Bush Was Set on Path to War, Memo by British Adviser Says - "But behind closed doors, the president was certain that war was inevitable. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, he made clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, said a confidential memo about the meeting written by Mr. Blair's top foreign policy adviser and reviewed by The New York Times. "Our diplomatic strategy had to be arranged around the military planning," David Manning, Mr. Blair's chief foreign policy adviser at the time, wrote in the memo that summarized the discussion between Mr. Bush, Mr. Blair and six of their top aides."
Wave of violence kills at least 81 Iraqis - "Police found 30 more victims of the sectarian slaughter ravaging Iraq -- most of them beheaded -- dumped on a village road north of Baghdad on Sunday. At least 16 other Iraqis were killed in a U.S.-backed raid in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital."
The Game Plan on Iran is becoming clearer - "The reason the U.S. is keen to bring in Chapter VII is because it would like to provoke Iran into walking out of the NPT. If Iran were ever to commit this folly, the U.S. regime change plan will move swiftly into high gear. As and when force is used, it would likely be a Yugoslav-style prolonged air war aimed at targeting civilian and industrial infrastructure rather than an Iraq-style invasion. So fluid is the situation that the Iranians need to carefully consider all their legal and political options and build a strategy aimed at widening the circle of countries opposed to confrontation and in favour of dialogue and diplomacy."
No one’s laughing at this deja vu all over again - "What may be the buildup to an attack on Iran, the new breeding ground of terrorists according to the U.S. lexicon of evil nations, appears to be in high gear. It’s a ritual now of recognizable parts: ... The only question now is whether or not the public, the Congress, the world will risk another frightening U.S. fiasco in the name of freedom. Whose freedom, we’re never told. To what end, no one knows. With what success, given our present record, is anyone’s guess. The problem is that this time we are being asked not only to be afraid but also to be nonsensical, absurd, fatuous, inane. ... Have we, in all our power, forgotten all of our ideals? Are ideals only for the poor and the powerless? Is power the only foreign policy the powerful need to apply? And is it really working in Iraq -- a country on the verge of civil war, crippled physically, full of anger, and unsafe -- both for us and for them? From where I stand, these are the questions real patriots ask. But are we?"
Charlie Sheen's Statement to the London Guardian - "Like so many other mainstream outlets, domestically and abroad, no attention whatsoever is given to the questions I raise or the evidence that stimulated those very questions."
Saddam, Al Qaeda Did Collaborate, Documents Show - "In an interview yesterday, the current president of the New School University, Bob Kerrey, was careful to say that new documents translated last night by ABC News did not prove Saddam Hussein played a role in any way in plotting the attacks of September 11, 2001."
Mass Murder or Genocide? - "Everybody makes mistakes. That is a given. But it takes a big person to admit they have made a mistake. And it takes a very small person to deny they made a mistake and lie about the consequences. Such is the case with President Bush."
Bush does not equal Hitler: The 17 Points - "In the United States a controversy rumbles with increasing intensity: are comparisons claiming that George Bush and Adolf Hitler have much in common valid? I would like to weigh in on the side that holds such comparisons indeed are not valid, for the following 17 reasons. 1. Bush had two Time covers, Hitler only one. ... So, there are obviously significant differences between Bush and Hitler. Indeed, based on the examples in this list, Bush is not Hitler. In fact, compared with Hitler, Bush is something of a piker. Yes, one must conclude that such comparisons are totally unfair -- to Hitler."
"Food Not Bombs" on "terrorist watch list" - "What is the thinking in the minds of those who brand peace groups and pacifists as terrorists? The following article describes an FBI presentation at a Texas law school, where some organizations were on the FBI "terrorist watch lists". Isn't the use of violence a necessary component of "terrorist" activity?"
Radio still uneasy with Dixie Chicks - "Not all big cities are playing it, though. WIL-FM in St. Louis, which hasn't had the Chicks in rotation since 2003, gave "Not Ready to Make Nice" a trial run and decided against adding it to the playlist after listeners complained with calls and e-mails. ... In Denver, KYGO program director Joel Burke also was bothered by the lyrics. KYGO tested the song, and while Burke said listeners reacted favorably, he isn't ready to add it to the playlist."
America's Worst Enemy - "I was right. The ad did say "EVERYBODY STEALS." And the African-American man it portrays is the principal culprit in the series - a professional bank robber, co-starring with another African-American male, an Italian mobster, a Chinese assassin, and a White mastermind. Every role carefully plotted. Each character designed to feed into stereotypes of each race.And then it occurred to me, who created these stereotypes to begin with? The Media. Blacks, Hispanics, Arabs, Italians, Irish, Whites, Indians - no one is immune from their brush. But, why? Is it all by chance? When was the last time you produced a movie, commercial, or billboard ad by chance? Nothing gets produced in the media by chance. Every image - and its outcome - is produced by design. Their aim is to divide and control."
Yeah, That'll Keep the Terrorists Away - "Phew! Good to know we have a strong terrorist deterrent here. Seen just outside of Iowa City: ... You just can't make this stuff up..." -- It's a picture, and it's pretty funny.
A 15-cent-a-gallon pump up at the pump - "Gas prices shot up nearly 15 cents over the past two weeks to a national average of $2.50 per gallon of self-serve regular, according to a survey released Sunday."
Oil Prices Slip Below $64 Per Barrel - "Crude prices slipped under $64 a barrel Monday after the release of three foreign hostages by Nigerian militants eased concerns about supplies from the oil-rich African nation."
Child drugs linked to heart attack - "CHILDREN as young as five have suffered strokes, heart attacks, hallucinations and convulsions after taking drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder."
Are birds trying to tell us things? - "So what are budgies saying? "This is going to sound crazy, but they talk about spiritual things: God, the afterlife, a better world for them," Reynolds says."
Illinois Man Fined For Piggybacking On Wi-Fi Service - "We just want to get the word out that it is a crime."
Look who's more likely to have risky sex - "Young men who feel good about their looks are more likely than their peers with a less positive body image to engage in risky sexual behavior, a new study of college students shows. ... Among young women, in contrast, those with a more positive body image were less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, Lefkowitz and her team found."
Quote of the Day
"Nothing just happens in politics. If something happens you can be sure it was planned that way."
~ Franklin D.Roosevelt
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