firing missiles into congested streets will result in carnage among civilians, or that bombs do not distinguish the age of their victims. Yet the Israeli policy of killing first, and then asking questions, continues apace. And when questions are asked they tend to revolve not around the deaths of innocent children, but about how to minimise any harm to Israel's image.

Against a backdrop of daily atrocities Palestinian political factions, including Fatah and Hamas, are close to reaching agreement on the so-called Prisoners' Document which implicitly calls for the recognition of Israel's existence in return for the creation of a viable state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem as its capital.

According to officials close to the talks, representatives of the various factions have already reached agreement on 15 out of the 18 items contained in the Prisoner's Document, which also calls for the repatriation of, and indemnification for, more than five million Palestinian refugees expelled from their homes in 1948.

The Independent Sectarian break-up of Iraq is now inevitable, admit officials

"Iraq as a political project is finished," a senior government official was quoted as saying, adding: "The parties have moved to plan B." He said that the Shia, Sunni and Kurdish parties were now looking at ways to divide Iraq between them and to decide the future of Baghdad, where there is a mixed population. "There is serious talk of Baghdad being divided into [Shia] east and [Sunni] west," he said.

Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, told The Independent in an interview, before joining Mr Maliki to fly to London and then Washington, that in theory the government should be able to solve the crisis because Shia, Kurd and Sunni were elected members of it.

But he painted a picture of a deeply divided administration in which senior Sunni members praised anti-government insurgents as "the heroic resistance".

In the past two weeks, at a time when Lebanon has dominated the international news, the sectarian civil war in central Iraq has taken a decisive turn for the worse. There have been regular tit-for-tat massacres and the death toll for July is likely to far exceed the 3,149 civilians killed in June.

This is already looking like it won't be a good week for the Bush administration and it's only Monday...

The freaky "Freerepublic"A Window of Opportunity (Michael Ledeen)

It now lies to President Bush to decide. We must hope that he is not charmed. If he can now recall what he said after 9/11, that the world must make the stark choice of being with us or against us, and that those who support the terrorists will be treated as terrorists themselves, then the deadly logic of their failed attack will close around the throats of the terror masters. The battle against Hezbollah is part of the broader war, as the mullahs well understood when they unleashed Nasrallah and Mughniyah against the Israelis. Israel is now conducting that battle; it is up to us to prosecute the rest of the war.

Now is the time to tell our soldiers in Iraq that 'hot pursuit' is okay, that the terrorist training camps on both sides of Iraq are legitimate targets, to be attacked in self-defense. Now is the time to tell the Iraqi government to come forward with the abundant evidence of Iranian evil-doing, and that we will support a fight against the mullahs'’ foot soldiers in Iraq. These actions will signal the next stage of the war against the terror masters, which is the vigorous support of the pro-democracy forces in Syria and Iran.

It is a wondrous window of opportunity. As so often in our history, it was opened by our enemies. LetÂ’s go for it.

Now, please. It may not open again for quite a while

"Mr. Ledeen, please wipe the blood off your chin and take your pill", the kind nurse said.

A new jacket for Ledeen, the self-proclaimed "patriot"-might need several more of these for those other "patriots"

Downsize DC No Warrant? No Search.

The recent revolution in technology and communications coincides with the rise of a new tactic in warfare: terrorism. With electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists, government may be able to prevent terrorist attacks. But that power, left unchecked, also permits the government to spy on everyone else. From harassing people for "suspicious" behavior, to outright blackmail of political opponents, government power is easily abused. That's why in 1978 Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). With FISA, Congress created a special court that would preserve national security secrets as it weighed the government's request for search warrants of suspected terrorists. Government could protect us from terror while at the same time the court guarded the Fourth Amendment rights of ordinary Americans.

Concerns were raised last December when it was discovered that the National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on Americans without FISA court search warrants. Instead of correcting this and restoring the FISA protections, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter and Vice President Dick Cheney have been negotiating a bill that would undo the Fourth Amendment. It would authorize warrants for generally suspicious activity and generally suspicious people, instead of particular individuals suspected of specific illegal activity. Worse, the FISA court procedures may be disregarded altogether by the President and Attorney General for one year if the Attorney General claims the Presidents actions are directed only at foreigners. In other words, if you call or do business with someone overseas, the government may be watching you.

