April 13, 2006 OpEdNews.Com Newsletter

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Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:44:48 -0400 (EDT)

April 13, 2006 OpEdNews.Com Newsletter

A

 

 

 

 

http://www.opednews.com/flyer/news_20060413_1.html

 

U.S. spending hit record monthly high - $250 billion creating deficit

between intake and output of $85.5 billion. You'd think Barb and Jenna

were at the controls! Debt clock is about to run out of digits and

Congress is still missing in action.

 

 

click here to go to webpage to read articles.

http://www.opednews.com/flyer/news_20060413_1.html

 

 

 

Newest Articles

 

By Evelyn Pringle

About Iraq - Not So Fast Colin Powell

To that I say, not so fast Mr Powell, the time to come clean has long

passed. In fact, the window of truth-telling time for you ended when

the first US soldier was killed in Iraq.

 

By David Swanson

How To Talk About Iran

John Aravosis suggests some talking points on Iran, but I'd like to

suggest some changes.

 

By Evelyn Pringle

Accutane - Another Case Of Too Little Too Late

Another drug with side effects hurts some more than it helps.

 

By Doug Thompson

Partisans: America's REAL Enemy

I don't like partisanship, political or ideological, and I don't like

the partisans who follow political parties or ideological

affiliations. I consider all partisans - Republican or Democrat,

liberal or conservative, right or left - to be my enemies and enemies

of my country.

 

By Cindy Sheehan

Don't Attack Iran

We must not believe BushCo or anything they say about Iran. Bush has

lied through his teeth so many times before: from WMD and terrorism in

Iraq to the fact that no one could " anticipate " the levees breaking in

New Orleans. He was the leaker of the documents that outed Valerie

Plame, while he promised us that the leaker would be punished. We must

not allow him to frighten us into this one.

 

By Robert Parry

America's Matrix, Revisited

" Matrix " and its sequels offer a useful analogy for anyone trying to

make sense of the chasm that has opened between what's real and what

Americans perceive is real. Like the science-fiction world of the

trilogy, a false reality is being pulled daily over people's eyes,

often through what they see and hear on their TV screens. Facts have

lost value. Logic rarely applies.

 

By Phestif

Bush's " comprehensive " Policies

 

By Joseph Shermis

In The Past?

The pursuit of the Bush War on Terror agenda, practically without

discussion or appropriate checks and balances, is at best counter to

our Founding Fathers intent. At worst it points to a level of

corruption that is reaping obscene profits for anyone well connected

enough to acquire a federal contract.

 

By Ian Q McTafferty

Will I Live Long Enough To Finally Hear The Truth?

Hmmm. I wonder. I'm 42 now, male, not overly stressful job. Let's

figure I make it to 70. So that's approximately 30 years. Guliani has

apparently " sealed " his " papers " for 25 years.

 

By Jon Korein

JFK And 9/11

The " conspiracy theorist " label is used dissuade people from finding

and saying the truth about the most drastic crimes. It's best to

confront these head-on, and not let the mainstream media aid in the

deception.

 

By Cloy Richards

Millionaires And Poverty

As a full-time, minimum wage worker is forced to live in their car,

The Ceo of Wal-Mart earns $350,000 an hour. No wonder 70% of American

thinks we are heading in the wrong direction.

 

By Richard Mathis

Jesus' Family Values

Jesus is more a role model for alternative family values than

" traditional " values.

 

By Howard Boyer

Economy And Democracy

Free trade is coming after the Constitution and Bill of rights. The

Trilaterial Commission, Council on Foreign Relations and the Federal

Reserve all approve of the Free Trade Agreements. Their objective is

to have a one world economic empire and to accomplish that they have

to circumvent the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution. They are

using Free Trade Agreements to do that.

 

By By Geri Timmons And John Keaveny

40 Years And Counting; An Irish American Perspective

The 1960s and 70's were a time of great change throughout the world.

Oppressed peoples were no longer content living as second-rate

citizens. They rose up demanding equality in housing, income, job

opportunity and education. These basic human rights were frequently

being denied; met with violence by those governments that worked to

keep the status quo in place.

 

By Walter Brasch

The Not-So-Secret Foreign Energy Source

The Bush Administration Believes worker exploitation is acceptable to

spur business interests.

