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The last thread has gotten a bit leggy. I'm working on an article as is Capt'n Sally. Boy howdy it's been popping lately!
Morgana Seawalker on Sep 17 | Link
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Spy Agencies Outsourcing to Fill Key Jobs Contractors, many of them former employees, are doing sensitive work, such as handling agents. A review of the practice has been ordered. WASHINGTON — At the National Counterterrorism Center — the agency created two years ago to prevent another attack like Sept. 11 — more than half of the employees are not U.S. government analysts or terrorism experts. Instead, they are outside contractors. Some of the work being outsourced is extremely sensitive. Abraxas Corp., a private company in McLean, Va., founded by a group of CIA veterans, devises "covers," or false identities, for an elite group of overseas case officers, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the arrangement. Contractors also are turning up in increasing numbers in clandestine facilities around the world. At the CIA station in Islamabad, Pakistan, as many as three-quarters of those on hand since the Sept. 11 attacks have been contractors. In Baghdad, site of the agency's largest overseas presence, contractors have at times outnumbered full-time CIA employees, according to officials who have held senior positions in the station. .... Contractors are subject to the same background checks and security clearance requirements as full-time employees, officials said. But some of that clearance work itself has been outsourced, officials said. ..the CIA inspector general is investigating whether the agency's former No. 3 official, Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo, improperly accepted expensive vacations and other rewards for awarding CIA contracts to a lifelong friend who is linked to the bribery scandal surrounding ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. .. Read it all- what a thorough mess Washington has become. LA Times http://tinyurl.com/kwkxv Posted by: Pat C on September 17, 2006 09:38 PM
The change to 'warrior' creed is encouraging soldiers to commit atrocities By Robert Fisk In the week that George Bush took to fantasising that his blood-soaked "war on terror" would lead the 21st century into a "shining age of human liberty" I went through my mail bag to find a frightening letter addressed to me by an American veteran whose son is serving as a lieutenant colonel and medical doctor with US forces in Baghdad. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14993.htm === By Eric Margolis As Canadian, American and British soldiers continue to die in Afghanistan, it is time the truth be told about this ugly little war. Tell me this isn't true--Please! Shy, we must pray and visualize this not happening, because we all fully well know how oil and blood thirsty this insane group is.....BUT I do recall seeing something similar to this elsewhere.... Posted by: Garry on September 18, 2006 02:26 AMMore confirmation...."DUHbya" is totally nuts: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=5168 Posted by: Garry on September 18, 2006 02:38 AMThanks, Garry. You're a champ. Posted by: shylurker on September 18, 2006 03:32 AMDang ferriner! Whut do he know? Very clever this little micro 'toon... http://frolic.cf.huffingtonpost.com/ Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 18, 2006 05:28 AMThe great Krugman has become the awesome Krugman. Do not miss this: The great Krugman has become the awesome Krugman. Do not miss this: * Minds Wide Shut ...We’ve got some major planetary shifts coming up this fall, & for the first time in more than a year, I’m looking forward to it instead of cringing in apprehension. It has been a tense summer, globally & personally. I know that I’m not the only one who got knocked on her butt by the Saturn-Neptune opposition, with a little extra kick from the lunar eclipse conjunct Uranus in Pisces. We have one more eclipse coming this week, a solar eclipse at 29° Virgo on Fri. This energy will bring a sense of completion for many of us, which in turn will clear the slate & allow for a fresh start. ... The Saturn-Neptune opposition continues, of course, with two more passes between now & next June. However, there will be one major difference. As of Nov 24, Jupiter will be in Sagittarius, which not only is his own sign & therefore extra powerful, but he’ll no longer be forming a tense T-square to Saturn/Neptune. Instead, he’ll be at a harmonious angle that will fuel growth, spiritual awareness, & an expansion in thinking. I’m not saying that there won’t be conflicts. There will, & some of them could be severe. Iran is still a wild card, & the actions of [rez regime] are getting more desperate & therefore more dangerous by the day. But with Jupiter in Sagittarius, these conflicts will serve to open minds. We’re going to see a great awakening. What’s even more interesting... http://pisces-chronicles.blogspot.com/ Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 18, 2006 08:05 AM
About six weeks ago the Iranians said that if they were attacked they would block the straights of Hormuz with mines, evidently we plan to attack. Posted by: wv on September 18, 2006 10:21 AM* bush's second choice for Vice President to assail GOP over Schiavo, gay rights http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Bushs_second_choice_for_Vice_President_0915.html Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 18, 2006 02:08 PMWell well! Did anyone see this? WMR has learned that covert Iranian backchannels employed by a current member of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of [Valerie] Plame's Brewster Jennings & Associates network were thoroughly compromised by the White House leak. The member of Congress, who, like Plame, had been an earlier CIA "non-official cover (NOC) energy consultant" in the Middle East during the late 1970s and early 80s, and who was familiar with the early weapons of mass destruction proliferation involving the A. Q. Khan network of Pakistan, Libya, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, was compromised and he and his connections to the Brewster Jennings & Associates intelligence network and Iranian government contacts were made known to adversarial intelligence agencies. The staff of the member whose covert Iranian contact network was compromised was targeted and tainted with Jack Abramoff money, putting the U.S. Representative in extreme political jeopardy. WMR can now report that according to congressional sources in Washington and well-placed sources in Columbus, Ohio, including high-level Democratic sources, the congressman in question is Republican Rep. Bob Ney, who yesterday announced that he was dropping out of his race for re-election. Sooooo Neptunian.
The Pope's remarks were dangerous, and will convince many more Muslims that the west is incurably Islamophobic Karen Armstrong
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1874786,00.html Posted by: wv on September 18, 2006 04:22 PM
By Sam Harris September 18, 2006 TWO YEARS AGO I published a book highly critical of religion, "The End of Faith." In it, I argued that the world's major religions are genuinely incompatible, inevitably cause conflict and now prevent the emergence of a viable, global civilization. In response, I have received many thousands of letters and e-mails from priests, journalists, scientists, politicians, soldiers, rabbis, actors, aid workers, students — from people young and old who occupy every point on the spectrum of belief and nonbelief. This has offered me a special opportunity to see how people of all creeds and political persuasions react when religion is criticized. I am here to report that liberals and conservatives respond very differently to the notion that religion can be a direct cause of human conflict. This difference does not bode well for the future of liberalism. Posted by: wv on September 18, 2006 04:31 PMHello all, to find out if I could fy long distance I tried a much shorter journey to Xian where I am working at a small private international school. Well the whole thing was very tiring and I should have chosen to go South not here but here I am for a while. I still need to work on the arm. It hurts a little with each new activity, but I have learned to type again and to write and to write on the board. I also know I much prefer university over high school.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Low-income Americans don't necessarily vote in their own economic interests; but it doesn't mean they're patsies Gary Younge
Article continues http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1874735,00.html Posted by: wv on September 18, 2006 05:13 PMReporting frpm Occupied Brooklyn: Betsy, "they" don't care who "wins" because "they" finance both sides of it. Wonderful to hear from you, Betsy. Maybe with the eclipse we can all join in singing along with the Jamaican bobsled team: Popebotbutt... all gussied up in its ample fat-boy gold lame dress, bonnet & bloody crucifix disability walking stick. A sight to behold... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 18, 2006 06:07 PMHappy days are here again! Oil and gold closed down sharply, stocks up, everything must be great. There's an election coming up in the United States and it appears that good economic news will continue for about a month and a half. from a Signs of the Times Editorial Posted by: wv on September 18, 2006 06:21 PM
By Patrick Seale
Hard-liners in Israel and the United States believe that only military action, or the credible threat of it, will now prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, with all that this would mean in terms of Israel's security and the balance of power in the strategically vital Middle East. Fears that Bush might succumb to this Israeli and neoconservative pressure is beginning to cause serious alarm in Moscow, Beijing, Berlin, Paris, Rome and other world capitals where, as if to urge caution on Washington, political leaders are increasingly speaking out in favor of dialogue with Tehran and against the use of military force. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=5&article_id=75489# Posted by: wv on September 18, 2006 06:35 PMMOTHER JONES... Lie by Lie: Chronicle of a War Foretold: August 1990 to March 2003 The first drafts of history are fragmentary. Important revelations arrive late, and out of order. In this timeline, we’ve assembled the history of the Iraq War to create a resource we hope will help resolve open questions of the Bush era. What did our leaders know and when did they know it? And, perhaps just as important, what red flags did we miss, and how could we have missed them? This is the first installment in our Iraq War timeline project. http://www.motherjones.com/bush_war_timeline/index.html Posted by: wv on September 18, 2006 07:04 PMJust a shout out here - today is the day (after more than a year of delays) that I have a hearing on my grievance against my boss. That's at 1 pm California time. If you have a little spare enery around that time, support for truth would be a good thing to have. thanks Posted by: Baraka on September 18, 2006 07:39 PMBaraka, consider it done. Posted by: Pat C on September 18, 2006 07:54 PMIn a little less than an hour, Baraka, you should be feeling a large surge of energy, confidence and support. Posted by: shylurker on September 18, 2006 08:17 PMCount me in 12:27 pm pdt sending energy your way :) Posted by: Morgana on September 18, 2006 08:27 PMDRAFT GORE NOW!!! Read this and be refreshed by the sound of a sane and smart voice in politics once again... http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Gore_calls_for_elimination_of_payroll_0918.html Posted by: Garry on September 18, 2006 09:52 PMAnd now, some levity, courtesy the un-street smart web designers at CNN..... http://dlisted.blogspot.com/2006/09/cnn-goes-gay.html Posted by: Garry on September 19, 2006 12:18 AMThanks to everyone for the support - I could feel LOTS of hands holding me safe. It was a very difficult hearing; I was more than fortunate that the person who represented me, a rabbi from the school's religious office, was able to frame the matter without judgement. I think we did okay, but I broke down a couple of times and had to leave the room to cry a bit and pull myself together. We started at one and went until 4; the hearing judge will now be away for two weeks, so I don't expect a resolution until early October. Here's hoping that I get a good birthday present (mine's 10/10). Again, just knowing you guys were rooting for me kept me from a total collapse. Thank you so much! Posted by: Baraka on September 19, 2006 12:27 AMShrub and the Pope must be cloned twins... Sigh. Posted by: Beasley on September 19, 2006 04:34 AMBeasley, some of my "conspiracy" sites call him the "black" Pope, and he was a nazi as a child, so I'm not really surprised, although it does suprise me that he took so long to start spouting the neocon talking points!!! PS: Did anyone see the piece in the news about the Navy being sent to blockade Iran by October 1st? Here's a link to the story from Time magazine, via Raw Story: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1535817,00.html Posted by: Garry on September 19, 2006 01:11 PMhttp://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO840395.htm FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq ................... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/opinion/17yoo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin September 17, 2006 By JOHN YOO .................. ttp://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/09/shrill-hysterical-lefty-partisan.html SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2006 I began writing a post in response to this truly ridiculous Op-Ed by John Yoo in this morning's NYT -- in which Yoo gleefully celebrates every authoritarian transgression of the Bush administration, from torture and pre-emptive wars to endless invocations of presidential secrecy, the issuance of "hundreds of signing statements" declaring laws invalid, and even what Yoo calls the President's assertion of his power to "sidestep laws that invade his executive authority" (what we used to call "breaking the law") (emphasis added in all instances). More... ................ http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/09/hinderaker-shows-us-central-defect-in.html MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2006 wv, I wanted to say that I appreciated the article you posted yesterday on "Head in the Sand Liberals." I believe liberals have to watch out for the "Boy Who Cried Wolf" syndrome and disbelieve everything the Bush Administration supports, thus dismissing the real threat of certain "cult of death" Muslims. Posted by: Sharon on September 19, 2006 05:11 PMbest darn show I've seen on tv in a long time....Studio 60, Aaron Sorkin and Tommie Schlamme's new one (10pm Monday nites) .... when they were booted off The West Wing, the show went into mindlessness of the oblivious masses....but for pure enjoyment and flag bearing for a liberal life style, this is a good one, smart, well written...not to mention it is styled on Saturday Night lIve ....in the opener last night Judd Hirsch as the producer of the show went on a live broadcast rant (like the one in Network -1977)...mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. A total gem....I must look for the transcript...it coulda come from HERE. Posted by: judigem on September 19, 2006 07:11 PMThis is the main part of Aaron "Sorkin's script: the speech from the original transcript....but with a great deal of the action cut out, except for a couple of things that were important.... WES (Jud Hirsch as the producer, having run on stage during the opening comedy sketch, to the GWB/Cheney comedians) The AUDIENCE is laughing a little bit, assuming this is part of the show. WES WES CAL (control room director) WES WES (CONT'D) WES JERRY (network executive of standards (aka, a rethug) DELAY MAN JERRY CAL JERRY CAL JERRY WES JERRY CAL LILLY CAL JERRY WES WES (he gets cut off.....) Posted by: judigem on September 19, 2006 07:30 PMIf you want to view a piece of this.... This isn't obviously about politics, but it is seeped in it..... Posted by: judigem on September 19, 2006 07:34 PMJudigem, thanks for posting the Studio 60 clip ... loved it! Sharon, re your post on crying wolf, it's this administration that's cried wolf too many times and after learning about lie after lie after lie, it just does not serve ANY purpose to believe ANYTHING they say at all. About anything. Period. They have ZERO credibility. Posted by: Marta on September 19, 2006 09:07 PMEvents are happening in Thailand - coup by a muslim general ousting the PM, who is at UN here.