This Specter-Cheney bill is a bad deal for Americans. The FISA system gives the President all he needs to protect us from terrorism. The Specter-Cheney bill gives Americans no protection against the Presidential abuse of power. Please use the form below to tell your Senator that you oppose the Specter-Cheney deal.

Please visit the site for form to tell Spector.

Online controversy over graffiti by Israeli kids

In the public relations battle brewing on-line, there is a new eye to the center of the storm surrounding the war with Hizbullah - a series of photos showing Israeli children writing messages on shells meant for targets in Lebanon.

Questions over the photos' authenticity have been put to rest by authorities that were present during the incident, which occurred on July 17 near the northern border. The mostly local children had been brought to see the shells by their parents. Although it remains unclear who encouraged them to write the messages, their colorful scribbles, including a Star of David, hearts, and "From Israel, with Love," have appeared in dozens of blogs, or on-line journals, and on-line photo hosting sites.

Although the IDF has failed to issue a response to the incident, a spokesman from the IDF said it "appeared as though the situation occurred unofficially." Although an officer was present during the incident, the soldiers, and the IDF as a whole, did not condone or condemn the incident.

Gee, most people teach their children not to delight in the misery of others...the site has a picture of the little brats writing words on the bombs.

Quotes of the Day

Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.--John Adams

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.--Aesop

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.--Samuel Adams

The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.--Samuel Adams

We stand today at a crossroads: One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other leads to total extinction. Let us hope we have the wisdom to make the right choice.--Woody Allen

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Is Uncle Sam being Blackmailed?

Hot Links

Dearest Readers, This is an interesting post Prissy came across. Prissy knows some of it is, indeed, documented. What are your thoughts, Dearest Readers?

The Prissy Patriot does not endorse this view as fact, but we are willing to listen to all views. You should note this opinion does not condemn any religion-he simply catalogues both governments failures-along with a potential reason for such failures. Prissy obviously does not advocate "nuking" anyone as a solution.

Reviewing Israeli tactics does not equal Anti-Semitism, so that shall be enough of that talk...

Is this possible? Only the Bushies know for sure...Granny states, "You know, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction."

ISRAEL BLACKMAILS AMERICA NUCLEAR WAR IMMINENT.

"PURE EVIL" Does A Deal With "THE DEVIL." PURE EVIL is Dick Cheney. THE DEVIL is Israel's Mossad. THE DEAL was 9/11. Cheney perceived the perfect partner in the perfect crime to be Israel's Mossad. Cunning, ruthless, skilled, connected, covert - the "False Flag" experts. As is now clear and agreed upon by all, the Bush Sr. / Cheney Administration (in which Shrub is merely a spokesperson and useful idiot) adopted the PNAC plan as its own. Cheney found within it the opportunity to capture vast resource-rich territory in a World War blamed on others, and thereby enrich himself and his friends. 9/11 proved not to be the perfect crime, and the co-conspirators actually got caught, and have been covering up their crime and silencing their "enemies" ever since.

Israel and Cheney were both caught red-handed on 9/11 itself. Cheney was caught when Norm Minetta walked in on him in the midst of barking out the orders that allowed the A3 Skywarrior to strike the Pentagon without being shot down. Israel's Mossad was caught when their five agents were arrested after being observed celebrating and filming the impact and subsequent collapse of the Twin Towers. They weren't just arrested, they had with them video taped evidence of themselves celebrating on camera as the towers fell (as would a demolitions team after a successful implosion).

These events are factual. They occurred. The lengths to which the US and Israeli governments have gone to bury these and other historic events are evidence of their complicity in 9/11. Cheney was wrong to have selected Israel as any kind of partner in crime. Israel was not going to be content to share the spoils of war, Israel wants ALL the spoils of war, and has at its disposal ALL of the tools and leverage to literally destroy the United States, and is in the midst of doing so right this very moment.

Why the silence from the Bush Administration with respect to Israel's destruction and acquisition of territory? BLACKMAIL - plain and simple. Through Abramoff, Franklin, Lieberman, Chertoff and their thousands of moles within the US Government, in concert with their vast network of installed monitoring software, data retrieval and listening devices, Israel has compromised virtually every administration official as well as nearly every US Senator and Congressman.

Israel has evidence of all of them accepting bribes, because Israel was behind the bribes and recorded evidence of all of it. Israel has evidence of sexual escapades out of wedlock, because Israel arranged for it, and documented it. Israel has direct evidence of the Administrations role in 9/11, because Israel partnered in it. Israel controls the Mainstream US Media, and the Administration KNOWS IT.