 

By Horace J. Digby

What I Do About Writers Block

" Writers Block? " Horace J. Digby recommends SPF 50 . . .

 

By Debby Bodkin

" Hidden Blessings "

Clergy Sex Abuse Scandals Require Nationwide Legislation for Immediate

Corrective Action

 

By Mark S. Tucker

Playboy And Franken, Sitting In A Tree...

First, ya flatter with come ons, then ya knife `em in the kidneys.

Whisper sweet Conservative nothings in our ear, Hef, we forgot what

which side of the bed you get in on.

 

By Charles Sullivan

Empire's War On Labor

Like it or not, America has a long history of imperialism and

oppression. It also has a history of abusing working class people and

using them as canon fodder against other working people in other

regions of the earth. War is not only imperialistic, it is anti-worker

and anti-earth.

 

By Larry Beinhart

Federal Confidential

Scooter Libby has revealed that the only difference between Top Secret

and something it would be good for the public to know can be one man's

whim.

 

By Andrew Bard Schmookler

Evil Or Incompetence: What's The Main Issue?

I would prefer that the American people repudiate the Bushite regime

for its evil rather than for its incompetence. But upon reflection, it

seems to me that perhaps the two are organically connected.

 

By Doug Thompson

Lies, Damn Lies And George W. Bush

No doubt about it. George W. Bush's lying, rotten, putrid, soulless

destruction of a once-great nation called America is now open for all

to see.

 

By Ernest Partridge

Newspeak And The Corruption Of Politics

In the game of politics, the party which controls the language,

controls the contest. The George Orwell knew this. The Republicans

know this. So why don't the Democrats know this?

 

By Randolph T. Holhut

BUSH PREPARES FOR ANOTHER WAR, AND THE NATION YAWNS

Are we going to get fooled again and have another unnecessary Bush

war? Only if we let them fool us twice.

 

By Missy Comley Beattie

The Boy President Who Cried " Wolf! "

Nobody believes a liar.

 

By Bob Burnett

George Bush - Failed Christian, Failed CEO

Given his teerrible track record, why do Americans believe anything

that the President says? Why can't they see that he's a failure?

 

By Steve Heller

Action Alert! Donate Goods/services For Silent Auction For Steve

Heller Legal Defense Fund

A very dear friend of Michele's and mine is planning an April 23

benefit party for my legal defense fund, and one of the events at the

party will be a silent auction. I am writing to ask if anyone can

donate, or arrange for a donation, of an item or service for the

silent auction.

 

By Robert Koehler

How Big Is My God?

Wow, go America - stand proud and immovable in your diversity and the

dignity of your humanity. My heart swells as the country I believe in

forges itself in the streets of city after city, with people fighting

once more for their fundamental rights and defying the blind and the smug.

 

By Cindy Sheehan

A Markerless Grave In Vacaville

Does anyone who is attacking me know how Casey was brought home from

Iraq? We picked him up in the United loading dock in a cardboard box

and he was off-loaded into a hearse without one honor guard. We had to

wait for about a half hour on a curb near the United freight area for

his one escort, who rode from Dover Air Force Base in a seat, while

Casey was treated as an over-sized piece of luggage.

 

By Allen L Roland

Si, SI PEUDE / YES, WE CAN !

They came by the thousands demanding recognition and justice and in

the process they reminded America of our deep Democratic roots of

rightful protest and dissent.

 

By JGideon

'Daily Voting News' For April 12, 2006

a run-down of the days elections/voting news from across the country

and overseas.

 

By David Swanson

Students Sit In At U Of VA, Prof. Arrested, Living Wage Demanded

A sit-in has begun to encourage the University to pay its workers a

living wage. All information is below.

 

By Lysiana

It's A Matter Of Words

Another Bush scandal, another word game. Rove's spin machine in full

gear. As Rove spins the difference between leak and declassification,

our sons and daughters die.

 

By Lysiana

Iraqi Troops Will Stand Up?

The Iraqi Civil War leaves our Troops in the middle. We cannot trust

our government to look out for them, impeachment is the best way to

protect them.

 

By Horace J. Digby

New Media Technology

The SandBagger Institute for Advanced Human Research and Bowling Team

has developed " Pre-Errata, " a new media technology that corrects

errors before they are made.

