michaelroloff - 12:57 PM ET March 22, 2006 (#2989 of 3013)

wednesday morning supplements..
All the news that's fit to slant

ROBERT FISK
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST

It is a bright winter morning and I am sipping my first coffee of the day in Los Angeles. My eye moves like a radar beam over the front page of the Los Angeles Times for the word that dominates the minds of all Middle East correspondents: Iraq. In post-invasion, post-Judith Miller mode, the U.S. press is supposed to be challenging the lies of this war. So the story beneath the headline "In a Battle of Wits, Iraq's Insurgency Mastermind Stays a Step Ahead of U.S." deserves to be read. Or does it?
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/263664_fisk21.html



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Who Does The President Think He's Kidding?

Bush: "First -- just if I might correct a misperception, I don't think we ever said, at least I know I didn't say that there was a direct connection between September 11th and Saddam Hussein." Follow the link to see Keith Olbermann fact-check the president.
http://tompaine.com/#passiton

Josh Marshall About Bush: "Of course, that's not what happened. We were there. We remember. It wasn't a century ago. We got the resolution passed. Saddam called our bluff and allowed the inspectors in..



http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007956.php
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Bush says Iraq pullout up to 'future presidents'

Warns leaving too soon would boost Al Qaeda

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff | March 22, 2006

WASHINGTON -- President Bush suggested yesterday that US troops might stay in Iraq beyond his presidency, which ends in 2009, saying at a press conference that the issue of removing troops from the country ''will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/03/22/bush_says_iraq_pullout_up_to_future_presidents/?p1=email_to_a_friend
============
Time to Exit Iraq, A Leading Paper Declares

Editorials criticizing our adventure in Iraq are a dime a dozen, but very few have called for a U.S. pullout. But on Sunday, one of the most respected papers, The Des Moines Register, called on the president to set a timetable for a phased American withdrawal.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002200415

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Washington's 2006 National Security Strategy Confirms a Policy Void

Drafted By: Dr. Michael A. Weinstein
http://www.pinr.com

With the release on March 16, 2006 of its National Security Strategy ( N.S.S.), Washington completed its overview of diplomatic, defense and security policy that included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's reorganization of the State Department and U.S. aid programs, and the Defense Department's Quadrennial Defense Review ( Q.D.R.).
===

Iraqi Foreign Minister Gave Us Pre-war WMD Details
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0321-09.htm



Bush's world of illusion



Sidney Blumenthal
17 - 3 - 2006



On the eve of the third anniversary – 20 March 2003 – of the invasion of Iraq, President Bush began the fourth of his series of speeches in his second term attempting to articulate his strategy for the war. None of his previous explanations had succeeded in bolstering public confidence, so he tried again. His speech

on 13 March at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies was a reiteration of the theme he had elaborated in his last round.
Bush is rigidly adhering to the guidelines suggested by public opinion specialist Peter Feaver, a professor at Duke University recently hired to serve on the National Security Council.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy/illusion_3367.jsp


wednesday eve supplements..
Newspaper Guild objects to NYT editor's book writing policy
http://www.observer.com/20060327/20060327___media_offtherecord.asp
New York Observer Times executive editor Bill Keller says in a March 2 memo that editors should be told in advance of a book project even if the topic is off the reporter's beat. (The memo notes a recent "tidal surge in the yearning of Times staffers to put their wisdom between hard covers.") The Newspaper Guild has called a grievance meeting to object to Keller's account of the rules.



Saddam fury at WMD hunt; Tapes show bid to prove world wrong. Exasperated, besieged by global pressure, Saddam Hussein and top aides searched for ways in the 1990s to prove to the world they'd given up banned weapons. 3/23
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/401797p-340361c.html
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Sidney Blumenthal: The love song of Francis +ukuyama; +ukuyama's effort to rescue the reputation of neoconservatism echoes the dissidents' attempts to distance communism from Stalin.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/sidney_blumenthal/
2006/03/
you'll have to search for this yourself since AUNTIE objects to the complete name of francis +ukuyama even when it is part of a htlm tag!!!
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Garrison Keillor: Message to White House co-pilot: Eject now
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0603220023mar22,1,1051828.story