As we speak, Israel is threatening the administration with the total exposure of their role in 9/11 if they even begin to interfere with Israel's plan to take out not just Lebanon, but also Syria AND Iran, using NUCLEAR WEAPONS - all within the next ten days. The bombs that we are rushing to Israel at this very moment...the bunkerbusters to be delivered by the F-15s - are they nuclear? If the US had any ACTUAL LEVERAGE or ability to slow down Israel's mad territory grab and death machine, the least they would be doing is holding back delivery of bombs.

As with EVERY member of the Bush Administration, Condaleeza Rice has no power whatsoever over Israel. They're blackmailing her too. Israel has already accomplished its goal. It has completely compromised the integrity and security of the United States Of America. It is in total control of the US Treasury, Defense Department, Congress - every institution and branch of government. The culture of corruption in Washington met its match in Israel. The co-conspirators thought they had an equal partner in crime, but they have now come to realize that this was a very long term and elaborate sting - for the ultimate prize - control of the United States Of America and its Nuclear Arsenal.

This is where we stand today. Literally everyone in Washington knows it. All of the retired Generals and Bush Senior advisors are on highest alert. The Bush Administration is in the midst of the biggest disaster ever conceived, and unless they do EVERYTHING that Israel demands, the evidence of their crimes will be plastered across every major newspaper in the United States. The Administration knows for a fact that Israel is going to nuke Iran and Syria. The only choice the Administration has to stop Israel from nuking these two countries, is to Nuke Israel itself. Even this though will not prevent the Truth of 9/11 from being revealed. CHECKMATE.

Nuclear war is coming either way, and its coming right now. "The Crazies" as Colin Powell referred to the Zionists, have won - and he personally enabled it. "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. 'God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan'." "And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq...' And I did.

Secretary of State Rice's response to the disaster in New Orleans was: "The Lord Jesus Christ is going to come on time." She added: "If we just wait." "On time"? How does Rice know the exact time Armageddon starts? If we just wait? That means in her, that is our, lifetime! "At Church one day [Tom DeLay, House Majority Leader] listened as the pastor declared that 'the war between America and Iraq is the gateway to the Apocalypse.' DeLay rose to speak, not only to the congregation but to 225 Christian TV and radio stations. 'Ladies and gentlemen,' he said, 'what has been spoken here tonight is the truth of God.'"

LESS THAN ONE MONTH AFTER 9/11: "Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it." - Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio.

Only by revealing the entire truth and arresting all of the guilty parties can the threat of Blackmail be removed.

Prissy resents Sharon implied that he was a practicing Jew-her Jewish friends could have certainly set an example for him in that regard...

Israel plans more Lebanon incursions

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israel bombed mobile telephone and television masts in Lebanon on Saturday and pledged to pursue its war on Hizbollah with more military incursions, but said it plans no full-scale invasion for now.

Thousands of Lebanese civilians have fled north fearing Israel will invade and expand an 11-day-old bombardment of Lebanon which has killed 349 people, mostly civilians.

Resisting international pressure for a ceasefire, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said before a trip to the region that the conflict's root causes -- in her view Hizbollah's armed presence on Israel's border and the role of its allies, Syria and Iran -- had to be tackled first.

IAfrica.com NewsIsraeli troops mass on Lebanon border

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned that an Israeli invasion of Lebanon would see a dramatic escalation of Hezbollah attacks and said Syria and Iran should be involved in resolving the crisis.

Terror-stricken and exhausted residents of Lebanon's south, battered after Israel's 10-day air campaign, waved white scarves as they streamed to safer havens further north after another Israeli warning to flee the frontier zone.

Despite criticism of US support for the bombardment, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reaffirmed her rejection of the "false promise" of a ceasefire but said she would travel to the region on Sunday in search of a long-term solution.

Flashback from WhatReallyHappened...Dearest Readers...Mike is right most of the time-but he's still wrong about Fitzgerald's leak investigation IS ISRAEL BLACKMAILING AMERICA?

Israel, purportedly our friend, has been spying on us all. And we're not talking about individual spooks like Jonathan Pollard, or small-time networks such as the 140 Israelis arrested by the FBI prior to 9/11, or the 60 arrested since (including 5 arrested who were cheering and celebrating as the World Trade Towers collapsed).

