Joining my cousins for a bath

Joining my cousins for a bath
happy or sad, at least the bath seems pleasant

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Occasional comments on politics also see: http://www.artscritic.blogspot.com for occasional comments on all the arts, especially in Seattle; http://handke-discussion.blogspot.com/ and http://handke-trivia.blogspot.com/ and http://www.handke.scriptmania.com andhttp://www.handke.scriptmania.com/favorite_links_1.html and ten sub sites if you want to be excessively well informed about the Austrian author Peter Handke

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

end of february posting, # 6 in a series

Zogby Poll: 72% of US Troops in Iraq Say End War in 2006 http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-09.htm
==
Chernus and Hilfiker on the Other Christian Activists
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=64317
==
The Court's Money Moment by John Henderson, Robert A. Pastor and Jamin Raskin, TomPaine.comToday, Supreme Court has an historic opportunity to free elections from the taint of unlimited spending -- and evidence from abroad shows it's good for democracy.
\nhttp://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/28/the_courts_money_moment.php\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nNo Governmental Checks and Balances: Just a Wall of Republican Corruption\nhttp://www.culture-of-corruption.net/index.htm\n\u003d\u003d\nWITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS By Will Bunch Exclusive: An investigation into the private and public finances of Rick Santorum suggests that the Senate GOP might want to reconsider making him its ethics czar. \nhttp://taponline.c.topica.com/maaexkjaboC3vbOgIFMbaehosu/ \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nIncomes Fall, Hunger Worsens as Bush Says \'We\'re Doing Fine\'",1]
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http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/28/the_courts_money_moment.php
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No Governmental Checks and Balances: Just a Wall of Republican Corruptionhttp://www.culture-of-corruption.net/index.htm
==
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS By Will Bunch Exclusive: An investigation into the private and public finances of Rick Santorum suggests that the Senate GOP might want to reconsider making him its ethics czar. http://taponline.c.topica.com/maaexkjaboC3vbOgIFMbaehosu/
===
Incomes Fall, Hunger Worsens as Bush Says 'We're Doing Fine'
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-06.htm
\n\n\u003d\u003d\nNo Excuse for Bush\'s Iraq Incompetence\nhttp://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/28/iraq-incompetency/\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nWorldwide Poll Shows 60% Fear Terror Threat is Worse after War\nhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-04.htm \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nIraq: Preparing For The Worst",1]
);
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http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-06.htm
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No Excuse for Bush's Iraq Incompetencehttp://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/28/iraq-incompetency/
===
Worldwide Poll Shows 60% Fear Terror Threat is Worse after Warhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-04.htm
===

Iraq: Preparing For The Worst
\nby Robert Dreyfuss, TomPaine.com The Bush strategy has collapsed. All that separates Iraq from all-out civil war is the greed of its corrupt leaders. \nhttp://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/28/iraq_preparing_for_the_worst.php\n\n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nBUSH VS. CONSTITUTION By Paul Starr President Bush\'s conception of his own powers is even more dangerous than his specific abuses. \nhttp://taponline.c.topica.com/maaexkjaboC3wbOgIFMbaehosu/ \n\n\n\nMore Proof Bush is Our Benedict Arnold. This is Not Over-the-Top Alarmism. "Then came the disclosure that the U.S. Coast Guard had raised concerns weeks ago that, because of U.S. intelligence gaps, it could not determine whether the UAE company, DP World, might support terrorist operations." \n",1]
);
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by Robert Dreyfuss, TomPaine.com The Bush strategy has collapsed. All that separates Iraq from all-out civil war is the greed of its corrupt leaders.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/28/iraq_preparing_for_the_worst.php
===
BUSH VS. CONSTITUTION By Paul Starr President Bush's conception of his own powers is even more dangerous than his specific abuses. http://taponline.c.topica.com/maaexkjaboC3wbOgIFMbaehosu/
More Proof Bush is Our Benedict Arnold. This is Not Over-the-Top Alarmism. "Then came the disclosure that the U.S. Coast Guard had raised concerns weeks ago that, because of U.S. intelligence gaps, it could not determine whether the UAE company, DP World, might support terrorist operations."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ports_security;_ylt\u003dAiR59Lax2VqUX19Hc94WH6ms0NUE;_ylu\u003dX3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ
\n-- \n\u003d\u003d\u003d \n\nThe latest CBS News poll finds Bush\'s approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34 percent! , while pessimism about the Iraq war has risen to a new high. Americans are also overwhelmingly opposed to the Bush-backed deal giving a Dubai-owned company operational control over six major U.S. ports. Seven in 10 Americans, including 58 percent of Republicans, say they\'re opposed to the agreement. 2/28 \n\n\nhttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/27/opinion/polls/main1350874.shtml \n\u003d\u003d\u003d \n\nThe New York Times sued the U.S. Defense Department on Monday demanding that it hand over documents about the National Security Agency\'s domestic spying program. 2/28 \n",1]
);
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ports_security;_ylt=AiR59Lax2VqUX19Hc94WH6ms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ
--
===
The latest CBS News poll finds Bush's approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34 percent! , while pessimism about the Iraq war has risen to a new high. Americans are also overwhelmingly opposed to the Bush-backed deal giving a Dubai-owned company operational control over six major U.S. ports. Seven in 10 Americans, including 58 percent of Republicans, say they're opposed to the agreement. 2/28
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/27/opinion/polls/main1350874.shtml
===
The New York Times sued the U.S. Defense Department on Monday demanding that it hand over documents about the National Security Agency's domestic spying program. 2/28

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060227/ts_nm/security_nsa_nytimes_dc \n
\n\u003d\u003d\u003d \nIraq occupation makes possible record profits for British private military contractor\nhttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/cont-f28.shtml \nIraq occupation makes possible record profits for British private military contractor\nhttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/cont-f28.shtml \nPublished on Monday, February 27, 2006 by the \nIndependent/UK \n\n \nDefeat is Victory, Death is Life",1]
);
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060227/ts_nm/security_nsa_nytimes_dc
===
Iraq occupation makes possible record profits for British private military contractorhttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/cont-f28.shtml
Iraq occupation makes possible record profits for British private military contractorhttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/cont-f28.shtml Published on Monday, February 27, 2006 by the
Independent/UK

Defeat is Victory, Death is Life
\nEveryone in the Middle East rewrites history, but never before have we had a US administration so wilfully, dishonestly and ruthlessly reinterpreting tragedy as success, defeat as victory, death as life - helped, I have to add, by the compliant American press \n\nby Robert Fisk\n \nI\'m reminded not so much of Vietnam as of the British and French commanders of the First World War who repeatedly lied about military victory over the Kaiser as they pushed hundreds of thousands of their men through the butchers\' shops of the Somme, Verdun and Gallipoli. The only difference now is that we are pushing hundreds of thousands of Arabs though the butchers\' shops - and don\'t even care. \nLast week\'s visit to Beirut by one of the blindest of George Bush\'s bats - his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice - was indicative of the cruelty that now pervades Washington. She brazenly talked about the burgeoning "democracies" of the Middle East while utterly ignoring the bloodbaths in Iraq and the growing sectarian tensions of Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Perhaps the key to her indifference can be found in her evidence to the Senate Committee on International Affairs where she denounced Iran as "the greatest strategic challenge" facing the US in the region, because Iran uses policies that "contradict the nature of the kind of Middle East sought by the United States". \nAs Bouthaina Shaaban, one of the brightest of Syria\'s not always very bright team of government ministers, noted: "What is the nature of the kind of Middle East sought by the United States? Should Middle East states adapt themselves to that nature, designed oceans away?" As Maureen Dowd, the best and only really worthwhile columnist on the boring New York Times, observed this month, Bush "believes in self-determination only if he\'s doing the determining ... The Bushies are more obsessed with snooping on Americans than fathoming how other cultures think and react." And conniving with rogue regimes, too, Dowd might have added. \n",1]
);
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Everyone in the Middle East rewrites history, but never before have we had a US administration so wilfully, dishonestly and ruthlessly reinterpreting tragedy as success, defeat as victory, death as life - helped, I have to add, by the compliant American press
by Robert Fisk