 

By Joel Wendland

Abstinence Fails As Anti-AIDS Policy

Since coming to power, the Bush administration has used foreign aid to

force other governments to adopt so-called abstinence education programs.

 

By Dave Lindorff

Bush's Act Of Treason

If treason is defined as " consciously acting in a way to harm one's

country or to benefit the enemy of one's country, " then the Bush

administration has lately been engaged in an act of treason by openly

planning for the first use of nuclear weapons against Iran, a

non-nuclear nation.

 

 

 

Best News Links from the Web

 

Gov't Monthly Spending Hits New Record - $250 Billion Creating Monthly

Deficit = $85.5 Billion

In its monthly accounting of the government's books, the Treasury Dept

reported Wed that federal spending totaled $250 billion last month, up

13.7 percent from March 2005. Government receipts also were up, rising

10.6 percent from a year ago, to $164.6 billion. That left a deficit

for the month of $85.5 billion, a record imbalance for March.

 

Iran Again Holds Hostages--Bush And The GOP

A generation ago, the Iranian hostage crisis cost Jimmy Carter and the

Democrats the White House. Now, 26 years later, another Iranian

hostage crisis threatens to do the same thing to George W. Bush and

the Republican Party

 

China To Send Envoy To Iran, Urges Restraint

China will send a top envoy on arms control to Iran and Russia in an

effort to defuse Iran's nuclear standoff with the West, a ministry

spokesman said on Thursday, urging restraint on all sides.

 

On Cheney, Rumsfeld Order, US Outsourcing Special Ops

According to all three intelligence sources, military and intelligence

officials alike were alarmed that instead of securing a known

terrorist organization, which has been responsible for acts of terror

against Iranian targets and individuals all over the world – including

US civilian and military casualties – Rumsfeld under instructions from

Cheney, began using the group on special ops missions into Iran to

pave the way for a potential Iran strike. " They are doing whatever

they want, no oversight at all, " one intelligence source said.

 

PILGER: Freedom Dies Quietly

People ask: can this be happening in Britain? Surely not. A

centuries-old democratic constitution cannot be swept away. Basic

human rights cannot be made abstract. Those who once comforted

themselves that a Labour government would never commit such an epic

crime in Iraq might now abandon a last delusion, that their freedom is

inviolable. If they knew.

 

Experts Speak: No Good Military Options In Iran

GOP Senator Chuck Hagel lastest to weigh in on Iran and US military

options... " a military strike against Iran, a military option, is not a

viable, feasible, responsible option. "

 

GOP Congressman's Plane Came Under Attack In Iraq, But Bragged About

US Progress At Home

Rep. Jeb Bradley, R- N.H. said he kept the incident quiet because he

wanted any news from his visit to focus on the troops. [And continue

to promote this war of Bush lies and treason so he and his ilk can be

re-elected to war forever!!.]

 

Documents Show Link Between AT & T And Agency In Eavesdropping Case

Mark Klein was a veteran AT & T technician in 2002 when he began to see

what he thought were suspicious connections between that

telecommunications giant and the National Security Agency...Now Mr.

Klein and a few company documents he saved have emerged as key

elements in a class-action lawsuit filed against AT & T on Jan. 31 by a

civil liberties group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The suit

accuses the company of helping the security agency invade its

customers' privacy.

 

Another Bush Failure - Natl Intelligence Agency

A year after John Negroponte became the first director of national

intelligence, key lawmakers worry that the spy agency they created is

not fulfilling its vital mission. The Office of the Director of

National Intelligence is " not adding any value " by enlarging the

bureaucracy, said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican who leads

the House Intelligence Committee. " They're lengthening the time to

make things happen. ... We want them to be lean and mean. "

 

Meet Mr. Republican: Jack Abramoff

The secret history of the most corrupt man in Washington

 

POLL: Majority ``don't Trust'' Bush To Make The Right Decision About Iran

American pessimism about the Iraq war has deepened and may be feeding

doubts about President George W. Bush's efforts to thwart Iran's

nuclear ambitions, the latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll found.

A majority of those surveyed -- 56 percent -- said Iraq is now in a

civil war, and just 37 percent said they believe Bush when he says a

lot of progress is being made there, down from 45 percent who said

they believed him in January.

