PCNs 
August, 2008

From 7/7 (I don't think I sent the right link to it) from his own magazine, the New Yorker...

"Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program."...

Full article:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=all

Cheers -

Mark

Well, maybe a drowning ship in this case is the one led by the white house, and the rats are really just agents who never said the things white house personnel said... But it's still fun to watch the pile that has risen in recent years, whenever it relieves itself of its elevation.

"FBI was told to blame Anthrax scare on Al Qaeda by White House officials"
BY JAMES GORDON MEEK - DAILY NEWS
Saturday, August 2nd 2008, 6:32 PM
Link

"WASHINGTON - In the immediate aftermath of the 2001 anthrax attacks, White House officials repeatedly pressed FBI Director Robert Mueller to prove it was a second-wave assault by Al Qaeda, but investigators ruled that out, the Daily News has learned.

After the Oct. 5, 2001, death from anthrax exposure of Sun photo editor Robert Stevens, Mueller was "beaten up" during President Bush's morning intelligence briefings for not producing proof the killer spores were the handiwork of terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden, according to a former aide.

"They really wanted to blame somebody in the Middle East," the retired senior FBI official told The News.

On October 15, 2001, President Bush said, "There may be some possible link" to Bin Laden, adding, "I wouldn't put it past him." Vice President Cheney also said Bin Laden's henchmen were trained "how to deploy and use these kinds of substances, so you start to piece it all together."

But by then the FBI already knew anthrax spilling out of letters addressed to media outlets and to a U.S. senator was a military strain of the bioweapon. "Very quickly [Fort Detrick, Md., experts] told us this was not something some guy in a cave could come up with," the ex-FBI official said. "They couldn't go from box cutters one week to weapons-grade anthrax the next." "

Ok, so we generally recognize the Journal as a republican rag, and the Times as a democrat one.  They spill their party lines well enough, but nothing will come back on Wallmart for it.  Meanwhile, they're mobilizing the vote!

And, what is the deal with rags?  That sounds smelly.

Last I heard, I think it was about a year ago, it was said on NPR that, based upon projected growth, Wallmart wouldn't face serious monopoly restrictions for 4 years, so that would be approximately 3 years to go.  Ok, so they're not a monopoly, yet, but we're planning on it some time.

Meanwhile, back at the Wallmart ranch...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/08/walmart-democra.html

..."They’re still giving their cash to Democrats, even though, as the Wall Street Journal disclosed, the retailing behemoth from Bentonville, Ark., is trying to persuade its store managers and department supervisors to vote Republican.

The low-price leader has waged running battles with unions, and fears that a Democratic administration and Congress could impose laws opening the way for the greeters, clerks and others at the global empire Sam Walton built to organize unions. Of course, official Wal-Mart spokespeople deny any such push."...

From the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121755649066303381.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us
" PAGE ONE
   
Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win
By ANN ZIMMERMAN and KRIS MAHER
August 1, 2008; Page A1

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart.

In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise."...

How do you get the news? 

In Japan...
"Internet beats newspaper as popular news source in Japan"
China View 2005-06-29
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/29/content_3153348.htm

"TOKYO, June 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The Japanese are spending more time scanning the Internet than reading newspapers as their way to learn news, a survey showed Wednesday.

    The people here took an average of 37 minutes a day surfing on the Web, up five minutes from the previous year, while the time spent on newspapers was two minutes lower to 31 minutes, according the annual survey in March by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology.

    The survey also showed people spent an average of three hours and 31 minutes watching television.

    The Internet was particularly popular among teenagers as they spent 108 minutes a day before computers, yet only 23 minutes reading newspapers.

    The survey also showed that the older a person was, the less time he or she generally spent on the Internet, although Internet use still overwhelmed newspaper reading in all age brackets except for people in their 60s, who spent 58 minutes on newspapers and 50 minutes on the Internet.

    The institute randomly selected people aged 13 to 69 across the country and received valid replies from about 2,000 of them. "

-----------

In the US: (by media mogul Rupert Murdoch)
"Speech by Rupert Murdoch to the American Society of Newspaper Editors"
April 13, 2005
http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_247.html

... "We need to realize that the next generation of people accessing news and information, whether from newspapers or any other source, have a different set of expectations about the kind of news they will get, including when and how they will get it, where they will get it from, and who they will get it from.

Anyone who doubts this should read a recent report by the Carnegie Corporation about young people’s changing habits of news consumption and what they mean for the future of the news industry.

According to this report, and I quote, “There’s a dramatic revolution taking place in the news business today, and it isn’t about TV anchor changes, scandals at storied newspapers or embedded reporters.” The future course of news, says the study’s author, Merrill Brown, is being altered by technology-savvy young people no longer wedded to traditional news outlets or even accessing news in traditional ways.

Instead, as the study illustrates, consumers between the ages of 18-34 are increasingly using the web as their medium of choice for news consumption. While local TV news remains the most accessed source of news, the internet, and more specifically, internet portals, are quickly becoming the favored destination for news among young consumers.

44 percent of the study’s respondents said they use a portal at least once a day for news, as compared to just 19 percent who use a printed newspaper on a daily basis. More ominously, looking out three years, the study found that 39 percent expected to use the internet more to learn about the news, versus only 8 percent who expected to use traditional newspapers more.

And their attitudes towards newspapers are especially alarming. Only 9 percent describe us as trustworthy, a scant 8 percent find us useful, and only 4 percent of respondents think we’re entertaining. Among major news sources, our beloved newspaper is the least likely to be the preferred choice for local, national or international news going forward. " ...

----------
In Japan, it looks like change over time.  In the US, it looks like a revolution!  (If you're not 18-34, then please disregard this message)  That's the only group in the US that has a Japanese look to it, seems to me.  These same people say really bad things about newspapers. LOL!  In the US, it looks like a revolution. 

Cheers -

Mark

I got sent a link to an insightful article on the US and Iran. 

..."Both the House of Representatives, through HR 362, and the Senate, through SR 580, are preparing legislation that would call for an air, ground and sea blockade of Iran."...

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080729_acts_of_war/

(Scott Ritter is a former U.N. weapons inspector and Marine intelligence officer who has written extensively about Iran.)

What Scott did not know writing this article, was that China and Russia would agree to a new round of sanctions against Iran.  Who would have thought so? 

It seems there are very rabbid people in Washington, and they won't settle for anything short of going into Iran.  We're waging war there, and blowing stuff up - have been for a bit.  I don't think a person could own a moral compass and navigate through any of this.

Cheers -

Mark

Isn't that a nice word?  I think brinkmanship means up to, but not including, war...

From blogger Damian Lataan...

"CONDOLEEZZA RICE GIVES THE NOD TO ISRAELI ACTION AGAINST IRAN..."
http://lataan.blogspot.com/2008/08/condoleeza-rice-gives-nod-to-israeli.html

And I'm pasting in from articles he's referenced...

"Massive US Naval Armada Heads For Iran"
http://europebusines.blogspot.com/2008/08/massive-us-naval-armada-heads-for-iran.html

"Operation Brimstone ended only one week ago. This was the joint US/UK/French naval war games in the Atlantic Ocean preparing for a naval blockade of Iran and the likely resulting war in the Persian Gulf area. The massive war games included a US Navy supercarrier battle group, an US Navy expeditionary carrier battle group, a Royal Navy carrier battle group, a French nuclear hunter-killer submarine plus a large number of US Navy cruisers, destroyers and frigates playing the "enemy force"."
...
"The build up of naval forces in the Gulf will be one of the largest multi-national naval armadas since the First and Second Gulf Wars. The intent is to create a US/EU naval blockade (which is an Act of War under international law) around Iran (with supporting air and land elements) to prevent the shipment of benzene and certain other refined oil products headed to Iranian ports. Iran has limited domestic oil refining capacity and imports 40% of its benzene. Cutting off benzene and other key products would cripple the Iranian economy."...

"Rice on possible Israeli Defence Forces - Iran strike: U.S. has no veto over Israeli military ops"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1009504.html

"United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday refrained from saying the U.S. would prevent Israel from mounting a much-touted attack against Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear aspirations.