I'm reminded not so much of Vietnam as of the British and French commanders of the First World War who repeatedly lied about military victory over the Kaiser as they pushed hundreds of thousands of their men through the butchers' shops of the Somme, Verdun and Gallipoli. The only difference now is that we are pushing hundreds of thousands of Arabs though the butchers' shops - and don't even care. Last week's visit to Beirut by one of the blindest of George Bush's bats - his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice - was indicative of the cruelty that now pervades Washington. She brazenly talked about the burgeoning "democracies" of the Middle East while utterly ignoring the bloodbaths in Iraq and the growing sectarian tensions of Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Perhaps the key to her indifference can be found in her evidence to the Senate Committee on International Affairs where she denounced Iran as "the greatest strategic challenge" facing the US in the region, because Iran uses policies that "contradict the nature of the kind of Middle East sought by the United States". As Bouthaina Shaaban, one of the brightest of Syria's not always very bright team of government ministers, noted: "What is the nature of the kind of Middle East sought by the United States? Should Middle East states adapt themselves to that nature, designed oceans away?" As Maureen Dowd, the best and only really worthwhile columnist on the boring New York Times, observed this month, Bush "believes in self-determination only if he's doing the determining ... The Bushies are more obsessed with snooping on Americans than fathoming how other cultures think and react." And conniving with rogue regimes, too, Dowd might have added.
Take Donald Rumsfeld, the reprehensible man who helped to kick off the "shock and awe" mess that has now trapped more than 100,000 Americans in the wastes of Iraq. He\'s been taking a leisurely trip around North Africa to consult some of America\'s nastiest dictators, among them President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, the man with the largest secret service in the Arab world and whose policemen have perfected the best method of gleaning information from suspected "terrorists": to hold them down and stuff bleach-soaked rags into their mouths until they have almost drowned. \nThe Tunisians learned this from the somewhat cruder methods of the Algerians next door whose government death squads slaughtered quite a few of the 150,000 victims of the recent war against the Islamists. The Algerian lads - and I\'ve interviewed a few of them after their nightmares persuaded them to seek asylum in London - would strap their naked victims to a ladder and, if the "chiffon" torture didn\'t work, they\'d push a tube down the victim\'s throat and turn on a water tap until the prisoner swelled up like a balloon. There was a special department (at the Chateauneuf police station, in case Donald Rumsfeld wants to know) for torturing women, who were inevitably raped before being dispatched by an execution squad. \nAll this I mention because Rumsfeld\'s also been cosying up to the Algerians. On a visit to Algiers this month, he announced that "the United States and Algeria have a multifaceted relationship. It involves political and economic as well as military-to-military co-operation. And we very much value the co-operation we are receiving in counter-terrorism..." Yes, I imagine the "chiffon" technique is easy to learn, the abuse of prisoners, too - just like Abu Ghraib, for example, which now seems to have been the fault of journalists rather than America\'s thugs. \n\n",1]
);
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Take Donald Rumsfeld, the reprehensible man who helped to kick off the "shock and awe" mess that has now trapped more than 100,000 Americans in the wastes of Iraq. He's been taking a leisurely trip around North Africa to consult some of America's nastiest dictators, among them President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, the man with the largest secret service in the Arab world and whose policemen have perfected the best method of gleaning information from suspected "terrorists": to hold them down and stuff bleach-soaked rags into their mouths until they have almost drowned. The Tunisians learned this from the somewhat cruder methods of the Algerians next door whose government death squads slaughtered quite a few of the 150,000 victims of the recent war against the Islamists. The Algerian lads - and I've interviewed a few of them after their nightmares persuaded them to seek asylum in London - would strap their naked victims to a ladder and, if the "chiffon" torture didn't work, they'd push a tube down the victim's throat and turn on a water tap until the prisoner swelled up like a balloon. There was a special department (at the Chateauneuf police station, in case Donald Rumsfeld wants to know) for torturing women, who were inevitably raped before being dispatched by an execution squad. All this I mention because Rumsfeld's also been cosying up to the Algerians. On a visit to Algiers this month, he announced that "the United States and Algeria have a multifaceted relationship. It involves political and economic as well as military-to-military co-operation. And we very much value the co-operation we are receiving in counter-terrorism..." Yes, I imagine the "chiffon" technique is easy to learn, the abuse of prisoners, too - just like Abu Ghraib, for example, which now seems to have been the fault of journalists rather than America's thugs.

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0227-21.htm \n
re us corporations...\nFitts writes in her introduction: "There is a strongly held myth in America. The myth says that large corporations are efficient. They have big profits. They have lots of \ncapital to hire the best people, the best accountants and the best law firms. Everyone looks so spiffy. Their technology is the latest. The best thing for the economy, sings the siren song, is for inefficient government to defer to corporate leaders and corporate \n\'survival of the fittest.\' Powerful corporations, the myth goes, earned their power through performance in the marketplace by providing the best services and products. "The real truth on the corporate model is far darker, however, and \ncan be found by understanding our current central banking-warfare economic model and the resulting total economic return of activities. That means not just looking at the corporate profits and growth in stock price, but the true cost to people, the environment and \ngovernment of a particular corporate activity. This necessitates understanding the economy as an ecosystem that is a dynamic living system in places. If corporate profits come from laundering narcotics trafficking used to destroy communities, and from government \ncontracts used to build expensive prisons crammed full of small time non-violent drug distributors and customers, then they are part of a \'negative return on investment\' economy. This is an economy where the \nreal cost of things is hidden behind secret black budgets, complex government finances, under-the-table deals, market manipulations and economic and military warfare, until they finally show up in the most irrefutable ways: environmental destruction and the exhaustion and \n",1]
);
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http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0227-21.htm re us corporations...
Fitts writes in her introduction: "There is a strongly held myth in America. The myth says that large corporations are efficient. They have big profits. They have lots of capital to hire the best people, the best accountants and the best law firms. Everyone looks so spiffy. Their technology is the latest. The best thing for the economy, sings the siren song, is for inefficient government to defer to corporate leaders and corporate 'survival of the fittest.' Powerful corporations, the myth goes, earned their power through performance in the marketplace by providing the best services and products. "The real truth on the corporate model is far darker, however, and can be found by understanding our current central banking-warfare economic model and the resulting total economic return of activities. That means not just looking at the corporate profits and growth in stock price, but the true cost to people, the environment and government of a particular corporate activity. This necessitates understanding the economy as an ecosystem that is a dynamic living system in places. If corporate profits come from laundering narcotics trafficking used to destroy communities, and from government contracts used to build expensive prisons crammed full of small time non-violent drug distributors and customers, then they are part of a 'negative return on investment' economy. This is an economy where the real cost of things is hidden behind secret black budgets, complex government finances, under-the-table deals, market manipulations and economic and military warfare, until they finally show up in the most irrefutable ways: environmental destruction and the exhaustion and
death of communities." Fitts calls her story of Dillon Read a case study in this. In part one, Fitts describes how a relationship with Bechtel brought the firm into military and intelligence circles (including the Bush family), \nand correspondingly into the giant profits to be made from government contracts. She also looks at how the firm gained through its business with R.J. Reynolds as the tobacco company was involved in narco- \ntrafficking and other criminal activities. The series is an indictment of the elite class in the U.S. that sanctimoniously decries drugs and crime while profiting off of them and insuring their continued existence. As the old New Jersey street \nsaying that Fitts quotes at the beginning of her series goes, "Make a law, make a business." Read the first installment here: \nhttp://www.narconews.com \n \nHarper\'s Magazine Editor Lewis Lapham: "The Case for Impeachment" 2/28\nhttp://harpers.org/TheCaseForImpeachment.html\n\u003d\u003d\n"When I returned in 2005 for another round of research in the Secretary of the Air Force Files, RG [record group] 340, the boxes were decimated," Mr. Keeney told Secrecy News. "100% of the documents I retrieved 9 years ago were gone." In their place, he found a "withdrawal notice" of the sort that has been quietly proliferating at the National Archives. An official stamp ironically certifies that the withdrawal notice itself is declassified and may be safely disclosed. See: \n",1]
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death of communities." Fitts calls her story of Dillon Read a case study in this. In part one, Fitts describes how a relationship with Bechtel brought the firm into military and intelligence circles (including the Bush family), and correspondingly into the giant profits to be made from government contracts. She also looks at how the firm gained through its business with R.J. Reynolds as the tobacco company was involved in narco- trafficking and other criminal activities. The series is an indictment of the elite class in the U.S. that sanctimoniously decries drugs and crime while profiting off of them and insuring their continued existence. As the old New Jersey street saying that Fitts quotes at the beginning of her series goes, "Make a law, make a business." Read the first installment here: http://www.narconews.com

