Racism, Not Defence, At the Heart Of Israeli Politics

From whatreallyhappened.com:

One of the justifications given for the attack on Iraq was that Iraq was in defiance of UN Resolutions. In hindsight, it turned out that Iraq was not defying the UN; they had indeed disposed of their banned weapons of mass destruction. Israel, on the other hand, routinely ignores and defies UN Resolutions, some of which are listed here.

As Dangerous As Driving Drunk?

Doesn't sound that far-fetched to me. Seems I get cut off, or nearly side-swiped daily these days by some a-hole on a cell phone.

Celebrity Justice

This guy is so drunk that he smashes his car into somebody else's car (OK, he was also practicing onanism while watching porn). But he's... a celebrity! Like that Kennedy guy a few weeks ago, the cops just drive him home. No alcohol test! Now you or me, we have some beers and then get pulled over for that same speeding we did on the way home from work, we take a test and go to jail.

Israel warns: free soldier or PM dies

I suppose you imperialist, pro-Zionist warmongers approve of the assassination of democratically elected officials.

Israel last night threatened to assassinate Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh if Hamas militants did not release a captured Israeli soldier unharmed.

The unprecedented warning was delivered to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a letter as Israel debated a deal offered by Hamas to free Corporal Gilad Shalit.

Lebanese TV: The Lies of the "Jewish Holocaust"

Nadir says he's concerned about being labeled an anti-semite. Like this maybe?



Here’s a nauseating slice of Islamic Holocaust denial from Lebanon’s New TV, broadcast on June 21, 2006, and assisted by depraved US author Norman Finkelstein. (Courtesy of MEMRI TV.)




(Click picture to play video. Requires Windows Media Player.)

Report: The “Holocaust” is the Jewish term for burning the sacrificial offering to ashes. Never has there been an issue subject to as many contradictions, lies, and exaggerations regarding the number of victims as the issue of the Jewish Holocaust. The number of people killed in the Holocaust was estimated in the film “Night and Fog,” by the French director Alain Resnais, to be between eight and nine million, on the basis of documents invented by the Jews. The number dropped to four million Jews in the Soviet report to the Nuremburg trials. The figure dropped further, to 300,000 victims, according to British historian David Irving, and reached only 50,000, according to Raul Hilberg the Jew.

Given the statistical contradictions in the number of Holocaust victims, the French intellectual Roger Garaudy asks how the truth can be determined. The Holocaust Industry, by Dr. Norman Finkelstein, recounts how the Jews of the world have turned Jewish suffering at the hands of the Nazis into a political and ideological industry in order to garner support for Israel, and into a source of economic extortion, which yielded inconceivable sums for the Jews and their organizations, using as a pretext the so-called victims of the Nazi annihilation operations.

[...]

Norman Finkelstein: The main reason I wrote the book is because I thought that the Nazi Holocaust was being exploited by Israel and its supporters in the United States against the Palestinians and against basic principles of justice. That is, the Nazi Holocaust is being used as a political weapon in order to silence criticism of Israeli policies in the occupied territories.
There are also other reasons for writing the book. Obviously, there was a personal reason - namely, my parents passed through the Nazi Holocaust. Every member of their families was exterminated during the war, and I felt it was important to accurately represent what happened to them during the Nazi Holocaust.

[...]

My book is mostly about the misuse or exploitation of the Nazi Holocaust for political purposes. The main claims I make in the book are, first of all, that this notion of Holocaust uniqueness - that is, no group of people in the history of human kind has suffered the way Jews have suffered.

This notion of Holocaust uniqueness has no basis in historical fact and is an immoral doctrine, because it ranks human suffering, saying some suffering is better and some suffering is worse. The main purpose of this claim of Holocaust uniqueness is to immunize Israel, protect Israel, from criticism.

Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and Hank Williams - That's it

Last night on a talk show, Hank Williams, Jr appeared for an interview. He declared, "In American music, there's Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and Hank Williams (my dad) -- that's it! You have those three guys, and you got everything."

