Why the US Is Not Leaving Iraq: The Booming Business of War Profiteers - "The fact of matter is that not everyone is losing in Iraq. Indeed, while the Bush administration’s wars of choice have brought unnecessary death, destruction, and disaster to millions, including many from the Unites States, they have also brought fortunes and prosperity to war profiteers. At the heart of the reluctance to withdraw from Iraq lies the profiteers’ unwillingness to give up further fortunes and spoils of war."
Shock and oil: Iraq's billions & the White House connection - "The company changed its name to BearingPoint from KPMG Consulting in 2002, shortly after separating from its parent company. In the years since, contracts with the US government have proved the highlight of the business, while its work for private company clients has failed to live up to hopes. In part because of its reliance on the US federal government - which accounts for about 30 per cent of revenues - BearingPoint has dramatically stepped up its attempts to buy influence in Washington. Its contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan coincide with a big increase in its lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. In 2005, the latest year for which figures have been collated, BearingPoint paid $1m to lobbyists, equalling the record total it paid in 2003. That is five times its average annual bill for lobbyists prior to the war in Iraq."
Bush: Congress can't stop troop increase - ""Frankly, that's not their responsibility," Bush said in an interview on the CBS News program "60 Minutes," which aired Sunday. "It's my responsibility to put forward the plan that I think will succeed. I believe if they start trying to cut off funds, they better explain to the American people and the soldiers why their plan will succeed," the president said."
60 Minutes: CIA Official Reveals Bush, Cheney, Rice Were Personally Told Iraq Had No WMD in Fall 2002 - "Tonight on 60 Minutes, Tyler Drumheller, the former chief of the CIA’s Europe division, revealed that in the fall of 2002, President Bush, Vice President Cheney, then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and others were told by CIA Director George Tenet that Iraq’s foreign minister — who agreed to act as a spy for the United States — had reported that Iraq had no active weapons of mass destruction program."
Next target Tehran - "All the signs are that Bush is planning for a neocon-inspired military assault on Iran ."
White House: Can't rule out attack on Iran - "The White House said Sunday it is not planning military action against Iran, but refused to rule out the possibility, bucking pressure from several senators who said the administration is not authorized to do so."
Top Dem Wesley Clark Says ‘N.Y. Money People’ Pushing War With Iran - "Retired general Wesley Clark drew harsh criticism this week after reportedly saying that “New York money people” are pushing America into a war against Iran. By Tuesday, Clark, a past and likely future Democratic candidate for president, was working to assure Jewish groups that he was in no way attempting to advance an antisemitic conspiracy theory. But the controversy still had Jewish organizations bracing for a new wave of claims that they are the driving force behind any future military strikes against Tehran."
Russian Admiral Says U.S. Navy Prepares Missile Strike on Iran - "U.S. Navy nuclear submarines maintaining vigil off the coast of Iran indicate that the Pentagon’s military plans include not only control over navigation in the Persian Gulf but also strikes against Iranian targets, a former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Eduard Baltin has told the Interfax news agency."
Iran target of US Gulf military moves, Gates says - "Increased US military activity in the Gulf is aimed at Iran's "very negative" behaviour, the Bush administration said today. The defence secretary, Robert Gates, told reporters that the decision to deploy a Patriot missile battalion and a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf in conjunction with a "surge" of troops in Iraq was designed to show Iran that the US was not "overcommitted" in Iraq."
The Folly of Total War - "Is Dubya's objective to see how many wars he can start at one time? Let's see, there's Iraq Attack II, of course, the family affair, and then there's North Korea, that bit of fifty year old unresolved business, and now there's Pakistan where the US bombed a religious school the other day. If you really want to groom hatred, simply bomb religious schools, hospitals, water purification plants, electrical grids, etc. Then there's Bahrain where the people rioted against the presence of US troops the other day. In Kuwait, policemen are taking potshots at soldiers. According to the Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, over a hundred US soldiers are missing in Afghanistan."
Cheney says critics of new US Iraq plan play into hands of Bin Laden - ""Bin Laden doesn't think he can beat us. He believes he can force us to quit," Cheney said, citing US military setbacks in Lebanon and Somalia that led to US withdrawals from those countries. "He believes after Lebanon and Somalia, the United States doesn't have the stomach for a long war and Iraq is the current central battlefield in that war, and it's essential we win there and we will win there," he said." -- Shut up, Dick.
Cheney admits expanded military spying role inside US - " US Vice-President Dick Cheney has admitted that the US military and CIA have been spying on the financial dealings of Americans -- intelligence gathering normally authorized only by civilian policing agencies."
Cheney: Credit Checks Aren't Illegal - "Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday the Pentagon and CIA are not violating people's rights by examining the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage in the United States. ... "The Department of Defense has legitimate authority in this area. This is an authority that goes back three or four decades. It was reaffirmed in the Patriot Act,'' he said. ``It's perfectly legitimate activity. There's nothing wrong with it or illegal. It doesn't violate people's civil rights.''"