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Rumsfeld’s Harvest: Argentina’s Navy Spy Scandal
One year after Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld’s visit to Buenos Aires, brutal memories have once again been awakened in Argentina

Rumsfeld’s ill-advised policy of rehabilitating Latin America’s armed forces begins to yield its bitter fruit

Rather than enforcing probation for its ghastly human rights atrocities from 1976 to 1983, the Pentagon puts Argentine military at the top of the hemispheric pecking order

Rare opportunity to tame an unregenerate military is frittered away



http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2006/06.20_Argentina_Spying_Rumsfeld.html

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A Tomdispatch Interview with Chalmers Johnson (Part 2)
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=70576

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THE NYT'S WOMAN PROBLEM Garance Franke-Ruta, The American Prospect. Is The New York Times still pro-choice? You wouldn't know it from reading the op-ed page. http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/33860/

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Norman Solomon, AlterNet. On the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion, don't forget the media spin that helped make this war possible. http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/33661/
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Bush Slipping and Spinning on Iraq and Wiretaps

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&pid=70720
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Despite the Bush administration's P.R. excesses, no groundwork is being laid for a fuel source transition to anything that might rescue us from "oil addiction" and climate disaster in the coming decades. Internationally-acclaimed scientist and author of The Weather Makers, Tim Flannery, explains the how and why in plain English.
==
Robert Scheer | Bush Bombs in Cleveland
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0322-30.htm
==

Despite the Bush administration's P.R. excesses, no groundwork is being laid for a fuel source transition to anything that might rescue us from "oil addiction" and climate disaster in the coming decades. Internationally-acclaimed scientist and author of The Weather Makers, Tim Flannery, explains the how and why in plain English.

http://www.oriononline.org/pages/oo/sidebars/front/index_Flannery.html



Benchmarks: US Iraq casualties stay high
By MARTIN SIEFF
UPI Senior News Analyst
WASHINGTON, March 22 (UPI) -- As Iraq teeters on -- or over -- the brink of civil war the pressure is not easing on the hard-pressed U.S. ground forces there.
Over the past month, the average rate at which U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq has significantly fallen, the but the rates at which they are being wounded have dramatically increased.

Ceres Releases First-Ever Ranking of 100 Global Companies on Climate Change Strategy



http://upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryI [...]

http://www.greenbiz.com/


http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MTg1NTM

Bush's Media Blame Game
by Norman Solomon, TomPaine.com
When the going gets bad, the White House attacks the messengers, just like their ideological forefathers under Nixon.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/03/23/bushs_media_blame_game.php

Although Judge Scullin was appointed to the FISA Court in 2004, his name had not previously appeared in news stories about the Court or in published lists of its current membership, such as this one (now updated): http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fisa/court2005.html
Although Judge Scullin was appointed to the FISA Court in 2004, his name had not previously appeared in news stories about the Court or in published lists of its current membership, such as this one (now updated): http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fisa/court2005.html



Secrecy News has been named "resource of the week" (thanks) by ResourceShelf.com, which provides a daily survey of news, documents and tools for information professionals. See: http://www.resourceshelf.com/2006/03/resource-of-week-secrecy-news.html

Will Your Job Survive?
by Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect
Nothing short of a radical reordering of our economy will stop 56 million jobs from being sent overseas.
http://www.tompaine.com



The website freedominfo.org, sponsored by the National Security Archive, has produced a splendid new catalog of freedom of information laws in some 60 countries around the world, with links to underlying statutes and related background information (flagged by BeSpacific.com). See: http://www.freedominfo.org/


Then, what you'd be likely to see -- what's really there, just hidden from our view (not to say our taste buds) -- is about four ounces of crude oil. Throw in those luscious red raspberries and that cup of java (another three ounces of crude), and don't forget those modest additions of butter, milk, and salt (another ounce), and you've got a tiny bit of the Middle East right here in my kitchen.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid [...]
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The RNC Paid More Than a Million Dollars Defending a GOP Operative Convicted of Vote Tampering in New Hampshire. Now He is Directly Tied to Making 75 Calls to the Current Head of the RNC During His Phone-Tampering Days. Why Isn't This a Bigger Issue? (Scroll Down)
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?
articleId=1a0f8a86-a086-40a6-8963-65395f7767fc
///
What we’ve lost in Iraq
Zaid Salah
22 - 3 - 2006 The effect of three years of war and occupation can be measured in the dire condition of Iraq’s economy and its people’s daily lives, says Zaid Salah.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-iraq/lost_3377.jsp
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The Narcosphere is buzzing with activity on Colombia. Sean Donahue
reports that a general believed to be a former paramilitary fighter
and to have maintained ties with right-wing death squads while rising
through the ranks and leading key military operations has been placed
in charge of the Colombian armed forces:...