Is this the stupidest proclaimation ever? Sinatra made some songs that simbolize an era and very common American mood, which are known virtually by all. I can think of nothing to give Elvis, except that he was good and successful at what he did, but I would never want to hear any of his music, ever. Hank Williams? I barely have any knowledge that he even existed.

Hollyweird Abandons America

The Hollywood machine is quite eager to take advantage of the Independence Day crowds, releasing the new version of Superman on the July 4th weekend.

But the screenwriters and their studio overseers were so embarrassed by Superman’s American heritage that they changed the famous slogan “truth, justice, and the American way” ... to “truth, justice, and all that stuff."

Toronto Sun Stands With Israel

A Canadian church and trade union have called "for economic sanctions against Israel and a boycott of the Jewish state to protest its policies in the Palestinian territories. Basically, both are calling on Canadians to choose sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Fair enough. We choose Israel, which cannot be expected to negotiate with a Palestinian government led by Hamas, a terrorist group whose founding charter calls not only for the destruction of Israel, but for the annihilation of the Jewish people.... As long as this is Hamas' position, it is Hamas, not Israel, that should be boycotted by the civilized world."

A Conservative Concerned About Presidential Lawlessness

The protection of our constitutional system should not be a liberal vs. conservative issue.

But it seems that almost all of those who alarmed about this lawless Bushite presidency are people who would have opposed this administration for policy reasons, even if the Bushites had been the principled conservatives and adherents of traditional morality that they pretend to be.

Meanwhile, almost all of America's conservatives continue blithely along, supporting this president as their man for partisan reasons, apparently either blind or indifferent to the criminality of the regime.

Bruce Fein is a welcome and rare exception to this pattern. A very conservative jurist, one of the leading spokesmen for the Reagan Justice Department in the 1980s, Mr. Fein has been a supporter of the Bush presidency who has risen up to sound the alarm once the pattern of lawless conduct and assault on the American constitutional system became evident.

Casey's Plan for Troop Reductions: Cut and Run?

Summary:
A Washington Post article noted that President Bush has recently begun "[s]harpen[ing] his attack[s]" on Democrats by alleging that "some Democrats want to surrender" in Iraq, but did not mention the reported pullout plan for Iraq drafted by Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the senior U.S. commander in Iraq.

Israel Attacks Democracy Again!

Paul: How can you approve of Israel's arrest of democratically elected leaders in a Palestinian authority that needs leadership during a crisis situation?

You should be outraged by Israel's attack on the principles of democracy. Most leaders of other nations are granted diplomatic immunity especially when they are guilty of no crimes.

And this AFTER Hamas said it would implicitly recognize Israel! They were willing to negotiate!

Actions like this underscore the Palestinian people's right to defend themselves and their nation by any means necessary.

Opposing Viewpoints On The "Times Two" Blowing Of The SWIFT Program

Christopher Hitchens seems to agree with Paul's assessment of the NYT & LAT blowing the cover on the SWIFT program. Mark Steyn does not and neither do I.

Treason

"Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."

"owing allegiance to the United States"

Therein lies the "get out of jail free card" (no pun intended) for the treasonous journalists at the NYT and LAT. They have no "allegiance" to the United States, so how then can they commit treason against it?

Frist blames CNN for low Republican poll numbers

Frist: "It ain't my fault!"

Republicans blame CNN for their low poll numbers and blame the New York Times for Bush's domestic spying. Next thing you know Star Jones will accuse Barbara Walters of firing her from "The View".

BP accused of price manipulation

BP is facing legal action in the US over charges that it tried to manipulate propane prices in 2004.

Regulators allege its BP Products North America subsidy artificially forced up prices by buying up huge propane stocks only to withhold them from the market.

BP has denied the civil charges and said it intended to defend itself, and added that staff had been dismissed.

Hank Hill must be mortified.