"We don't say yes or no to Israeli military operations. Israel is a sovereign country," Rice said in an interview with Yahoo! News. "
...
"Rice's comments came a day after Iran failed to accept an incentives package meant to resolve the dispute. "
...
"Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the Israel Defense Forces is preparing for an "uncompromising" victory should Iran try to attack Israel, speaking in an interview published Thursday in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

"We need to keep every option open," Barak told the daily. "If they provoke us, or they attack us, our army is prepared to attack and to succeed uncompromisingly."
...

"Israel Air Force: Hezbollah anti-aircraft missiles could threaten Israeli planes"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1008837.html

"If Hezbollah installs advanced anti-aircraft batteries in Lebanon, the Israel Air Force will have to alter its overflights of Lebanon significantly, a senior IAF officer told Haaretz Tuesday. "...

Come fly over me!  Yah!  Doo wop dee do, come fly over me, yah, fly over me, come FLY over ME!  Israel, you rule me.  Like daddy Bush rules me here at home.  Sometimes, they do flyovers here in the republic (of VT), but we don't let on about it.  We didn't used to let Saddam fly in the north or south of Iraq (but neither did the US).  I can't fly over VT, and I live here, but that is because I don't have a plane.

Cheers -

Mark

"Attorney-General praises record ecstasy seizure"
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24147529-2702,00.html

... "Australian Federal Police have smashed an international drug syndicate after the world's single largest seizure of 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy.

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland today praised the AFP for the record drugs bust, saying any belief that Australia was a soft target for drug smuggling had "well and truly" been smashed."
...
"The 12-month investigation began in June last year when a shipping container from Italy arrived in Melbourne and was found to contain tomato tins containing ecstasy pills with an estimated street value of $440 million.

Another shipment of drugs which arrived in Melbourne in June this year contained three bags of cocaine weighing about 150 kg.

The investigation has also uncovered a money laundering operation worth more than $9 million.

The AFP say 16 people have been arrested following early morning raids in four states - Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and NSW - today."

If my numbers are right, 15 million pills to 4.4 tons is about 1/4 gram per pill.  What about the 150 kg of cocaine?  That's 330 pounds!  Those must be like 3 big bakery bags.  Sure, just put 110 pounds of coke into a big sack like you were runnin' a bakery.  And they got a $9 million (a year?) laundry business.

Cheers -

Mark

> Date: Friday, August 8, 2008, 3:47 PM
> *AMAZINGLY SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES
>
> 1. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY
> GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO
> HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU CHOP.
>
> 2. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE
> TOILET SEAT BY USING
> THE SINK.
>
> 3. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF
> AND BLEED FOR A
> FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS.
> REMEMBER TO USE A
> TIMER.
>
> 4. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL
> PREVENT YOU FROM
> ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE
> SNOOZE BUTTON.
>
> 5. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES.
> THEN YOU'LL BE
> AFRAID TO COUGH.
>
> 6. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND
> DUCT TAPE. IF I T DOESN' T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE
> WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T
> MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.
>
> 7. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT
> AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
>
> DAILY THOUGHT: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES -
> NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING .....BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO
> YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.*

Hi,
This anthrax business is more dramatic than Mary Hartman.  One thing I can draw from this WaPo article (below) is that Bruce Ivins would not be capable of doing the anthrax job himself, and "more than a dozen experts interviewed by The Washington Post in recent weeks, investigators might want to reexamine the possibility of state-sponsored terrorism, or try to determine whether weaponized spores may have been stolen by the attacker from an existing, but secret, biodefense program or perhaps given to the attacker by an accomplice."

Ok, so a dozen experts are leading in the direction that this is no one-man operation.  But, he's dead.  The article also goes into length on the possibility of an Iraqi-made Anthrax strain, saying that other sources of this strain are now possible.  No doubt someone could be happy if they found out that maybe Iraq could be suspected for the anthrax attacks on US targets.  (hack, cough)  Ok, so Bruce Ivins used to play golf with Saddam Hussein?

"FBI's Theory On Anthrax Is Doubted:
Attacks Not Likely Work Of 1 Person, Experts Say"
Monday, October 28, 2002; Page A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A28334-2002Oct27?language=printer

Doug Feith looks like a Bush bad guy, and beyond the subpoena power of congress, so he'll need to commit a crime, I suppose, if that's legal.

Ron Suskind wrote a book, "The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism"
http://www.amazon.com/Way-World-Story-Truth-Extremism/dp/product-description/0061430625

And in that book, he talks about, and even makes a transcript available on his website for it, a conversation with a top CIA agent about a damming letter written on White House stationery.  This letter is said to be a domestic fabrication to damn Iraq for WMDs.  The question now is which way did this (alleged) letter go?

Along comes "The American COnservative", saying that his details aren't right, and they provide who they think this letter passes through (and they believe it to be true based on an unnamed source)...

http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/08/07/suskind-revisited/
Posted on August 7th, 2008 by Philip Giraldi
"An extremely reliable and well placed source in the intelligence community has informed me that Ron Suskind’s revelation that the White House ordered the preparation of a forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda and also to attempts made to obtain yellowcake uranium is correct but that a number of details are wrong.

"The Suskind account states that two senior CIA officers Robert Richer and John Maguire supervised the preparation of the document under direct orders coming from Director George Tenet.  Not so, says my source.  Tenet is for once telling the truth when he states that he would not have undermined himself by preparing such a document while at the same time insisting publicly that there was no connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda.  Richer and Maguire have both denied that they were involved with the forgery and it should also be noted that preparation of such a document to mislead the media is illegal and they could have wound up in jail.

"My source also notes that Dick Cheney, who was behind the forgery, hated and mistrusted the Agency and would not have used it for such a sensitive assignment.  Instead, he went to Doug Feith’s Office of Special Plans and asked them to do the job.  The Pentagon has its own false documents center, primarily used to produce fake papers for Delta Force and other special ops officers traveling under cover as businessmen.  It was Feith’s office that produced the letter and then surfaced it to the media in Iraq.  Unlike the Agency, the Pentagon had no restrictions on it regarding the production of false information to mislead the public.  Indeed, one might argue that Doug Feith’s office specialized in such activity. "

-----------
Which brings us to Doug Feith.  Where's he at?

From 2007, Feith saying to NPR that no one would have doubted Iraq as a threat (brad blog)... And a picture of Feith.
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4436

There were a couple of great quotes on that page:

    "[F]rankly, [the sanctions on Iraq] have worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors."
    - Colin Powell, February 24, 2001

    "But in terms of Saddam Hussein being there, let's remember that his country is divided, in effect. He does not control the northern part of his country. We are able to keep arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt."
    - Condoleeza Rice, July 29, 2001
-----

Salon Magazine: "Farewell, Doug Feith"
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2005/01/27/feith/?source=refresh
Thursday, Jan. 27, 2005 09:49 EST
"Donald Rumsfeld may be staying put for now at the Pentagon, but another architect of the Iraq war has announced he's leaving. Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith told his boss Rumsfeld he wanted to return to the private sector and spend more time with his family."...

..."From Carl Levin's report on Feith's faulty intelligence assessments: "This report (.pdf file) shows that in the case of Iraq's relationship with al Qaeda, intelligence was exaggerated to support Administration policy aims primarily by the Feith policy office, which was determined to find a strong connection between Iraq and al Qaeda, rather than by the [intelligence community], which was consistently dubious of such a connection. In order to present a public case that heightened the sense of threat from Iraq, Administration officials reflected more closely the analysis of Under Secretary Feith's policy office rather than the more cautious analysis of the [intelligence community]."

"Not one, not two, but three government investigations into the goings on at Feith's office. Borrowing from a Progress Report summary: The FBI probe involves charges that a Pentagon Iran analyst, Larry Franklin, passed secret government documents concerning the administration's Iran policy to an Israeli lobbying group, AIPAC. The Senate Select Intelligence Committee is looking into "back channel" meetings between officials from Feith's office and the former Iran contra arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar and other Iranian exiles, dissidents and government officials. And the House Judiciary committee probe also focuses on the Ghorbanifar/Iran back channel meetings, with the key players attempting to destabilize the government of Syria."

Remember the propaganda office? (Sorry, the "Office of Strategic Influence.") That was Feith's baby, and he was forced to shut it down."

