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]
);
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===
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]
);
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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]
);
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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]
);
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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]
);
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===
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]
);
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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]
);
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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"]);
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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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MICHAEL ROLOFF http://www.facebook.com/mike.roloff1?ref=name exMember Seattle Psychoanalytic Institute and Society this LYNX will LEAP you to all my HANDKE project sites and BLOGS: http://www.roloff.freehosting.net/index.html "MAY THE FOGGY DEW BEDIAMONDIZE YOUR HOOSPRINGS!" {J. Joyce} "Sryde Lyde Myde Vorworde Vorhorde Vorborde" [von Alvensleben] contact via my website http://www.roloff.freehosting.net/index.html