Friday, September 22, 2006 So we have a second New Moon in Virgo this year. I suggest you take a moment and refresh your memory by rereading the last New Moon in Virgo Moon Message before continuing any further. This is a special New Moon in Virgo for several reasons: it occurs at 29º, the Moon and Sun are conjunct the South Node in Virgo, in a T-Square with the North Node in Pisces and Pluto in Sagittarius, and all this occurs during a solar eclipse http://www.astrowisdom.com/thisnewmoon.htm http://talkleft.com/new_archives/015770.html NBC Scores With "Studio 60" Posted by: Pat C on September 19, 2006 11:17 PM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This glum aperçu has been much with me as we move into the home stretch of the 2006 mid-term elections and shimmy into the starting gates of the 2008 presidential campaign. With heavy heart, as a once-proud—indeed, staunch— Republican, I here admit, behind enemy lines, to the guilty hope that my party loses; on both occasions. I voted for George W. Bush in 2000. In 2004, I could not bring myself to pull the same lever again. Neither could I bring myself to vote for John Kerry, who, for all his strengths, credentials, and talent, seems very much less than the sum of his parts. So, I wrote in a vote for George Herbert Walker Bush, for whom I worked as a speechwriter from 1981 to ’83. I wish he’d won.
Marta, the point is not that they lied but that we have to get beneath all lies everywhere to see the truth and not discount it just because someone whose credibility we doubt also espouses it. The Jewish new year begins Friday night through sundown on Sunday and coincides with Ramadan on the 22nd. I rec'd this email with a short 12" film from Steven Spielberg's Jewish History Archives. If you can open it, it may give you a small insight into the Jewish people.
Wishing everyone Blessings at this holy time for Muslims and Jews. May the goodness of all people everywhere transform ourselves and our world. My good Lebanese friend ate at our home last Friday night when we have our Sabbath meal and we had great conversation. He is a Lebanese Christian. His mother and brother were able to leave Beirut last week because the airport became operable. I spent many moments praying for their well being and safety. Posted by: Sharon on September 19, 2006 11:44 PMHey Guys I had for some years wanted to give some of the people from the movie What the Bleep a copy of my book - I figure it would be wonderful for these big thinkers to see, first off, how astrology works, but also to see how the Sabian Symbols work through the degrees of the zodiac. I'm thinking of the holographic reality of our lives... Some 2 years ago, I put it out into the universe that I wanted to meet someone from What the Bleep and on the plane from Albuerque to San Francisco this last Sunday I sat next to an older man. We started to talk as we were waiting for the plane to take off. He mentioned that the years to come would be very interesting, challenging and that we'd have to adapt to many new things. I agreed with him, with every single thing he said, but I wasn't sure what context he was speaking from. I wondered if he might be a Christian, speaking of armageddon or something, and I asked him what he meant. He then revealed that he was a physicist who'd trained at Stanford and then that he was on the movie What the Bleep. I was sitting next to William Tiller (check out the What the Bleep website)... how amazing! I'm sending him a copy of my book and cards and I'm going to do his chart so he can see a little of what astrology is capable of. He was saying that the scientists should look at astrology and he's very interested. Yay!!!! Life is more amazing than we can know! Posted by: Lynda Hill on September 20, 2006 12:02 AM
Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_060918_pope_provoked_muslim.htm
Pope Provoked Muslim Rage To Help Bush and Republicans By Rob Kall Ratzinger is not stupid. Including the reference to the passage that has incited Muslim anger was no accident. It was a calculated, intentional strategy designed to help George Bush and the Republicans in the 2006 elections, just like the Catholic church systematically helped Bush and the Republicans in the 2004 elections, through Cardinals and Bishops who attacked Kerry. The Vatican has become a partner with the republicans, so they coordinate, come the final stretch of election time, to make things happen, make statements, take positions that help the Republicans. Posted by: wv on September 20, 2006 12:11 AMHow about you, Lynda! What fun & a great experience! Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 20, 2006 12:11 AM
Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_stephen__060918__22it_s_not_who_votes_.htm
"It's not who votes that counts, it's who counts the votes," Joseph Stalin By Steve Osborn TO put this article in perspective, we have to go back quite a few years and look at elections and polling places. Up until the late '60's, there were polling places in every neighborhood. They were manned by local people and everyone knew where their polling place was. It could be in a fire station, city hall, library, school, community center, VFW or American Legion Hall. The precincts were small, usually no more than a few hundred voters registered to any given precinct. The procedure was simple. Everybody was given time off to vote. They went to their precinct, signed in and their signature was compared with the master list. They were checked off by two people, given a ballot and went into a booth. There, they either marked their ballot with a stamp, or punched a hole beside the name they wanted to vote for for each office, then, when they were satisfied with their ballot, they took it to another worker, who tore off the number and gave it to the voter then put the ballot in a locked box. Posted by: wv on September 20, 2006 12:20 AMHey wv, the piece you posted about voting is exactly what I've been thinking about. Being in Tucson for the latest round of voting, I learned that it seems that the government really doesn't want people to vote - at least that's what it looked like to me. As an Australian, it looks very alien to us - we have to show up at the polling booth - it's against the law not to and invokes a considerable fine. In the spirit of democracy, though, we have to turn up to vote, but we are not forced to. We can cast a 'dummy vote' if we like, that's our perogative, but we must at least turn up. We also have many places to vote: we have local schools, town halls, whatever, and we can choose which local place we can go. We have so many places to choose from that it's very convenient - we can vote when we go down to the shops or walk to the local school or town hall, whatever... Way to Go Lynda! Last night my friends had a bash on a boat that went up the East River and into the harbor. We passed closely by the lit up Statue of Liberty, so powerful, the Green Goddess of the Harbor wearing her sari. A saraswati goddess holding her book of Knowlege. Liberty accepting off center, non perfect individualism. Supposedly, there is an energy vortex underneath this part of earth, like Sedona. I find NYC to be a spiritual hub on earth, the way it's multi-cultural citizens coexhist with a high percentage of tolerance is to be admired. I thought about Chimpy's helicopters that went over the same harbor earlier that day on his way to the UN. He's gotta be seeing the fantastic Ellis Island museum, Governor's Island, and Lady Liberty. I really hope he gets some kind of hit from that energy vortex. Up high ,over the boat were seagulls floating in the thermals. They looked like white angels in the dark. Hope that was an omen. Anyone else ever hear of the vortex spots on Earth? Betsy, take care over there and get well soon. Baraka, glad you got the light. Happy EVERY DAY to everyone! Sometimes these holidays bring up more division for me, more than tidings of cheer and good will. The holidays remind me that patriarchal faiths are part of an old way. Ride the waves y'all, the feminine paradigm shift is rolling back to the Shore of Love. New moon in my 6H, need to be silent and my cell body relaxed for good creative work. Posted by: bhakti on September 20, 2006 01:15 AMWow Lynda!! Awesome experience on the plane! I know you must have made a great impression on him. How could it be any other way?? You are right on about the voting in this country. Posted by: Pat C on September 20, 2006 01:18 AM
By Michael Duffy A flurry of military maneuvers in the Middle East increases speculation that conflict with Iran is no longer quite so unthinkable. Here's how the U.S. would fight such a war--and the huge price it would have to pay to win it. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15020.htm === 4 Minute Video and transcript. Air Force Col. Sam Gardiner (Ret.) said, "We are conducting military operations inside Iran right now. The evidence is overwhelming." http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15022.htm Posted by: wv on September 20, 2006 01:59 AM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The freedom-of-speech defence is a sideshow. The pontiff has broken an unwritten compact of religious leaders Jonathan Freedland