 

W.H. Pressed On Millions Of $$ In Legal Support & Phone Calls

Surrounding Felony Of Dems Vote In N.H.

New Hampshire Democrats are seeking to depose senior White House

officials to learn what they knew about a 2002 episode in which a

national Republican operative helped organize the jamming of

Democrats' phone lines on Election Day, a scheme for which two GOP

officials have already been convicted.

 

Bringing God Into It

In my research on the psychodynamics of American society I discovered

that the left's hostility to religion is one of the main reasons

people who otherwise might be involved with progressive politics get

turned off. So it becomes important to ask why.

 

Iraq Car Bomb Kills 13 Near Baghdad

A car bomb exploded near a market on the outskirts of Baghdad on

Thursday, killing at least 13 people, Interior Ministry sources said.

The blast in the mostly Shi'ite Saba'a al-Bor area came one day after

a car bomb killed 29 people in a town north of the capital.

 

North Korea Threatens To Boost Nuclear Arsenal

North Korea said on Thursday it might boost its nuclear deterrent if

six-country talks on ending its atomic programs remained deadlocked,

but said it would return if Washington met a demand to unfreeze it assets.

 

FINEMAN: Iran Again Holds Hostages — Bush And The GOP

President lacks `political capital' as he confronts Tehran's nuclear

threat

 

Israelis Seal Off Territories For Passover

Forces on high alert for attacks during week-long holiday

 

Indonesia Wants Playboy To Postpone Issue

About 300 hard-line Islamists vandalized the building housing

Playboy's offices on Wednesday in a protest against its publication in

the world's most populous Muslim nation.

 

Stolen Military Data For Sale In Afghanistan

Following a newspaper's discovery of stolen U.S. military computer

drives showing up for sale at local bazaars outside the large base

here, the military announced a crackdown but merchants were still

selling the digital wares — including what appeared to be information

about Afghan spies informing on al-Qaida and the Taliban.

 

US Outsourcing Special Operations, Intelligence To Iraq Terror Group,

Current And Former Intelligence Officials Say

The Pentagon is bypassing official US intelligence channels and

turning to a dangerous and unruly cast of characters in order to

create strife in Iran in preparation for any possible attack, former

and current intelligence officials say.

 

Polls, Leaders Say Many Blacks Support Illegal Immigrants

Although polls show frustration in black communities over a perceived

loss of low-wage jobs to illegal immigrants, they also indicate the

issue is not dampening African Americans' sympathy with the struggles

of Latinos, who make up the vast majority of recent immigrants to the

United States.

 

Laboratories Of Mass Deception

President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other high-level

administration officials repeatedly peddled false claims about Iraq 's

biological weapons labs for months after this report was sent to the

Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). President Bush, whose credibility

is damaged seemingly on a daily basis, must again confront the

question: What did he know and when did he know it...

 

The Enron Standard

If only the feds would go after all corporate crime as zealously as

they've pursued the Enron conspiracy.

 

An Unhealthy Compromise

Universal health care, of a sort, in Massachusetts

 

ElBaradei Said He Could Not Yet Confirm If Iran Had Enriched Uranium

Speaking after a series of meetings with senior Iranian officials in

Tehran, International Atomic Enbergy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed

ElBaradei said he could not yet confirm if Iran had enriched uranium

to 3.5 percent, as it had said. " I cannot confirm that. Our inspectors

have taken samples. They will report to the (IAEA) board, " he said.

 

Can We Survive Three More Years?

Bush should admit some of his more egregious mistakes (the game plan

for Iraq was based on bad assumptions, for instance); step up his

legislative demands and congressional leadership; clean out some of

his more contentious Cabinet members, and throw himself on the mercy

of the people, who over the history of this country have shown

themselves to be very forgiving. Unfortunately, that's probably not

going to happen either, leaving us to ponder how he and we can survive

the nearly three years remaining until he returns to Crawford, Texas,

permanently.

 

The Stupidity Of Secrecy

It took the staid, august National Archives, guardian of our most

precious records, to elevate the suitably ludicrous expression " double

super secret " into government policy.

 

Liberated Iraqis Become 'refugees' - 65,000 Thave Fled

At least 65,000 Iraqis have fled their homes as a result of sectarian

violence and intimidation, according to new figures from the Iraqi

government. And the rate at which Iraqis are being displaced is

increasing.