It turns out that Israel has had a potential wiretap on every phone in America for years, along with the ability to monitor and record who any person is calling, anywhere in America; information of great value even if one does not listen to the calls themselves. Amdocs, Inc. the company which sub contracts billing and directory services for phone companies around the world, including 90 percent of American phone companies, is owned by Israeli interests. Yet another company, Comverse Infosys, is suspected of having built a "back door" into the equipment permanently installed into the phone system that allows instant eavesdropping by law enforcement agencies on any phone in America. This includes yours.

Mike of WRH cited this older article as "proof" Fitz won't indict. Mike said "I told you guys Fitz was another Walsh and Starr."

Once AGAIN, this is directly from the lying mouths of Rove's attorney. There has been no comment from Fitzgerald or any spokesperson from his department. Luskin has failed to produce any documentation to validate his claim. Prissy will post other Luskin lies when she finds the quotes...

BBC Rove 'will not face' leak charges 13 June 2006

White House aide Karl Rove will not be charged over the leak of a CIA officer's identity, his lawyer says.

Robert Luskin said he had heard the news from the special prosecutor in the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, on Monday.

Al-jazeera flashback US to sell Israel 5000 smart bombs 21 September 2004,

The United States will reportedly sell Israel nearly 5000 smart bombs in one of the largest weapons deals between the allies in years.

The deal could face political controversy since Israel has used such bombs against the Palestinians.

In one such instance in July 2002, a one-tonne bomb meant for a senior Palestinian resistance fighter also killed 15 civilians in an attack in the Gaza Strip.

The deal is worth $319 million and was revealed in a Pentagon report made to the US Congress a few weeks ago, Israeli daily Haaretz said on Tuesday. Funding for the sale will come from US military aid to Israel.

Al-Jazeera July 22,2006 Rice sees bombs as birth pangs

Condoleezza Rice has described the plight of Lebanon as a part of the "birth pangs of a new Middle East" and said that Israel should ignore calls for a ceasefire.

"This is a different Middle East. It's a new Middle East. It's hard, We're going through a very violent time," the US secretary of state said.

"A ceasefire would be a false promise if it simply returns us to the status quo.

"Such a step would allow terrorists to launch attacks at the time and terms of their choosing and to threaten innocent people, Arab and Israeli, throughout the region.

What an interesting use of term, from a woman whom never actually experienced "birth pangs."

WaPo Portrait of a Blogger: Under 30 and Sociable

More than half of bloggers are younger than 30, and a majority use their blogs as a mode of creative expression, the survey found. Money-making possibilities motivate only 15 percent of bloggers, and most blog on a variety of topics, with 11 percent focusing on politics.

Figures...Prissy never fits the "norm"...

Alternet RFK Jr. Blows the Whistle on Diebold

On July 13, the Pensacola, Fla.-based law firm of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a "qui tam" lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that Diebold and other electronic voting machine (EVM) companies fraudulently represented to state election boards and the federal government that their products were "unhackable."

Kennedy claims to have witnesses "centrally located, deep within the corporations," who will confirm that company officials withheld their knowledge of problems with accuracy, reliability and security of EVMs in order to procure government contracts. Since going into service, many of these machines have been linked to allegations of election fraud.

In the wake of alleged vote count inconsistencies and the "hanging chad" debacle of 2000, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002. HAVA appropriated $3 billion to replace voting equipment and make other improvements in election administration. Diebold, Election Systems & Software and Sequoia Systems secured the lion's share of nearly half that sum in contracts to purchase EVMs. All 50 states have received funds and many are hurriedly spending it on replacing lever and punch card machines in time for November.

There are witnesses...lot's of them. No one should wonder why Wally O'Dell, Diebold CEO resigned several months ago. Go Bobby, Ohio voters are behind you 110%! You'd like that, wouldn't you Wally?

Also from Alternet The Authoritarian Streak in the Conservative Movement by John Dean

Regrettably, empirical studies reveal, however, that authoritarians are frequently enemies of freedom, antidemocratic, antiequality, highly prejudiced, mean-spirited, power hungry, Machiavellian, and amoral. They are also often conservatives without conscience who are capable of plunging this nation into disasters the likes of which we have never known.

