The Vidiot's weekly blog:

What pissed me off this week? 11/28/2005

(updated every Monday at some point during the day)

...'cause I'm angry and my friends are sick of listening to me...

Mirror (in case geocities is wacky or, in case of trouble in New York, check it for messages): http://129.79.148.33/vidiotcontact/

Welcome to my Rutgers classmates.

The list of the Bush war crimes continues to grow. Now we're finding out that there might have been a plan to bomb Al Jazeera.

To put it into a little perspective, it would be like al Qaeda taking out FOX. (Not that getting rid of FOX would be the worse thing to ever happen.)

Outrageous enough for you? It was so bad that Blair, who usually sits on GW's lap, had to talk him out of it! (But, as perhaps a conciliatory fig-leaf for the Bushies, Blair is threatening the newspaper that originally published the story with prosecution. But why he'd want to do that is beyond my comprehension.)

But it's all part and parcel of this administration's view of the media in general. Destroy and/or manipulate whomever doesn't toe the party line.

Motorcycle Gear of the Week: Rear-View Helmet

Video of the Week: Carter on Leno.

Gizmo of the Week: For world travelers

Odd Site of the Week: Who Wants to Marry a Founding Father

Obit of the Week: Wax on. Wax off.

Activism of the Week: Nominate Cindy Sheehan for Time's Person of the Year

Fitzmas update: We're on Rove alert.

Haven't had one of these for a while. A lone woman, standing up to the police state.

Excerpt: She explained that she didn't have to show him or any other policeman my ID on a public bus or in a Wal-Mart. She told him she was simply trying to go to work. Suddenly, the second policeman shouted "Grab her!" and he grabbed the cell phone from her and threw it to the back of the bus.

All of this harassment is to soften us up so were compliant.

Excerpt; The Defense Department has expanded its programs aimed at gathering and analyzing intelligence within the United States, creating new agencies, adding personnel and seeking additional legal authority for domestic security activities in the post-9/11 world.

A technical glitch put a big "X" over Cheney's face on CNN.

Excerpt:At 11:04:45 AM ET Monday CNN was airing Vice President Dick Cheney's speech live from the American Enterprise Institute in Washington -- when a large black 'X' repeatedly flashed over the vice president's face!

While it is funny, it's not a big deal and some of the bloggers are making way too big a deal of it. Really. Can you say "distraction?"

I mean, shouldn't we all be discussing the outrageous similarities between the Iraqi National Congress exiles and their piss-poor intelligence information with this story about Iranian exiles?

Excerpt: An Iranian exile who opposes his country's Islamic government said Monday that Iran's military is building a series of secret tunnels to hide equipment for missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Or the pre-Iraq war rhetoric with this pre-Iran war rhetoric?

Excerpt: The latest global mouthpiece to jump on the Iran nuke threat bandwagon is Newt Gingrich. A regular attendee of the annual Summer camp at the Bohemian Grove, and long term CFR member, Gingrich has commented that the Iran threat is like that of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

But I guess it was a slow newsweek. The WaPo did a story on Bob Novak's ill manners.

Excerpt: According to our unofficial mascot on the flight, Novak was boarding an American flight to Chicago when he cut in front of another passenger while entering first class. The guy protested and laid a hand on Novak -- who responded by socking him and threatening to knock his teeth out.

Andy Card was almost Wellstoned.

Excerpt:A small, twin-engine plane carrying White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card made an emergency landing in Nashville on Saturday after smoke began pouring into the cockpit, officials said.

The only person I can think of who hates Card enough to kill him is Karl Rove. Either Card was lucky, or Rove only meant to frighten him, like a cat swatting at a mouse. If I were Card, I'd set up a kill switch. Otherwise, he'll end up like this guy.

Excerpt;One hot, dusty day in June, Col. Ted Westhusing was found dead in a trailer at a military base near the Baghdad airport, a single gunshot wound to the head. The Army would conclude that he committed suicide with his service pistol. At the time, he was the highest-ranking officer to die in Iraq. The Army closed its case. But the questions surrounding Westhusing's death continue.

Katie, Matt and Al covered up the story of the rogue M&M at the Macy's parade, probably because the story countered the Administration's Candy Policy.

Excerpt; NBC did not interrupt its broadcast of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade yesterday to bring viewers the news that an M&M balloon had crashed into a light pole, injuring two sisters. In fact, when the time came in the tightly scripted three-hour program for the M&Ms' appearance, NBC weaved in tape of the balloon crossing the finish line at last year's parade - even as the damaged balloon itself was being dragged from the accident scene.

Can't damage those sponsors, now can they? Is there any wonder why MSM ratings and readership has dropped?

Excerpt: In trying to make sense of a dangerous world, millions of people are turning away from the traditional sources of news and information and to the world wide web, convinced that mainstream journalism is the voice of rampant power. The great scandal of Iraq has accelerated this.

Scalia blamed Gore for 2000 election woes.