Supreme Court Rules Against Bush on Guantanamo, or Do They?

So the Supreme Court says that the military tribunals Bush wants to use to try Guantanamo detainees violate the Geneva Convention. Big deal. He will just go back to the drawing board.

They should have shut the place down.

At the start, I presumed they were guilty

Nadir appears to be the only socio-political blabber mouth in America who has not formed and articulated an opinion on this matter. All the anti-accuser pundits started by believing the charges and lambasting the rich white guys. Tom and Six, why haven't y'all expressed an opinion on this? Do y'all share Nadir's "no look, no speak" policy on this one topic in the national headlines?

Epidemic of Rape Reporting vs Rape Eradication

Newshounds like those who participate in Reformed Leftist no doubt have the impression that Rape (including child molestation) is a growing epidemic. Factually, though, sex crimes have diminished drastically over the past 20 years, even as media hoopla has drastically increased. Anti-Rape advocates should be celebrating: Rape has a drastically reduced risk of occuring, and the risk keeps dropping.

What I Got Wrong About the War

Andrew Sullivan is one of my favorite libertarians, and reformed leftists. He hates islamic KKKers who want to execute non-believers and women who have sex outside of marriage 10,000 times more than he opposes the christian crusaders who merely want to outlaw gay marriage and abortion and permit voluntary prayer for all faiths in public schools. And he respects corporate leaders. He's gay, but he doesn't act like an exaggerated female slut.

He supported Bush's invasion of Iraq, and wanted it to lead to freedom / democracy / prosperity there. Now he thinks that this attempt was a mistake, though not clearly so.

Ann Coulter, Deadhead

Nadir and Six: Do y'all like the Grateful Dead? I don't. But Ann Coulter is a Deadhead. On a lark, some Deadhead writer wanted to interview her, and to his surprise, not only did she agree, he discovered that she's smart and funny. She makes quite a case that many of the ideas now labled as "liberal" or "leftist" find themselves more at home with those who are voting for Republicans.

Amazing NYT Hypocrisy

Behold this editorial from the Solons of the New York Times, just three days after 9/11:

Finances of Terror

September 24, 2001

Organizing the hijacking of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon took significant sums of money. The cost of these plots suggests that putting Osama bin Laden and other international terrorists out of business will require more than diplomatic coalitions and military action. Washington and its allies must also disable the financial networks used by terrorists.

The Bush administration is preparing new laws to help track terrorists through their money-laundering activity and is readying an executive order freezing the assets of known terrorists. Much more is needed, including stricter regulations, the recruitment of specialized investigators and greater cooperation with foreign banking authorities. There must also must be closer coordination among America’s law enforcement, national security and financial regulatory agencies.

Osama bin Laden originally rose to prominence because his inherited fortune allowed him to bankroll Arab volunteers fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Since then, he has acquired funds from a panoply of Islamic charities and illegal and legal businesses, including export-import and commodity trading firms, and is estimated to have as much as $300 million at his disposal.

Some of these businesses move funds through major commercial banks that lack the procedures to monitor such transactions properly. Locally, terrorists can utilize tiny unregulated storefront financial centers, including what are known as hawala banks, which people in South Asian immigrant communities in the United States and other Western countries use to transfer money abroad. Though some smaller financial transactions are likely to slip through undetected even after new rules are in place, much of the financing needed for major attacks could dry up.

Washington should revive international efforts begun during the Clinton administration to pressure countries with dangerously loose banking regulations to adopt and enforce stricter rules. These need to be accompanied by strong sanctions against doing business with financial institutions based in these nations. The Bush administration initially opposed such measures. But after the events of Sept. 11, it appears ready to embrace them.

The Treasury Department also needs new domestic legal weapons to crack down on money laundering by terrorists. The new laws should mandate the identification of all account owners, prohibit transactions with "shell banks" that have no physical premises and require closer monitoring of accounts coming from countries with lax banking laws. Prosecutors, meanwhile, should be able to freeze more easily the assets of suspected terrorists. The Senate Banking Committee plans to hold hearings this week on a bill providing for such measures. It should be approved and signed into law by President Bush.