And who can forget Tommy Franks' observation of Mr. Feith? According to Bob Woodward, Franks called Feith "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth." Rummy would disagree.
-------

"Feith Chickens Out Of Congressional Hearing On Torture, Refuses To Appear With Wilkerson"
Link
June 18th, 2008
..."Sources on Capitol Hill told ThinkProgress that Feith was afraid to appear with Colin Powell’s former chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson, who was also testifying today. After leaving the State Department in protest over Bush’s policies, Wilkerson became an outspoken critic of Bush’s foreign policy and aggressively criticized Feith’s incompetence. From a speech to the New America Foundation in 2005:

    Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, whom most of you probably know Tommy Franks said was the stupidest blankety-blank man in the world. He was. Let me testify to that. He was. Seldom in my life have I met a dumber man.

Nadler emphasized that Feith would “appear before this committee before too much time has elapsed,” adding, “We will reschedule a hearing at which Feith will appear so he can elucidate his testimony on this issue.”"
-------

Ok, so toss the fated letter on the Feith pile.  There seems to be a lot of "Feith".

Hi,
You know, when there's a 100-character link in there, my email reader makes every line a hundred characters wide.  I'm pasting the last email below, without the 100-character link in it.

It occurs to me to say, that when two different people, both of whom probably know Donald Rumsfeld, and both of whom have said the same thing, to question my perspective on Donald Rumsfeld.  One is Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell's Chief of Staff, and the other is general Tommy Franks. 

Since they've each independently publicly stated that they think Douglas Feith is THE stupidest man alive, I'd say that might make you think twice.  This is Donald Rumsfeld's undersecretary after Paul Wolfowitz, and that means that he's dumber than Donald Rumsfeld.  As the director of the (newly created) Office of Special Plans, which is where you would ride the short bus, the purpose was to find a reason to go to war with Iraq.  It would seem that this administration's tactic was to find the stupidest men alive to run this mission!

Doug Feith was also the creator and director of the "Office of Strategic Influence", which failed (and was shut down).  Bush, however, has replaced this with "strategery".

"Strategery"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategery
"The word "strategery" (pronounced [stɹəˡti:dʒə.ɹi], struh-TEEJ-er-ee) came into being when it was used in a Saturday Night Live sketch, written by James Downey, airing October 7, 2000, which satirized the performances of George W. Bush and Al Gore, two candidates for President of the United States, during the first presidential debate for election year 2000.[1] Comedian Will Ferrell played Bush and used the word "strategery" (a mock-Bushism playing on the words "strategy" and "strategic"), when asked by a mock debate moderator to summarize "the best argument for his campaign", thus satirizing Bush's reputation for mispronouncing words. The episode was later released as part of a video tape titled Presidential Bash 2000.

"After the 2000 presidential election, people inside the Bush White House reportedly began using the term as a joke, and it later grew to become a term of art among them meaning oversight of any activity by Bush's political consultants. Bush's strategists also came to be known within the White House as "The Department of Strategery" or the "Strategery Group."[2]

"A February 9, 2001, transcript of a CNN interview attributes George Bush using the term, presumably as an intentional nod to the comedy sketch. [3] Affectionately embracing satirical portrayals has been a Bush tactic at other times as well, such as when he presented a slide show at the May 2004 Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner about looking for weapons of mass destruction in the Oval Office [4] after the political comic strip Doonesbury satirically portrayed him on a similar bizarre search.

"The term is now widely used in popular discourse, often by Bush's critics to ridicule his oratory skills. However, many supporters of Bush also use the term to reflect their fondness for Bush's quirky speech patterns. Rush Limbaugh picked up the usage soon after the SNL airing and has been instrumental in popularizing the word, using it in an ironic sense in support of President Bush. A trial exhibit from the 2007 "Scooter" Libby trial included the term, in Libby's daily schedule for June 10, 2003, which showed that Libby had a 6:00 pm "Strategery Meeting" scheduled to last 90 minutes.[5]

"A book by political reporter Bill Sammon titled "Strategery" was published by the conservative publishing group Regnery in February 2006, and is the author's third book on the inner workings of the Bush presidency."

Cheers -

Mark

From the latest issue of Newsweek,

"The Fiction Behind Torture Policy:
The lawyers designing interrogation techniques cited Jack Bauer more frequently than the Constitution."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/149009
From the magazine issue dated Aug 4, 2008

"The most influential legal thinker in the development of modern American interrogation policy is not a behavioral psychologist, international lawyer or counterinsurgency expert. Reading both Jane Mayer's stunning "The Dark Side," and Philippe Sands's "Torture Team," it quickly becomes plain that the prime mover of American interrogation doctrine is none other than the star of Fox television's "24," Jack Bauer.

"This fictional counterterrorism agent—a man never at a loss for something to do with an electrode—has his fingerprints all over U.S. interrogation policy. As Sands and Mayer tell it, the lawyers designing interrogation techniques cited Bauer more frequently than the Constitution.

"According to British lawyer and writer Sands, Jack Bauer—played by Kiefer Sutherland—was an inspiration at early "brainstorming meetings" of military officials at Guantánamo in September 2002. Diane Beaver, the staff judge advocate general who gave legal approval to 18 controversial interrogation techniques including waterboarding, sexual humiliation and terrorizing prisoners with dogs, told Sands that Bauer "gave people lots of ideas." Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security chief, gushed in a panel discussion on "24" organized by the Heritage Foundation that the show"reflects real life."

"John Yoo, the former Justice Department lawyer who produced the so-called torture memos—simultaneously redefining both the laws of torture and of logic—cites Bauer in his book "War by Other Means." "What if, as the Fox television program '24' recently portrayed, a high-level terrorist leader is caught who knows the location of a nuclear weapon?" Even Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, speaking in Canada last summer, shows a gift for this casual toggling between television and the Constitution. "Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles … He saved hundreds of thousands of lives," Scalia said. "Are you going to convict Jack Bauer?"...

------
Scalia said that?  Well, the last time I heard of the way TV moguls do this was when they made a TV show about a woman president after some talks with the Clintons.  ("Commander in Chief", with Geena Davis)

Cheers -

Mark

Hi,
With such an impressive cast of characters, the Rally for the Republic, led by Ron Paul, will be held on the same day as the republican convention, and in the same town.

Yesterday morning, Pat Buchanan mentioned the rally on the McLaughlin Group.  He thinks amongst republicans this rally is big.  In fact, I think that's the neatest part about it - some of the good republicans who have the hots for it.  Here's a link...

http://www.rallyfortherepublic.com/

And I am certainly a supporter of the thinking that this country and it's constitution have parted ways, but for me, well, I think we should go down in a big ball of flames and then try to put something rewritten together, like a second round.  Like Ben Franklin suggested, we could scrap it and try it again, you know?

Then again, in today's world, I suppose ExxonMobil and Wal Mart might form their own countries, so maybe I should give this rally a second glance?  From Constitution II: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all S-Type corporations are created equal..."

I don't think republicans are bad.  I think that's the side of the aisle that is on about structure, where the other side of the aisle is on about the people.  It strikes me as the party for the structure of the government, but not necessarily the people who man it. 

I feel like I'm working through similar ideals, devising a "coop assembly", which is named as such to include these two... Where "Co-Op" is the people, and "Assembly" is the machine.  When it's that simple, I find myself larger than either of the two - I find myself as both, and I don't like to see a party getting bigger than the country itself, but some corrupted amalgamation of republicans and democrats in Washington could also function like it was one party, and it could take itself as bigger than the country.  There are many possibilities, each of which is led by a group of people who can and do take themselves largely.

Just as a side-note, I don't think this country can be great if its got people in it that are taking their ideas as greater, and God forbid, getting away with that.  To me, this country is great when and because it is larger than us - than our ideas, which includes the ideas of the POTUS and every other person in it.  This is the math on the matter as I see it; to be great, the US has to be greater than ourselves, individually.  It has to carry with it the greatness of ourselves, collectively.