 

Molly Ivins: White House Whopper Becomes Instant Classic

OK, given everything we already know about the lies before the war,

this is not particularly startling—although I do think it's long past

time we stopped referring to the campaign of disinformation and false

information that we were fed as anything but lies. No, the startling

and funny part of the " mobile weapons lab " lie is the administration's

defense of it, which is so batty it's an instant classic.

 

Pressure China To Change

To help the U.S. economy, Bush should press for reforms that might

hurt multinational companies.

 

Governors And Lawmakers Are Fighting The Bush Push To Expand Drilling

The battle over oil and gas drilling in the US is heating up on a new

front - or rather multiple fronts in coastal waters from Virginia to

Florida to California to Alaska.

 

Wi-Fi Plan Stirs Big Brother Concerns

Privacy advocates are raising concerns about Google Inc.'s plans to

cover San Francisco with free wireless Internet access, calling the

company's proposal to track users' locations a potential gold mine of

information for law enforcement and private litigators.

 

At Homeland Security, No Money Left Behind

These chickhawks love to shop using your dollar!!

 

Estrogen Alone Does Not Boost Risk Of Breast Cancer

Taking estrogen alone does not increase the risk of breast cancer in

menopausal women, according to a large federal study that offers

reassurance to millions of women using the hormone to quell hot

flashes and other symptoms.

 

An Iranian Missile Crisis?

The emerging confrontation between the United States and Iran is " the

Cuban missile crisis in slow motion, " argues Graham Allison, the

Harvard University professor who wrote the classic study of President

John F. Kennedy's 1962 showdown with the Soviet Union that narrowly

averted nuclear war. If anything, that analogy understates the

potential risks here.

 

As The Rich Ride In, Many Are Priced Out Of Homes On The Range

In an era when the rich are the only income group getting richer,

ever-larger waves of wealth are spilling in from the coasts and

swamping the resort valleys of the Rocky Mountain West.

 

New Orleans Rebuilding Plan Slap In Face Of Environmentalists

In the rush to rebuild, this hurricane-smashed city is dumping its

debris into the swamps by the truckload — and throwing away an

opportunity to turn America's costliest natural disaster into the

nation's greatest recycling effort, environmentalists say.

 

Bush Ex-official Urges Talks With Iran

Richard Armitage, deputy secretary of state during President George W.

Bush's first term, has urged the Bush administration to hold talks

with Iran over its nuclear programme

 

Decorated Air Force Nurse, Barred Over Lesbianism, Sues

In 2003, President Bush awarded her the Air Medal for her Middle East

deployment and, later, the Air Force Commendation Medal, for saving

the life of a Defense Department worker. Less than a year later, after

an Air Force investigation, Witt, a reservist, was drummed out. Her

offense: a committed relationship, but with another woman, a civilian,

from 1997 to 2003.

 

More Military Commanders Call For Rumsfeld Resignation

The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for

Donald H. Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top

military commanders who have harshly criticized the defense

secretary's authoritarian style for making the military's job more

difficult.

 

Analysts Say A Nuclear Iran Is Years Away

Western nuclear analysts said yesterday that Tehran lacked the skills,

materials and equipment to make good on its immediate nuclear

ambitions, even as a senior Iranian official said Iran would defy

international pressure and rapidly expand its ability to enrich

uranium for fuel.

 

Connecting The Dots To Treason

Bush lied about having found WMD in Iraq for almost a year after the

story had been discredited by the Pentagon itself. But this was the

same year that Valerie Plame would be " outed " by George W. Bush. There

is no rational explanation for persisting in a WMD story known to be

untrue even as Bush " leaks " information that disrupts Plame's

operation. Bush deliberately undermined the security of the U.S. His

motives must surely go beyond mere revenge.

 

E-Voting Lawsuit Filed In PA Against The State And The US Department

Of Justice

Just announced by KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the news that

a group of citizens and People For The American Way have filed suit

against the Secretary of State; Dan Onorato, Allegheny County Chief

Executive; James Flynn, County Manager; and senior officials at the

federal Department of Justice. The citizen group includes members of

the disabilities community who want to make sure the County purchases

machines that are accessible to all individuals with disabilities.