New regulations requiring money service businesses like the hawala banks to register and imposing criminal penalties on those that do not are scheduled to come into force late next year. The effective date should be moved up to this fall, and rules should be strictly enforced the moment they take effect. If America is going to wage a new kind of war against terrorism, it must act on all fronts, including the financial one.

War is War, and Captured Soldiers are Captured Soldiers

Almost universally in the U.S. media, including on National Public Radio, the captured Israeli soldier is being referred to as a hostage and his capture is referred to as a "kidnapping."

Note that Israeli jails are brimming with captured Palestinian fighters, but this is not called kidnapping, nor are they called "hostages," though they often end up getting their freedom in in exchange for the return of captured Israeli soldiers who are referred to as "hostages," not prisoners.

Palast: Democracy in Chains

"Don't kid yourself: the Republican party's decision to "delay" the renewal of the Voting Rights Act has not a darn thing to do with objections of the Republican's white sheets caucus.

Complaints by a couple of good ol' boys to legislation have never stopped the GOP leadership from rolling over dissenters.

This is a strategic stall that is meant to decriminalise the Republican party's new game of challenging voters of colour by the hundreds of thousands."

Republican Senators Finally Stand Against Dictatorship?

''It's a challenge to the plain language of the Constitution,'' said Arlen Specter, a Republican whose Senate Judiciary Committee opened hearings on the issue. ''There is a sense that the president has taken signing statements far beyond the customary purview.''

Let's see if this actually results in change... I'm not holding my breath.

White House Assault on The New York Times Is Blatant Scapegoating

I applaud the New York Times for waking from its slumber on at least one issue - the Bush regime's continued surveillance of American citizens. The White House argument that it threatens national security is hogwash.

The greatest threat to the security of the United States and the world is the presidential administration of George W. Bush and his cronies.

Impeach the Bastards!!

Duke Rape Sports Illustrated Expose

Nadir, consider what black Duke law prof James Coleman says, after officially investigating the situation as head of a faculty committee:

"You've got a prosecutor playing to race. It's disgusting. If he's willing to [make race an issue] to go after what he thinks are three white kids with influence, what will he do going against some poor black kid in a case where people are saying, 'You've got to convict somebody?' To me, a prosecutor who's willing to cut corners in any case is a prosecutor who's subverting justice."

And this: "I don't understand how he can prosecute this case," says one Durham lawyer who supported Nifong's reelection. "It's a travesty."

Don't miss the testimony of the team's only black laccrosse player, either. And then there's the director of the school's "women's center", who says that the fraternaties were always a bigger problem than the laccrosse team. (Surely even the black fraternities!)

Coffee - UnJustly Maligned, Nurishing, Curative

Condemning coffee due to its containing caffiene is like condemning whole grain bread or apples because they contain naturally occuring sugar. When Gen. Alexander Duma -- mulato father of the writer -- found himself a POW after conquering Egypt for Napolean, he attributed his survival to two medicines: coffee and chocolate (another unjustly condemned food/medicine). Natural coffee -- and natural chocolate -- exist to please and nurish us. Foldgers (and Nestles) rob our health with "white bread" variations. Embrace food and health.

Anti-Flag Burning Law Singes Freedom

For a libertarian like me to vote Repo, I have to swallow some mud, just as you mamby-pamby leftists voting Demo must as well. One of the hardest swallows for me is watching the supposed Free Market advocates scrambling to construct a law that would require state officials to arrest me for destroying my own property should it bear an image matching that of the US flag. How is this different than such a law banning the likeness of Mohammad (or the desecration of such)? On what grounds would these Flag Protectors stand in opposing laws against disrespecting Mohammad?