Although I have only recently learned the correct term for describing this type of behavior, and come to understand the implications of such authoritarian thinking, I was familiar with the personality type from my years in the Nixon White House. We had plenty of authoritarians in the Nixon administration, from the president on down. In fact, authoritarian thinking was the principal force behind almost everything that went wrong with Nixon's presidency. I had had little contact with my former colleagues, or with their new authoritarian friends and associates, until the early 1990s, when they decided to attack my wife and me in an effort to rewrite history at our expense. By then I had left public life for a very comfortable and private existence in the world of business, but they forced me back into the public square to defend myself and my wife from their false charges. In returning, I discovered how contemptible and dangerous their brand of "conservatism" had become, and how low they were prepared to stoop for their cause.

CNN Sweltering New York seeks clues to blackout but finds more damage

NEW YORK (AP) -- A blackout in the borough of Queens entered its sixth day Saturday in the hottest week of the summer with the mayor saying chances were small that the problem could be repaired by the end of the weekend.

Some 15,000 to 20,000 customers -- which could be one person or an entire apartment building -- still had no electricity Saturday.

Severe thunderstorms Friday hindered efforts to repair the series of unexplained electrical failures, and knocked out some repaired circuits, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Con Edison crews also have been finding more and more damage as they inspect underground cables.

East coast papers predicted rolling "brown outs" for this summer, months ago, blaming the potential problem on poor infrastructure and fuel shortages.

Quotes of the Day

We can't allow the world's worst leaders to blackmail, threaten, hold freedom-loving nations hostage with the world's worst weapons.--George W. Bush

Socialism is a fraud, a comedy, a phantom, a blackmail.--Benito Mussolini

The long-established and noble rule of Law, one of the greatest products of the character and tradition of British history, has suffered a deadly blow. Blackmail has become respectable.--Robert G. Menzies

Rockefeller and his associates did not build the Standard Oil Co. in the board rooms of Wall Street banks. They fought their way to control by rebate and drawback, bribe and blackmail, espionage and price cutting, by ruthless... efficiency of organization.--Ida Tarbell

In fact, this is a blackmail of the terrorists at the expense of the suffering of the hostages.--Alberto Fujimori

A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.--Albert Einstein

Thursday, July 20, 2006

It Always Feels Like, Somebody's Watching Me...

Dearest Readers, even the republicans here in Ohio are angry that Dubya listens in on their calls. They aren't terrorists and they consider it a personal invasion.

All republican senators and congress are in deep, deep trouble. Rumor is they are spied upon too-thus their voting to stay the course no matter what, sending America straight into the abyss...Stand-up at the same time, for Heaven's sake!

Someone without a name, sent Prissy a paper on war protesters and why Iraq should not be protested. The poor lamb could not stop attempting the stretch-comparing Iraq to WWII. Good luck getting anyone to buy that one...

Prissy will return Friday evening with news and more!

Hot Links

TruthOut Why Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame Filed By Jason Leopold

An all too willing Brit Hume, and for that matter the rest of the Washington press corps, lapped up Novak's version of the truth, and have treated the Wilson story as a non-issue, without so much as disclosing the documentary proof that has surfaced during the course of a three year federal investigation that would prove Novak and others in the media have been peddling lies in hopes of manipulating public perception about the truth regarding White House officials' roles in the Plame leak.

A month ago, Robert Luskin, the attorney defending Rove in the CIA leak case, claimed he received a faxed correspondence from Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicating that Rove would likely not be charged with crimes - barring any additional evidence - related to his role in the leak.

Fitzgerald's office would not confirm that the prosecutor sent such a letter nor would his office confirm that Rove is truly free from the burden of a criminal indictment. But that has not stopped the media and even some naïve bloggers from taking Luskin at his word and printing news stories with sentences like "Fitzgerald said Rove won't be charged" when in fact Fitzgerald said no such thing.

In helping to carry the message Rove and Novak are disseminating, the mainstream media and a slew of extreme right-wing bloggers have helped shield this administration from accepting responsibility for one of the most egregious crimes that has taken place since the presidency of Richard Nixon.

NO confirmation or denial from Fitzgerald. Remember what Prissy told you about proffer? It still fits with everything we know regarding this case.

And now the Wilsons have sued. Despite the msm media spin, their case is solid. Check out their org: Joseph and Valerie Wilson Support Trust Prissy gave-it's a good cause.