Harper's Magazine Editor Lewis Lapham: "The Case for Impeachment" 2/28http://harpers.org/TheCaseForImpeachment.html
==
"When I returned in 2005 for another round of research in the Secretary of the Air Force Files, RG [record group] 340, the boxes were decimated," Mr. Keeney told Secrecy News. "100% of the documents I retrieved 9 years ago were gone." In their place, he found a "withdrawal notice" of the sort that has been quietly proliferating at the National Archives. An official stamp ironically certifies that the withdrawal notice itself is declassified and may be safely disclosed. See:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/02/reclassified.pdf \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n"Those who control the past control the future, Orwell famously wrote in \'1984\'," recalled Fred Kaplan in an article in Slate that supplied some of the back story of the reclassification initiative. See "Secret Again: The absurd scheme to reclassify documents" by Fred Kaplan, Slate, February 23: \nhttp://www.slate.com/id/2136480/\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nThe continuing assault on history was also reported in "U.S. reclassifies government memos" by Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, February 24: \nhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11546531/ \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nThis effort to stuff this harmless toothpaste back into the tube would be funny if it weren\'t so emblematic of a disturbing new culture of government secrecy," a Washington Post editorial opined. See "Classifying Toothpaste," February 27: \n",1]
);
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http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/02/reclassified.pdf
===
"Those who control the past control the future, Orwell famously wrote in '1984'," recalled Fred Kaplan in an article in Slate that supplied some of the back story of the reclassification initiative. See "Secret Again: The absurd scheme to reclassify documents" by Fred Kaplan, Slate, February 23: http://www.slate.com/id/2136480/
===
The continuing assault on history was also reported in "U.S. reclassifies government memos" by Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, February 24: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11546531/
===
This effort to stuff this harmless toothpaste back into the tube would be funny if it weren't so emblematic of a disturbing new culture of government secrecy," a Washington Post editorial opined. See "Classifying Toothpaste," February 27:
http://tinyurl.com/hykqx\n \n\u003d\u003d\nMore federal agencies are taking data off the Web, while citizens seek ways to restore public access," as described in the article. See: \nhttp://www.fcw.com/article92400-02-27-06-Print \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n"The concerted use of the Freedom of Information Act by public interest groups and their constituents" offers one way of recovering public access to official information that has been removed from government websites, advises law professor and librarian Susan Nevelow Mart in a new paper. See "Let the People Know the Facts: Can Government Information Removed from the Internet Be Reclaimed?", Law Library Journal, Volume 98, No. 1 (2006): \nhttp://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v98n01/2006-01.pdf \n\n\u003d\u003d\nA copy of the revised SBU policy was posted on the CDC intranet and obtained by Secrecy News. See: ",1]
);
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http://tinyurl.com/hykqx
==
More federal agencies are taking data off the Web, while citizens seek ways to restore public access," as described in the article. See: http://www.fcw.com/article92400-02-27-06-Print
===
"The concerted use of the Freedom of Information Act by public interest groups and their constituents" offers one way of recovering public access to official information that has been removed from government websites, advises law professor and librarian Susan Nevelow Mart in a new paper. See "Let the People Know the Facts: Can Government Information Removed from the Internet Be Reclaimed?", Law Library Journal, Volume 98, No. 1 (2006): http://www.aallnet.org/products/pub_llj_v98n01/2006-01.pdf
==
A copy of the revised SBU policy was posted on the CDC intranet and obtained by Secrecy News. See:
\nhttp://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/cdc-sbu-2006.html \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n \n\nGrand Theft Baghdad by Charlie Cray, \nTomPaine.comFor the party of fiscal accountability, Republicans in Congress have dangerously little interest in investigating the contracting scandals of the Iraqi occupation. \nhttp://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/27/grand_theft_baghdad.php\n \n\u003d\u003d\nMedian Income Falls Eight Percent For Younger Households \n",1]
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http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/cdc-sbu-2006.html
===

Grand Theft Baghdad by Charlie Cray, TomPaine.comFor the party of fiscal accountability, Republicans in Congress have dangerously little interest in investigating the contracting scandals of the Iraqi occupation. http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/27/grand_theft_baghdad.php
==
Median Income Falls Eight Percent For Younger Households
\nhttp://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0227/p01s04-usec.html \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n \n \nBomb blasts hit Iran oil cities \nIran has been hit by a spate of bombings in recent monthsTwo bombs have exploded in the southern Iranian cities of Dezful and Abadan, according to Iranian reports. \n\nhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4754446.stm \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d \nBush\'s Mea Culpa \nIvo H. Daalder, TPM Cafe \nhttp://www.tpmcafe.com/node/27116\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n",1]
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0227/p01s04-usec.html
===


Bomb blasts hit Iran oil cities
Iran has been hit by a spate of bombings in recent monthsTwo bombs have exploded in the southern Iranian cities of Dezful and Abadan, according to Iranian reports.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4754446.stm
===
Bush's Mea Culpa Ivo H. Daalder, TPM Cafe
http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/27116
===
Iraq\'s death squads: On the brink of civil war \nMost of the corpses in Baghdad\'s mortuary show signs of torture and execution. And the Interior Ministry is being blamed. By Andrew Buncombe and Patrick Cockburn \n\nhttp://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article347806.ece \n\n\u003d\u003d \n\nBush promised an Iraqi civil war wouldn\'t happen "on my watch." Roll over, "read my lips." 2/27 \n\nhttp://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/02/26.html#a7308 \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nGovs. Press Bush on Nat\'l Guard Strength \n",1]
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Iraq's death squads: On the brink of civil war
Most of the corpses in Baghdad's mortuary show signs of torture and execution. And the Interior Ministry is being blamed. By Andrew Buncombe and Patrick Cockburn
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article347806.ece
==
Bush promised an Iraqi civil war wouldn't happen "on my watch." Roll over, "read my lips." 2/27
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/02/26.html#a7308
===
Govs. Press Bush on Nat'l Guard Strength

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060227/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_governors;_ylt\u003dAnIEdblDgR5RNw_odOXDGWCs0NUE;_ylu\u003dX3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM- \n
\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nSyrian and Iranian Interests Converge in LebanonDrafted By: Brian Maher \nhttp://www.pinr.com \n\nWilliam F. Buckley, godfather of the conservative movement calls for "acknowledgment of defeat" in Iraq: "One can\'t doubt that the American objective in Iraq Has Failed" \nFebruary 24, 2006, 2:51 p.m.It Didn\'t Work\n"I can tell you the main reason behind all our woes — it is America." The New York Times reporter is quoting the complaint of a clothing merchant in a Sunni stronghold in Iraq. "Everything that is going on between Sunni and Shiites, the troublemaker in the middle is America." \n\nhttp://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley200602241451.asp \n",1]
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060227/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_governors;_ylt=AnIEdblDgR5RNw_odOXDGWCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM-

===
Syrian and Iranian Interests Converge in LebanonDrafted By: Brian Maher http://www.pinr.com
William F. Buckley, godfather of the conservative movement calls for "acknowledgment of defeat" in Iraq: "One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq Has Failed"
February 24, 2006, 2:51 p.m.It Didn't Work
"I can tell you the main reason behind all our woes — it is America." The New York Times reporter is quoting the complaint of a clothing merchant in a Sunni stronghold in Iraq. "Everything that is going on between Sunni and Shiites, the troublemaker in the middle is America."
http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley200602241451.asp
\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n\nBush administration set on betraying America\'s national security for "bidness," As they say in Texas. He can violate the personal liberties of Americans, but he can\'t cancel a contract with a nation that has supported al-Qaeda. Bush is a threat to our lives. 2/25 \n\n\nhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ports_security;_ylt\u003dAoN24XDMVzOVE8UdOucvw7es0NUE;_ylu\u003dX3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ-- \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nBlogger Bares Rumsfeld\'s Post 9/11 Orders\nhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0224-01.htm\n\nOnly 17% of Americans say the port deal is a good idea. Just watch the White House try to save face. 2/25 ",1]
);
//-->

===
Bush administration set on betraying America's national security for "bidness," As they say in Texas. He can violate the personal liberties of Americans, but he can't cancel a contract with a nation that has supported al-Qaeda. Bush is a threat to our lives. 2/25
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ports_security;_ylt=AoN24XDMVzOVE8UdOucvw7es0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--
===
Blogger Bares Rumsfeld's Post 9/11 Ordershttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0224-01.htm
Only 17% of Americans say the port deal is a good idea. Just watch the White House try to save face. 2/25
\nhttp://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/February%20Dailies/Dubai%20Ports.htm \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nFBI Memos Reveal Allegations of Abusive Interrogation Techniques \nby Drew Brown\nWASHINGTON - Military interrogators posing as FBI agents at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, wrapped terrorism suspects in an Israeli flag and forced them to watch homosexual pornography under strobe lights during interrogation sessions that lasted as long as 18 hours, according to one of a batch of FBI memos released Thursday \n\nFBI Memos Reveal Allegations of Abusive Interrogation Techniques\nhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0224-06.htm\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003d\nPierre Tristam Iraq\'s Cambodian Jungle: How American \'Nation-Building\' Fueled Civil War\n",1]
);
//-->