Sensible Critique of Bush Foriegn Policy

I greatly respect Newsweek commentator Fareed Zakaria. He's an Arab muslim who despises islamicism and promotes democracy / freedom. He is hopeful of Bush's attempt to facilitate such in Iraq, but weary and critical of that attempt. This guy does not oppose every step that Bush takes, and does not instantly erect 1,000 criticisms of every step, and does not assume that Bush lies every time he speaks, or that he wants to place the non-white world under the jack boots of evil corporate officials who enrich themselves while rendering the rest of the earth's people into starving slaves. So when Zakaria criticizes Bush, I listen. Zakaria wants the people of Arabia to own their bodies, their thoughts, the production of their labors, and the aggreements that they make with each other. He believes that Bush's war is one action that could -- if conducted properly -- help this to occur, and he wants it to succeed.

Socialism, Based on Racism?

Lefties often portray capitalism as "based on racism". Yet capitalism has enabled more poor people, including those of all "races", to elevate themselves to, and maintain themselves in, prosperity and security than the competing economic model, socialism. Here economist Walter Williams exposes the racism of those who created socialism... so often embraced by lefties. As the fathers of these two competing economic models debated the respective merits, Williams shows that it was the capitalists who advocated an end to white-on-black slavery, an end to imperialism, and the establishment of equality of rights, whereas the socialists advocated the opposite.

Botswana - African Success, Lesson for Zimbabwe

Ghetto Economist Walter Williams says that Botswanans are succeeding where Zimbabweans have failed. The reasons: Botswanans have created a transparent democracy that embraces the resulting capitalism, whereas Zimbabweans have succumed to a marxist dictator.

REQUIRED READING FOR BUSH SUPPORTERS!

Let’s put this information into perspective. We have an administration that is largely controlled by a group that uses a fairly benign sounding name. Neo-Conservatism sounds very much like an acceptable and ethical political ideology. The principles involved in this group, however are the architects and power brokers of the failed and war mongering foreign policy of the Bush administration: the policy that has us now mired in Iraq, poised to strike Iran and Syria, and dead broke to boot.

Make no mistake. This is not a conservative group of politicos with an upgraded title. This is, in fact, a group that is extremely, not slightly reactionary. They are, also extremely, not slightly, dangerous. They contradict almost every concept Americans associate with a democratic republic and they do not adhere to the restrictions and boundaries defined by the US Constitution.

Today’s Anti-Republicans; Tomorrow’s Heroes?

"First let me state this: being anti-Republican today is not really being anti-Republican. It is being anti-fascist. The political party associations claimed by our current crop of government officials have nothing to do with the actual political ideologies of their respective parties, but the American public for the most part is too lazy to take notice.

Americans today are fooled by labels. They could care less if their brightly labeled bottle of Kool-Aid actually contains poison; they will just keep drinking as they die while defending the purity of their Kool-Aid. And they could care less if their Republican candidate is actually a neo-Conservative who is more like a lying power mongering a Machiavellian than a law and order Republican."

GOP Kills Bill to Police Halliburton

I suppose it's old news at this point that the Bush administration lied us into the Iraq war, and that the cost of this mess will be fully realized by the next generation when Bush leaves office with the biggest budget deficit in U.S. history.

And, while Democrats have been complaining for years about the GOP-led Congress abandoning its oversight of the executive branch's wrongdoing, a vote that took place in the Senate last week shows how the Republican desire to ignore fraud and abuse extends right into killing legislation that would help stop defense contractors from ripping off the American people.

Are the Dems Committing Vote Fraud?

The last thing Melissa Bean, the freshman Rep from Illinois' 8th CD, wants to see leading up to November's election is Bill Scheurer.

Scheurer, whom Bean defeated in the 2004 primary en route to becoming the first Democrat to take the seat since the New Deal era, is running as an independent this time around. His platform is simple: get out of Iraq, balance the budget and provide universal health coverage -- in that order.