I think that calls for infrastructure (for the people), and I think ours went out the window with the moral/ethical bankrupting of the media, or of the rise in media mogul abilities (power and corruption).  Just ask Machiavelli; entities do what they can.  Of course, where Machiavelli might say it was the people without restraint who would be any degree of heinous or cruel, I'm going to suggest we give this kind of thinking a try in regards to the leaders.  The media is our informational infrastructure, but we also have revolving doors between lobbyists and law-makers, and that which can be done.

Bush Sr should actually be given credit for using the word "prudence".  Machiavelli would have likely approved.  The leaders have to be forceful, but prudent.  He also didn't have a society dealing with the practical issues of the people trying to run it, such as with this new-fangled country we live in today.

The biggest grievance I have with Howard Dean and Ron Paul is their steadfast allegiance to their respective political ideals.  I think, in either case, it is the most limiting thing about them, but perhaps also, that their respective integrities are well-served by their respective ideals. I think they need to each be given credit for following their ideals at times when they have had to all but completely abandon their party fellows to continue, and they seem like decent people.

As for me, I've got both heart and mind, and I intend to give them equal quarter.  Ron Paul appears to believe in the constitution first, which makes the most sense to me, since that would serve as a basis for common law.  Even the leaders would have to agree. ;-)

Cheers -

Mark

Oh, sure, you probably thought I was going to say that all of the people in the White House are dead. 

"Kucinich submits 100,000 signatures, Let's Make it 200,000."
Aug 11, 2008
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Kucinich-submits-100-000-s-by-Dan-K-080811-325.html

"3 days ago, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), announced that his impeachment campaign was successful in delivering over 100,000 petition signatures to the house judiciary committee.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUuhKJYFUfg "...

Petition is at: http://kucinich.us/

"Send a history-making message to Congress:  1,000,000 signatures for impeachment.  On September 10, 2008, we want to deliver ONE MILLION signatures to Congress urging them to exercise their Constitutional authority and mandate to hold this President - and all future Presidents - accountable."

There have been petitions for impeachment, but I think Kucinich's stands to be the most significant (if it gets signatures).  A million signatures is a lot to ask, but as a public message, it is also harder to ignore (and maybe even something to cheer about)!

Cheers -

Mark

They were out there sizing up the whole mining operation in 2002, before the war started, and that's when they got their first contract.

Cheers -

Mark

"The Secret Deal For Iraq's Oil"
By Jason Leopold, The Public Record
Friday, August 15, 2008
http://www.pubrecord.org/nationworld/262.html?task=view

"Four months before the United States invaded Iraq, the Department of Defense was secretly working with Vice President Dick Cheney's old company, Halliburton Corp., on a secret deal that would give the world's second largest oil services company total control over Iraq's oil fields, according to interviews with Halliburton's most senior executives.

"Previously undisclosed Halliburton documents obtained by The Public Record confirm that controlling the world's second largest oil reserves was a top priority for the Bush administration. Additionally, the deal between the Department of Defense and Halliburton unit Kellogg, Brown & Root to operate Iraq's oil industry saved Halliburton from imminent bankruptcy.

"In October of 2002, Halliburton was saddled with a multibillion-dollar asbestos liability as well as a serious slowdown in domestic oil production. The company’s stock plummeted on the news falling to a low of $12.62 in October 2002 from a high of $22 the year before.

"A month later, in November 2002, Halliburton’s financial troubles seemingly disappeared. At the urging of unnamed officials in the Office of the Vice President, according to the documents, the Department of Defense recommended The Army Corps of Engineers award a contract to Kellogg, Brown & Root to extinguish Iraqi oil well fires in addition to "assessing the condition of oil-related infrastructure; cleaning up oil spills or other environmental damage at oil facilities; engineering design and repair or reconstruction of damaged infrastructure; assisting in making facilities operational; distribution of petroleum products; and assisting the Iraqis in resuming Iraqi oil company operations."

"That was a deal hatched five months before the start of the Iraq war, when the Bush administration said publicly that it had not been working on war plans.

" "The fact that the Department was planning for the possibility that it would need to repair and provide for continuity of operations of the Iraqi oil infrastructure was classified until March 2003," the Army Corps of Engineers said on its web site. "This prevented earlier acknowledgement or announcement of potential requirements to the business community."

"A March 6, 2003 internal Pentagon e-mail sent by an Army Corps of Engineers official says "action" on a multibillion-dollar Halliburton contract was "coordinated" within Cheney's office.

"The e-mail says Douglas Feith, the former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, received authorization from then Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to “execute” the Restore Iraqi Oil contract to Halliburton in 2002. " ...

Hi,
I'm just trying to brighten people's day, and so I have to apologize, because this really great news is from last week, but it sure is nice to catch up.

In my last episode, Dennis Kucinich, who is leading efforts towards impeachment hearings in congress, put an impeachment petition out on the 'net, looking to make a million signatures by Sept. 10th.  He started it with 100,000 signatures.
Link to Petition: http://kucinich.us/

John Conyers, the judiciary committee chair, is watching and weighing some things, such as in Ron Suskind's new book, right now.  I think a bunch of signatures might help his thought process, so you are welcome to spread this message far and wide.  It's a really easy petition to sign (link above). Check your feelings, and do what you feel like doing!

Cheers!
- Mark

"Congress to 'Review' Charges CIA Prepared Forged Iraq, 9/11 Letter"
By Jason Leopold, The Public Record
Monday, August 11, 2008
http://www.pubrecord.org/politics/252.html?task=view

"The House Judiciary Committee will “review” allegations contained in a book published last week by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ron Suskind that the Bush administration in late 2006 ordered the CIA to prepare a forged letter showing a link between Iraq, al-Qaeda and 9/11 to justify the U.S. invasion and ignored credible intelligence reports that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction.

"“Mr. Suskind reports that the Bush Administration, in its pursuit of war, created and promoted forged documents about Iraq," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers in a statement late Monday. “I am particularly troubled that the decision to disseminate this fabricated intelligence is alleged to have come from the highest reaches of the administration. The administration’s attempt to challenge Mr. Suskind’s reporting appears to have been effectively dismissed by the publication of the author’s interview recordings and transcripts. I have instructed my staff to conduct a careful review of Mr. Suskind’s allegations and the role played by senior administration officials in this matter.” "...

Article continues at length...

Hi,
I enjoyed this article so much, I figured I'd pass a link.  As a brief synopsis, I think it details the process in which the FBI has produced ideas for its case against Ivins, and in which entities like CNN and the Washington Post are well illustrated as thoughtless, and even callous parrots of those ideas.  Eventually, these entities seem to come around, I suppose, but do we have to teach media executives how to run their organizations? 

Probably.  There are probably not enough mindless directives in these organizations to function collectively with a modicum of intelligence.  They need a "stop parroting" clause.

In the end, it looks like the FBI case against Ivins as the lone anthraxer is a bit thin.  That means we don't know who did it, but only that it came from a US lab ("Ames" strain).  This means one of 16 government labs, or an uncertain number of private labs servicing government contracts (in regards to the Ames strain-derivative in question).

It is contended that the timing of the anthrax attacks to senate leaders Leahy and Daschle went with their passing of the PATRIOT act, along with the rest of congress at that point, or I should say, that getting the PATRIOT act through is a considered motive (and boy, did the attacks speed that up!)  Who would want that?  Whoever it would be, would make watergate, or breaking into the DNC headquarters, seem quite small in comparison, don't you think?  It's a tall motive, but the weapon, in this case, is really hard to come by. 

This is a trillion parts per gram powdered anthrax in an aerosol form.  It takes millions of dollars of containment equipment just to work with it. Putting this stuff in an envelop means employing the technology to do so without any two particles caking together.  There are multiple technologies involved, such as making the really small bits of anthrax, combining it with something that keeps it from caking, and containing it while you work.  When the envelop opens, the powder, which is and must always be evenly distributed in an aerosol form within that envelop, comes pouring out like an evenly dispersing powder, via aerosolized transport.  There can be no caking up, and it has to survive and stay contained in that envelop, to the tune of a trillion parts per gram.  You don't have to breathe this stuff deeply, for it to float deeply into your lungs - its so small.  That's also the best that any lab in the world can do in making weaponized anthrax at this
point. 

A dozen experts in the field are leading me to thinking that it takes more than the lone Bruce Ivins to pull this one off, or, maybe it was one of those intelligence community mistakes, where they were actually targeting a couple of al qaeda terrorists, but accidentally aimed at senators instead.  Maybe it happened in the mail room.