 

US Allies Losing Ground On Iran's Nuclear Advance

With every new Iranian advance, hopes dim for keeping Tehran from

acquiring nuclear weapons and as the United States and its allies try

to delay that day experts and diplomats say they are losing ground.

 

Criticism Mounts Over Iran; Russia Says Said Force Could Not Resolve

The Dispute

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the use of force was no

answer to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program. " If such plans

exist they will not be able to solve this problem. On the contrary

they could create a dangerous explosive blaze in the Middle East,

where there are already enough blazes, " he said. China's U.N.

Ambassador Wang Guangya said the Iranians' move was " not in line with

what is required of them by the international community, " but that

talk of sanctions or military steps " will not be helpful under the

current circumstances. "

 

Tom DeLay - The Next Pat Robertson?

DeLay, who has long worn his conservative religious beliefs on his

sleeve, (his understanding of ethics resides elsewhere), is now

claiming that he resigned from Congress not because of indictments, a

federal probe, or the possibility of losing an election, but because

" God wanted him to… and that He has bigger plans for DeLay, " plans

that apparently involve reshaping the federal government to meet his

fundamentalist Christian worldview. An op-ed in the Washington Times

agrees DeLay is heading in this direction, noting that he " might be

just the fellow to organize a genuine grass-roots conservative

evangelical political movement with the clout to advance its issues

within the GOP, " whether the Republicans like it or not.

 

Skilling: I'm Not Smart Enough For Conspiracy

Former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling on Tuesday

addressed prosecution testimony that painted him as an

earnings-obsessed leader so bent on meeting or beating Wall Street

expectations that his minions resorted to fraud with his knowledge.

 

Iran Could Produce Nuclear Bomb In 16 Days, U.S. Says; Others Disagree

Iran has informed the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency

that it plans to construct 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz next year,

Rademaker said. ``We calculate that a 3,000-machine cascade could

produce enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon within 271 days,'' he

said.

 

WaPo Quietly Alters Story On Cheney Boos

Cheney, booed by some as he walked to the mound, got even more

catcalls after his throw

 

Policy Nonprofit Where Abramoff Was Director Funded DeLay's Overseas

Junkets

The former deputy chief of staff to onetime House Majority Leader Tom

DeLay (R-TX) advised the manufacturer of Stoli Vodka to make a $20,000

contribution to the National Center for Public Policy Research, a

conservative thinktank, which wrote an editorial supporting Stoli

shortly thereafter...

 

American Research Group Poll: " WHAT RECOVERY? "

A new poll by the American Research Group finds that a whopping 58

percent of voters disapprove of Bush's handling of the economy while

only 36 percent approve. (The figures are virtually identical to those

for his overall job approval rating, which lists 57 percent

disapproval and 37 percent approval.)

 

Immigrant Bill Fallout May Hurt House GOP

Frist wants immigrants to be felons...his stance blows up in his face

 

Ousted Delay May Be Bolton Pick To Head Office Of Budge & Management??!!

Tom DeLay was being considered, though the most likely pick would be

from a conservative budget association. [

 

Iran Can Now Make Glowing Mickey Mouse Watches

If this international game of chicken goes wrong, then the whole

Middle East and much of Western Europe could go up in flames. The real

threat here is not unconventional war, which Iran cannot fight for the

foreseeable future. It is the spread of Iraq-style instability to more

countries in the region. Bush and Ahmadinejad could be working

together toward the Perfect Storm.

 

A Remarkable Turn In The Paper Trail Debate

Now, I've occasionally been critical of Black Box Voting's tactics,

most recently here. But I think that Harris is right on target in

referring to the VVPAT as a " placebo. " In fact, I've been critical of

laws to require a VVPAT, including past versions of the Holt Bill, for

quite a long time. I've even used the word " placebo " to describe its

defects. The VVPAT may make some voters feel more comfortable about

using electronic equipment, at least in the short term. But will it

really make our election system more secure and transparent? It's

doubtful at best.

 

Car Bomb Explosion Kills At Least 20 People In Iraq

A car bomb exploded Wednesday as worshippers were leaving a Shiite

mosque northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 20 people and injuring

32 others, police said.