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/February%20Dailies/Dubai%20Ports.htm
===
FBI Memos Reveal Allegations of Abusive Interrogation Techniques
by Drew Brown
WASHINGTON - Military interrogators posing as FBI agents at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, wrapped terrorism suspects in an Israeli flag and forced them to watch homosexual pornography under strobe lights during interrogation sessions that lasted as long as 18 hours, according to one of a batch of FBI memos released Thursday
FBI Memos Reveal Allegations of Abusive Interrogation Techniqueshttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0224-06.htm
====
Pierre Tristam Iraq's Cambodian Jungle: How American 'Nation-Building' Fueled Civil War
/views06/0224-23.htm
\nPentagon Told to Release Gitmo Transcripts\nBy BEN FOX Associated Press Writer\nhttp://news.findlaw.com/ap/i/630/02-24-2006/888e00275a42173c.html \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nWhen it comes to the safety of our food, who is watching the store? \nhttp://www.bioethics2006.org/\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003d\nBolivian president asks U.S. to explain lawmaker\'s yanked visa\nBy CARLOS VALDEZ Associated Press Writer\nAP) - LA PAZ, Bolivia-President Evo Morales has asked the United States to explain why it canceled the entry visa of a Bolivian lawmaker and union leader for coca growers. \n\n"Hopefully it\'s a mistake and not the position of the (U.S.) government to punish our sister," Morales said Thursday, referring to Bolivian Senator Leonilda Zurita, a close ally of the president. \n\nThe United States apparently canceled Zurita\'s visa under an immigration law prohibiting people suspected of terrorist activity.",1]
);
//-->
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0224-23.htm
Pentagon Told to Release Gitmo Transcripts
By BEN FOX Associated Press Writer
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/i/630/02-24-2006/888e00275a42173c.html
===
When it comes to the safety of our food, who is watching the store?
http://www.bioethics2006.org/
====
Bolivian president asks U.S. to explain lawmaker's yanked visa
By CARLOS VALDEZ Associated Press Writer
AP) - LA PAZ, Bolivia-President Evo Morales has asked the United States to explain why it canceled the entry visa of a Bolivian lawmaker and union leader for coca growers.
"Hopefully it's a mistake and not the position of the (U.S.) government to punish our sister," Morales said Thursday, referring to Bolivian Senator Leonilda Zurita, a close ally of the president.
The United States apparently canceled Zurita's visa under an immigration law prohibiting people suspected of terrorist activity.
\nhttp://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/02-24-2006/ea56000ec12c7c93.html \n\nGrant\'s letter says clearly, in Spanish: "This letter\'s purpose is to inform you that the tourist visa issued February 14, 1998 has been revoked since May 27, 2004 by the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs under Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the \nU.S. Immigration and Nationality Act." This verbal diarrhea means that Leonilda Zurita had some relation to terrorist activities or insurgent movements... And everything indicates that this is really about the case of Colombian peasant-farmer leader and human rights activist Francisco "Pacho" Cortes, whom the Bolivian justice system tried to link to 42 other coca growers\' leaders... without much success. What\'s more, the case against Cortes has been so badly made that he received a provisional release a few days ago, because, among other reasons, the Bolivian prosecutors have not been able to prove any of their charges against him. But the scandal generated by a senator losing her \nU.S. visa has now caused echos from a dew more corners, such as a wire report from Reuters on Wednesday titled: "Bolivia\'s \'Death to Yankees\' senator loses US visa." This report is a real literary gem: it says nothing of the motives behind the cancellation, but in pure bad faith speaks of the terrorism accusation and, without explaining Pacho\'s case, tells us that Senator Zurita is "known for her raucous chanting" that speaks of rubbing out the gringos... \n\nhttp://www.narconews.com",1]
);
//-->

http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/02-24-2006/ea56000ec12c7c93.html
Grant's letter says clearly, in Spanish: "This letter's purpose is to inform you that the tourist visa issued February 14, 1998 has been revoked since May 27, 2004 by the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs under Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act." This verbal diarrhea means that Leonilda Zurita had some relation to terrorist activities or insurgent movements... And everything indicates that this is really about the case of Colombian peasant-farmer leader and human rights activist Francisco "Pacho" Cortes, whom the Bolivian justice system tried to link to 42 other coca growers' leaders... without much success. What's more, the case against Cortes has been so badly made that he received a provisional release a few days ago, because, among other reasons, the Bolivian prosecutors have not been able to prove any of their charges against him. But the scandal generated by a senator losing her U.S. visa has now caused echos from a dew more corners, such as a wire report from Reuters on Wednesday titled: "Bolivia's 'Death to Yankees' senator loses US visa." This report is a real literary gem: it says nothing of the motives behind the cancellation, but in pure bad faith speaks of the terrorism accusation and, without explaining Pacho's case, tells us that Senator Zurita is "known for her raucous chanting" that speaks of rubbing out the gringos...
http://www.narconews.com
\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nAggressive interrogations ineffective, legally risky, FBI warned military at Guantanamo\nBy MARK SHERMAN Associated Press Writer \n(AP) - WASHINGTON-FBI agents repeatedly warned military interrogators at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that their aggressive methods were legally risky and also likely to be ineffective, according to FBI memos made public Thursday. \n\nhttp://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/02-24-2006/a9ed0018b0c0fddd.html \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nMore documents prove that top defense officials approved of abuse at Guantanamo detention center \nhttp://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2006/02/more_documents.html \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n\n",1]
);
//-->

===
Aggressive interrogations ineffective, legally risky, FBI warned military at Guantanamo
By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press Writer
(AP) - WASHINGTON-FBI agents repeatedly warned military interrogators at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that their aggressive methods were legally risky and also likely to be ineffective, according to FBI memos made public Thursday.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/02-24-2006/a9ed0018b0c0fddd.html
===
More documents prove that top defense officials approved of abuse at Guantanamo detention center http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2006/02/more_documents.html
===

Fearmonger In Chief
by William Greider, \nThe Nation President Bush sowed the hysteria he is now reaping in the form of the UAE ports controversy. \nhttp://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/24/fearmonger_in_chief.php\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nRep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is mad at Citgo and wants to know why they\'re helping the poor with low-cost heating oil. Barton didn\'t mention that only Tom DeLay gets more money from the oil industry. But, of course, that\'s just a coincidence. \n\n\nhttp://dailydelay.blogspot.com/2006/02/like-free-ride-when-youve-already-paid.html \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nMark Morford: America, Narcoleptic Pit Bull; Once the (tarnished) beacon of peace and democracy, now just another global flamethrower \n",1]
);
//-->
Fearmonger In Chief
by William Greider, The Nation President Bush sowed the hysteria he is now reaping in the form of the UAE ports controversy. http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/24/fearmonger_in_chief.php
===
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is mad at Citgo and wants to know why they're helping the poor with low-cost heating oil. Barton didn't mention that only Tom DeLay gets more money from the oil industry. But, of course, that's just a coincidence.
http://dailydelay.blogspot.com/2006/02/like-free-ride-when-youve-already-paid.html
===
Mark Morford: America, Narcoleptic Pit Bull; Once the (tarnished) beacon of peace and democracy, now just another global flamethrower

\nhttp://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f\u003d/gate/archive/2006/02/24/notes022406.DTL&nl\u003dfix
\n\u003d\u003d\nGiven past practice, it was safe to assume that the White House\'s just-released report on Hurricane Katrina would be less than a no-holds-barred, blistering, tell-all account of what went wrong in the government\'s response. And, surprise, surprise, \nas David Corn writes \n, the report somehow managed to miss the missteps that occurred at the White House. \nhttp://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid\u003d63398 \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n\nOn The Brink In Iraq by Bob Dreyfuss, \nTomPaine.comThe die has been cast. Bush must take the blame for destroying Iraq. ",1]
);
//-->
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2006/02/24/notes022406.DTL&nl=fix
==
Given past practice, it was safe to assume that the White House's just-released report on Hurricane Katrina would be less than a no-holds-barred, blistering, tell-all account of what went wrong in the government's response. And, surprise, surprise, as David Corn writes , the report somehow managed to miss the missteps that occurred at the White House.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=63398
===
On The Brink In Iraq by Bob Dreyfuss, TomPaine.comThe die has been cast. Bush must take the blame for destroying Iraq.
\nhttp://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/24/on_the_brink_in_iraq.php\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nand now for a little humor: \nhttp://www.obscurestore.com/\nDeclassified memos indicate more than six dozen CIA-linked air landings in Canada\nBy BETH DUFF-BROWN Associated Press Writer \n(AP) - TORONTO-CIA planes have landed in Canada 74 times since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, underscoring fears that the United States is ferrying suspected terrorists through its neighboring country en route to foreign prisons for torture, according to newly declassified government documents. \n\nhttp://news.findlaw.com/ap/p/56/02-24-2006/24d00035c39d514e.html \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n",1]
);
//-->
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/24/on_the_brink_in_iraq.php
===
and now for a little humor: http://www.obscurestore.com/
Declassified memos indicate more than six dozen CIA-linked air landings in Canada
By BETH DUFF-BROWN Associated Press Writer
(AP) - TORONTO-CIA planes have landed in Canada 74 times since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, underscoring fears that the United States is ferrying suspected terrorists through its neighboring country en route to foreign prisons for torture, according to newly declassified government documents.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/p/56/02-24-2006/24d00035c39d514e.html
===

\nDid the White House "Authorize" Leaks to Woodward?
\nREAD MORE: \nBob Woodward, \nIraq , \nScooter Libby, \nNew York Times , \nGeorge W. Bush, \n",1]
);
//-->
Did the White House "Authorize" Leaks to Woodward?