Article continues http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1876391,00.html Posted by: wv on September 20, 2006 02:26 AMI am a Roman Catholic and I practice. I believe that the current Pope is not simply supporting Bush but is part of something so horrendous that I don't even speak of it outside of my family. From This week's http://www.aaiusa.org/countdown/countdown.htm Heard Around Town… Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who recently returned from Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel on the House floor: "The United States made a mistake by standing aside during the 34 day war in the region. We now must create the circumstances which stabilize the government of Lebanon. We need to assist in the recovery. And we need to assist in the restoration of housing, businesses, and infrastructure. Secondly, the situation in Gaza is desperate…Childhood malnutrition cannot even be solved by the massive UN aid. The UN now classifies 70% of the population as refugees. With no jobs, little or no electricity and limited access to water, conditions amongst the residents of Gaza are dire. The US cannot stand by and allow this humanitarian disaster to continue. We must do everything we can to help Israel secure itself. But, we also have to remember we must use our influence to bring about peace by recognizing the adverse humanitarian conditions which exist." Posted by: Beasley on September 20, 2006 03:12 AM Easier if you click on the top line to get the whole selection of paragraphs. Also, it seems there is a push to insist that people bring pictured driver's licenses to vote, or a passport. Same ol' pole tax tactics in congress. I say fight back. Disgusted with the world. This government is like a hydra. Chop off one arm, you get ten more. I dreamt of an octopus (sp.?) a couple of nights ago. It was an albino octopus. White bread. The Canadian falsely accused and tortured is just the tip of the iceberg. Has this always gone on? Have secret cabals always done things like this in our governments, and I'm just waking up to it in my Second Saturn Return. Jesu! I cannot believe this f***in' planet. Posted by: Beasley on September 20, 2006 03:24 AMBhakti -- did you see anything strange when you were out on the river in your boat? I read earlier today (on the tips section at gothamist.com) that a bunch of different people saw a huge flash of light over the East RIver, near Long Island City. They said it was alarming, didin't seem like a mere lightning flash. Hope it's the goddess at work and not something more sinister... Posted by: stefanie on September 20, 2006 03:44 AMBradblog pushes for emergency paper ballots for everyone Nov. elections. Posted by: Pat C on September 20, 2006 04:16 AMhttp://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-protest0920,0,7588524.story?coll=ny-nycnews-headlines Click on the link to the right underneath the * and Pickles photo to Photo Gallery. In # 16 you will see the * helicopeter landing on the Wall St heliport. You can see Bklyn Hts, my neighborhood on the other side of the river. The tower underneath the helicopeter blade on the left is one block from my apt. In fact, the tall building all the way to the left is where I have an application to live in, on a waiting list. Intending a harbor view ;) PS a warning:photo #23 is some scary stuff. stefanie, what time? We traveled in the opposite direction from Long Island City. There were live bands and dancing inside so not sure if too many people noticed. Jeesh, gliding underneath the magnificent Bklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges hardly anyone looked up. Posted by: bhakti on September 20, 2006 04:34 AMWell now, Beasley... are you sure that octopus wasn't... um, pink?!? Hahahaa Heracles fought the Hydra & could only "win" by lifting it off the ground where it could no longer gain strength from Mother Gaia. The boyz... er, "patriarchs" were already very busy at tweaking the ancient stories to support its "New World Order" of the time. Mebbe Heracles was the actual sh*thead not-hero, & the Hydra was demonized & monsterized as the old earth-based spiritual system that worked very well since it was anchored in reality. I guess the trouble with any "New World Orders" is that they're terribly ego-centered & unrooted in reality. IF they were natural/organic, they wouldn't need to commit violence & other atrocities in Order to Get Their Way. Only the individual & collective unhealthy ego is interested in that. This ego intuits its own demise as struttin' gussied-up DragKing in The Last Days... dreadful playtime is over. ;O) Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 20, 2006 04:35 AMI think pluto on the GC is telling us... not asking... to let go of all the identities we've taken on as REAL since infancies. All of them. Then we'll begin to experience who/what we really are. Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 20, 2006 04:41 AMJoanna O, in a similar vein, here's a story about the second white buffalo and its meaning , told by a Lakota elder: http://www.rense.com/general73/whitebuf.htm Posted by: Garry on September 20, 2006 05:36 AM* Ted Turner: Men Should Be Barred From Public Office For 100 Years... http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003124692 Yea, verily... exactly!!!!! So let it be so. I can't be but suspicious of the now many white calves born on non-Indian farms, Garry. I smell Profit. Aren't you the least bit suspicious? ;O) Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 20, 2006 05:46 AMhttp://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060919_gore_vidal_reflections_9_11/ Gore Vidal: Reflections on 9/11 snip I think it was Vico who noted that busy republics tend to turn themselves into empires. Certainly, the French intellectual godfather to the American republic, Montesquieu, warned that republics which took the empire route would cease to be republics all together, while Vico, in his cyclic view of human societies, saw imperial republics evolving into dictatorships, chaos, barbarism. In the last five years American behavior in the Middle East has been barbarous and will not soon be forgiven. Meanwhile, the gas-oil junta has hijacked the old American republic through the artful use of great quantities of corporate and church cash in order to falsify the electoral tallies of easily hacked electronic voting machinery; means now exist to nullify or alter any election returns as happened in Florida 2000; in Ohio 2004. There is a good deal of grim comedy in the words if not the current deeds of the little president. Although he and his co-conspirators relish the use of the big lie (e.g. turning a dull but genuine war hero into a cowardly fraud while ignoring the slackerdom of Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld, who proudly fought in none of our many wars). Now in an attempt to avoid blame for the Iraq war and further confuse the world about why Iran and Syria must be destroyed, Old Rumsfeld and Old Cheney are trotting out dim, garbled images of Hitler and appeasement as they pretend that the antiwar American majority favors Islamic fascism. They pretend terrorism is a demonic person. And if we don’t stop him in Tehran we’ll have to stop him here. This is ludicrous; unfortunately the Junta is as ignorant of history and geography as they believe the public to be. Meanwhile, the little president worries about his “legacy” in the history books. But should he get World War Three going there might not be any more history books, a relief to a nonreader like himself, though, lately, he tells us that he is reading Camus and “three Shakespeares.” No doubt tragedies. As we know, he lies with zest, yet he was actually revealed reading “The Pet Goat” on television and the Greek word for goat is the same as the word for tragedy. If this is code, I am beginning to suspect him of irony, a fatal flaw in Freedom’s home. After all, on his first trip to New Orleans, he promised to restore the drowned city. But, as usual, nothing was done. Then this Aug. 29 he was back in town to reassure high school students: “I’ve come back to New Orleans to tell you the words that I spoke on Jackson Square are just as true today as they were then.” And so of course they were! Meanwhile, one hopes that some noble humanitarian will finally shut the doors of the temple of Janus, which have not been shut since December of 1941 when we went from one war to another and another without a pause—or thought. Posted by: Pat C on September 20, 2006 02:26 PMhttp://www.truthdig.com/interview/item/20060912_kucinichs_on_lebanon/ Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich on Lebanon ............. This issure of Truthdig is great overall Posted by: Pat C on September 20, 2006 02:34 PM
Representatives of 118 Nonaligned Movement nations condemned Israel's attacks on Lebanon and supported a peaceful resolution to the U.S.-Iran nuclear dispute in the final declaration Saturday of a summit that brought together some of the world's staunchest American foes. === The UN says it estimates that 350,000 unexploded cluster bomblets remain in southern Lebanon, leaving a deadly legacy for civilians. === Nayef Abu Snaima says his 14-year-old cousin Jihad had been sitting on the edge of an olive grove talking animatedly to him about what he would do when he grew up when he was killed instantly by an Israeli shell. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15029.htm Posted by: wv on September 20, 2006 03:05 PM
Thought For the Day
One year to the Grand Cross and the effects are already clear. Negatively, the collapse of the European and American economies had been predicted, as had the loss of most African males to AIDS. Fortress Australia is an insular totalitarian state, ruled by an oligarchy. The ecological meltdown in China is the result of continual carbon fuel orientated growth, and nothing can be done there until the land heals itself. But on the positive side, the new politics of the world, based on proportional representation, has led to the dismantling of old political parties and religions, as well as borders. The psychic and intuitive capacities of the world’s children are rapidly expanding, they can sense and see energies and realities that we adults stuck in the third dimension cannot. At least the kids can begin to pierce the veil and prepare for a better quality of life than we've had. One more year, folks, and then the worst is over! What a start to Pluto in Capricorn!
19 September 2008
Two years on from the eclipse in September ’06, and the repercussions are still felt. Yes, there’s an ongoing trine in earth signs between Saturn and Jupiter, but this is end game for the corporate dinosaurs. Pluto at the start of Capricorn is bringing a new approach to money and politics, and the ‘caring conservatism’ of Cameron’s New England is becoming reality in the UK and US, although the dinosaurs are fighting rearguard actions. After the ecological troubles of the last year, profit at environmental cost is now forbidden – why did it take them so long? The coming US elections will either fragment that country or pull it together, but I don’t see the Christian right going with Gore’s vision, instead preferring Rice’s rhetoric. And the new humanism that seems to be replacing religion in many countries must be taken seriously, despite the WASP-ish predilections of the old colonialists in South Africa, Australia, the US and the UK.
18 September 2007
The world is different to a year ago. Look at what’s happened since that new Moon eclipse last September. The genocide against the indigenous people of Darfur has spread to Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia. The ‘accidental’ shooting of Mugabe has changed Zimbabwe’s face, but AIDS still kills millions. In Europe, the effects of last October’s high tides are still felt. In the UK, it’s eight months into Brown’s inheritance, Blair gone into Catholicism and lecturing. Compassionate conservatism is on the up, Cameron’s surely only two years away from power. In the US, Bush’s conversion last year to green practices has only played into his likely successors (Gore) hands. And who’d have seen the rise of fascism again, especially in that particular area of Australia. Still – at least the green agenda is now mainstream, and next year’s pow-wow with the Pope, top Muslims, the Dalai Lama and assorted Buddhists, Christians, and Hindus should be interesting. I wish the Chinese would come on board.