 

Analysis: Desperate White House Attacks Press For Reporting Truth

They've tried to cover their lies with new lies, but now the new lies

used to cover the old are also being discovered as being lies.

Perhaps, McClellan and Bush finally figured it best not to tell yet

newer lies to cover the old-new lies that were used to cover the

oldest lies?

 

The Al Qaeda Myth

Recent truths have come to light about the US/UK military industrial

complex and the lies of Bush and Blair. What do these revelations tell

us about the arguments of Leaker-in-Chief Bush and PM Blair that in Al

Qaeda the " Free World " faces a threat comparable to that of the Soviet

Union and Nazi Germany, a world-wide terrorist network which seeks to

build a radical Islamist empire over half the world? That they are

threadbare, to say the least. But also that they are cynical,

misleading and self serving.

 

The Trailer Park HQ Where The U.S. 'long War' Is Being Waged

They are planning for a global conflict that, Washington believes,

will dominate the next 20 years. The Pentagon calls it the " long war " :

an integrated military, financial and diplomatic campaign against

al-Qaida and its affiliates that will eventually span the globe,

shaping the lives of the coming generation much as the cold war

defined the baby boomers. Also see

 

The Slander That Launched Don Rumsfeld's Career

Every step of the way, his career has been marked by mendacity,

duplicity, smirking chatter and deadly ideological blindness

 

The Human Costs Of Bombing Iran

They are astronomical. " The number of deaths could exceed a million,

and the number of people with increased cancer risks could exceed 10

million... "

 

The Century Of The Self

This episode explains how politicians on the left, in both Britain and

America, turned to the techniques developed by business to read and

fulfil the inner desires of the self. Both New Labour, under Blair, and the Democrats, led by Bill Clinton, used the focus group,

which had been invented by psychoanalysts, in order to regain power.

They set out to mould their policies to people's inner desires and

feelings, just as capitalism had learnt to do with products. The

politicians believed they were creating a new and better form of

democracy, one that truly responded to the inner feelings of

individual. But what they didn't realise was that the aim of those who

had originally created these techniques had not been to liberate the

people but to develop a new way of controlling them.

 

The Facts About Iran's Uranium Enrichment

The truth is Iran's announcement " had less to do with an engineering

feat than with carefully timed political theater " to symbolize its

defiance of the U.N.

 

White House Says Media Should " Publicly Apologize " For Reporting On

Bush's Mobile Weapons Lab Lies

On May 29, 2003, President Bush said " We found the weapons of mass

destruction. We found biological laboratories. " This morning the

Washington Post revealed that a Pentagon field report transmitted to

Washington on May 27, 2003 " had already concluded that the trailers

had nothing to do with biological weapons. " Today during the White

House press briefing, Scott McClellan demanded a public apology from

the news media for covering the story. [Absolutely incredible - what's

Rove smoking?]

 

Now Powell Tells Us

Robert Scheer writes that Colin Powell now says he never believed that

Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat and that Cheney pushed the

yellow-cake myth.

 

Book Review: " Playing President: My Relationships With Nixon, Carter,

Bush I, Reagan, And Clinton--and How They Did Not

robert Scheer, whom Joan Didion called " one of the best reporters of

our time, " offers with this book unparalleled insight into the

presidential mind. Through both new writings and reprinted material,

Scheer analyzes every administration from Nixon to George W. Bush,

offering insights that will surprise the reader—particularly those

with rigid preconceptions about the decision-making processes of our

leaders. (With a foreword by Gore Vidal)

 

U.S. Tax Law Pushes 'Secondary Earners' To Drop Out

Income tax season makes one woman recall the birth of her daughter and

how she ended up becoming a " secondary earner, " an effect of the

I.R.S. tax code that makes many mothers ask, " Does it pay for me to work? "

 

Female Nobel Laureates Launch Peace Bid

" No more military attacks. No more war, " they said in a written

statement. " We demand a nonviolent world where human security is the

basis of our common global security. "

 

Gunmen Kill Three Iraqi Government Workers

Gunmen hunted down three Iraqi government employees and shot them dead

in a day of worsening violence and an admission from the interior

minister that there are death squads operating in Iraq.

 

GOP Leaders To Drop Felony For Immigrants

The two top Republicans in Congress, confronted with internal party

divisions as well as large public demonstrations, said Tuesday they

intend to pass immigration legislation that does not subject illegal

immigrants to prosecution as felons.