READ MORE: Bob Woodward, Iraq , Scooter Libby, New York Times , George W. Bush,
Dick Cheney
, \nCIA \nDid the Bush administration "authorize" the leak of classified information to Bob Woodward? And did those leaks damage national security?\n \n\nhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/murray-waas/did-the-white-house-auth_b_16263.html \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nPoliticians use Denver newspapers\' website to post "stories" \nhttp://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/6537/C37/L37 New West \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nPowers wants to see more stories on political image-makers \n",1]
);
//-->
Dick Cheney
, CIA
Did the Bush administration "authorize" the leak of classified information to Bob Woodward? And did those leaks damage national security?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/murray-waas/did-the-white-house-auth_b_16263.html
===
Politicians use Denver newspapers' website to post "stories" http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/6537/C37/L37 New West
===
Powers wants to see more stories on political image-makers
/powers.htm
\nNational Journal The stories are hard to get, notes William Powers. "Still, I think the media should be chasing them like crazy\n\u003d\u003d\n\n \n\n",0]
);
D(["ce"]);
//-->
http://nationaljournal.com/powers.htm
National Journal The stories are hard to get, notes William Powers. "Still, I think the media should be chasing them like crazy
==

Friday, February 24, 2006

end of week feb 24

Judge orders U.S. to release Guantanamo detainee data
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A federal judge ordered the Pentagon on Thursday to release the identities of hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to The Associated Press, a move which would force the government to break its secrecy and reveal the most comprehensive list yet of those who have been imprisoned there.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-23-guantanamo-suit_x.htm
===
Surprise, Surprise: UAE gave $1 million to Bush library 2/24

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3681451.html
==
'Big Brother' Watching E-mail, Computer Data: US Report
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0223-03.htm \n
\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nUAE, Jolted by Port Deal, Is Key Western Arms Buyerhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0223-08.htm\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nMolly Ivins George Bush, Protector of Arab Rights?http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0223-28.htm\n \n \u003d\u003d\u003d\u003d\nMurray calls on Bush for details -- or halt to sale \nSeattle Post Intelligencer - USA\nhttp://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/260592_portsecurity23.html \n... Now we are asking for information so we can make the right decision.". From left, Port of Seattle Chief Executive Mic Dinsmore and Sens. ... \u003d\u003d\u003d\u003d \n\nPentagon Told to Release Gitmo Transcripts\nBy BEN FOX Associated Press Writer\n",1]
);
//-->
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0223-03.htm

===
UAE, Jolted by Port Deal, Is Key Western Arms Buyerhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0223-08.htm
===
Molly Ivins George Bush, Protector of Arab Rights?http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0223-28.htm
====
Murray calls on Bush for details -- or halt to sale Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/260592_portsecurity23.html... Now we are asking for information so we can make the right decision.". From left, Port of Seattle Chief Executive Mic Dinsmore and Sens. ... ====
Pentagon Told to Release Gitmo Transcripts
By BEN FOX Associated Press Writer

http://news.findlaw.com/ap/i/630/02-24-2006/888e00275a42173c.html \n
\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nWhen it comes to the safety of our food, who is watching the store? \nhttp://www.bioethics2006.org/\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003d\nBolivian president asks U.S. to explain lawmaker\'s yanked visa\nBy CARLOS VALDEZ Associated Press Writer\nAP) - LA PAZ, Bolivia-President Evo Morales has asked the United States to explain why it canceled the entry visa of a Bolivian lawmaker and union leader for coca growers. \n\n"Hopefully it\'s a mistake and not the position of the (U.S.) government to punish our sister," Morales said Thursday, referring to Bolivian Senator Leonilda Zurita, a close ally of the president. \n\nThe United States apparently canceled Zurita\'s visa under an immigration law prohibiting people suspected of terrorist activity.\nhttp://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/02-24-2006/ea56000ec12c7c93.html \n\n",1]
);
//-->
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/i/630/02-24-2006/888e00275a42173c.html
===
When it comes to the safety of our food, who is watching the store?
http://www.bioethics2006.org/
====
Bolivian president asks U.S. to explain lawmaker's yanked visa
By CARLOS VALDEZ Associated Press Writer
AP) - LA PAZ, Bolivia-President Evo Morales has asked the United States to explain why it canceled the entry visa of a Bolivian lawmaker and union leader for coca growers.
"Hopefully it's a mistake and not the position of the (U.S.) government to punish our sister," Morales said Thursday, referring to Bolivian Senator Leonilda Zurita, a close ally of the president.
The United States apparently canceled Zurita's visa under an immigration law prohibiting people suspected of terrorist activity.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/02-24-2006/ea56000ec12c7c93.html
\nhttp://www.narconews.com\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nAggressive interrogations ineffective, legally risky, FBI warned military at Guantanamo\n",1]
);
//-->
Grant's letter says clearly, in Spanish: "This letter's purpose is to inform you that the tourist visa issued February 14, 1998 has been revoked since May 27, 2004 by the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs under Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act." This verbal diarrhea means that Leonilda Zurita had some relation to terrorist activities or insurgent movements... And everything indicates that this is really about the case of Colombian peasant-farmer leader and human rights activist Francisco "Pacho" Cortes, whom the Bolivian justice system tried to link to 42 other coca growers' leaders... without much success. What's more, the case against Cortes has been so badly made that he received a provisional release a few days ago, because, among other reasons, the Bolivian prosecutors have not been able to prove any of their charges against him. But the scandal generated by a senator losing her U.S. visa has now caused echos from a dew more corners, such as a wire report from Reuters on Wednesday titled: "Bolivia's 'Death to Yankees' senator loses US visa." This report is a real literary gem: it says nothing of the motives behind the cancellation, but in pure bad faith speaks of the terrorism accusation and, without explaining Pacho's case, tells us that Senator Zurita is "known for her raucous chanting" that speaks of rubbing out the gringos...
http://www.narconews.com/
===
Aggressive interrogations ineffective, legally risky, FBI warned military at Guantanamo
\n(AP) - WASHINGTON-FBI agents repeatedly warned military interrogators at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that their aggressive methods were legally risky and also likely to be ineffective, according to FBI memos made public Thursday. \n\nhttp://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/02-24-2006/a9ed0018b0c0fddd.html \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nMore documents prove that top defense officials approved of abuse at Guantanamo detention center \nhttp://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2006/02/more_documents.html \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFearmonger In Chief",1]
);
//-->
By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press Writer
(AP) - WASHINGTON-FBI agents repeatedly warned military interrogators at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that their aggressive methods were legally risky and also likely to be ineffective, according to FBI memos made public Thursday.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/02-24-2006/a9ed0018b0c0fddd.html
===
More documents prove that top defense officials approved of abuse at Guantanamo detention center http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2006/02/more_documents.html
===
Fearmonger In Chief
by William Greider, \nThe Nation President Bush sowed the hysteria he is now reaping in the form of the UAE ports controversy. \nhttp://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/24/fearmonger_in_chief.php\n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nRep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is mad at Citgo and wants to know why they\'re helping the poor with low-cost heating oil. Barton didn\'t mention that only Tom DeLay gets more money from the oil industry. But, of course, that\'s just a coincidence. \n\nhttp://dailydelay.blogspot.com/2006/02/like-free-ride-when-youve-already-paid.html \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nMark Morford: America, Narcoleptic Pit Bull; Once the (tarnished) beacon of peace and democracy, now just another global flamethrower \n",1]
);
//-->
by William Greider, The Nation President Bush sowed the hysteria he is now reaping in the form of the UAE ports controversy.
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=u7hwctbab.0.ntowctbab.tiniiyn6.149445&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tompaine.com%2Farticles%2F2006%2F02%2F24%2Ffearmonger_in_chief.php
===
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is mad at Citgo and wants to know why they're helping the poor with low-cost heating oil. Barton didn't mention that only Tom DeLay gets more money from the oil industry. But, of course, that's just a coincidence. http://dailydelay.blogspot.com/2006/02/like-free-ride-when-youve-already-paid.html
===
Mark Morford: America, Narcoleptic Pit Bull; Once the (tarnished) beacon of peace and democracy, now just another global flamethrower
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f\u003d/gate/archive/2006/02/24/notes022406.DTL&nl\u003dfix
\n \n\u003d\u003d\nGiven past practice, it was safe to assume that the White House\'s just-released report on Hurricane Katrina would be less than a no-holds-barred, blistering, tell-all account of what went wrong in the government\'s response. And, surprise, surprise, \nas David Corn writes \n, the report somehow managed to miss the missteps that occurred at the White House. \nhttp://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid\u003d63398 \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOn The Brink In Iraq",1]
);
//-->
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2006/02/24/notes022406.DTL&nl=fix

==
Given past practice, it was safe to assume that the White House's just-released report on Hurricane Katrina would be less than a no-holds-barred, blistering, tell-all account of what went wrong in the government's response. And, surprise, surprise, as David Corn writes , the report somehow managed to miss the missteps that occurred at the White House.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=63398
===
On The Brink In Iraq
by Bob Dreyfuss, \nTomPaine.comThe die has been cast. Bush must take the blame for destroying Iraq. \nhttp://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/24/on_the_brink_in_iraq.php\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nand now for a little humor: \nhttp://www.obscurestore.com/\n \nDeclassified memos indicate more than six dozen CIA-linked air landings in Canada\nBy BETH DUFF-BROWN Associated Press Writer ",1]
);
//-->
by Bob Dreyfuss, TomPaine.comThe die has been cast. Bush must take the blame for destroying Iraq. http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=u7hwctbab.0.ktowctbab.tiniiyn6.149445&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tompaine.com%2Farticles%2F2006%2F02%2F24%2Fon_the_brink_in_iraq.php







===
and now for a little humor: http://www.obscurestore.com/

Declassified memos indicate more than six dozen CIA-linked air landings in Canada
By BETH DUFF-BROWN Associated Press Writer
\n(AP) - TORONTO-CIA planes have landed in Canada 74 times since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, underscoring fears that the United States is ferrying suspected terrorists through its neighboring country en route to foreign prisons for torture, according to newly declassified government documents. \n\nhttp://news.findlaw.com/ap/p/56/02-24-2006/24d00035c39d514e.html \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n \n\nDid the White House "Authorize" Leaks to Woodward? \nREAD MORE: \nBob Woodward, \nIraq , ",1]
);
//-->