Officially, Bruce Ivins has been described as a lower level person in the labs where he worked, or by his stated job-related abilities, that he falls far short of singularly producing these envelopes. He would have to have been secretly much smarter, and without telling anyone, because no one technical appears to have suspected his abilities (to produce this). 

Will we ever know?  The suspect is dead, and the FBI tossed the anthrax evidence back in 2002.  It appears that the FBI trying to make a case is hobbling along poorly. 

I suppose I'm just going on about the FBI, but if the FBI is as bad as the FDA, then everyone needs to stop eating. 

Cheers -

Mark

"Doubts over the anthrax case intensify -- except among much of the media"
Mon, Aug 18, 2008
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/18/anthrax/index.html

An article with a lot more information on the topic (from the last update on Salon's page)...

"The Anthrax Files"
American Conservative, August 25, 2008 Issue
http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/aug/25/00012/
"The FBI claims to have caught the killer. But so much evidence has been neglected or mishandled that many experts still have doubts."...

"Criminals have hacked into the online booking system of the world's largest
hotel chain and stolen the personal data of up to eight million guests."
Link

"UNC researchers find MSG use linked to obesity"
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/uonc-urf081308.php#
..."Because MSG is used as a flavor enhancer in many processed foods, studying its potential effect on humans has been difficult. He and his colleagues chose study participants living in rural Chinese villages because they used very little commercially processed food"...

The above article seems like nice additive data to some other data that I like.  It's a thing called "The China Project"...

Wikipedia: "China Project"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Project
"The China Project is an ongoing extensive study that explores the correlation between disease epidemiology and dietary intake patterns in many provinces of China.
"The study was jointly funded by the Universities of Oxford, Cornell and the Government of China. Professor T. Colin Campbell of Cornell led the first two major studies in the 1980s and 1990s.
"Campbell's summary of the results of this and other studies appeared in his book The China Study. He claimed that the extensive research in the study showed that diseases of affluence are caused by Westernisation. He also claimed that vested Government, industry and medicine interests have suppressed the evidence that many prevalent diseases in the developed world are caused by excessive and harmful reliance on meat, dairy and processed food".

China Project Site:
http://www.nutrition.cornell.edu/ChinaProject/
------
This study has had fantastic opportunities in the Chinese population to document changes as they have migrated from local, agrarian surrounds to the industrialized provinces.  The statistics of virtually all rates of cancers and diseases rise radically in the industrialized provinces.  One of the things the project is focussing on are their diets.  It's "westernized".  Obesity also multiplied ten-fold.  The funny thing is, their statistics are starting to look like ours, in the US.

Maybe the book is worth checking out!  Here's the Amazon link:
"The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health (Hardcover)"
Link

I also find the note about MSG interesting.  There are powerful forces in agriculture that would not like to see mass agriculture exposed as something that makes people ill!

Cheers -

Mark

From: Russian News and Information Agency
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080825/116271424.html

"ROME, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - An Italian Catholic priest has urged an online beauty contest for nuns, expected to involve about 1,000 young "brides of Christ," Italian media have reported.

"Father Antonio Rungi said he hopes that his proposed Miss Sister Italia contest would show people that their stereotype of nuns as old and sad is wrong, and that sisters can also be beautiful, because beauty is a gift from God.

"The candidates that Rungi, a member of the Passionist Order, intends to have as participants of the pageant, should be aged 18 to 40. They would not compete in bathing suits, but rather show their "inner beauty."

"Father Rungi said the idea had been suggested to him by nuns, and added that many of them told him they would participate in the contest. "

Hi,
Firefighters for 911 Truth is a newly launched organization, with its own complaints and its own petition.  They want to start making materials and going around signing up firefighters, and finding others who would like to sign their petition.  I hope they sign them all!

Trivia Note:
Estimated number of firefighters in US in 2006: 1,140,900 (career: 316,950, volunteer: 823,950)...
From link: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/firefighters/index.shtm

Firefighters site: http://firefightersfor911truth.org/

Petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/fftruth/petition.html

And here's a copy of the petition.  There appears to initially be a lot of non-firefighters signing it as well.  I think there is a valid grievance!  There were a lot of regulations that weren't followed, and a lot of evidence was destroyed, and NIST avoided investigating evidence supporting the hypothesis of explosives.  They didn't allow for an explosives hypothesis, or for investigations based upon it, they only allowed for investigations based upon their hypothesis, or the presumption that the planes and fires produced everything that we saw.  Other possible causes were not allowed to be investigated.  The firefighters appear to be picking up on that one very nicely, in their petition, regarding NFPA 921 investigative regulations.

Cheers -
Mark

"To:  US Congress

Please Take Notice That:

On Behalf of the People of the United States of America, the undersigned Firefighters for 9-11 Truth and affiliates are deeply troubled with the “official” story concerning 9/11 and the way the rescue workers from Ground Zero are being “forgotten.”

We believe there is overwhelming evidence of obstruction of justice, and destruction of evidence voiced even by numerous 9/11 Commissioners themselves. Senator Cleland resigned from the Commission stating, “This investigation is now compromised.”

NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 921, which is the National Standard for Fire and Explosion Investigations, very clearly indicates in numerous sections that the possibility of explosives should have been thoroughly investigated. Specifically in NFPA 921 18.3.2 "High Order Damage"- "High-order damage is characterized by shattering of the structure, producing small, pulverized debris. Walls, roofs, and structural members are splintered or shattered, with the building completely demolished. Debris is thrown great distances, possibly hundreds of feet. High-order damage is the result of rapid rates of pressure rise." World Trade Center’s 1, 2, and 7 all clearly met this definition; therefore they should have been thoroughly investigated and analyzed for explosives. Specifically, the use of "exotic accelerants" should have been investigated. In NFPA 921 19.2.4 -“Exotic Accelerants,” three indicators were clearly met that should have led to a
thorough investigation into the possible use of “exotic accelerants,” specifically as stated in the guideline, “Thermite mixtures.”

So, why was the possibility of explosives, controlled demolition, or the use of "exotic accelerants" not thoroughly investigated, or even mentioned in the 9-11 Commission Report?

We, the undersigned, demand the following:

1) A truly independent investigation with Subpoena and Contempt Powers to uncover the complete truth of the events related to 9/11/2001 – specifically the collapse of WTC Tower 7 and the possibility of explosive demolition.
2) The investigation to follow the National Standards so clearly outlined in the National Fire Protection Association guidelines, specifically, NFPA 921 to include thorough analysis of the steel for the presence of "exotic accelerants."
3) Congress to honor the promises made to the rescue workers of 9/11 by passing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2008.
4) Prosecution of all individuals willfully involved in the planning, and execution of the murders committed on September 11, 2001.
5) Prosecution of all individuals willfully involved in the Obstruction of Justice and Destruction of Evidence surrounding the events of September 11, 2001.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned "

Hi,
For the past 14 months, solar activity has been at a minimum.  This has been contributing to global cooling, and I've seen it!  There was last winter, and now, the summer mushrooms are done unusually early.  The fall mushrooms also started unusually early. There were all significantly impacted!

We're in "solar cycle #24", and we're waiting for the solar flares to start up again.  According to cycles, people are predicting this will happen any day now, or, in the event that it doesn't, that we may experience a "mini ice age", such as a thing from centuries ago called the "maunder minimum", which was a 70-year solar lull. 

No one seems to be serious about another "maunder minimum" actually happening right now, but also, there is word to the effect that in today's world, we can't do it, because of too much global warming.  But when the flares start up again, we should notice global warming in its less restricted, contemporary splendor.

http://astroprofspage.com/archives/1711

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/11jul_solarcycleupdate.htm

Cheers -

Mark

Hi,
LOL!  COL?  (Cry out loud?)  Alex Jones is a leading voice in the world of conspiracy theories, with warnings of the neocons and a new world order.

He's on "Russia Today" (Russian National Television), for about 6 minutes, and now its out on YouTube...