Excerpt: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says the high court did not inject itself into the 2000 presidential election.
Speaking at the Time Warner Center last night, Scalia said: "The election was dragged into the courts by the Gore people. We did not go looking for trouble."

{ahem} Mr. Scalia, sir? The case was Bush v. Gore. Not Gore v. Bush.

Jeebus.

FOX says that the layoffs at GM is good for everyone!

Excerpt:Jonathan Hoenig, another very frequent guest said, "It's terrible that 30,000 people are going to lose their jobs right before the holidays. I mean, it breaks your heart, but the truth is, ultimately, it's going to be better for everyone involved. People will rely on their own efforts to prepare for retirement and save, not hope that GM or Delta or United don't go bankrupt."

{sigh}

Though, it really is all about the pensions. Oh. And guess where the jobs are going.

Excerpt: America's loss is turning out to be India's gain. Within days of announcing 30,000 job-cuts in the US, automobile giant General Motors Corp will this week unveil plans to increase its workforce in India by nearly 30%.

The state of Texas will more than likely have to stop funding it's public schools.

Excerpt:Texas school districts illegally tax property owners to pay for public education and the state must find a new way to fund schools by June 1 or classrooms will remain closed in the fall, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

What the hell else are property taxes for anyway?

It bears repeating: Former FEMA head Mike Brown is starting his own disaster preparedness firm.

Excerpt:Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, heavily criticized for his agency's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, is starting a disaster preparedness consulting firm to help clients avoid the sort of errors that cost him his job.

The only people who'd hire him are Bush cronies and anyone dumb enough to buy the Brooklyn Bridge.

They seem to have a knack for putting the wrong people on lists.

Excerpt: According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Curtis Talley, 83, is a sex offender living in Seminole county. If you go to the FDLE's sex-offender registry at www3.fdle.state.fl.us/sopu and type in Talley's name, you'll find his listing and photo. You'll see that he committed sexual battery. You'll see that his crime was against a minor. You could study his yellowed eyes and note that his last known address is in Altamonte Springs. You might wonder why men like Talley are out on the streets, but if you live in Altamonte Springs you'll likely be thankful that the FDLE has alerted you to this menace. Now you can be vigilant, right? No need. Talley won't be bothering you. He's been dead for three years.

It was a slow news week because of the Holiday, so let me offer up a little insight into some of the underpinnings of US foreign policy.

The foreign policy of the Bush administration has it’s roots in hegemonist realist political thinking which rests on five propositions: 1) the world is Hobbesian; 2) nation-states are the primary world actors; 3) military power is the superior power; 4) multi-level institutions are optional; and somewhat outside of the standard realist view (thereby making it hegemonist) 5) the US is a unique and great power. So, the Bush administration’s decision to bomb Afghanistan was a logical consequence of the administration’s belief that terrorism is a problem of state behavior and should be dealt with using military power.

(Just so you know, I lean towards constructivism.)

So, all of those propositions are pretty self-explanatory, right? I'm just bringing it up so I can discuss a little of what's going on with the UN.

As you might recall, John Bolton was placed as UN by Bush as a recess appointment. Mostly because there was too much opposition to him in Congress and in the diplomatic corps. Much was written about him and why he was a bad choice. Even conservative bloggers had their concerns.

But why place such a polarizing figure in such a position?

Well, not only are the Bushies hegemonic realists (who don't like organizations like the UN), they're also a bunch of friggin' neocons, and neocons would love to see the UN either destroyed or at least made into their puppet. Bolton is a neocon, plain and simple.

Excerpt: Bolton and Wolfowitz are part of the Bush administration’s initial redeployment of neo-con assets in the building of the American empire’s second front. John Bolton is being put in place to militarize the UN. As for Paul Wolfowitz, he is not leaving the Pentagon so much as he is bringing the Pentagon to the World Bank.

So what is Bolton up to these days? Threatening the UN, of course.

Excerpt: Last week, he threatened U.N. member states, specifically the 132 developing nations, that if they don't play ball with the United States, Washington may look elsewhere to settle international problems.

Don't believe me? From the same article, here's a quote from Phyllis Bennis, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies:

Excerpt: "Bolton himself, who said in a debate with me in 1994 that 'there is no United Nations', has now surpassed his own quote, claiming he is enjoying his job as ambassador to the United Nations because it is 'a target-rich environment'," Bennis told IPS.

So, it's only speculation, mind you. But I think that the Administration's goal with the UN is get the UN to do all of the US' dirty work. Meaning, use the UN to strong arm countries, use the UN to do the policing, use the UN to carry out US policy under the guise of internationalism.

But shock of shocks, the UK, probably the only other bully big enough to challenge the US, is standing up to Bolton!

Excerpt: Britain has rebuffed a Bolton move to join him in refusing to pass the organisation's 2006 budget until member states approve wide-ranging management reforms.

So we'll have to wait and see how it works out. The Bush administration, with all of its investigations and alleged war crimes of late have lost a lot of their international power. Maybe the UK just sees this as an opportunity to take a hit at the bully while he's in a weakened state.