(AP) - TORONTO-CIA planes have landed in Canada 74 times since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, underscoring fears that the United States is ferrying suspected terrorists through its neighboring country en route to foreign prisons for torture, according to newly declassified government documents.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/p/56/02-24-2006/24d00035c39d514e.html
===

Did the White House "Authorize" Leaks to Woodward?
READ MORE: Bob Woodward, Iraq ,
Scooter Libby
, \nNew York Times , \nGeorge W. Bush, \nDick Cheney , \nCIA \nDid the Bush administration "authorize" the leak of classified information to Bob Woodward? And did those leaks damage national security?\n \n\nhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/murray-waas/did-the-white-house-auth_b_16263.html",1]
);
//-->
Scooter Libby
, New York Times , George W. Bush, Dick Cheney , CIA
Did the Bush administration "authorize" the leak of classified information to Bob Woodward? And did those leaks damage national security?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/murray-waas/did-the-white-house-auth_b_16263.html
\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\n \nPoliticians use Denver newspapers\' website to post "stories"
\nhttp://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/6537/C37/L37 New West \n\n\u003d\u003d\u003d\nPowers wants to see more stories on political image-makers \nhttp://nationaljournal.com/powers.htm\nNational Journal The stories are hard to get, notes William Powers. "Still, I think the media should be chasing them like crazy\n\u003d\u003d",1]
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Politicians use Denver newspapers' website to post "stories" http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/6537/C37/L37 New West
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Powers wants to see more stories on political image-makers http://nationaljournal.com/powers.htm
National Journal The stories are hard to get, notes William Powers. "Still, I think the media should be chasing them like crazy
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More on the United Arab Emirates-Al Qaeda Linkagehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-smerconish/the-uae-read-pg-138_b_16217.html
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Average American Family Income Declineshttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060223/ap_on_bi_ge/family_finances;_ylt=Av9TF26sflEMOlQFhBSpRP.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-
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Small-country power: Chile and the Iraq war Justin Vogler 22 - 2 - 2006
FPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="Two new books cast light on the diplomatic pressures exerted by the United States and its British ally to win support for the military option in Iraq. Justin Vogler in Santiago talks to the authors.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/chile_3292.jsp
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"Interrogation of Detainees: Overview of the McCain Amendment," updated January 24, 2006: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RS22312.pdf
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SELECTED CRS REPORTS ON NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY Some notable, newly updated reports of the Congressional Research Service, obtained by Secrecy News and published on the Federation of American Scientists web site, include the following: "Conventional Warheads For Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues for Congress," updated February 13, 2006: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL33067.pdf "U.S. Nuclear Weapons: Changes in Policy and Force Structure," updated January 27, 2006: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL31623.pdf "U.S. Armed Forces Abroad: Selected Congressional Roll Call Votes Since 1982," updated January 27, 2006: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL31693.pdf

Neo-Cons Sabotaged Iran's Help on al Qaedahttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0222-07.htm

http://www.ipsnews.net/

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Dubai Company Set to Run U.S. Ports Has Ties to Administrationhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0222-10.htm
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Bill Berry Flatulent Right Wing Fills Radio with Hatehttp://www.commondreams.org/views06/0222-23.htm
which reminds me; WHERE IS THAT ANUS ANDREW LLEEDS???
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Human Rights First report documents deaths of Iraqis and Afghans in US custodyhttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/hrf-f23.shtml===
Pakistani protests over anti-Muslim cartoons threaten Musharraf's rulehttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/paks-f23.shtml===
"Iraq's Election Aftermath Reveals a Failed State"http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=420===

Economic Brief: U.S. Ports Deal, Italian Banking Sector Drafted By: http://www.pinr.com/
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Maureen Dowd: "Same old pattern: a stupid and counterproductive national security decision is made in secret, blowing off checks and balances, and the president's out of the loop."
http://www.topplebush.com/oped2551.shtml
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Sidney Blumenthal: Cheney's Coup. A 3-year-old executive order that vastly expanded his powers illuminates how the vice president and his minions led us into war.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2006/02/23/cheney_power/index_np.html
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Any Port in the Storm 2/23

http://pabloonpolitics.com/UAE.htm
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New Jersey to File Suit Against Al-Qaeda Friendly Takeover of U.S. Ports. "Critics have noted that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers used the UAE as an operational and financial base. In addition, they contend the UAE was an important transfer point for shipments of smuggled nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya by a Pakistani scientist."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--portssecurity-nj0221feb21,0,5098163.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