Breaking from Occupied Brooklyn:
Washington, D.C., September 19, 2006:” I recall some time back, when a light plane strayed into the “Forbidden Zone” around the White House, a panic evacuation of the staff was hilarious to watch. All kinds of panting chubbies, clutching pictures of Mom or their favorite plant, waddled away from the supposedly doomed Monkey Palace, tongues out, eyes bulging with fright. Now, everything is reversed. Now the fear-crazed ones are rushing into the White House, babbling with animal fear. A stray plane? No, the perception (rarely spoken of before) that the GOP will for sure lose the House and very probably the Senate in November has raised the equal probability that if the Democrats are successful, many now looting and shoving baskets full of bribe money into their car trunks will end up disgraced and poverty stricken. But Our Beloved Leader, George Bush is in an actual state of acute fear that he might be impeached (likely) and, even more frightening, hauled before the World Court as a war criminal! Joy to contemplate! But George will not be alone. From someone in the French Embassy, I learn that “certain current American supporters” are actually plotting to commit blasphemy and make Bush and his vicious and lunatic cronies pay the price. I was told, partially in jest, that if the IDF dared to invade Lebanon again with French “peacekeepers” in place, they are under orders to return fire and blast the IDF into small pieces. Note that the French have a competent air force and Israel would then get back in spades what they did to the innocent Lebanese civilians. My French friend said, over lunch, that it was fine for Israel to slaughter Arab children and old people in Palestine and Gaza but when they encounter real men, they run away, whimpering. Egypt is being pressured by the Muslim Brotherhood to abrogate their treaty with Israel and join the other Arab states. Hezbollah has, in only a few weeks, proved the IDF to be a paper tiger and paper burns brightly. (See Blake on this)” Three army helicopters in. The sound is outrageous. Someone on DU wrote in he saw Gore going to a meeting in his building while he was out having a ciggie break. No fanfare, no Secret Service, nothing but himself. * is paranoid!!!!!!!! He projects it onto us. The sounds of war, our chaos and misery wipe out his misery voice inside. http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/09/20/what-if-bush-iraqs-iran/#more-4576 The first important tactic, according to Gardiner, is to stay "below the CNN Line". It was the advice given to the Air Component Commander, General Mike Mosley, during the classified secret air strikes that took place in Iraq in July 2002. You remember, it was right after Bush came home from Europe to say, "I have no war plans on my desk." As for what happens when we decide to go above the CNN line, it starts with sanctions. But we all know these won’t work, so the next step will be obvious and meant to look as if the Bush administration tried their best to follow a diplomatic path. When sanctions don’t work, air strikes are to follow. Here are the targets, as Gardiner sees them: nuclear facilities; military air bases; air defense command and control; terrorist training camps; chemical facilities; medium-range ballistic missiles; 23rd Command Division; Gulf-threatening assets: submarines, anti-ship missiles, naval ships, small boats. He goes on talking about follow-on strikes. Oh, and it will be an American operation. But you likely already figured that one out. As Gardiner stipulates, not even the experts know how Iran will react. But you can sure make educated guesses at some of the consequences of Bush striking Iran. Gardiner does just that and none of it’s good, because there are no good military options on this one.
The Iranians would likely look to target Israel as a response to a U.S. strike, using Hezbollah as the primary vehicle for retaliation. … Moqtada al-Sadr has said publicly that if the United States were to attack Iran, he would target U.S. forces in Iraq. Iran could channel more individuals and weapons into Iraq. … Moqtada al-Sadr controls the large Facilities Protection Service forces in Iraq. Some estimates put this force as large as 140,000. … read on … There is a lot at stake right now, but the trouble is, according to Gardiner, the game has already begun. I wonder how many people in Congress know? ............. http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/09/serious-problems-for-white-house-in.html Serious problems for the White House in the NSA scandal Their failure to get a FISA bill passed at all would be a real defeat for the White House. It would mean that warrantless eavesdropping would still be illegal going into the next Congress. It would mean that various lawsuits challenging the legality of the NSA program would continue undisturbed. And it would mean that the administration's legal liability (both civil and criminal) for eavesdropping on the conversations of Americans in violation of the law would still very much be an open question -- an issue that would provide rich and ample ground for investigation by a subpoena-power-endowed Chairman Conyers, or even a Chairman Leahy. Blocking the Specter bill from being enacted is a non-negotiable imperative, and Sen. Reid's vow that it would never be enacted is looking more realistic by the minute. But preventing a Congressional solution of any kind to the NSA scandal -- particularly one that authorizes warrantless eavesdropping by the Bush administration -- is almost as important. There are only nine days left, and preventing a legislative resolution would be a very significant victory for those who believe in the rule of law and who want to see government officials held accountable for their lawbreaking. more Posted by: Pat C on September 20, 2006 05:53 PMhttp://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Bush_Administration_Senate_move_to_axe_0920.html Bush Administration, Senate move to axe reporter shield law The Bush Administration is seeking to undermine legislation that, if passed, would protect journalists and anonymous whistleblowers, RAW STORY has learned. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will listen to testimony today regarding a reporter shield law called the Free Flow of Information Act. “I think they want no law at all,” said one senior staffer familiar with the proceedings. “They’re sending [Deputy Attorney General Paul] McNulty up to hammer it.” The bill, cosponsored by a bipartisan coalition of nine moderate senators, is a successor to a similar piece of legislation that appeared before the same committee last year. Last year’s bill never made it past committee hearings, despite having a greater number of cosponsors—including Senators Feingold (D-WI), Kerry (D-MA), and Obama (D-IL)—who have not supported the current version. Both bills would make it more difficult for prosecutors to force reporters to name sources or to yield information that would result in their sources being identified. However, the current bill’s national security exception has been broadened. It abandons the requirement, enshrined in last year’s bill, that the threat to national security be imminent before the Attorney General can compel any disclosures. The 2006 bill has also been amended with a reminder clause stating, “Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit any authority of the Government under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.” more.. Posted by: Pat C on September 20, 2006 06:00 PMhttp://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/September2006/180906Swiss.htm Largest Swiss Paper Asks If Bush Was Behind 911 Posted by: Pat C on September 20, 2006 06:06 PMLynda, I hope you will be able to fill us in on any further information from your meeting with Mr. Tiller...it is true, if we ask , we recieve. (which is why the warning about being careful of what one asks for comes about) Posted by: judigem on September 20, 2006 08:28 PMPat C...the Swiss take on 9/11 is quite cogent....but I've thought that the #3 on the list was the real one since I watched the towers fall.... Posted by: judigem on September 20, 2006 08:29 PMIts hilarious at the UN. The head thief and his cons like hatemonger bolton hate UN because they can't push what they want down UN throat everytime Sharon, you posted ...The Jewish new year begins Friday night through sundown on Sunday and coincides with Ramadan on the 22nd. I rec'd this email with a short 12" film from Steven Spielberg's Jewish History Archives. If you can open it, it may give you a small insight into the Jewish people. I can't imagine why you would think that the film you posted would give me a small insight into the Jewish people. For starters, I lived in Dachau, Germany when I was a child and played with the DP's still there who had no papers and no country to go to who would receive them. I lived in the former German Camp. I have seen every single Spielberg movie there is to see, seen just about every single holocaust movie and cried my eyes out, my husband is jewish ... so I'm not sure how to take your comment. The fact that I am against the violence and aggression that Israel is espousing against it's neighbors and the awful fact that, having endured so much, so many in Israel turn a blind eye toward what their very same government is doing to the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and now Lebanon, is too distressing for words. I'm not anti-semitic and I'm not anti-jewish. I am against US aggression, and Israeli aggression, and muslim aggression and catholic aggression and hindu aggression, I am against all aggression of the more powerful against those who are weak and defenseless. I used to be a very strong supporter of Israel (the state). After the last campaign against Lebanon, I no longer feel the same way. I think they should have their toys taken away and should be taught to negotiate in good faith. I think the same for the U.S. Shalom. Posted by: Marta on September 20, 2006 11:25 PMHow confident are you that your vote will count in the upcoming midterm election? http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/ Posted by: Pat C on September 20, 2006 11:42 PM
I just voted with the Majority - 61% who believe I was thinking the same thing about those totals wv. I'm worried for those who are somewhat sure too. You really have to wonder. Maybe Lou Dobbs is being targeted now by the neocon squad. They tend to flood sites and programs that tell too much truth. Posted by: Pat C on September 21, 2006 12:42 AMHe wasn't telling truth tonight. ( Lou Dobbs) They ( CNN stenos) are trying to make Achmadinijad, & Chavez as crazy "bad guys" Poor Koki Annan of the UN must get up every morning with a sinking & despairing heart... knowing that he must put up with such a range of spoiled childish ego-driven violent malebot BRATS... trying to keep them from destroying one more set of millions of people & the living earth for one more day. Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 21, 2006 01:36 AMOlbermann does it again! The President of the United States owes this country an apology. And then there was that one, most awful phrase. In four simple words last Friday, the President brought into sharp focus what has been only vaguely clear these past five-and-a-half years - the way the terrain at night is perceptible only during an angry flash of lightning, and then, a second later, all again is dark. "It's unacceptable to think," he said. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091906Z.shtml QOP Posted by: on September 21, 2006 01:58 AMMarta, I don't disagree with you. I am very hurt, disaapointed and shocked at the recent actions of the Israeli government and military. But as we've said here before, they do not represent all the Jewish people. With your experience, you know that the Jewish people have been through a lot down through the ages, whatever the reason or "karma." Whatever the Israeli government does now, it does not negate the experiences that make up the very "soul" of Judaism, something that I find beautiful and deep. Judaism is not perfect, it definitely is patriarchal (at least the orthodox branches are but not as much as people think), but throughout my life, much of which has been spent as a spiritual gypsy trying many things, looking for the right one, finally arriving at the understanding that God does not have a religion, I have retained the feeling that all religions are beautiful, most are misused and distored, and Judaism still offers me such richness and beauty, music, depth, spirituality, soul, and intellectual challenge and wisdom, that I celebrate all those things about it and do not confuse it with the tragic mistakes of the Israeli government. I feel for the Arab peoples who felt infringed upon by Israel, I know that Israel has taken certain actions since the beginning that can be construed as terrorism, yet for me Israel has a right to exist and to be on the land where it exists and is so deeply connected to through a long and rich heritage. Shalom and peace. Sharon Posted by: Sharon on September 21, 2006 05:43 AMhttp://www.cjr.org/issues/2006/5/Editorial.asp Guarding the Vote THE PRESS AND THE LESSONS OF OHIO In this issue’s cover piece, Eric Umansky points out that journalists not only seek to publicize truths but also help determine which truths count. A story’s tone, its placement, and whether it gets followed up all have something to do with whether it is perceived by the public as a big deal. Sometimes the press seems leery of making that determination. The possibility of manipulation of the vote in national elections is that kind of story. It’s as if we don’t want to go there. Consider the battleground state of Ohio in the 2004 presidential election. As in Florida in 2000 — when Katherine Harris was both secretary of state and co-chair of the Bush-Cheney state campaign committee — Ohio’s secretary of state, Kenneth Blackwell, was also co-chair of Bush’s re-election campaign in Ohio. And as in Florida, there was controversy. But it didn’t get too much mileage. For one thing, unlike Florida’s razor-thin 537-vote margin in 2000, Bush officially carried Ohio by some 136,000 votes. Tales of vote manipulation were generally covered either as small potatoes or as squawks from the loony left (which some were). The story never quite went away — The Washington Post and The Columbus Dispatch dipped in, among other papers, as did Vanity Fair, Harper’s, The American Prospect, and a couple of books. When the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr., issued a measured but blistering report that found “numerous serious election irregularities . . . which affected hundreds of thousands of votes,” Ohio got another few minutes in the spotlight. Ohio popped up again in a June 15 piece in Rolling Stone by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The headline asked, “Was the 2004 Election Stolen?” Kennedy thought so. But most of the media yawned. The New York Times, typically strong on voting controversy, dealt with the Rolling Stone story in its abysmal Sunday Styles section with a profile of Kennedy that managed to mention the drug problem he had some twenty years ago, but not to fairly present his argument. One outlet that did not ignore the piece was Salon, where the staff writer Farhad Manjoo asserts that he takes Kennedy’s argument apart, but, upon close inspection, much of the Rolling Stone analysis survives. And Manjoo does not address a lot of what went wrong in Ohio. There were barriers to registration.... Posted by: Pat C on September 21, 2006 05:59 AMHAPPY EQUINOX TO EVERYONE! BE WELL! ............ “Suits Say U.S. Impeded Audits for Oil Leases WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 — Four government auditors who monitor leases for oil and gas on federal property say the Interior Department suppressed their efforts to recover millions of dollars from companies they said were cheating the government. The accusations, many of them in four lawsuits that were unsealed last week by federal judges in Oklahoma, represent a rare rebellion by government investigators against their own agency. The auditors contend that they were blocked by their bosses from pursuing more than $30 million in fraudulent underpayments of royalties for oil produced in publicly owned waters in the Gulf of Mexico.” Posted by: Pat C on September 21, 2006 02:13 PMSharon, I also agree with you. I've come to the conclusion that governments don't represent the people anymore and neither do religions. I grew up a catholic and that particular religion (don't know any others close hand) is very good at demonizing all other religions and touting itself as "the only religion". It was a sin to step into another church. My dad was raised an episcopalian and he took us to service one day ... we were shaking in our boots. Years later one of my daughters friends was having her bat mitzvah and we went to support her. I was very curious, having never had the opportunity to attend synagogue before. While waiting for the service to begin I noticed a book sitting there and opened it and started reading. How startling! The same stuff I'd been reading all my life in the bible (or pretty close). I thought to myself ... what in the world has everyone been arguing about for all these years! How stupid!!! At the time I was exploring theosophy and once the ceremony began in earnest I was very moved. It was a joyous ocasion and I felt a profound spiritual connection with this, one of the world's oldest expressions of spiritual connection to God. blessings to all! Shalom. Posted by: Marta on September 21, 2006 02:32 PMWhat Marta and Sharon said. Posted by: Pat C on September 21, 2006 03:04 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The public violation of the Geneva convention has created a schism between the president and military Sidney Blumenthal
Article continues http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1877165,00.html Posted by: wv on September 21, 2006 03:57 PM
Keep Away the Vote One of the cornerstones of the Republican Party’s strategy for winning elections these days is voter suppression, intentionally putting up barriers between eligible voters and the ballot box. The House of Representatives took a shameful step in this direction yesterday, voting largely along party lines for onerous new voter ID requirements. Laws of this kind are unconstitutional, as an array of courts have already held, and profoundly undemocratic. The Senate should not go along with this cynical, un-American electoral strategy. The bill the House passed yesterday would require people to show photo ID to vote in 2008. Starting in 2010, that photo ID would have to be something like a passport, or an enhanced kind of driver’s license or non-driver’s identification, containing proof of citizenship. This is a level of identification that many Americans simply do not have. The bill was sold as a means of deterring vote fraud, but that is a phony argument. There is no evidence that a significant number of people are showing up at the polls pretending to be other people, or that a significant number of noncitizens are voting. Noncitizens, particularly undocumented ones, are so wary of getting into trouble with the law that it is hard to imagine them showing up in any numbers and trying to vote. The real threat of voter fraud on a large scale lies with electronic voting, a threat Congress has refused to do anything about. The actual reason for this bill is the political calculus that certain kinds of people — the poor, minorities, disabled people and the elderly — are less likely to have valid ID. They are less likely to have cars, and therefore to have drivers’ licenses. There are ways for nondrivers to get special ID cards, but the bill’s supporters know that many people will not go to the effort if they don’t need them to drive. If this bill passed the Senate and became law, the electorate would likely become more middle-aged, whiter and richer — and, its sponsors are anticipating, more Republican. Court after court has held that voter ID laws of this kind are unconstitutional. This week, yet another judge in Georgia struck down that state’s voter ID law. Last week, a judge in Missouri held its voter ID law to be unconstitutional. Supporters of the House bill are no doubt hoping that they may get lucky, and that the current conservative Supreme Court might uphold their plan. America has a proud tradition of opening up the franchise to new groups, notably women and blacks, who were once denied it. It is disgraceful that, for partisan political reasons, some people are trying to reverse the tide, and standing in the way of people who have every right to vote.
Thank you, Marta. wv, could you give a link to that article? I'd love to send it around. Posted by: Sharon on September 21, 2006 04:46 PM
http://www.sfgate.com/comics/fiore/ Posted by: wv on September 21, 2006 05:11 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21thu1.html If that doesn't work, highlight it and copy and
Marta, Sharon, Pat C...copy that on religiion/governments. If more people had this attitude they would be far more protective of good government and better religion. I also had a similar shocking experience of finding out that Catholics couldn't enter another religion's church for a service....no wonder there are so many disaffected Catholics. If this was kindergarten, the USA would have gotten a 'red card' by now....(my granddaughter got one this last week .... she never came back from recess, she went off to find the boy she plays with from across the street who was having recess with his 4th grade in a different area). Come to think of it, I was taught in my psychic training that this IS kindergarten....and right now, the bullies are in charge. First the red card, then hopefully the expulsion. Pat QP....the book Chavez was touting went from 169 on the list to #22 at Amazon... Go Chavez.....and don't forget, the Devil wears Prada. I wonder if Sally is feeling better yet? I hope so.... Posted by: judigem on September 21, 2006 05:36 PMWill Ferrell (GWB) on global warming... I understand that Will Ferrell in his GWB mode often calls his friends and leaves voice mail in GWB's voice...this is hilarious Posted by: judigem on September 21, 2006 05:38 PM
CREW Releases Beyond DeLay Report and Launches New Website: www.beyonddelay.org/ The 13 members are: -- Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) -- Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-CA) -- Rep. Tom Feeney(R-FL) -- Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) -- Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) -- Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) -- Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) -- Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) -- Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC) -- Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) -- Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) -- Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) -- Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) *****http://www.beyonddelay.org/***** Posted by: wv on September 21, 2006 05:39 PMJUst saw this on Raw Story: Rove promises 'October Surprise" Posted by: judigem on September 21, 2006 05:41 PM
The Decay of Moral Government "To answer brutality with brutality is to admit one's Mahatma Gandhi "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our Colin Powell, September 13, 2006 Twelve months after 19 men steered three hijacked U.S. jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and crashed a fourth in Pennsylvania, the Bush administration was citing the brutality of Saddam Hussein toward his own people and his neighbors as the moral justification--indeed, a moral imperative--for forcefully removing him from power. Unfortunately for the people of Iraq, regime change in their country has transformed Iraq into the "flypaper for terrorists" in the heart of the Middle East. Add to this the inter-sectarian brutality that dominates the daily lives of more than one-quarter of Iraq's population and that strikes randomly throughout the country, it is impossible to see how this "moral imperative" has made Iraq, the region, or the world safer and better as the president promised. If anything, the brutality that has been unleashed in Iraq (and Afghanistan) is fostering an atmosphere of increased tolerance of brutality around the http://www.counterpunch.org/smith09192006.html Posted by: wv on September 21, 2006 05:54 PM
Featured Address to the United Nations: Rise Up Against the Empire By Hugo Chavez Frias, President of Venezuela Representatives of the governments of the world, good morning to all of you. First of all, I would like to invite you, very respectfully, to those who have not read this book, to read it. Noam Chomsky, one of the most prestigious American and world intellectuals, Noam Chomsky, and this is one of his most recent books, 'Hegemony or Survival: The Imperialist Strategy of the United States.'" [Holds up book, waves it in front of General Assembly.] "It's an excellent book to help us understand what has been happening in the world throughout the 20th century, and what's happening now, and the greatest threat looming over our planet. The hegemonic pretensions of the American empire are placing at risk the very survival of the human species. We continue to warn you about this danger and we appeal to the people of the United States and the world to halt this threat, which is like a sword hanging over our heads. I had considered reading from this book, but, for the sake of time," [flips through the pages, which are numerous] "I will just leave it as a recommendation. http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/printer_23036.shtml Posted by: wv on September 21, 2006 06:16 PM
AP Allen, a Republican seeking re-election in a close race, denounced the reporter's question as "reprehensible" and irrelevant and said he only recently learned that his maternal grandfather was Jewish. "Whenever we would ask my mother through the years about our family background on her side, the answer always was, 'Who cares about that?'" Allen wrote in the statement. During a debate Monday with Democrat Jim Webb, Allen was indignant when a panelist asked him whether his forebears included Jews. An audience of about 600 business executives booed and hissed at the question from Peggy Fox of WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C. Comment: Imagine if the question had been "Do you have any Irish ancestors?" Would there have been a peep from the audience? Of course not. So why does the audience instinctively "boo" when a US politican is asked if he has Jewish ancestors? What programming has been accomplished to facilitate this? Clearly there is a very strong Israeli lobby in the US that has been shown to exert a direct influence on American policies, so why is this very serious matter taboo? Or more to the point, HOW has it become taboo? The very same influence of the Israeli lobby? Posted by: wv on September 21, 2006 06:25 PM
PARIS, Sept 19, 2006 (AFP) A large majority of French Muslims support sexual equality, free choice in religion and the separation of church and state, flying in the face of some Western cliches on Islam, a new poll reveals. Of the Muslims questioned, 91 percent said they supported male-female equality, while 69 percent would accept a Muslim woman marrying a non-Muslim, according to the CSA poll to be published Thursday by the Roman Catholic weekly La Vie. Posted by: wv on September 21, 2006 06:30 PM
#1 Yesterday 23:19:52 Here is the intro to the video on Shoutwire:
"I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Palestine, Pakistan and all those different places," Fisher said. "Because, excuse me, we have the truth." And the link: On the official site for the doc, there are trailers and previews, as well as a link to a Wikipedia article ( http(colon)//en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/Jesus_Camp_Documentary ). It appears that this doc won awards and seems to be 'well-funded'. What is its true nature?