Prissy must study Fitz more, to see what else she thinks he is thinking... Dubya being questioned by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald

Google has been good to Prissy- but gentlemen, please use your acquired strength... no one expects you to personally reform China Amnesty Charges Web Companies

BEIJING -- Amnesty International accused Yahoo, Microsoft and Google on Thursday of violating human rights principles by cooperating with China's efforts to censor the web and called on them to lobby for the release of jailed cyber-dissidents.

The London-based human rights group also called on the internet companies to publicly oppose Chinese government requests that violate human rights standards. "The internet should promote free speech, not restrict it. We have to guard against the creation of two internets -- one for expression and one for repression," said

Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty's U.S. branch, in a statement.

The companies "have violated their stated corporate values and policies" in their pursuit of China's booming internet market, the statement said. It appealed to them to "call for the release of 'cyber-dissidents.'"

UN rights commissioner warns of war crimes liability in Middle East conflict

Lebanon Daily Star Lawyers lodge complaint against Israel for crimes against humanity

BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes on Tuesday hit residential areas, bridges, churches and roads, leaving behind nothing but wreckage, prompting Lebanon's lawyers to file a complaint against Israel for crimes against humanity to the UN.

Following a meeting of the Beirut Bar Association on Tuesday, the association's president, Butros Doumit, said he was discussing with government officials the "possibility to file a complaint with the UN against Israeli political and military leaders, who are committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide on Lebanese territory."

The Israeli forces hit two trucks during a pre-dawn bombing raid on the coastal town of Jbeil, about 30 kilometers north of Beirut, Lebanese police said. There were no reports of casualties.

A truck carrying medical supplies donated by the United Arab Emirates was hit and its driver wounded on the Beirut-Damascus highway, the Health Ministry said.

Al-Jazeera Annan calls for Lebanon ceasefire

Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, has called for an immediate ceasefire between Israeli and Hezbollah, criticising both sides for the conflict that has left more than 300 people dead.

Annan urged Israel and Hezbollah to stop the violence and "prevent further loss of innocent life and the infliction of further suffering."

He condemned Hezbollah for their actions that "hold an entire nation hostage" and called Israel's response "excessive."

But Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman told reporters after Annan's speech that there would be no ceasefire

A result of Dubya's creative thinking course, with the "Leave No Child Behind" act-.

WaPoGOP Lawmakers Edge Away From Optimism on Iraq

Last week, House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) issued a statement hailing the turnover of Iraq's Muthanna province to Iraqi security forces under the headline "Progress in Iraq . . . Despite Doomsday Democrats."

On Tuesday, there was little talk of progress as he insisted that the rising sectarian violence was "nowhere close to civil war."

"Look, you have got one of two options," Boehner said. "We can pull out, walk away and watch everything that we've worked for and the Iraqis worked for fall apart and watch pure civil war break out, or we can stay the course. . . . As difficult as the problems are on the ground, it is either one of two options."

Boehner is one of those neorepublicans, who grates on Prissy's nerves...these trips to DC prove what Prissy has long suspected-we rarely elect smart people to run the government. Some of them are even nutty acting-think "mean Jean" Schmidt and Katherine Harris. Schmidt complained to Capitol police that one military mom harassed her by asking her a question regarding the war. The mom that asked is a very mild mannered person-Schmidt must have quite a bit on her conscience.

Especially after the election results that she took in the race for Rep over Paul Hackett...Don't wig out Jean, just step down.

Rocky Mountain News Welker blasted again for e-mail

State Rep. Jim Welker is once again drawing criticism for forwarding an e-mail in which black conservatives and religious leaders blame "black culture" for problems surrounding Hurricane Katrina.

The Loveland Republican forwarded an article to constituents titled "Black Culture is responsible for Hurricane Katrina woes."

The article from CNSNews .com is about an upcoming conference in Washington, D.C., sponsored by ministers and political conservatives.

It quotes them as saying black New Orleans residents rely too much on government, and, in the words of the Rev. Grant Storm, who is white, "When the government doesn't come and help them, frankly all they do is yap and complain.

Gee, no wonder Dubya had to give in and go speak at the NAACP today...about six years too late.

Also from Al-Jazeera Israelis against the war

Arab-Israelis, many of whom live in northern areas under threat from Hezbollah rocket attacks, are some of the strongest critics of Israeli airstrikes that have left at least 270 Lebanese dead.

"We are very concerned about what is happening," said Hassan Jabareen of Adalah - a body that campaigns for the legal rights of Arab-Israelis.