feb 21 accumulation of story links

Emergency war supplemental hides millions
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Buried in last week's $72.4 billion emergency supplemental appropriation bill for the war on terror is nearly half a billion dollars worth of military construction.
The bulk of the $485 million requested will go "to fund various military construction projects to support U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan," according to the supplemental. "The requested funds," the document goes on, "will provide force protection measures, enhanced airfield operations and safety, power distribution, water treatment and distribution infrastructure, operational facilities and improved logistics, and associated planning and design efforts."
http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060220-015649-7679r
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A Stupidity Tsunami: Bush goes on 3-day tour promoting his energy ideas, plans to stop at a renewable energy lab, but forgets that he just fired 32 lab workers. So, he rehires the workers before the event, but doesn't provide the cash for the workers' projects. Who wants to bet they fire the 32 a few days after Bush leaves? "'You're doing great work here,' said Bush, who picked up a bottle of clear-colored ethanol and smelled it." Houston, we have a problem.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022100156.html
===Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and Stifling of Democracy," by Lewis Lapham, Editor of Harper's Magazine. Lapham Has Just Published a Call for Bush's Impeachment in Harper's.http://www.buzzflash.com/reviews/06/02/rev06027.html
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The Media's Next Quarry by Russ Baker, TomPaine.com Now that the press has come alive over the hunting accident, will it investigate the bigger scandals where Cheney plays a central role? http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/21/the_medias_next_quarry.php
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Fukuyama's Misleading Apology Dismissing neoconservatism in the NYT Magazine was helpful, but this conservative thinker still doesn't see the big picture. http://www.tompaine.com/uncommonsense/
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Rumsfeld Wrong in Saying Press Propaganda Campaign Ended in Iraq? By E&P Staff Published: February 19, 2006 9:55 AM ET
NEW YORK Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Friday that the controversial Pentagon-backed program to plant propaganda in Iraqi newspapers had been completely shut down. This appears at odds with other statements recently, the Los Angeles Times reports, calling Rumsfeld's comments mistaken
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002035215
Propaganda Effort in Iraq a Mistake, Rumsfeld Says
The Defense secretary says he ordered the planting of articles to stop after learning of it, although others have said the effort continues.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-infowar18feb18,0,3643918.story?coll=la-news-a_section ====
Annals of the Pentagon: How an internal effort to ban the abuse and torture of detainees was thwartedhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0220-03.htm
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Tomgram: Shining a Quailish Light on a Cakewalk
War of the Quailhawks
By Tom Engelhardt
Over a week ago, Vice President Cheney managed to put a couple of hundred pellets of birdshot into his 78 year-old friend and Texas Republican Party builder, Harry Whittington. As the event turned into a national joke, edged with anger, and a late night spectacle, it was natural that the subject of Iraq would arise. After all, given the sorry state of affairs in that country, the thought that the Bush administration (like the Vice President in Texas) shot first and looked only later came quite naturally to mind; but there are other ways in which Dick Cheney's strange encounter of a quail kind on the 50,000 acre Armstrong ranch in Texas might help put the invasion of Iraq in a new light
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=61927
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The dying [illegal spying] scandal that keeps growinghttp://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/02/dying-scandal-that-keeps-growing.html
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Jay Bookman Eyewitnesses Peel Back Lies on War Debate
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Bush's Poll Numbers are in the Toilet Across the Nation. That Means It Will be Bombs Away on Iran Soon!http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/02/18.html#a7204
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WSJ's Fassihi moved eight times to stay safe in Iraqhttp://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114021690962577401-QEx3HLpfZR_L1AS8OKmDkP5xw9s_20070218.html?mod=tff_main_tff_topWall Street JournalEach location was more heavily fortified than the last, writes Farnaz Fassihi, who recently left Iraq. "As the madness around us grew, thedesire to create something resembling a domestic life intensified. Webecame experts in turning the dingiest rooms into somewhat cheerful spaces. I lit vanilla candles to get rid of the rotten smell and threw anorange and red tribal Kilim on the torn-up carpet of one room." (Earlier:http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=8049 Fassihi's 2004 e-mail tofriends.)
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Moving Ideas: The Electronic Policy Network -- the leading source for progressive public policy on the net. http://taponline.c.topica.com/maaevZhaboshrbOgIFMbaehosu/
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The Great Firewall of China : A Measure of Freedom
Bloggers Who Pursue Change Confront Fear And Mistrust
By Philip P. PanWashington Post Foreign ServiceTuesday, February 21, 2006; Page A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/20/AR2006022001304.html
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DOING GOOD JOBS, BUT LOSING THEMBy Harold MeyersonA Michigan auto factory out-performs all its competitors but is still forced to close. http://taponline.c.topica.com/maaevZhaboshobOgIFMbaehosu/
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On February 16, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller presented a proposal to investigate the National Security Agency warrantless surveillance program. A copy of Sen. Rockefeller's motion, outlining the scope of the proposed investigation, is here: http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2006_cr/rockmot021606.pdf But Committee chairman Sen. Pat Roberts blocked a vote on the motion until March 7. "If, by that time, we have reached no detailed accommodation with the Administration concerning the Committee's oversight role, it is possible that the Committee may vote to conduct an inquiry into the program," Sen. Roberts said. http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2006_cr/roberts021606.html
"If we are prevented from fully understanding and evaluating the NSA program, our committee will continue its slide into irrelevance," said Sen. Rockefeller. "Like Senator Rockefeller, I will not sit idly by and allow the President's possible breaking of the law to be swept under the rug," said Sen. Robert Byrd in a February 17 floor statement. "I am today announcing my intention to submit to the Congress legislation that will establish a nonpartisan, independent, 9-11-style commission to investigate and determine the legality of the President's actions," Sen. Byrd said. http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2006_cr/s021706.html
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DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THIS OLD CIA HAND, POLLACK'S ENDORSEMENT OF THE WAR ON IRAQ, AND EVERYBODY FALLIONG IN LINE BEHIND HIM. REMNICK OF THE
NEW YORKER, THE NEW YORK TIMES... HERE HE IS AGAIN WITH THE UMPTEENTH "NEW" IRAQ POLICY. PEOPLE LIKE THAT OUGHT TO BE IN GITMO.
A Switch in Time: A New Strategy for America in Iraq
Saban Center Analysis, Number 7, February 15, 2006 Kenneth M. Pollack, Director of Research , Saban Center for Middle East PolicyIraq Policy Working Group, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution
http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/analysis/20060215_iraqreport.htm
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Meet Ali bin-Zabar, the New York Times' new public editor http://observer.com/20060227/20060227_Bruce_Feirstein_thecity_newyorkersdiary.asp
New York Observer
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There are many more twists and turns in Conroy's latest installment in this fascinating tale of law enforcement corruption with serious implications for the future of the U.S.-imposed war on drugs. Read the full story, here, only in The Narco News Bulletin: http://www.narconews.com
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America Betrayed by a Moron: "Bush Unaware of Ports Deal Before Approval"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060222/ap_on_go_pr_wh/ports_security
Administration Failed To Conduct Legally Required Investigation Before Approving UAE Port Deal http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/22/legally-required-investigation/
Dubai's Port of No Return: Don't jump to conclusions, but there are ties between the UAE, bin Laden, and the Taliban http://villagevoice.com/news/0609,ridgeway,72286,2.html
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The GOP's Loyalty Fetish by Paul Waldman, TomPaine.comConservatives value a simple belief in the absolute and perfect authority of George W. Bush more than personal responsibility. http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/22/the_gops_loyalty_fetish.php
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http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2006/06.13_Leonida_Zurita_Escalation.html
The State Department Begins to Pick Off South America's Pink Tide Nations
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Woodward: The greatest threat to our democracy is secrecy http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA022206.01B.woodward.129cfa8d.html
San Antonio Express-News
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BEHIND THE WHITE HOUSE'S BILLION-DOLLAR PROPAGANDA PUSH By Michelle Chen, The NewStandard In two years, the Bush administration spent $1.6 billion to paint a prettier picture of its failing policies, even as it cut away the social safety net. http://www.alternet.org/story/32378/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022100730.html
Rumsfeld: Planting Stories Under Review
By ROBERT BURNSThe Associated PressTuesday, February 21, 2006; 10:19 PM
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that the Pentagon is reviewing its practice of paying to plant stories in the Iraqi news media, withdrawing his earlier claim that it had been stopped.
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Twin Cities station rejects ad critical of Iraq war coverage http://citypages.com/databank/27/1316/article14134.asp
City Pages Star Tribune
KSTP-TV won't air a Progress for America ad because it claims "the media only reports the bad news" and "you would never know it from the news reports, but the enemy in Iraq is al Qaeda." A Minnesota political ad guru says: "I think it's very interesting that a station would say, 'We have enough faith in our news product and our reporting to say that ad is demonstrably wrong and we're not going to air something slanders our station.'" Jane Kirtley: http://www.startribune.com/587/story/252903.html It's highly unusual for a station to reject an ad on journalistic grounds.
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Bush admin: Press can be prosecuted for having secret files http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/21/AR2006022101947.html
Washington Post Walter Pincus reports the Bush administration says in a court filing that journalists can be prosecuted under current espionage laws for receiving and publishing classified information but that such a step "would raise legitimate and serious issues and would not be undertaken lightly
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A RIGHT TO INSULT? By Joe Sacco, Art Spiegelman, The Nation MediaCulture: Two American cartoonists respond to the global storm over the Danish Muhammad cartoons. http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/32431/
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SCHOPENHAUER AND UNCONSCIOUS THOUGHT "Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not always advantageous to engage in thorough conscious deliberation before choosing," according to a paper published in the latest issue of Science magazine. Unconscious thought, defined as "thought or deliberation in the absence of conscious attention directed at the problem," can sometimes yield superior results, University of Amsterdam psychologists found. And they suggest that the same effect can be "generalize[d] to other types of choices -- political, managerial, or otherwise." See "On Making the Right Choice: The Deliberation-Without-Attention Effect" by Ap Dijksterhuis, et al, Science, vol. 311, 17 February 2006 (free abstract): http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/311/5763/1005
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-----------------------------------------Right-wing posturing from Congress on Arab firm's role at US portshttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/port-f22.shtml===
From the 2002 Washington Post: Al Qaeda's Gold: Following Trail to Dubai. Bush's Betrayal of America Continues Unabated. 2/22
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22303-2002Feb16?language=printer
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Iraq Angrily Rejects US Sectarian Warninghttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0221-01.htm
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The Red State Support for Bush is Akin to Committing Suicide: A Smoking Gun Memo of Just One of the Relationships Between the Bush White House and a Company Whose Country Supports Al-Qaeda -- And Bush Wants Us to Oversee Security at Major Ports, Including New York Harbor. Bush IS the Manchurian Candidate. Pat Roberts, Bush's Boy Toy on the Senate "Intelligence" Committee, is Akin to Being a Collaborator. 2/22 http://www.dpiterminals.com/fullnews.asp?NewsID=39
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22 February 2006In light of recent instability in Somalia, PINR encourages you to read the following recent analyses:
"Somalia's Uncertain Future"http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=421
"Somaliland and the Issue of International Recognition"http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=425 Saudi Arabia Looks East: Woos China and India Drafted By: Dr. Harsh V. Pant http://www.pinr.com ===
US: At Spy Agencies, No Good Deed Goes Unpunishedhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0221-10.htm
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37 million poor hidden in the land of plenty: "Americans have always believed that hard work will bring rewards, but vast numbers now cannot meet their bills even with two or three jobs. More than one in 10 citizens live below the poverty line, and the gap between the haves and have-nots is widening."