For Congressional Dems, holding the seat is crucial to retaking the House; for the GOP, the seat is a prime pick-up opportunity. The DCCC and the NRCC are both expected to pour tons of cash into the district. Both view Scheurer as a potential "spoiler" for Bean. The question is: to what lengths are the Dems willing to go to keep him from getting the 13,950 signatures required to get on the ballot?

That's where our story gets fishy.

Amnesty for anti-US forces

“This is what we did after the Second World War, after the Civil War, after the War of Independence. It may be unpalatable and unsavoury but it is how wars end.”

Indeed. I see no way to victory except for amnesty. It may also provide a way out for the soldiers accused of war crimes, if indeed some of them are innoccent.

Major Terror Ring Or 'Al Qaeda Lite'?

By Andrew Cohen, Legal analyst, CBS News

"The federal indictment Friday of seven Miami men is extraordinary for what it does not contain. It does not contain allegations that the men ever met with a genuine al Qaeda operative — just an informant playing the role for the government. It does not contain allegations that the men ever purchased any munitions or went anywhere near Chicago to case the building. It does not contain allegations that the men had any sort of a specific plan or detailed plot to take down the Sears Tower. The indictment is only 11 pages long. Read it yourself and decide whether the feds have broken up al Qaeda Lite or just the Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight."

Duke Accuser Was Arrested... Until Crying "Rape"

Another report documenting that the Duke accuser got herself out of an arrest by inventing the rape claim. Not mentioned in this story is a question recently asked in earnest (but that some like me have asked for some weeks): Why no "toxicology" test, as is (1) normal for a rape case (to check for "date rape" drugs"); and (2) mandatory for "public intoxication" arrests (which is what she was arrested for)? Answer: The accuser -- already in legal trouble for previously stealing a car and driving very dangerously while loaded -- was at the time on self-administered illegal drugs, which a "toxicology" test would have revealed.

By inventing a rape allegation, she transformed herself from drug criminal to rape victim, and thereby not only got herself released from custody, but transformed her impending toxicology test from mandatory to voluntary. Prediction: We will learn that that rape-examining medical personel attempted their usual rape toxicology test, but the accuser refused to consent.

So Much for Santorum's WMD Claims

Sen Rick Santorum (R-Pa) and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) held a press conference yesterday to announce that weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq, only to have their claims flatly disavowed by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Army takes older recruits

The U.S. Army, aiming to make its recruiting goals amid the Iraq war, raised its maximum enlistment age by another two years on Wednesday, while the Army Reserve predicted it will miss its recruiting target for a second straight year.

People can now volunteer to serve in the active-duty Army or the part-time Army Reserve and National Guard up to their 42nd birthday after the move aimed at increasing the number of people eligible to sign up, officials said.

It marked the second time this year the Army has boosted the maximum age for new volunteers, raising the ceiling from age 35 to 40 in January before now adding two more years.

Paul and Slinger: Give it another couple of months, and they may raise the age high enough for you guys to volunteer after all...

Some Men Rape; Some Women File False Rape Charges

Why is it that anybody -- such as Tom -- believed that women were any less likely to lie about a rape than men are *to* rape? As this female writer correctly notes, the ability to file a false rape charge is both possible and powerful, and women are no less likely to abuse power than are men.

Whoopi, the First Lefty Talk Radio Success?

Tonight Sean Hannity on Fox News hosted guest Whoppi Goldberg, touting her new talk radio show. I expected the worse. I find Whoppi unfunny, often cringingly unfunny. I also find her lefty comments especially vacuous in the usual celebrity manner. But she proved me wrong on this appearance. She performed so well with righty Hannity that she charmed and convinced him.

Meanwhile on CNN, the new Glenn Beck show is proving that some righty talk radio hosts are unwatchably horrible.

So much for that anti-war talking point

500 Sarin, Mustard Gas Shells Confirmed in Iraq

Document Details WMD Recovered In Iraq, Santorum Says.