If I were Kreskin, I'd say: Look for the US to continue its bluster at the UN. Look for the UN to at least try (if not succeed on some level) to stand up to the US. But if the US wins its battles there, it will be an anemic win at best. And if the US loses, well, look for another coalition of the coerced to be formed to combat either Syria or Iran, further alienating the US from the mainstream international community.

Either way, the US is in a tight spot. I'm not saying the US doesn't have any power left. I'm just saying some really clever monkeys could get some decent shots in right now and if they do, they'll get a lot of bang for their buck.

There's no real "media angle" to this story, other than to point out that if the media did its job, I wouldn't feel the need to explain this stuff to anyone.

Comments?

As if living in self-imposed exile in Cuba for the last couple of decades wasn't bad enough, now Gary Glitter could face the death penalty in Viet Nam.

Excerpt: GARY GLITTER could face a firing squad or decades in a squalid jail if he is found guilty of raping a 12-year-old girl in Vietnam.
The girl is said to have admitted having sex with the 61-year-old former glam rock star, allegedly for £5.50, but police in the Vietnamese resort city of Vung Tau said yesterday that it was still considered rape under Vietnamese law.

It's a sad statement indeed when the death of an ugly dog gets more press than the death of an average solider in Iraq.

Excerpt: Sam, the dog whose ugliness earned him TV appearances, limousine rides and even a meeting with millionaire Donald Trump, has died, the Santa Barbara News-Press reported Tuesday.

If only it could be true.

Excerpt; A teenage boy has been meditating in a Nepalese jungle for six months, and thousands have flocked to see him, with some believing he is the reincarnation of Buddha, police and media said Wednesday.

Now THIS is good governance.

Excerpt; A former Canadian Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau has joined forces with three Non-governmental organizations to ask the Parliament of Canada to hold public hearings on Exopolitics -- relations with “ETs.”

Previous rants

At the very least, point your CNN-loving friends to my links page. Just getting started in reading alternate news sites gets people thinking. I have one friend who was very happy-go-lucky, thinking ol' Greta was telling the whole truth until I opened up his eyes a bit. Now, he's all depressed. He'll get over it. You gotta' get depressed before you get angry and you gotta' get angry before you can accomplish anything. We're all in mourning. We have to move through the steps. But we gotta' hurry it up.

Read. Inform. Spread the word. Even if it means your friends avoid you for awhile. If they really love you, they'll start to listen.

"POSSE COMITATUS ACT" (18 USC 1385): A Reconstruction Era criminal law proscribing use of Army (later, Air Force) to "execute the laws" except where expressly authorized by Constitution or Congress. Limit on use of military for civilian law enforcement also applies to Navy by regulation. Dec '81 additional laws were enacted (codified 10 USC 371-78) clarifying permissible military assistance to civilian law enforcement agencies--including the Coast Guard--especially in combating drug smuggling into the United States. Posse Comitatus clarifications emphasize supportive and technical assistance (e.g., use of facilities, vessels, aircraft, intelligence, tech aid, surveillance, etc.) while generally prohibiting direct participation of DoD personnel in law enforcement (e.g., search, seizure, and arrests). For example, Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETS) serve aboard Navy vessels and perform the actual boardings of interdicted suspect drug smuggling vessels and, if needed, arrest their crews). Positive results have been realized especially from Navy ship/aircraft involvement.

{back}

Who am I?:

I am a biker chick who lives in NYC. This blog is about current events and my left-leaning, acerbic spin on those events. Nobody pays me anything to do this. Nobody tells me what to write. I will NEVER tout anything for anybody's money! EVER!

Use this instead of Google:

Clusty.com

These sites are good at culling stories from a multitude of media sites:

buzzflash.com
unknownnews.net
rawstory.com

Here are some excellent blogs:

Bartcop
Daily Kos
Atrios
Tacitus
Josh Marshall
Two Glasses
Brad DeLong
The Wonkette
Urban Survival
Greg Palast
Mark Crispin Miller
A String Theory Blog

Link exchange:

Ilia Dreams Blog
Iraq War Blog
BushVote.com
Dommecile.com
Funny Farm

media-bias exposed:

dailyhowler.com

these are good 'left-wing' journalism sites:

onlinejournal.com
counterpunch.com
thenation.com
inthesetimes.com
tompaine.com
commondreams.org
truthout.com
guerrillanews.com

a little more to the left:

wsws.org
indymedia.org

different:

whatreallyhappened.com
almartinraw.com

more different :

surfingtheapocalypse.com

really different:

goroadachi.com/etemenanki/

and for godsakes, stay away
from FOX,  MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC.
It's ALL CRAP!!!
watch the BBC news
or ITN news instead.

if you must succumb to reading a newspaper: 

www.guardian.co.uk 

or any other paper in another fucking country. All of our newspapers are owned by the same idiots that own the TV stations (and whose companies are diversified in industries that support the war machine) so all of the news is all the same CRAP.