On one hand, it shows us the 'objective reality' of religious fanaticism in America. On the other, it can act as propaganda and a 'religious call to action' for the weak minded... Of course, I don't know for sure, as I haven't yet seen the documentary. The feeling about it was negative from the start, and I'm very suspicious. The official site for the documentary:
by Nat Hentoff
Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_dennis_m_060920_vt_cong_candidate_ca.htm
VT Cong Candidate Calls for Arrest of Bush & Cheney by U.S. Military By 2LT Morrisseau VT Cong Candidate Calls For Arrest of Bush and Cheney by U.S. Military West pawlet, VT 9/20/06 Former Army Lieutenant and a candidate for Congress in VT, Dennis Morrisseau http://talkleft.com/new_archives/015784.html House Approves Strip Search Bill The deceptively titled "Student and Teacher Safety Act of 2006" has passed the House. It will result in a vast increase of wide-scale searches of public school students based on even the slightest suspicion that just one student brought drugs to school. The searches could take the form of pat-downs, bag searches, or strip searches depending on how administrators interpret the law. The Student Teacher Safety Act of 2006 (HR 5295) mandates that any school receiving federal funding -- essentially every public school -- must adopt policies that allow teachers and school officials to conduct random, warrantless searches of every student, at any time, on the flimsiest of pretexts. Simply by claiming that one student is suspected of having drugs in the building could provide officials with authority to search every student. The bill now moves to the Senate. Drug Policy Alliance says: "It looks like this bill was rushed to the House floor to help out the sponsor, Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY/4th), who is in a tight re-election race. This vote lets him say he's getting things done in Washington. But I would be surprised to see a similar push in the Senate." More... Posted by: Pat C on September 21, 2006 08:23 PMhttp://www.mydd.com/story/2006/9/21/13463/9900 MyDD, September 21, 2006 Al Wynn Brags of Stealing the Election Hello, By now you are aware of the multiple layers of problems that occurred in the Tuesday, September 12, election in Maryland's 4th Congressional District. Whether these flaws are attributable to incompetence, inefficiency, or fraud -- we may never know. Votes are still being tabulated in Maryland's 4th District -- provisional ballots arriving as late as Tuesday, September 19, a truckload of machines and memory cards arriving 21 hours after the polls closed on September 12, changing estimates of absentee ballots to be counted, etc. Needless to say, the system is deeply flawed -- leaving voters with little reason to be confident. In the midst of all of this system failure and uncertainty, I wanted to share with you the transcript of an exchange that took place on Tuesday, September 19, between my opponent, Albert Wynn, and his colleague on the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee: BARTON: Down in Texas, we had a Democratic primary about 50 years ago that Lyndon Johnson won by 54 votes. And he got the nickname "Landslide Lyndon." We have Mr. Wynn next. He had a little bit of a tussle last week, but he did win. And so, I want to recognize "Landslide Wynn" for any opening statement that he wishes... more Posted by: Pat C on September 21, 2006 08:36 PMI may be wrong but the reason I think the reporter's question about Allen's background was boo'd was the poor taste of the question. Maybe an association was inferred with the Israeli lobby and that could have been part of it, but it seems to me that the question was impolite and the public would be better served talking about the issues rather than supermarket tabloid stuff. It's the age-old dilemna of whether to take the high road and exhibit manners and respect, or bringing out these inferences because what Karl Rove and his ilk does is worse. October Surprise, my foot. May it backfire in their faces! Posted by: Sharon on September 21, 2006 09:22 PMhttp://www.thenation.com/doc/20061002/chester Life After Net Neutrality: Replaced By a Chimp? Despite growing opposition, Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens appears determined to pass his telecom giveaway bill this year. If Stevens and his pals in the telecom and cable industries prevail, expect the free flow of online content to be replaced by corporate infotainment like Anheuser-Busch's lowbrow broadband Bud TV. Stevens is using his considerable political clout to get at least sixty senators to agree to bring the flawed measure to the floor. Stevens has acknowledged that his rewrite of the 1934 Communications Act now faces an uphill battle, primarily due to the controversy generated by public-interest groups over network neutrality, the guiding principle of the Internet, which guarantees all users have equal access to content and services. Over the summer, Savetheinternet.com, Common Cause, USPIRG and many others worked to firm up support for network neutrality rules. As a result, six senators have come out in favor of Internet freedom--Vermont Independent Jim Jeffords and five Democrats (New Mexico's Jeff Bingaman, Minnesota's Mark Dayton, Iowa's Tom Harkin, Massachusetts's Edward Kennedy and New York's Chuck Schumer). There is also growing corporate and academic support for network neutrality--from Yahoo!, Google and Microsoft to the mainstream American Electronics Association. The intense battle over the Internet's openness, Stevens acknowledged, "may well lead to total defeat [of the telecommunications bill] this year after nineteen months of work." But Stevens, long accustomed to wielding immense power due to his seniority (he's president pro tem of the Senate, as well as chair of the Commerce Committee and a key appropriations subcommittee), doesn't plan to give up easily. It remains highly likely that some kind of backroom deal will be struck during the lame-duck session after the November elections. Stevens and his pro-big media Senate allies might also attach key parts of his bill in "must-pass legislation" such as in budget or national security laws. The Stevens bill not only proposes to scuttle network neutrality rules but also undermines key policies designed to insure community influence over how broadband networks serve the public interest--including the ability of American soldiers stationed overseas to phone home. In a section titled "War on Terror," instead of legislation that insures maximum freedom of expression, the telecom rewrite thinks first about protecting corporate cash flow. Lawmakers could have ordered the FCC to insure that members of the military have unlimited free calls, but the Stevens bill actually prohibits the FCC from regulating any rates to do so. It simply requires the federal government to promote a "reduction of such costs" by cutting taxes or fees on phone service. More.... Posted by: Pat C on September 21, 2006 10:10 PMNot only the equinox.....Sept. 21 is the World Day of Peace. formation in the sky a repeat of 1917 and 1968... I don't know about the rest of you, but in the last two days I've suddenly said "ENOUGH" when I confront, read, see, etc....anything about the bushaholicbuddies....since we all on some level are enabling them to go on, even if we feel it isn't possible for any of us singly to bring these people to heel (now there is a pun on several levels), I think it is time for us to say, OK....enough is now ENOUGH....and broadcast that in every way we can. Enough is enough, start nailing these people big time. I guess that is what this eclipse means to me....the end of the matter, it also conjuncts my natal Neptune at 29 Virgo. So that is my contribution....if we can model it mentally, it will happen. Posted by: judigem on September 22, 2006 12:51 AMStrangely enough, I got this email from someone I don't hear from much, and the first paragraph: There is no condition so severe that you cannot reverse it "Will The Next Election be Hacked" RFK Jr. THE ROLLING STONE http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/11717105/robert_f_kennedy_jr__wil Steve Judd... 22 Sept 2011 - If we had known, 5 yrs ago today, that the new Moon eclipse would be the tipping point for the transition that the planets’ populations are now going through, would we have acted the same? The transition into a more than 3 di reality has now become permanent for some, with more choosing to ‘go over’ every day. And for the first time since pre-Victorian days, the younger generations can look forward to a bright future unhindered by war, greed or religion, & a clean environment to bring their descendants up in. Meanwhile, us ‘oldsters’ who either choose to stay behind or are still inflexibly caught up in the density of materials have a quieter time, but is there a future to look forward to? 21 Sept 2010 - These are the times we’ve been waiting our whole lives for. For 100s of years to come Aug & Sept 2010 will be talked about in the same vein as 1066, 1492 & 1776. The genetic time bombs inherent in our RNA/DNA are all activating now, half the world thinks that the other half is crazy & vice versa – this is transition time. One state of consciousness to another. The images, sensations & experiences impinging on our consciousness now are not imagination or dream; they offer a gateway into a parallel dimension, one that we will all go into one way or another, willingly or kicking & screaming. The youth of the planet know this, they’re already half there. Still, at least we now know where the crop circles & UFO sightings have come from! http://www.stevejudd.com/home.html Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 22, 2006 04:15 AMArticle by Steve Judd on this month's lingering Yod... http://www.stevejudd.com/articles.html Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 22, 2006 04:19 AMhttp://www.shepherd-express.com/9_20_06/takingliberties.htm Counting Votes Perhaps never before in history have votes been counted so carefully without even bothering to look at which candidate received those votes. Having faced unfounded Republican charges of vote fraud in the past, Milwaukee just completed a massive hand recounting of ballots to determine exactly how many votes were cast in last week’s primary. It turns out that about 46,500 Milwaukee voters cast ballots in last week’s primary election, not 80,000 as the city previously reported. The amazing thing is that despite originally being off by nearly 34,000 votes, the city’s laborious recount of all the ballots didn’t even bother to check to see whether any of the vote totals for individual candidates also may have been miscounted. The city just wanted to know how many people voted and couldn’t believe its own computer records because of what it described as a programming error. Meanwhile, out in heavily Republican Waukesha County, which is apparently immune to accusations of vote fraud, voters not only found many new voting machines inoperable, but erroneous vote totals were initially posted declaring the loser of an assembly race to be the winner. In Milwaukee, such major foul-ups would lead to weeks of screaming headlines and investigations. Instead, the first Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel headline on the Waukesha problems described its voting as “Bedeviled.” A follow-up story referred to the numerous problems, such as attributing votes to the wrong candidates, as mysterious “glitches” and “snafus.” More.... Posted by: Pat C on September 22, 2006 05:43 AM* Eclipse/Pluto News: You can now vote on Pluto's planetary status. SpaceWeather's Dr Tony Phillips has put up a public ballot on the issue. When the tally reaches a million, it will be submitted to the IAU. Make yourself heard--read the background info, & then go vote!!! http://www.astrococktail.com/news.html Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 22, 2006 05:54 AMWhat time exactly is the luer eclipse full moon today ( east coast ) A mag I have says 6:45 PM NO I READ THAT WRONG! It is NOW 6:45 AM!