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) announced Wednesday the finding of over 500 munitions or weapons of mass destruction, specifically “sarin- and mustard-filled projectiles,” in Iraq.

Reading from unclassified portions of a document developed by the U.S. intelligence community, Santorum said, “Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq’s pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist.”

According to Santorum, “That means in addition to the 500, there are filled and unfilled munitions still believed to exist within the country.”

Reading from the document, Santorum added, “Pre-Gulf War Iraqi chemical weapons could be sold on the Black Market. Use of these weapons by terrorist or insurgent groups would have implications for coalition forces in Iraq. The possibility of use outside of Iraq cannot be ruled out. The most likely munitions remaining are sarin- and mustard-filled projectiles. And I underscore filled.”

But-but, there were no WMD!!!

Shut up.

"They've reduced this black queen to a stripper."

One of the many presposterous claims by the Duke stripper defenders is their attacks on the media for describing her in news stories as "a stripper" instead of "a single mother and college student." Most famously, a black male student at a nearby black college at a packed forum on this topic accounced that, "They've reduced this black queen to a stripper."

But this "black queen"'s status as single mother and student had ZERO to do with the story. The media also didn't refer to the accused laccrosse players as "honor students", because that also had nothing to do with the story. The media called them "Duke lacrosse players" because they attended a party for "Duke lacrossee players"; the media called her "a stripper" because she attended the Duke laccrosse party as a stripper, not as a student (she wasn't there tutoring the guys in chemistry) or as a single mother (she hadn't taken her children there for baby-sitting). And some "queen" she's turned out to be. Is it racist to assume that somebody is a "queen" simply because she belongs to a certain "race"?

If you look for racism, you can find it anywhere, even where it isn't, and you will dull your ability to convince anybody when you've actually found it. Here's an unrelated story that involves a woman refered only as "the prostitute." She might be a mother, she might be a student, she might even be a female laccrosse player. But none of that pertains to the story.

Another Mayor on Coke

“How do we explain to children drug use is dangerous and can ruin your life if the top guy is a drug user?”

...maybe explain this way: using drugs can cause great medical harm, though some people are able to function productively on them, at least for some period of time. Anti-drug laws, on the other hand, only cause problems, such as making the drugs even more damaging via un-controlled street manufacturing. If this mayor can successfully run a city while consuming cocaine, should we arrest him and transform him from a tax-payer into a tax-consumer just to prove the anti-drug slogans?

Afgahni US Puppets Attend School, Defy Freedom Fighters

Here's some US lacky Afgahn school girls and teachers who have sold-out their "traditional" "indiginous" values to their US masters, causing the brave Freedom Fighters opposing US colonialism to impose "traditional" "indiginous" means of resistance: amputating the noses and ears of these teen girls and their teachers. Down with US imperialism! Up the Afgahni rebels! Power to the people! Noses and ears only for girls who honor mideavel religious superstitions!

Federal Contracts Up 86% Under Bush; Halliburton Rises 600%

A new report claims that a "shadow government" of federal contractors has exploded in size over the last five years.

The document, compiled at the request of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and distributed to RAW STORY, indicates that procurement spending increased by over $175 billion between 2000 and 2005, making federal contracts the fastest growing component of federal discretionary spending.

Waxman claims that overcharging -- by mistake or outright fraud -- has been a frequent occurrance. In all, the report identifies 118 federal contracts worth $745.5 billion that have been found by government officials to include significant waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement.

How can you so-called "conservatives" still support this corrupt administration???

Another Duke Accuser Supporter Flips

On Tucker Carlson tonight on MSNBC yet another supporter of Nifong and the accuser flipped... due to consideration of facts. This legal correspondant is a white female former prosecuter who hung onto Nifong's case long after Carlson himself flipped from Nifong/accuser supporter to opponent. In recent weeks she had been insisting that she could not change from her position until she saw the "discovery" evidence herself. One of the defense attornies made the evidence available to her to scrutinize for herself. She was devistated. She changed her assessment, and now says that Nifong never had enough evidence to even seek an idictment, and obtained one only by shielding evidence from the grand jury.