 

Morning In America Again

The leaders of the Republican party have awakened an unfriendly giant

with their stance on immigrants.

 

U.S. Citizenship Is Now Required To Receive Medicaid Coverage

Thanks to a little noticed provision inserted Deficit Reduction Act of

2005, which was signed by President Bush, U.S. citizenship is now

required to receive Medicaid coverage. This may have interesting

effects on the new socialized health coverage plan the Massachusetts

legislature approved.

 

Bush Administration Tied To Criminal Vote Suppression Scheme

The slow-motion train wreck that eventually will come to be known as

the New Hampshire phone-jamming scandal. New analysis suggests that

the responsibility for this dirty tricks campaign went all the way to

the top at the White House

 

Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth

Eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Al Gore's

personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of

global climate change. A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore

presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and

compelling way. The film is not a story of despair but rather a

rallying cry. In theatres May 24th.

 

Amnesty For Osama?

Our lackadaisacal pursuit of bin Laden is mirrored by a lack of public

outcry for his head. One can't help but wonder if the US bounty on him

is to demonstrate not the sincerity, but the appearance of an

intention to apprehend bin Laden, who occupies himself meanwhile as

Islam's old philosopher.

 

Traitor, US Government Hater Grover Norquist : " K Street Project Is

Mine, ALL MINE!! "

right wing extremist, tax avoiding parasite Grover Norquist, of " cut

taxes enough to make government small enough to drown in a bathtub "

fame wants to trademark the phrase K street project, so Democrats

can't use it to villify corrupt sleazeball Republicans.

 

AT & T Asks Judge To Order Documents Alleging Wiretaps Returned

The EFF filed a lawsuit against AT & T in January alleging that AT & T had

collaborated with the National Security Agency in a ``massive and

illegal program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications.''

 

Did Bush Tell Prosecutor What He Knew, Or What He Told Us?

It is a crime for anyone to mislead, impede or lie to federal

investigators — whether they are not under oath to tell the truth or

not. For a president or a vice president, it can be an impeachable

crime. (This point was argued most persuasively by congressional

Republicans a few years ago as they made a federal case out of an

incident that was not about national security, but consensual oral sex.)

 

Colin Powell: Playing Up Iraq Nuclear Threat Was All Dick Cheney

 

IRAQ: 34 US Troops Have Died So Far This Month (JUST 12 DAYS IN)—

Exceeding The 31 Killed In All Of March

The acting parliament speaker said Wednesday he will convene the

legislature next week to push the formation of a new government that

is stalled over who will be prime minister. Car and roadside bombings

killed 13 people, including three U.S. soldiers, and injured dozens.

Another six civilians were gunned down in Baghdad.

 

WaPo Bombshell

Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case for War -- Administration

Pushed Notion of Banned Iraqi Weapons Despite Evidence to Contrary --

IMPEACH, BUSH LIED AND SOLDIERS ARE STILL DYING

 

US Shelved Evidence Discounting Iraq's WMD: Report

The Bush administration publicly asserted that two trailers captured

by U.S. troops in Iraq in May 2003 were mobile " biological

laboratories " even after U.S. intelligence officials had evidence that

it was not true, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

 

Iran Vows To Expand Uranium Enrichment

Iran intends to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment involving

54,000 centrifuges, the country's deputy nuclear chief said Wednesday,

signaling its resolve to expand a program the international community

has insisted it halt.

 

Moussaoui Jurors Hear Flight 93 Tape

Federal prosecutors seeking the execution of Zacarias Moussaoui

figuratively placed the jury aboard doomed Flight 93 for its last

searing moments, playing a recording in which a passenger begs the

Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, " Please, don't hurt me " and another cries

" I don't want to die. "

 

Where Are The Pro-Choice Democrats?

S. Dakota's despicable Anti-Abortion Legislation was sponsored by

pro-life " democrat " Julie Bartling.

 

Mortuary Business Only Lucrative Trade Remaining In Iraq

" Greek philosophers used to say that life is the art of training how

to die, " writes Kadhim al-Miqdadi on Iraq's Azzaman.com. " Today, the

Americans have succeeded in translating this philosophy into reality

by training us on how to be ready to die round the clock. "