7:44 am in Eastern Time, QP. That's really nice for your daughter... a wonderful experience in an exceptional energy field. Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 22, 2006 12:37 PMWhat IS her problem?!?!?! * Sep. 21, 2006 -- House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi called Hugo Chavez a "thug" for the Venezuelan President's "diablo" remarks about gwbush. Pelosi was speaking at a Wash news conf today when she denounced Chavez as a thug & said he demeaned himself & Venezuela. Pelosi seems to forget that it is a thug who tried to oust Chavez in a bloody 2002 coup, a thug who has invaded & killed tens of 1000s of civilians in Iraq & Afghanistan, a thug who gave Israel the green light to pulverize Lebanon & kill over a 1000 civilians, & a thug who wants to torture prisoners in US custody. And while Pelosi was calling Chavez a thug, he was busy negotiating the sale of cheap heating oil to the people of Harlem. When was the last time Ms Pelosi did anything to provide cheap commodities to the poor? Perhaps Ms Pelosi is a bit confused by the term "thug." Her father, Thos D'Alessandro, broadcast wartime radio messages to Italy exhorting Italians to rise up against Benito Mussolini. An ally in the program to get Italians to revolt was none other than Mafia don Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who, after the war, was paroled/deported to Italy where he con't to run the Mafia in exile. D'Alessandro was elected Mayor of Baltimore in 1947--a time when Luciano's mob had a virtual free reign in the port of Baltimore. It would appear that Ms Pelosi has forgotten that her mobbed up dear old dad dealt with thugs on a routine basis. Perhaps she should remember that the next time she has an urge to call a democratically-elected real populist leader (Pelosi does not know the meaning of the term "populist") a "thug." http://waynemadsenreport.com// Visit Krissy Keefer's web site, the Green candidate for the House to replace Nancy Pelosi from the California 8th Congressional Dist. http://www.krissyforcongress.com/ * Sep. 21, 2006 -- President Hugo Chavez calls gwbush the devil. Amid applause/laughter from the UN General Assembly, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez yesterday called gwbush the devil in his address to the UN General Assembly. [It s/b noted that Chavez is not the only world leader to link bush to demonic influences. The late Pope John Paul II feared bush was the anti-Christ](no wonder they got rid of him & put in The Rat). In comparison, bush's speech the day before was met with stony silence, with many delegates who did not leave the assembly hall beforehand, crossing their arms, looking downward in boredom, or reading. The neocon media is haranguing Chavez, even suggesting that he supports "terrorism"--the new "communism" bogeyman for the right--& putting Venezuela's Jewish population in jeopardy as a result of Chavez's support for Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. The media paid scant attn to Chavez's references to two terrorist incidents in which the Devil's father was directly involved as CIA Dir--the Wash DC car bombing assassination of former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier & the bombing by rt-wing Cuban terrorists of a Cubana airliner off Barbados, both occurring in 1976 when ghwbush was ordering these & other atrocities from his perch in Langley VA. http://waynemadsenreport.com// Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 22, 2006 01:33 PMJoannaO, I heard a portion of Chavez's speech on NPR, it was brilliant! I also read the text and couldn't agree more with him on many issues regarding BushCo ... I think he's great. But, as usual the MSM is demonizing him and making everyone hate him when he hasn't done anything to us at all. The worst thing he's done is give free oil/discounted oil to the poor in the eastern part of the US when they were freezing to death. None of our oil companies do that ... go figure! Posted by: Marta on September 22, 2006 02:57 PMGood comments JoannaO, Ha, hoo, IT WAS FELT IN ELLSWORTH, and a resident of Bar Harbor called in to tell......the water in his fishpond bounced out onto the lawn!
This secret venue on "Continental Prosperity in the New Security Environment" focused on "Deep Integration," which largely consists in flushing national sovereignty in favor of "Fortress North America". According to the draft program (see below), Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld traveled to Banff, Alberta to deliver the keynote address on "military to military cooperation". Canada's Minister of Public Security Stockwell Day focused his address on issues of North American public security. Top brass from the US and Canada were in attendance. Canada's Minister of Defense Gordon O'Connor was present together with Chief of Defense Staff, General Rick Hellier. There was, however, no confirmation that Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended the meetings. http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=3274
I posted about Aaron Sorkin's brilliant script for Studio 60 back a bit, and here is a good one: Great speech by Judd Hirsch doing his Peter Finch (Network) impression, but the part I loved was when Cal (Timothy Busfield character as director in the control room) was threatened by the guy from standards and practices at the network to cut off the live feed of Hirsch ranting about how bad tv was.....and Cal said....I haven't heard him say anything that isn't true yet. This really works well with the Hugo Chavez rant... Joanna...good links, thanks....I wrote a letter to the SF Chronicle letters to the editor on a similar theme inspired by the Chavez rant. So many people writing in and chastizing the Chronicle (or Comical as one guy called it) for publishing the NEWS of Chavez' rant WITHOUT COMMENTING ON IT. So I wrote them and said, hey , what a great idea I've got for you...rewrite the rules of news journalism to include right or leftwing input from some of your columnists....and hey, I mean, what about those sportswriters....get your columnists to comment on the NEWS! might sell papers. BAH. I'm so sick of these rightwingers who have so little knowledge, even about something as taken for granted as news coverage.
http://brasscheck.com/videos/middleeast/me5.html Posted by: wv on September 22, 2006 08:29 PMCould George Allen get ANY more offensive than he already is? geez H. cracker... but isn't that typical of this breed of rethugs anyway? just got an email from a friend who went to a John Dean appearance at an ACLU event: Dean said that every decision made in Washington is political and has zero to do with what's best for us. From Barbara Hand Clow: I think the personal challenge for us is to find more ways to remove ourselves from religion altogether or from the aspects of it that fuel violence and cruelty in the world. The conflict between East and West is the result of 5,125 years of warfare between organized religions, yet this does not have to be processed so violently during the Galactic Underworld (1999-2011). We need to demand that our religious affiliations contribute to peace, harmony, and love. As an ex-Catholic, I am deeply offended by Ratzinger's comments in Bavaria, where he was born just a few miles from where Hitler was born. The neo-cons have no right to cause WWIII by judging the religious beliefs and political choices of any person or country, and they may collapse under the influence of this eclipse unless they stop it. http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?channelid=131&contentid=3926&page=2 Posted by: Patricia on September 23, 2006 12:30 AMSteve Judd... 6 yrs ago people scoffed at the Mayan calendar, myself included. Now, at the end of time (at least, as we’ve experienced it so far), it comes true. The singularity is here, & for those who have chosen to not/are unable to go across the veil, it represents an ending. For the vast majority of humanity, it’s a bright new beginning, free from power, money, profit, greed & religion. I wonder if our distant ancestors, some 12,600 yrs ago, faced the same choice as we’ve made. Should we leave hints, in case there are new beginnings in the long distant future? Perhaps build stone circles, accurately aligned to the heavens? As our children & grandchildren cross into the dimension of our ancestors (& in some cases, actually meet them!), we can rest assured that their future is guaranteed. The planet will recover. There’s nothing & no-one to feel sorry for any more. Here’s to 12,600 years time! Time to go. http://www.stevejudd.com/home.html I'm ready. Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 23, 2006 01:33 AM"The neo-cons have no right to cause WWIII by judging the religious beliefs & political choices of any person or country, & they may collapse under the influence of this eclipse unless they stop it." Neither of which will they do, Patricia... they're moving right along according to their script. Perhaps it's time for us to Just Let Go to the Power within. What is the "Galactic Underworld" that B. Hand Clow refers to? I don't understand that. Posted by: Patricia on September 23, 2006 02:14 AMFriday, September 22, 2006 | Annular Solar Eclipse - New Moon conjunct Sun. This is the second consecutive Virgo New Moon. Mercury quintile Galactic Centre. Venus semisextile Saturn. Moon enters Libra. -- Eric Francis, Planet Waves Weekly, Oct. 1, 2004 * Protesters gather to vent their anger at PM They range from the very young to a woman of nearly 101 & had already started arriving last night, by train, foot, bicycle & on horseback. A multitude of protesters, harbouring anger & indignation over some of the most basic tenets of the Govt's foreign, environmental/judicial policies, will gather today, on the eve of the Labour Party conf in Manchester, for one of the biggest public protests the city has seen in modern times. About 30,000 people are expected to mass in the city ahead of a 3-hr march, under the banner "Time to Go", aimed at challenging Tony Blair's stance on a number of emotive issues: the occupation of Iraq/Afghanistan, the Govt's response to the bombing of Lebanon this summer, the next generation of nuclear weapons, the building of new nuclear power stations & the deportation of failed asylum-seekers. ... http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1705613.ece Joanne and Pat QOP, thank you for posting the info about today being the 30th anniversary of the car bombing of the Chilean foreign minister & his colleague, Ronni Moffet. How strange of me to thank you, you might be thinking, but Ronni was a childhood best friend of mine known then as Ronni Karpen. Her family owned the premiere town deli where we all went for our bagels, lox, smoked fish & deli meats. What can I say? Living and working in Miami for a few years, I picked up the NY Post this day 30 years ago, which was sitting on a co-worker's desk, and read about this event. What a shocker! Upon returning to my hometown I avoided the deli, not knowing what to say to her poor parents, and finally relented and went in. She had wonderful parents - gregarious, fun, goodlooking. Her father told me the story, how she remained in DC after college, working at a think tank, and marrying -- someone named Moffet I guess. Hearing about her sudden death really hurt and 30 years later it still does. What a waste! What a horrible way to die! Such a short life (she died in her late 20s; she was 1 years older than myself) Now multiply that times hundreds of thousands of wasted lives that are cut short as a casualty of war and political intrigue. Yet, some would say that they have fulfilled their life contracts. Namaste. Posted by: Sharon on September 23, 2006 06:36 AMOOOhhhh, what great timing! I don't believe it. Osama bin Laden is dead: French paper 23 September 2006
The newspaper said it based its information on a document classified ‘defence secret’ originating in the French DGSE intelligence services. According to the story, the DGSE informed President Jacques Chirac of the Saudi report on Thursday. The DGSE document, printed with the report, reads in part, ‘According to a usually reliable source, the Saudi intelligence services are said to have acquired the information that Osama bin Laden is dead. The information gleaned by the Saudis indicates that the head of Al Qaeda was a victim of a very strong attack of thyphoid... in Pakistan on August 23, 2006.’ The document goes on to say that bin Laden’s geographical isolation rendered all medical assistance impossible. Posted by: Lynda Hill on September 23, 2006 11:37 AMSharon, Sharon, how terrible for everyone this event must have been. Awful. Your description of the family is beautiful and heartfelt. Posted by: Lynda Hill on September 23, 2006 01:06 PM