"Alex Jones: Russian TV: America has been hijacked"
6 min 6 sec video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziAkHOXxMoM

From the wikipedia, on Russia Today...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia_Today
"Russia Today TV, also known as Russia Today, is a globally broadcast English-language news channel from Russia, and the first all-digital Russian TV channel, sponsored by the state-funded Russian news agency RIA-Novosti.[1]

"The channel, which cost about $30 million in 2005 to set up and $60 million for its first year of operation,[2] started broadcasting on December 10, 2005 with nearly 100 English-speaking journalists reporting for it worldwide,[3][2] and is available around the world via satellite. The broadcast is also available online for free on the Russia Today homepage."

--------
Alex Jones appears to really go off in this one, about how America has been hijacked, and is being run by the neocons implementing a new world order.  He refers to Israel, the US and the UK as the corrupted countries.  He tells the Russians that the British have been dominating their banking for a hundred years.  They gave him 6 minutes to rant and rave!  What do Russians think of Russia Today?

Jones describes Americans as being "hijacked by nutty leaders", who have "built FEMA camps" and for all practical purposes are "now in a state of martial law".

He was also repeatedly thankful for having the Russian troops in Georgia, and he apologized for the US and Israel backing and creating the stir in the first place.  He also did repeatedly say that, while he loved his country (America), he felt the opposite about its government, and described himself as a "sad American".

Cheers -

Mark

Hi,
I had sent an email about peace activists sailing to get through the Israeli naval blockade to deliver humanitarian aid to the gaza strip.

They made it! 

Maybe they had a little help from Egypt (read on).

http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=315507
..." Israel allowed the activists to sail to the Gaza Strip, the first foreigners to reach the territory by sea since travel restrictions were tightened after Hamas's takeover more than a year ago, saying it wanted to avoid a public confrontation.

"As part of an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that took effect in June, Israel has eased its blockade of the territory, allowing in more humanitarian goods and medical equipment."

One of them was arrested for participating - an Israeli (actually, Israel-US dual citizenship).

The activists say they want to bring a few Palestinians out on Thursday. 

Cheers -

Mark

Hi,
About two weeks ago, there was news going around about operation Brimstone, an Iranian naval blockade set of war games in the Atlantic, was then dispatching for the Persian Gulf. 

Here's a correction to that, and the best source I've found for whenever information comes up as to what, with any Iranian blockade, is happening next. 

Such a blockade would be viewed as an act of war.  There are other nations contributing ships to those being prepped for the act.  The article, like anything at Global Research, has in-depth material and links on the topic.

Cheers -
Mark

""Naval Blockade" or All Out War Against Iran?"
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9817

"Shortly after this article was released on August 13, US military sources as well as Stratfor (a Strategic Studies Think Tank) stated that the various press reports (UPI, Middle East Times, Kuwait Times, Debka) regarding the naval deployment to the Middle East were incorrect.

"According to the press reports (see UPI, August 11, 2008), the war ships involved in the "Operation Brimstone" war games off the US North Atlantic coast, had set sail for the Middle East. This information is apparently incorrect, according to the US Navy and Stratfor. 

"It is worth noting that the Kuwaiti government had activated emergency procedures based on the information pertaining to a major naval deployment in the Persian Gulf.

"Based on the movement and location of USS carrier and expeditionary strike forces, the Bush administration has not decided to carry out a naval surge directed against Iran immediately following the conduct of the North Atlantic War Games,

"The eventuality of a naval blockade directed against Iran is nonetheless being considered by the Pentagon. In fact, the naval blockade initiative is supported by a bill which was launched in the US Congress in late May. (See below for details).

"We have checked the most recent information regarding the movements and location of the various USS Carrier and Expeditionary Strike Groups.

"The text first released on August 13 has been revised. Corrections, and updates to the text are indicated. 

"We will provide further updates and analysis as more information becomes available. "

Hi,
Yes, it looks like a stink for sure.  Wow, how to get this far, and to find that Obama may have trouble with his citizenship!

Cheers -

Mark

> From: Kurt Meyers
> Subject: Obama controversy
> Date: Thursday, August 28, 2008, 2:21 PM

> It appears that the controversy over whether or not Obama
> was born an american has legs. You can be sure this will get
> a ton of coverage soon. Here are a couple of links:
> 
http://www.scribd.com/doc/5199728/OBAMA-Complaint-usdc-Eastern-District-Penn
> 
http://www.obamacrimes.com/
> 

Here's a link from fact-check.  They closely examined Obama's birth certificate, and they say it's a perfectly good one. 

Evidence of a Kenya birth certificate are interesting, but someone would have to invalidate the US one - they would have to make that something that was forged.

As far as losing when going to Indonesia, I don't see how... You don't just lose your US citizenship by going there.  I'd have to say they have their work cut out for them, and are quite zealous on the notion of finding a way to disqualify Obama from the race.  Lots of people have dual citizenship.

"Born in the U.S.A.: The Truth About Obama's Birth Certificate"
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
Aug 21, 2008
..."FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship."...

Cheers -

Mark

And other delights.

From Texas Cable News...
"Russia: Texan may have been helping Georgia"
(text and there's video there)
www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/wfaa080828_wz_putin.1f6ea5ec.html
02:33 PM CDT on Thursday, August 28, 2008, from CNN

" Russian officials say they have evidence that an unnamed resident of Texas was helping Georgian special forces during recent combat between the two nations.

"In an interview with CNN, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia to provide a talking point in the American presidential campaign.

""The fact is that U.S. citizens were indeed in the area of conflict during the hostilities," Putin told CNN.

"Russian defense officials said a U.S passport was found beloging to a Texas resident in an area known to be the operating base of Georgian special forces.

""It should be admitted that they would do so only following direct orders from their supervisors," Putin said. "Therefore, they were acting in implementing those orders, doing as they were ordered, and the only one who can give such orders is their supervisors."

"White House press secretary Dana Perino called the Russian claims "patently false." "

The CNN article: (same old)
"Putin accuses U.S. of orchestrating Georgian war"
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/28/russia.georgia.cold.war/index.html

CNN didn't seem to mention the American passport business.

How about the BBC?

"Putin blames US for Georgia role"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7586605.stm

The BBC doesn't seem to mention the passport either.

And they're just so negative.  Look what they say about the SCO (union of asian nations, Russia and some Stans)...

"The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO), comprising Russia, China and Central Asian nations, met in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and spoke of its deep concern.
The group did not follow Russia in recognising the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. "

What does someone else have to say about relations with SCO nations?

From News.com of Australia...

"Russia wins backing from China"
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24256861-401,00.html
"RUSSIA today won support from China and Central Asian states in its standoff with the West over the Georgia conflict as the European Union said it was weighing sanctions against Moscow."

That's more positive for them.  I guess it matters which paper you read.

Curiously, there is this one other thing of late around the Black Sea, where the US is trying to send in a couple of ships with humanitarian aid.  The problem is with Turkey, who is not allowing their passage, according to old regulations about no more than 7 ships, and no one ship can weigh more than 45,000 tons.

"US warships scrap visit to Georgian port-source"
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LQ482881.htm

All talk of the rules, and that the US warships were carrying weapons, they say.  Oh, well.  It's fun in the region! 

Cheers -

Mark

Hi,
I guess the official report is destined for wider circulation Monday.

From the OSCE "about" page:
http://www.osce.org/about/19298.html
"With 56 participating States from Europe, Central Asia and North America, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) forms the largest regional security organization in the world.
"The OSCE is a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in its area. It has 19 missions or field operations in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia."...

And the Caucasus is for Georgia.  Sure enough, everything from Poland to Georgia is in there, not to mention Russia, and the United States, and the other G8 countries.  This may be awfully convenient!

"OSCE report points finger at Georgia for S. Ossetia crisis"
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080830/116412855.html
"BERLIN, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has accumulated evidence pointing to "numerous wrong decisions" made by Georgian leaders that led to a military crisis with Russia, Der Spiegel said on Saturday.

"In a report to be published in its Monday edition, OSCE military observers in the Caucasus described detailed planning by Georgia to move into South Ossetia which contributed to the crisis, the German magazine said.

"The report also backed up Russian claims that the Georgian offensive was already in full swing by the time Russian troops and armored vehicles entered the Roksky Tunnel, on the border with Russia and South Ossetia, to protect its peacekeepers and the civilian population.