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1712965,00.html?gusrc=rss===
Maureen Dowd: Hunting for a Straight Shooter
http://www.topplebush.com/oped2548.shtml===Largest gathering of churches in a decade denounces Washington for "raining down terror" on Iraq and turning back on global warming
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060218/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/brazil_churches_iraq;_ylt=Av_qMFSnuFdZic49ebeVI6FvzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA --===Stinging Comments Come as America Dismisses UN Report on GuantánamoThe judge said: "America's idea of what is torture is not the same as ours and does not appear to coincide with that of most civilised nations." He made his comments, he said, after learning of the UN report that said Guantánamo should be shut down without delay because torture was still being carried out there. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0217-04.htm
Who Do You Love? Page 1 of 1 Posted February 2006 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won't be receiving many Valentines this year. Russia and China don't attract the secret admirers they once did. And Afghanistan has a crush on America. In a special Valentine's Day Web exclusive, FP takes a look at who loves whom in the world community, with the help of a 33-country poll conducted for the BBC World Service by GlobeScan and the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA). Tale of Two Wars Both Iraqis and Afghans have gotten up close and personal with U.S. military forces, but their perceptions of America are worlds apart. Seventy-two percent of Afghans say U.S. influence is positive, but only 27 percent of Iraqis agree. The Iraqis show a similar disdain for Britain—Washington's top coalition partner—but they are less hostile to Europeans. China and Japan are at the top of the heap in Iraqi eyes. Iraq and Afghanistan also have different views on mutual neighbor Iran: Iraqis lean toward a negative view and Afghans are generally positive. Afghans seem positively disposed to the international powers that have contributed to its reconstruction and have warm feelings toward most major powers. But the first cut is the deepest: Afghans still don't think much of Russia.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3363&fpsrc=ealert060214&src=2#1
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Abramoff Admits Authenticity of Photos with Bush But Now is Fearful Their Publication Would Harm His Plea Agreement. In Short, As BuzzFlash Predicted the DOJ is Cutting a Plea Agreement with Jack A. that Will Protect the White House.
"They will come up with excuse after excuse as to how and why he did not know me. I could have spent four months alone with him in Bolivia and he would not know me."
http://www.washingtonian.com/inwashington/buzz/2006/abramoffpictures1.html
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Alberto Gonzales refuses to step aside in Abramoff case. Alberto is there as the Bush Consigliere and Needs to Protect the White House and Himself. 2/18
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060217/ap_on_go_co/abramoff_gonzales;_ylt=Ah9HAXNehFeMtvZthyVRckCWwvIE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM
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Why Were the Abu Ghraib Photos Released Now? 2/18
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/17/why-were-the-abu-ghraib-photos-released-now/
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Bush administration seeks funds for regime change in Iran http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/iran-f18.shtml
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Published on Friday, February 17, 2006 by the Independent/UK
Sea Levels Likely to Rise Much Faster Than Was Predictedhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0217-06.htm
Sea Levels Likely to Rise Much Faster Than Was Predicted
by Steve ConnorGlobal warming is causing the Greenland ice cap to disintegrate far faster than anyone predicted. A study of the region's massive ice sheet warns that sea levels may - as a consequence - rise more dramatically than expected.
Scientists have found that many of the huge glaciers of Greenland are moving at an accelerating rate - dumping twice as much ice into the sea than five years ago - indicating that the ice sheet is undergoing a potentially catastrophic breakup.
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Collaborated With NSA to Invade Americans' Privacy, Suit SaysBy LINDA COADY, ESQ., Andrews Publications Staff Writer
http://news.findlaw.com/andrews/bt/prv/20060217/20060217hepting.html
A purported class-action lawsuit against AT&T Corp. alleges the telecommunications giant has allowed the National Security Agency access to its facilities and databases for the purpose of spying on American citizens. ===Why the President's Defense of Executive Power to Wiretap Without Warrants Can't Succeed in the Strict Constructionist Court He WantsBy VIKRAM AMAR AND ALAN BROWNSTEIN
A few months ago, President Bush said he picked Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito largely because he considers them "strict constructionists." In the President's words, "[w]e've got to make sure . . . to have people who serve on the bench who are not going to try to legislate, but who will strictly interpret the Constitution." The President's message was clear: Justices should narrowly apply the law as it exists - derived from non-judicial sources like text, history and unbroken societal tradition - rather than "create" law in the context of adjudicating disputes.
Chief Justice Roberts in his confirmation hearings reinforced this idea with his memorable analogy to baseball umpiring. "I will remember," Roberts explained, "that it's my job to call balls and strikes, and not to pitch or bat."
Today, the President's warrantless spying on telephone and e-mail communications between people in the United States and in foreign countries is being aggressively challenged on constitutional grounds. A case involving the President's program could possibly reach the high Court. And given the fact that this is the first major constitutional controversy to arise since the new "strict constructionist" Justices have been confirmed, now seems like an ideal time to test the efficacy of the President's constitutional vision against the realities of constitutional practice.
Ironically, in order to resolve this dispute - and especially to resolve it in the way the President wants - the Court would very probably engage exactly the kind of creative "law making" policy-oriented analysis the President rejected so emphatically such a short time ago. For reasons we'll explain in this column, the President might be well-advised to hope that Roberts and Alito aren't quite the strict constructionists he touted.
To demonstrate the limits on the utility of the President's strict constructionism - and the unhelpfulness of the "balls and strikes" umpiring metaphor - we examine the eavesdropping question from three "strict constructionist" perspectives: The constitution's theoretical foundations, its text and its original understanding.
The First Strict Constructionist Tool: Foundational Principles
First, let's consider underlying foundational precepts - the mega-principles, if you will - that undergird the Constitution. Some of these, at least, are not open to serious argument. One is popular sovereignty - the idea that the expressed, considered will of the people be respected -- and its practical corollary, political accountability on the part of government officials. This comes straight out of the Declaration of Independence. "Governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Nothing activist here.
Another basic principle is the need to diffuse power to avoid its abuse. Again, this is Constitutional Law 101. The basic structures of the United States government - the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances - are direct manifestations of this overriding concern. This axiom - like that concerning popular sovereignty - is clearly accepted.
The President's assertion of inherent executive power to conduct secret surveillance of telephone and e-mail messages of American citizens without prior congressional authorization or judicial oversight directly conflicts with both of these foundational principles.
Column continues below ¢ Ads by Google Vonage VoIP Phone ServiceSave money with the top-rated VoIP service, starting at just $14.99www.vonage.com Learn The Facts - VOIP {Find Out How VOIP Can Help You} Download Our VoIP White Paperwww.globalcrossing.com VOIP PBX SelectionFree guide to VOIP PBX selection and successful integration. www.ascendentsystems.com Secret surveillance of private communications, by its very nature, is immune from political accountability; the people cannot use the electoral process to sanction clandestine government conduct of which they are unaware.
Similarly, and obviously, no direct checks and balances apply to executive conduct that, according to the Administration, need not be authorized by congressional legislation and is immune from judicial review. Whether the spying that has already occurred has been limited to serve only legitimate, indeed, compelling government interests is largely irrelevant to this debate. The problem with unchecked power is not that it will be misused in every instance, but that over time it will always be abused.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20060217_brownstein.html
====Judge Orders Spying Documents Released
A federal judge ordered the Bush administration on Thursday to release documents about its warrantless surveillance program or spell out what it is withholding, a setback to efforts to keep the program under wraps. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0217-03.htm --Current Administration Seems to Relish Media's Angerhttp://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0217-09.htm ===Sea Levels Likely to Rise Much Faster Than Was Predicted, not fast enough for my taste to drown out AndrewLleeds!http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0217-06.htm
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Debating Impeachment: Your Letters by TomPaine.com Readers What Muslims really want; the big "I" question; New Orleans' free market: Readers react in this week's letters. http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/17/debating_impeachment_your_letters.php
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Rumsfeld says we're losing the propaganda war. Hey, Rummy, we're losing the real one, too, or did someone forget to mention that to you? He thinks the U.S. needs a blog. Really. Oh, that'll stop an IED.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060217/pl_nm/security_rumsfeld_dc_6
Rumsfeld's Pet Tyrants by Tom Porteous, TomPaine.comThe defense secretary's North African deals show that freedom is on the march -- a death march. http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/17/rumsfelds_pet_tyrants.php
There is no AXIS of EVIL, but there sure is a HUB of EVIL.
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Whittington sorry for what Cheney has gone through. He's sorry? The VP shot him in the face and heart, but he's sorry that Cheney had a bad week? Who apologizes for being shot? Obviously, a pellet entered his brain and caused some serious damage. Well, it's that or he's an idiot, a lily-livered sycophant or Cheney has compromising pictures of the guy. If the guy is that much of an idiot that he'd step in front of a properly wielded gun, why did they take him hunting?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060217/ts_alt_afp/ uspoliticscheney_060217191838
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SacBee: Libby revelation shows priority of secrecy over security 2/17
http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/editorials/v-print/story/14195104p-15021738c.html
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2006 Fleischer sides with White House reporters on Cheney issue http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5220808
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Washingtonpost.com allows comments again on post.blog http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=11103
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The new strategic plan is a handsome document, but largely devoid of significant content. See "DHS Intelligence Enterprise Strategic Plan," January 2006 (3.3 MB PDF file): http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dhs/stratplan.pdf And see "Intelligence Integration and Management," DHS Management Directive 8110, January 30, 2006: http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dhs/md8110.pdf
Relatedly, "DHS Has Not Implemented an Information Security Program for Its Intelligence Systems," according to the title of a new DHS Inspector General report (flagged by BeSpacific.com): http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_06-13-Dec05.pdf
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Guantanamo's Invisible Men by Dahlia Lithwick, Slate We now have proof that most of the prisoners are guilty only of bad luck and that we are casually destroying their lives. http://www.slate.com/id/2136422/?nav=tap3
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---------- 17 February 2006News & Analysis-----------------------------------------The Abu Ghraib photos and the anti-Muslim "free speech" fraudhttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/abug-f17.shtmlUN report denounces US torture and calls for closure of Guantánamo prison camphttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/un-f17.shtmlIntrigues continue to stall new Iraqi governmenthttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/iraq-f17.shtmlBritain: Parliament approves police state measures in Terrorism Billhttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/ukse-f17.shtmlUS auto union pressures Delphi workers to accept concessions dealhttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/delp-f17.shtmlBankruptcy court approves Delphi executive bonuseshttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/exec-f17.shtmlPregnant immigrant miscarries after being abused by federal agentshttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/immi-f17.shtmlWorkers Struggles-----------------------------------------Workers Struggles: Europe and Africa http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/euro-f17.shtmlArts Review -----------------------------------------"Progressive" Australian film critics denounce Spielberg's Munichhttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/muni-f17.shtmlNew in German--------------------------------------------Der Wahlkampf in Italien hat offiziell begonnenhttp://www.wsws.org/de/2006/feb2006/ital-f17.shtmlNew in French-----------------------------------L'hypocrisie de Bush et de Clinton lors des obsèques de Coretta Scott Kinghttp://www.wsws.org/francais/News/2006/fevrier06/080806_CorettaKing.shtml Plus de scepticisme que d'enthousiasmehttp://www.wsws.org/francais/News/2006/fevrier06

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