Judge won't bar voting machines A judge ruled today that electronic voting machines can be used in Colorado’s November election, though state officials will have to work with counties to make sure the devices can’t be tampered with. Denver District Judge Lawrence Manzanares said the secretary of state’s office had violated state law by failing to come up with minimum security standards for the new machines. He said they had done an "abysmal" job in testing the machines. However, the judge said he would not bar the use of the machines with the election just six weeks away and county clerks warning that they might not be able to print enough paper ballots in time. A lawsuit filed by a handful of voters had claimed the machines were not secure, putting the accuracy of election results in jeopardy. "The risks of decertifying them are greater than the risks of not using them," the judge said. He said election workers don’t have time to come up with a new plan for voters and overhauling the current system might lead to chaos. Still, the judge said the secretary of state will have to come up with new security guidelines for the voting machines after the Nov. 7 election. Copyright 2006, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved. wv, Am I misreading the Judge's finding of the electronic voting machines when I think he said that even though it's too late now that he's ordered the secretary of state to come up with new security guidelines after the election? I find it so disgusting that they were able to come up with the voting machines very fast, just in time for the next midterm elections, but going back to the old way of voting or simply adding printers would just take too long. Yeah sure! Posted by: lunaoscura on September 23, 2006 05:09 PMThis just blew my socks off! http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/march2006/310306launchinvestigation.htm Venezuelan Government To Launch International 9/11 Investigation Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones/Prison Planet.com | March 31 2006 Billionaire philanthropist Jimmy Walter and WTC survivor William Rodriguez this week embarked on a groundbreaking trip to Caracas Venezuela in which they met with with the President of the Assembly and will soon meet with Venezuelan President himself Hugo Chavez in anticipation of an official Venezuelan government investigation into 9/11. Rodriguez was the last survivor pulled from the rubble of the north tower of the WTC, and was responsible for all stairwells within the tower. Rodriguez represented family members of 9/11 victims and testified to the 9/11 Commission that bombs were in the north tower but his statements were completely omitted from the official record. Jimmy Walter has been at the forefront of a world tour to raise awareness about 9/11 and has still yet to receive any response to his million dollar challenge in which he offers a $1 million reward for proof that the trade towers' steel structure was broken apart without explosives. Rodriguez said that he was told an FBI agent had asked the hotel him and Walter were staying in turn over a list of names of residents. Upon hearing this, the National Assembly provided armed military protection for the entirety of the trip. In addition, Walters said that CIA agents were seen surveilling the beach on which he and Rodriguez had handed out free DVD's a day earlier. The US government attempted to sabotage the trip by putting Rodriguez, who has been decorated at the White House itself, and Walter on a no fly list. more... Posted by: lunaoscura on September 23, 2006 06:45 PMThanks Pat & Lynda. It was a shock to me but nothing compared to what it was to the family. I can only imagine. Then, to read mention of her name yesterday on AW felt strange and haunting and yet good to be able to remember her and talk about it (I mentioned it to others today). Keep up the great posts and latest news, guys. I tell a lot of people about AW, Nancy's Blog and Democratic Underground -- all the news that really is fit to print, and we are starting to get it in the mainstream media, too, like the NY Times and Time Magazine, even CNN, etc. Thank God for Keit Olbermann. Posted by: Sharon on September 23, 2006 09:22 PMLink TV is truth telling the negative comments made by Chavez swift boaters, this week! Oh.........and grow peach melba tomatos next year! ( from Fedco Seed Co-op ) Best tomatos I ever ate ( & I grew up in the catshup capital of the world!)They are yellow with a pink blush, actually sort of fuzzy skin. Oct 8 8pm et I think, look at the schedule. "One Bright Shining Moment" he summer of George McGovern. narrated by Amy Goodman, with Zinn, Belefonte, others we know & love to see! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5374160.stm President Jacques Chirac has ordered an inquiry into the leak of a French secret service memo claiming that Osama Bin Laden had died. Mr Chirac told reporters he was surprised the memo had been leaked, and refused to comment on the claim itself. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5374160.stm
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/photos/09/091806_richards/index.html Posted by: wv on September 24, 2006 01:43 AM
Carlyle poised to bid for Libyan oil giant, says son of Gaddafi US private equity group with links to leading Republicans in talks to buy state-controlled Tamoil, valued at €3bn By David Owen and Sarah Wachter US private equity giant Carlyle is in talks to acquire Libya's state-controlled oil refining and marketing operation, Tamoil. Al-Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the country's long-time leader, said Carlyle was one of four or five groups involved in an international tender to buy 100 per cent of Tamoil. It is thought the business will fetch close to €3bn (£2bn). Mr Gaddafi added that the other candidates included groups from Poland, Hungary and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, he said the Italian energy group ERG might have "increased their bid a little bit. So maybe they will come back." Neither ERG nor Carlyle would comment. Tamoil was acquired by Oilinvest, Libya's foreign oil investment arm, in 1988. It refines, markets and sells the country's oil, and has around 3,000 petrol stations in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain, with a further 150 in Africa. The Washington DC-based Carlyle has been known in the past for its links to prominent right-wing US politicians. These include the former US secretary of state James Baker and the former US defense secretary Frank Carlucci, as well as the former British prime minister John Major. None of the men retains positions with the company. Carlyle, which has concentrated on energy and defence companies, is in the process of raising a new fund. If successful, it will become the world's largest private equity group, ahead of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Texas Pacific and Blackstone. The sale of Tamoil would mark a change of direction for Libya, which has used the business to expand its international downstream operations. It could also have implications for Juventus, the Italian football club recently relegated to Serie B after a high-profile match-fixing scandal. Tamoil became the club's shirt sponsor last year after agreeing a potential 10-year, €240m deal with Oilinvest. The sponsorship is one of the most valuable of its kind in Europe, but it remains to be seen whether any new owner of Tamoil would wish to maintain it in the long term. Juventus already faces a probable cut in revenues because of its relegation. Mr Gaddafi confirmed that the club would be asked for a reduction. However, he cautioned that it was not out of the question that Libya might retain a stake in Tamoil and could change its current plans to sell 100 per cent. Asked when the process would conclude, he replied: "They said they would do it very soon, but I don't know exactly." US private equity giant Carlyle is in talks to acquire Libya's state-controlled oil refining and marketing operation, Tamoil. Al-Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the country's long-time leader, said Carlyle was one of four or five groups involved in an international tender to buy 100 per cent of Tamoil. It is thought the business will fetch close to €3bn (£2bn). http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article1709085.ece Posted by: wv on September 24, 2006 02:17 AMPoll needs lots of help: I can't believe this is happening in this country. Posted by: shylurker on September 24, 2006 02:49 AMIt is unbelievable! 71% approve of torture!!!! It is unbelievable! 71% approve of torture!!!! http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092106J.shtml QOP & Toronto: Go for it!! Posted by: shylurker on September 24, 2006 03:58 AMI remember at the time thinking how incredible it was that the republics were back in power in four short years after the nixon regime debacle, & how suddenly, a turn on a dime went on behalf of a regan regime during the "Iranian hostage" scandal. Poor Carter... nothing he could do altered the screaming press on the awfulness of it all. Then, hostages released almost immediately after reagan gets installed into the WH. Putting the two together was a no-brainer imo... but perhaps that took consciousness uncharmed by the USian myth of Good Good Most Excellent Guys in the White Cowboy Hats... "White" Supremacist Boyz America could do absolutely no wrong absolutely (infallible like the pope)... for it was always the epitome of Truth, Justice & the Great Godly American Way wasn't it?. (urp) I was just never a nationalist for some reason. ;O) Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 24, 2006 04:32 AM* Pluto, the Pope, Eris, & Torture Pluto is alive & well in America. Despite astronomers downgrading the planet by taking away its name & assigning it a number, Pluto’s influence (the dark side of the subconscious) remains clear in events occurring here & across the globe. Carl Jung believed astrology was a good example of synchronicity. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines synchronicity as: the coincidental occurrence of events & esp psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality. Astrologers use synchronicity to explain why astrology works: the kind of astrological patterns in the sky reflecting the kind of patterns on earth as observed in humans, animals, & nations. The Pope’s recent public relations problem is linked in my mind to the astronomers’ attempt to dump Pluto from our planetary pantheon. As these particular astronomers’ do not want to consciously face what Pluto represents, which is the dark side of the subconscious, neither does the Pope, who inadvertently allowed the whole world to see his real thoughts about Islam. ... http://www.aquilaink.com/secretdiary143.html Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 24, 2006 08:05 AMRelax. I think that is an online poll sent mostly to true believers. Those polls are of poor quality and are hardly representative of what people really think across the board. I'd wait for a real poll by a real polling company before panicking. Posted by: Carol on September 24, 2006 08:10 AMWise observation imo, Carol. Posted by: JoannaOregon on September 24, 2006 03:23 PMI agree with Carol. There's no way that 70% of the population wants to advocate torture when it's a fact that 70% of the population has turned against Bush and his war in Iraq. This reminds me of the exit polls showing a hands down win for Gore and Kerry and the 'end results' as interpreted by Katherine Harris showing a Bush win. Not even the Supreme Court claimed that Bush won. They just claimed that the counting of the votes was to stop because the results would hurt Bush. Posted by: lunaoscura on September 24, 2006 05:08 PMhttp://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/24/clinton-video/ I just watched the video of the Clinton interview on FOX and I recommend it to everyone. I swear I was on the edge of my seat gritting my teeth with the tension in that interview. Clinton was phenomenal! He was asked a snide question and he insisted on answering it. No. He demanded to answer it. He even told Wallace he had a self satisfied smirk on his face because he thought he had set Clinton up. Wallace resorted to mock throwing up his hands like a wimp while Clinton took total control of the interview and said exactly what was on his mind and what is historically acurate. Posted by: lunaoscura on September 24, 2006 05:54 PMAnd of course today "they're" saying that Clinton,"lost it". From what I hear (I don't watch FOX news ever) they aired it in its entirety today. I bet their ratings went way up when all the 'islamofascist loving liberals' tuned in to watch! Posted by: lunaoscura on September 24, 2006 06:35 PMVia Rense, a 9/11 eyewitness account from a military man: http://www.v911t.org/SergeantLauroChavez.php Posted by: Garry on September 24, 2006 07:40 PMI'm sick! Watching a documentary on Andy Warhol on PBS. He sold the priginal cambells soup can paintings to the gallery owner for $1,000. HE resold them 6 yeARS AGO for $15,000.00 They ( commentators, frioends) are glorifying his fame, .......... & the "Murikans" think artists make a lot of money! That's what happens with no art appreciacion in schools. Do you think the NASCAR Dads are watching this tonight????? Hi, I'm new here! I just wanted to let you all know that you are AWESOME! I checked a lot of the alternative news sites on the Internet, but when I try to comment there, they denigrate all astrology and all spirituality. Also, just reading the comments here has given me more real NEWS than going to any of those alternative sites! You gals and guys and ???? are WONDERFUL!!! Posted by: HunabCooCoo on September 27, 2006 08:10 PMPatricia, you asked: "What is the 'Galactic Underworld' that B. Hand Clow refers to? I don't understand that." Here's a webpage where people discuss that term: Cafferty and Afghanistan video - - on the mark! http://www.anal-xxx-britney.asd.malopolska.pl http://www.x-sexowna-film-sexowna-live.og.wolomin.pl http://www.videos-profesoras.modelos-sexo.com http://www.hombres-marcando-paquete.modelos-sexo.com http://adwords.xwiki.com/xwiki/bin/download/Doc/WebHome/index454.html http://www.tvsex-wielkie-cycki-jebanko.erw.kepno.pl http://www.sexliwe-cipka.wer.pisz.pl Post a comment
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