"The OSCE report also contains suspected war crimes committed by Georgians, who ordered attacks on sleeping South Ossetian civilians.

"Georgia attacked South Ossetia on August 8 in an attempt to regain control over the separatist republic, which split from Tbilisi in the early 1990s.

"Most people living in South Ossetia have Russian citizenship and Moscow subsequently launched an operation to "force Georgia to accept peace." The operation was concluded on August 12.

"Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed decrees Tuesday recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states and called on other countries to follow suit.

"Russia has accused Georgia of committing "genocide" by launching the offensive in South Ossetia. Russia is calling for an international war crimes trial for the Georgian leadership, which Moscow says is responsible for massive loss of life in South Ossetia. "
--------------

There was a peacekeeping mission there, and then there was Russia announcing support for the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.  Even in the SCO, Russia is having trouble with support for the independence of these provinces (from what I've seen).  I've seen Belarus, Russia's closest ally, say they will support Russia on this, and when you least expect it, someone else shows up...

"Chavez backs Russia on Georgian breakaway regions"
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080830/116414078.html
"MOSCOW, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Russia had made the right decision by recognizing Georgia's breakaway regions, local media reported."...

Cheers -

Mark

Hi,
If you're interested in background for Georgia, perhaps by wondering if people should have their own countries there, below is some lengthy text on what Georgia is today, from the wikipedia.  Actually, they have a much lengthier history, with Georgia dating back to prehistoric times.

There are some main characters here. Mikheil Saakashvili, Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Zhvania are the 3 who come to power around 2003-4, and the name Saakashvili is the one we hear about today as the leader of Georgia.

There are separatists and even fiefdoms (when was the last time you saw one of those?) in the name of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Ajaria (the fiefdom), and Chechnya, or the Chechen rebels. 

Russia has been maintaining a connection, it seems, to the Ossetians and the Abkaz, and they have had problems with the Georgian government, and to any support of Chechen rebels, throughout this period of time. It also appears that not many have liked the Georgian government.  What are some people doing trying to oomph Georgia into the EU, or NATO, or God knows what?  It aint prime time, baby. It's Georgia!  It isn't stable.  So, who would be trying to push it through as a legitimate NATO or EU member?

NATO and the EU, I suppose.  NATO is like another word for US-led, and in the EU, I think they got ahead of themselves. Georgia as a corridor between Russia and Europe, ha ha, they'll need it, because Russia is developing too much infrastructure for supplying eastern european nations with oil and natural gas.  And they thought what?  Russia is the world's largest supplier of both.

"Putin blasts Europe for following U.S. foreign policies"
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080830/116410385.html
"MOSCOW, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned European countries against following U.S. foreign policy ahead of an EU emergency meeting on Monday on the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia."...
..."Putin justified Russia's actions in South Ossetia saying Moscow had defended the lives of its citizens, saying that if forced to choose between life and sausage, "we choose life."
"The former Russian president stressed that Russia did not fear Western sanctions: "Such a country will not be in isolation," he said in an excerpts shown on state-run Russian television. "
----

Putin is such a stud.  He's always there, and when its time to talk back, he talks back, it seems, every time!

Cheers -

Mark

From the Wiki: History of Georgia (snipped, 1990-present, but not much updating in most recent years)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Georgia_(country)

Post-communist Georgia, 1990 - 2003

Opposition pressure on the communist government was manifested in popular demonstrations and strikes, which ultimately resulted in an open, multiparty and democratic parliamentary election being held on October 28, 1990. They were won by the "Round Table" coalition headed by the leading dissident Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who became the head of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia. On March 31, 1991 Gamsakhurdia wasted no time in organising a referendum on independence, which was approved by 98.9% of the votes. Formal independence from the Soviet Union was declared on April 9, 1991, although it took some time before it was widely recognised by outside powers such as the United States and European countries. Gamsakhurdia's government strongly opposed any vestiges of Russian dominance, such as the remaining Soviet military bases in the republic, and (after the collapse of the Soviet Union) his government declined to join the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS).

Gamsakhurdia was elected president on May 26, 1991 with 86% of the vote. He was subsequently widely criticised for what was perceived to be an erratic and authoritarian style of government, with nationalists and reformists joining forces in an uneasy anti-Gamsakhurdia coalition. A tense situation was worsened by the large amount of ex-Soviet weaponry available to the quarreling parties and by the growing power of paramilitary groups. The situation came to a head on December 22, 1991, when armed opposition groups launched a violent military coup d'etat, besieging Gamsakhurdia and his supporters in government buildings in central Tbilisi. Gamsakhurdia managed to evade his enemies and fled to the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya in January 1992.

The new government invited Eduard Shevardnadze to become the head of a State Council - in effect, president - in March 1992, putting a moderate face on the somewhat unsavoury regime that had been established following Gamsakhurdia's ouster. In August 1992, a separatist dispute in the Georgian autonomous republic of Abkhazia escalated when government forces and paramilitaries were sent into the area to quell separatist activities. The Abkhaz fought back with help from paramilitaries from Russia's North Caucasus regions and alleged covert support from Russian military stationed in a base in Gudauta, Abkhazia and in September 1993 the government forces suffered a catastrophic defeat which led to them being driven out and the entire Georgian population of the region being expelled. Around 14,000 people died and another 300,000 were forced to flee. Ethnic violence also flared in South Ossetia but was eventually quelled, although at the cost of several hundred
casualties and 100,000 refugees fleeing into Russian-controlled North Ossetia. In south-western Georgia, the autonomous republic of Ajaria came under the control of Aslan Abashidze, who managed to rule his republic from 1991 to 2004 as a personal fiefdom in which the Tbilisi government had little influence.

On September 24, 1993, in the wake of the Abkhaz disaster, Zviad Gamsakhurdia returned from exile to organise an uprising against the government. His supporters were able to capitalise on the disarray of the government forces and quickly overran much of western Georgia. This alarmed Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and units of the Russian Army were sent into Georgia to assist the government. Gamsakhurdia's rebellion quickly collapsed and he died on December 31, 1993, apparently after being cornered by his enemies. In a highly controversial agreement, Shevardnadze's government agreed that it would join the CIS as part of the price for military and political support.

Shevardnadze narrowly survived a bomb attack in August 1995 that he blamed on his erstwhile paramilitary allies. He took the opportunity to imprison the paramilitary leader Jaba Ioseliani and ban his Mkhedrioni militia in what was proclaimed as a strike against "mafia forces". However, his government - and his own family - became increasingly associated with pervasive corruption that hampered Georgia's economic growth. He won presidential elections in November 1995 and April 2000 with large majorities, but there were persistent allegations of vote-rigging.

The war in Chechnya caused considerable friction with Russia, which accused Georgia of harbouring Chechen guerrillas. Further friction was caused by Shevardnadze's close relationship with the United States, which saw him as a counterbalance to Russian influence in the strategic Transcaucasus region. Georgia became a major recipient of U.S. foreign and military aid, signed a strategic partnership with NATO and declared an ambition to join both NATO and the EU. In 2002, the United States sent hundreds of Special Operations Forces to train the Military of Georgia - a programme known as the Georgia Train and Equip Program. Perhaps most significantly, the country secured a $3 billion project to build a pipeline carrying oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia (the so-called "Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan" or BTC pipeline).

Georgia after Shevardnadze

A powerful coalition of reformists headed by Mikheil Saakashvili, Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Zhvania united to oppose Shevardnadze's government in the November 2, 2003 parliamentary elections. The elections were widely regarded as blatantly rigged; in response, the opposition organised massive demonstrations in the streets of Tbilisi. After two tense weeks, Shevardnadze resigned on November 23, 2003 and was replaced as president on an interim basis by Burjanadze.

On January 4, Mikhail Saakashvili won the Georgian presidential election, 2004 with an overwhelming majority of 96% of the votes cast. Constitutional amendments were rushed through Parliament in February strengthening the powers of the President to dismiss Parliament and creating the post of Prime Minister. Zurab Zhvania was appointed Prime Minister. Nino Burjanadze, the interim President, became Speaker of Parliament.