Gates: troops should stay even if Iraq plan fails - "US Defense Secretary rejects Democrats call to withdraw from Iraq in four to six months time."
Blair and Bush’s latest weapon of war: YouTube - "THE WHITE House and Downing Street have signalled they intend to open up a new propaganda war by encouraging frontline soldiers to post positive video news stories about the Iraq occupation on internet websites. ... Blair said that gruesome images showing the "reality of war" were being used as a propaganda weapon by insurgents to influence public opinion that ultimately impacts on the morale of the armed forces." -- Can you believe the world we live in?
The real reason the Bush administration won't back down on Guantanamo. - "But it has finally become clear that the goal of these foolish efforts isn't really to win the war against terrorism; indeed, nothing about Padilla, Guantanamo, or signing statements moves the country an inch closer to eradicating terror. The object is a larger one, and the original overarching goal of this administration: expanding executive power, for its own sake."
Land of Enchantment and Impeachment - "There is a decent chance that within the next month or two the New Mexico State Legislature will ask the U.S. House of Representatives to begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush and Vice President Cheney. And there is the definite possibility that a Congress Member from New Mexico will take up the matter when it gets to Washington. The Jefferson Manual, rules used by the U.S. House, allows for impeachment to be begun in this manner. It only takes one state legislature. No governor is needed. One Congress Member, from the same state or any other, is needed to essentially acknowledge receipt of the state's petition. Then impeachment begins."
Terror: 'We're Going to Get Hit' - "But he warned of future attacks. "We don't want to acknowledge we're going to get hit again in the homeland, but we are," he said. "That's a hard, ugly fact. But it's going to happen." Crumpton cited no specific intel, but said the most worrisome scenarios involve lone operatives who slip into the country and take directions through cyberspace." -- Hmmm. I see many other countries that do not have this problem. I wonder what the difference is.
Wanna be Prez? First get $100M - ""The system is broken. Until you cut the dependence between people who are running for office and the special interests who are raising money for them, you are going to have public policy that favors the special interests.""
Despite Lessons on King, Some Unaware of His Dream - "In a recent survey of college students on U.S. civic literacy, more than 81 percent knew that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was expressing hope for "racial justice and brotherhood" in his historic "I Have a Dream" speech. That's the good news. Most of the rest surveyed thought King was advocating the abolition of slavery.
Rush Limbaugh and Tony Snow: Feminist police - "You're right, Condi! It is! But if you really think it's okay not to have or want children, you shouldn't be working for an administration that wants do deny women at home and abroad access to family planning. Of course conservatives, who have been enacting anti-woman policies for years, are quick to seize the opportunity to call Boxer an anti-feminist:"
Economists upgrade US outlook after surprisingly strong data - "Economists are hastily upgrading their forecasts for the US economy after a series of surprisingly strong reports suggesting the so-called "soft landing" may be over and growth is accelerating."
Should UK Ban Shoah Denial? - "Britain should hold a debate on whether to introduce a law banning Holocaust denial, a senior government minister said this week."
State sides with ladies night foe - "A self-described "agitator’’ against feminism declared ladies nights at Colorado nightclubs dead today after prevailing in a civil rights complaint against The Proof NiteClub in southeast Denver. Steve Horner learned Thursday that the Division of Civil Rights for the Department of Regulatory Agencies sided with him in his complaint that men were unfairly having to pay cover charges and higher drink prices than women at the Proof’s Ladies Nights. ... "If I was a black or a cripple or a Jew or a gay, you wouldn’t dare ask me that question,’’ Horner said. "I’m standing up for my civil rights. Horner said he has "shut down" ladies nights in three other states — Minnesota, Idaho and Oregon. But, he conceded that the business practice soon reemerged."
School, teen clash over medieval photo - "Seventeen-year-old Patrick Agin often spends a week whittling a single arrow, and he's learning to make chain mail armor by hand. So when it came time to submit a senior yearbook photo, he selected a snapshot of himself wearing chain mail and slinging a prop sword over his shoulder. Portsmouth High School rejected the photo, citing a "zero tolerance policy" for weapons, and Agin and his family sued, claiming the school was violating his right to free speech."
Animal Tags for People? - "Two cousin companies bet the fast-expanding market for animal RFID chips will extend to humans before long."
First U.S. Uterus Transplant Planned - "But the planned operation, which Del Priore and his colleagues could attempt later this year, is stirring objections among some transplant experts, fertility specialists and medical ethicists. They question whether the procedure has been tested sufficiently on animals and whether the benefit of being able to carry a pregnancy outweighs the risks for the woman and fetus."
Scientists identify Alzheimer's gene in study - "A huge international study has identified a gene that apparently can raise the risk of developing the most common form of Alzheimer's disease, a discovery that may help scientists develop new treatments."
Quote of the Day
"Who made you God to say 'I'll take your life from you!!'"
~ Metallica
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