"Uribe brought in Montoya, long a favorite of the U.S., to help
rehabilitate the military's image following a hazing scandal.
Montoya, however, has his own dark past - throughout a long career,
working to consolidate resource-rich areas, the general has
frequently been charged with working hand in hand with right-wing
paramilitaries. At the press conference announcing Montoya's
promotion, Uribe said 'In this moment of our Nation's history we need
triumphant commanders. We don't need commanders to justify defeats'
and called for 'a final victory' -- giving Montoya a clear go-ahead
to use any means necessary to crush resistance in Colombia."

Read the full story, here:

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2006/3/22/11659/5815

michaelroloff - 1:09 PM ET March 24, 2006 (#3001 of 3013)

friday noon sups


In Charge, Except They're Not
By E. J. Dionne Jr.Friday, March 24, 2006; Page A19
Is President Bush the leader of our government, or is he just a right-wing talk-show host?
The question comes to mind after Bush's news conference this week in which he sounded like someone who has no control over the government he is in charge of. His words were those of a pundit inveighing against the evils of bureaucrats
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/23/AR2006032301133.html



Ganging Up On Feingold
by Russ Baker, TomPaine.com
Republican shamelessness betrays their fear of Feingold, while Democratic silence betrays their fear of taking a stand.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/03/24/ganging_up_on_feingold.php
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Bush's FISA Defiance
by John W. Dean, FindLaw.com
Why Bush does not want Congress to retroactively approve his illegal wiretaps.
http://www.tompaine.com/

The record of a September 2005 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "ABLE DANGER and Intelligence Information Sharing" has recently been published. See: http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_hr/shrg109-311.html
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The French Popular Front of 1936: Historical lessons in the "First Job Contract" struggle http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/mar2006/fr36-m24.shtml
===

In light of recent developments in Bolivia, PINR encourages you to read:
"Bolivia's Evo Morales Shifts the Hemispheric Balance of Power"
http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=417

------------------------------

Ukraine: Delicate Elections Will Have Deep International Significance
Drafted By: Dr. Federico Bordonaro
http://www.pinr.com
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Of Course It's a Civil War
By Charles KrauthammerFriday, March 24, 2006; Page A19
Today's big debate over Iraq seems to be: Is there or is there not a civil war? Yes, say the defeatists, citing former prime minister Ayad Allawi, a man with an ax to grind against the current (elected) government, which excluded him.
No, not really, not yet, not quite, say U.S. officials and commanders, as well as Iraq's president, also hardly the most neutral of observers.
This debate appears to be important because the perception that there has been an outbreak of civil war following the Samarra bombing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/23/AR2006032301157.html


Latest Impeachable Offense: When Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/arti [...]
2006/03/24/bush_shuns_patriot_act_requirement/
Milbank: Why did

Post.com editors settle for Domenech?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/17/DI2006 031701098.html
Embattled Bush still makes reporters seem small, powerless
http://nationaljournal.com/powers.htm
National Journal
William Powers writes: "Somehow, even when this president is riding low
with the public, he still has a way of making the journalists who cover
him seem small and powerless --

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/24/EDGU9GJG0B1.D TL on Bush and Helen Thomas.
==

Published on Friday, March 24, 2006 by the

Boston Globe
Bush Shuns Patriot Act Requirement



In addendum to law, he says oversight rules are not binding
by Charlie Savage

WASHINGTON - When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers.



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Che Rides Again (On a Mountain Bike)
Nick Miroff on How George Bush Unified a Continent

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?emx=x&pid=71996

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Chad Heeter | My Saudi Arabian Breakfast
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0324-21.htm
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http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2563/Strangers to the Truth

By

Joel Bleifuss

Coming soon to a media market near you:

The GOP (Grand Old Prevaricators), who brought you the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004, have been test-marketing another TV ad campaign.