The new president faces many problems on coming to office. More than 230,000 internally displaced persons put an enormous strain on the economy. Peace in the separatist areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, overseen by Russian and United Nations peacekeepers and international organizations, remains fragile and will require years of economic development and negotiation to overcome local enmities. Considerable progress has been made in negotiations on the Ossetian-Georgian conflict, and negotiations are continuing in the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict.

After the Rose Revolution relations between the Georgian government and semi-separatist Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze deteriorated rapidly thereafter, with Abashidze rejecting Saakashvili's demands for the writ of the Tbilisi government to run in Ajaria. Both sides mobilised forces in apparent preparations for a military confrontation. Saakashvili's ultimatums and massive street demonstrations forced Abashidze to resign and flee Georgia.

Relations with Russia remain problematic due to Russia's continuing political, economic and military support to separatist governments in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russian troops still remain garrisoned at two military bases and as peacekeepers in these regions. The separatist question is still unresolved but Saakashvili's public pledge to resolve the matter has already provoked criticism from the separatist regions and Russia.

Georgia remains a very poor country by European standards, not least because of its widespread corruption. The Georgian Government is committed to economic reform in cooperation with the IMF and World Bank, and stakes much of its future on the revival of the ancient Silk Road as the Eurasian corridor, using Georgia's geography as a bridge for transit of goods between Europe and Asia. Saakashvili has pledged to improve the economy in general and specifically to raise pay and pensions, as well as to crack down on corruption and retrieve the ill-gotten gains of figures in the previous government. In August 2004, several clashes occurred in South Ossetia.

Integration into the NATO and the EU remains the main goal of Georgia's foreign policy. On October 29, 2004, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) of the NATO approved the Individual Partnership Action Plan of Georgia (IPAP). Georgia is the first among the NATO’s partner countries to manage this task successfully.

Georgia continues to support the coalition forces in Iraq. On November 8, 2004, 300 extra Georgian troops were sent to Iraq. The Georgian government committed to send a total of 850 troops to Iraq to serve in the protection forces of the U.N. Mission. Along with increasing Georgian troops in Iraq, the US will train additional 4 thousand Georgian soldiers within frames of the Georgia Train-and-Equip Program (GTEP).

In February, 2005 Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania died, and Zurab Nogaideli was appointed as the new Prime Minister.

On 9-10 May 2005 Georgia was visited by the US President George W. Bush, who met Mikheil Saakashvili and a group of Georgian parliamentarians, and addressed tens of thousands of the Georgian people at Tbilisi Freedom Square [2].

Saakashvili is still (2006) under significant pressure to deliver on his promised reforms. Organisations such as Amnesty International have serious concerns over human rights [3], and discontent over unemployment, pensions and corruption, and the continuing dispute over Abkhazia, have greatly diminished Saakashvili's popularity in the country.

Georgia's relationships with Russia are at it lowest point in modern history due to Georgian-Russian espionage controversy and related events.

In 2007, a political crisis led to serious anti-government protests.

Hi,
In going back through what I find to be an enjoyable news site, "World Socialist", and I'm getting a general sense of the history of Georgia and the CIS states from two articles.  One is from 1999, and the other is from late 2003.

"The struggle for Caspian oil, the crisis in Russia and the breakup of the Commonwealth of Independent States"
July 1, 1999
http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/jul1999/rus-j01.shtml

"As NATO troops occupy Kosovo and the media is busy justifying the bombing of Yugoslavia, new struggles are developing away from the front lines which could lead to much greater military conflagrations. Such conflicts are taking place on the territory of the former Soviet Union, the source of the world's largest untapped reserves of oil and gas and a region where Russian influence has declined dramatically.

"Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 8, 1991, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was founded, consisting of Russia, White Russia and the Ukraine. On December 21 of the same year a further eight former Soviet republics joined the CIS—the states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenia and Uzbekistan. The Commonwealth was founded in Alma Ata, the former capital of Kazakhstan. In 1993 the Caucasus republic of Georgia also joined the union.""...
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What I think the above (long) article summarizes, are the problems with the Russian economy as of 1998, and their inability to provide support to the struggling CIS nations.  The US (and NATO) then become interests of varying strengths to CIS nations, with interests from each end.  Pipelines are always a consideration, and the pipeline through Georgia (and another pipline through another CIS nation) each bypass Russia completely.  CIS nations each develop their own relations with the US and NATO/EU. 

The second is another lengthy article, but it is pertinent today...

"Georgia’s “rose revolution”: a made-in-America coup"
Dec 5, 2003
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/dec2003/geor-d05.shtml

"The United States has followed its successful regime change in the strategic Caucasian nation of Georgia with a series of moves aimed at pressing its advantage over its major rival in the region, Russia."...

Shevardnadze is the guy who is the encumbent in Georgia, and he resigns to the (marching) opposition, led by, I'll quote the article...
"The three most prominent political figures in the new ruling clique—Mikhail Saakashvili, Nino Burdzhanadze and Zurab Zhvania—are all former members of Shevardnadze’s inner circle. "

The opposition party comes to power, with strong support from the US and its NATO/EU backing.  It would appear that the fight for alliances in states from the ex-soviet union are between the US and Russia...!

Cheers -

Mark

Hi,
It's been a heck of a week-end with old US versus Russia stuff brewing in the Caucasus.  Russia has been saying that the US was involved in forward units in Georgia who conducted the attack, and that report is due out tomorrow (monday)...

"Putin in fresh attack on US over Georgia"
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g-OFGxFZRAKNOc1LotjjBtIF3Cjw

"MOSCOW (AFP) — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made fresh accusations of US involvement in the Georgia conflict and rejected suggestions Moscow could target Ukraine next, in an interview aired Saturday."...
...""We know there were many US advisors there," Putin said, reiterating remarks he had made in a previous interview to CNN.
"But these instructors, teachers in a general sense, personnel who trained others to work on the supplied military equipment, are supposed to be in training centers and where were they? In the military operations zone," he said."...

And then things start brewing, where Russia is targeting the US, publicly, as some kind of enemy...

"Russia threatens to supply Iran with top new missile system as 'cold war' escalates"
Link

"US intelligence fears the Kremlin will supply the sophisticated S-300 system to Tehran if Washington pushes through Nato membership for its pro-Western neighbours Georgia and Ukraine.
The proposed deal is causing huge alarm in the US and Israel as the S-300 can track 100 targets at once and fire on planes up to 75 miles away. "...

..."After American condemnation of Russia's foray into Georgia, Moscow invited Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad, a long-time US foe, to discuss military deals in a deliberate signal of how it could cause trouble for Washington.
A senior US intelligence operative who recently returned from the Middle East said Russia is believed to have struck a tentative deal to sell the S-300 to the Islamic regime. There are reports that Russia has already moved some basic components for the system to its close ally Belarus, ready for possible transfer to Iran.
"Moscow cannot simply threaten to strike the deal," the official told The Sunday Telegraph. "Iran certainly thinks it has a deal. And the Israelis believe that a deal has been reached but that they can still block it." "...

..." Dan Goure, a long-time Pentagon adviser, said: "If Tehran obtained the S-300, it would be a game-changer in military thinking for tackling Iran. That could be a catalyst for Israeli air attacks before it's operational."
Dr Friedman said that if it became operational, it would effectively rule out Israeli air raids and seriously complicate any US aerial bombardment.
The system would take up to a year to become operational. "...

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And so, Russia has been busy for the past few days, keeping up with the threat of NATO/EU nations talking about imposing sanctions, and for stepping out on a limb (in my humble opinion) in supporting the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, in the face of the US-led NATO-ization of Georgia, in its present state, and with the kinds of activities it has tried to carry out.  That Georgia leader is quite unpopular as it is, maybe he should do something popular?  Both McCain and Obama have endorsed the NATO-ization of Georgia.

What do you do when someone implements a defense against your air strikes?  Is that an insult, or what?  Iran is talking to Russia about implementing some kind of defense against the west's foremost unchecked weapon; an all-out aerial strike.  Does the Geneva convention allow for developing a high-tech defense against other people's air strikes?  We'll see.

Israel has recently also received the benefit of a missile defense station in the Middle East (like the one going up in Poland).  Maybe defensive installations aren't as bad as some things?

Cheers -

Mark