"I live in Haifa - but Haifa is a paradise compared to what is happening in Lebanon.

"This government has one policy - no negotiations - and if you have this policy then there is no room for diplomacy."

IC News Wales Turkey threatens to invade Iraq

Turkish officials have signalled that they are prepared to send their army into northern Iraq if US and Iraqi forces do not take steps to combat Turkish Kurdish guerrillas there.

Such a move could put Turkey on a collision course with the US, which has repeatedly warned against unilateral moves in Iraq.

But Turkey is facing increasing domestic pressure to take some kind of action after 15 soldiers, police and guards were killed in fighting with the guerrillas in the past week.

"The government is really in a bind," said Seyfi Tashan, director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Bilkent University in Ankara. "On the one hand they don't want things to break down with the US. On the other hand, the public is crying for action."

Bangkok Post US finds no sign of bribes in airport bomb scanner deal

The US has found no evidence of any party paying bribes to Thai authorities in the CTX 9000 bomb scanner procurement scandal, according to the spokesman for the Office of the Attorney-General. But Atthapol Yaisawang yesterday revealed only some parts of the report from the US Department of Justice (DoJ), saying the Thai-US Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters restricted the public airing of information that was shared among the agencies involved.

''I can reveal only that the DoJ has not found any evidence, especially from GE InVision, or any of its representatives, of paying or offering bribes to Thai authorities. There is no evidence that shows the financial flow of the alleged bribery,'' Mr Atthapol said. He said his office received a response from the US consul-general on May 31 along with the 50-page report and the four-page conclusion, stamped 'confidential'.

The OAG did not intend to conceal the US reply but, as a co-ordinator, it had no authority to reveal the contents, he said. The OAG had forwarded the report to agencies which asked for the US probe into the row, including the police and the Anti-Money Laundering Office, on July 7.

Wired Judge rules against U.S. in spy suit

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal judge Thursday rejected a government request that he dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's domestic spying program.

The lawsuit, brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, challenges President Bush's assertion that he can use his wartime powers to eavesdrop on Americans without a warrant.

Talk Left Conyers v. Bush: Lawsuit over Federal Deficit Reduction Act

Rep. John Conyer's (D-MI) is suing President Bush over the enactment of the Federal Deficit Rediction Act. Shorter version: The House and Senate passed different versions of the bill and even though they went to conference, the House never voted on the version passed by the Senate as a House clerk changed a provision in the Senate version and Bush signed it into law. Bush can't sign a bill unless it has been agreed to by both the House and Senate.

The Government moved to dismiss (pdf) Rep. Conyer's lawsuit, and last night, he filed his motion and brief in opposition.

First Amendment Center FEMA muzzling La. trailer-park residents

MORGAN CITY, La. " Residents of trailer parks set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house hurricane victims in Louisiana aren't allowed to talk to the press without an official escort, The (Baton Rouge) Advocate reported. In one instance, a security guard ordered an Advocate reporter out of a trailer during an interview in Morgan City. Similar FEMA rules were enforced in Davant, in Plaquemines Parish.

FEMA spokeswoman Rachel Rodi wouldn't say whether the security guards' actions complied with FEMA policy, saying the matter was being reviewed. But she confirmed that FEMA does not allow the news media to speak alone to residents in their trailers.

"If a resident invites the media to the trailer, they have to be escorted by a FEMA representative who sits in on the interview," Rodi told the newspaper for its July 15 report. "That's just a policy."

Ansa ItalyBerlusconi media criticised anew

(ANSA) - Rome, July 20 - Former premier Silvio Berlusconi faced fresh criticism on Thursday over his grip on the Italian media market .

In its annual report to parliament, Italy's Communications Authority complained once again that the TV system was dominated by Berlusconi's private network Mediaset and state broadcaster RAI .

Authority chief Corrado Calabro' said the two networks, which both have three nationwide channels, held a "position of joint dominance" in which they accounted for 85% of Italy's audience share.