==

By John Simpson

BBC World Affairs Editor

Even at the time of Saddam's fall, people were wary of the future

The first thing that struck me about Baghdad when I saw it in April 2003, a few days after the fall of Saddam Hussein, was how poor it had become. I hadn't been allowed back there since 1991, after the first Gulf War.

The second thing I noticed was a real sense of foreboding, even among the people who greeted me effusively because they thought I was an American.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4825200.stm

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THE FIX IS IN FOR BUSH
SENATE RACES TO MAKE THE ILLEGAL LEGAL

ACROSS the U.S. capital, lawmakers are scurrying from pillar to post in a frantic effort to put lipstick on a pig.

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/14165442.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

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The immigration debate, resonating in political campaigns from Texas to Iowa, creates special problems for the Republican Party: It's the Slave Wage Republicans (Bush) Vs. the Racist Republicans (Tancredo)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0603250053mar25,1,3756193.story?coll=chi-news-hed

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Bush's Requests for Iraqi Base Funding Make Some Wary of Extended Stay
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0324-06.htm

Mike Davis | Who Is Killing New Orleans?
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0324-34.htm

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Rumors of Civil War
Iraq can be saved from civil war--if the United States keeps its nerve.
by Frederick W. Kagan & William Kristol
04/03/2006, Volume 011, Issue 27

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/011mozrq.asp


the front line to the unemployment line

March 26, 2006

BY

CHERYL L. REED Staff Reporter
Mark Wirth Jr., a 21-year-old from Orland Park, figures the skills he learned as a combat Marine are too valuable to waste waiting tables
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-vetjo [...]

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Former DeLay Aide Enriched By Nonprofit

Bulk of Group's Funds Tied to Abramoff

By

R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 26, 2006; Page A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032501166.html

==

http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=60

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ivo daalder, one of the few babblers at brookings worth reading...

A Revolution in Middle East Affairs?


http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/daalder/blog.htm

Two Theories of Ijtihad

Common Ground News Service, March 21, 2006

Muqtedar Khan, Nonresident Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Foreign Policy Studies



http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/fellows/khan20060321.htm

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michaelroloff - 10:33 PM ET March 27, 2006 (#3010 of 3013)

monday evening vitamins
Scott Ritter: Americans Share Blame for War
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0327-01.h [...]



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Cynthia Tucker: War Hawks Show Callous Disregard for Working-Class Troops
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucas/20060326/cm_ucas/
warhawksshowcallousdisregardforworkingclasstroops
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Many journos reflect the view that Iraq war has gone horribly wrong
(WP)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/26/AR2006032601233_pf.html

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THE THOMAS BUTLER AFFAIR

Dr. Thomas C. Butler is one of the rather few people in the history
of humanity of whom it can be truly said that he helped to save
millions of lives. A specialist in the plague and other infectious
diseases, his research helped lead to the adoption of oral
hydration as a standard treatment for diarrhea in the Third World
and elsewhere.

But in post-9/11 America, Dr. Butler is also a convicted criminal.

Because he apparently committed certain violations of the laws
governing the transport of toxic agents used in his medical
research, he was investigated and prosecuted as if he were a
potential terrorist. In 2004, he was sentenced to a term of two
years in prison, which he recently completed.

The strange tale of Dr. Butler is explored this week in an
exhaustive seven-part series in the Cleveland Plain Dealer
beginning March 26. See "Plagued by Fear" reported by John Mangels
here:

http://www.cleveland.com/plague/

Some related material in support of Dr. Butler from the Federation
of American Scientists is available here:

http://www.fas.org/butler/index.html
===
Waging A Long Peace
by Elizabeth Spiro Clark, TomPaine.com
Bush's insidious new national security strategy gives Democrats an opportunity to define themselves.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/03/27/waging_a_long_peace.php
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Beyond AIPAC
by Joseph Massad, Counterpunch
Giving undue credit to the powers of the Israel lobby lets the U.S. off the hook for its foreign policy choices.
http://www.tompaine.