Villiage Voice Lebanon: Peace Group's 'Dear John' Letter

Reports that the United States plans to allow Israel another few days of bombing Lebanon before Washington calls for a ceasefire have stirred little outrage here, but that's no surprise when dependable lefties like West Side Rep. Jerry Nadler ask stunning questions like, "Since when should a response to aggression and murder be proportionate?" United for Peace and Justice, the umbrella group that has orchestrated protests against the Iraq war, is planning to break that silence from 4 to 5:30 tomorrow afternoon by delivering a letter to the 45th Street office of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton calling for the U.S. to demand an immediate cessation of the fighting that everyone agrees has killed dozens of civilians on either side of the border—and which a top U.N. official says could constitute war crimes. Needless to say, the letter is unlikely to move Bolton, who yesterday said: "Among other things, I want somebody to address the problem of how you get a cease-fire with a terrorist organization" —the examples of Hamas (until recently), the IRA, Basque separatists, and the Tamil Tigers, among others, notwithstanding

.

Note to Bolton: How do you declare a world war on a gang? Serious people don't...Prissy sees Senator Voinovich has downed the koolaid again. He is shilling for Bolton to stay in place-his best argument seems to be, is that Bolton hasn't thrown items at his co-workers...yet.John Bolton, an angry little neocon man

Chicago Tribune Experts rip Rove stem cell remark

The field of stem cell medicine is too young and unproven to make such judgments, experts say. Many of those researchers either specialize in adult stem cells or share Bush's moral reservations about embryonic stem cells.

"[Rove's] statement is just not true," said Dr. Michael Clarke, associate director of the stem cell institute at Stanford University, who in 2003 published the first study showing how adult stem cells replenish themselves.

If opponents of embryonic stem cell research object on moral grounds, "I'm willing to live with that," Clarke said, though he disagrees. But, he said, "I'm not willing to live with statements that are misleading."

Crooks and Liars Daily Show: Must See About Net Neutrality

Dar al hayat The Economy and Security

Lebanon was afflicted by the civil war (1975-1991), which crippled its economy. Businessmen were forced to flee the country, and they took their money with them. Professionals and experienced people fled, too. The result was that the economic capabilities of the country were depleted. When the civil war ended, the Lebanese authorities borrowed from foreign and local organizations in order to bankroll infrastructure and other projects to enhance the basic services. This has led, however, to a cumulative public debt amounting to about $40 billion. During the last war, the Lebanese lira's rate of exchange dramatically declined from 3.5 liras against the US dollar to 1500 liras against the US dollar. The financial authorities were unable to improve the lira's rate of exchange, now that the sovereign debts had accumulated and revenues of exports and tourism had gone down. After the Syrian forces pulled out of Lebanon, many observers expected that the situation would lead to an improved business environment and attractive Lebanese ventures. However, Lebanese and some Gulf investors focused on the real estate sector, with the result that there were no investments in other, basic sectors. Cash flow is still limited and ineffective, especially as far as the development of the economy and the creation of jobs are concerned. The severe Israeli reaction against Lebanon after Hezbollah had captured two Israeli soldiers will inevitably aggravate the deterioration of the Lebanese economy. A few days after the military operation, it has become obvious that Lebanon's infrastructure needs considerable capital investments.

The estimated loss to the economy so far exceeds $2.5 billion, according to Lebanese reports. Losses will not stop at this point; most Lebanese will suffer for a long time, even when an agreement to stop military operations is reached. Undoubtedly, the unemployment rate will rise, while the standard of living will decline and the revenues of tourism and trade will dry up for some time to come.

Bloomberg Israel Tries to Kill Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah (Update1) <

P> Israel has largely avoided land operations against Hezbollah in favor of air strikes since it began its attacks on the Islamist group that abducted two of its soldiers.

Israeli forces made ``limited'' ground incursions into Lebanese territory by the central and western sectors of the border, UN spokesman Milos Strugar said in an interview. The fighting, including artillery fire, is continuing and Israeli forces are holding onto the advance they made yesterday, he said.

Israeli offensives in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip may last ``a long time,'' Israel's military chief, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, told his troops, Agence France-Presse said, citing a letter distributed to troops. Israel has been conducting operations in Palestinian-ruled Gaza since June 28.

``We have as much time as possible,'' said Tourism Minister Yttzhak Herzog, ``we've instructed the army to complete the operation.'

Dearest Readers, Mike from Whatreallyhappened reminds us the Israeli soldiers captured were in uniform within the Lebanon border.

Quotes of the Day

If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done.--Peter Ustinov (1921 - 2004)

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.--Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967), (attributed)

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.--Carl Jung (1875 - 1961)

All love that has not friendship for its base, is like a mansion built upon sand. --Ella Wheeler Wilcox, O Magazine, February 2004