The linked article is a new summary from Newsweek, which initially reported the story with the original "rich white pampered athletes gone wild" arc. The newsmag's latest survey is quite different, and presents the finding of Duke's black law prof, whose investigation calls for disciplinary action against Nifong, and portrays the lacrosse players as not so bad afterall.

US Company Covets Burgeoning Middle Class in India, China

Google wants to sell products to the Indians and Chinese. Not the starving Indians and Chinese that Meathead's wife used to beg money for on cable TV during the days that capitalism could gain no foothold in those nations. Rather, the rich, greedy bastards at Google -- an evil corporation! -- needs as many people as possible in those nations to have as much money as possible, in order to purchase stuff. This indeed reeks of an international corporate conspiracy. Non-dictatorships in the muslim world would also lead to rich targets for such corporate exploitation.

Why do leftists believe that free marketeers seek a perpetual mass of slave laborers? Not a single blueprint or documented advocacy exists for such a business model. Yet the shelves of Borders brim with free market economists noting that Henry Ford and Bill Gates profit more from free societies comprising wide populations of wealth than they do from dictatorships charactorized by stagnet poverty.

More Civil Rights Removed by Bush Administration

From the article:

"A lot of people are up in arms about the Supreme Court’s “no knock” decision.

I also think it’s outrageous.

Making police knock before barging into the sanctity of people’s homes is fundamental to the 4th Amendment, and to the principle underlying that dates back to thirteenth century.

Talk about turning back the clocks!

But there’s a decision that bothers me even more, and it’s received a lot less attention.

And that’s a ruling, on July 14, by Federal Judge John Gleeson, that the government can detain noncitizens indefinitely without explanation so long as that end of that detention is “reasonably foreseeable.”

You Gotta Have Art

If this doesn’t sum up the subject of some of the crap that is passed off as “art” these days, nothing will.

"Given their separate submission, the two parts were judged independently," it said in a statement.

"The head was rejected, the base was thought to have merit and accepted."

"The head has been safely stored ready to be collected by the artist."

"It is accepted that works may not be displayed in the way that the artist might have intended."

Credit where credit is due

"President Bush plans to designate an island chain spanning nearly 1,400 miles of the Pacific northwest of Hawaii as a national monument today, creating the largest protected marine reserve in the world, according to sources familiar with the plan."

Apparently Bush decided to make this move after watching Voyage to Kure, a PBS documentary on the dangers facing the area's endangered marine life made by Jean-Michel Cousteau, Jacques Cousteau's son.

Maybe we should tie him down and force him to watch a few other movies as Arianna Huffington suggests.

The End of the Internet and Cable TV As We Know It

If the US Senate joins the House in passing the COPE Act, the Internet and cable television will change forever. Critics of the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement (COPE) Act claim that American citizens will suffer a tremendous blow to the freedoms promised by the miracles of 21st century technology if the bill is signed into law.

Fort Carson soldiers re-enlist

The mass re-enlistment of 640 GIs of the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment is considered invaluable to the Army's future.

Not that soldiers decide easily.

"It's not like I want to go back. But I enjoy what I do and the people I work with. You find work you enjoy, you stay with it," said Staff Sgt. Dennis Busse, 29, who also served in Afghanistan with a wife and three kids back home.

"Money was the least of it" in deciding to stay with the 3rd ACR, which moves to Texas this year, said Busse, who worked previously as a cook at Italian and Mexican restaurants in his native Wisconsin.

"You're always going to find difficulties. There are difficulties on the civilian side, too. The military seems to be closer. The difference is, the employers in the civilian world, some of the owners, they don't want to do what they need to do. Here, anyone who's above you has been where you are."

Duke Rape Injustices

Here's a neat list of the bald contradictions between what the DA Nifong proclaimed to the public and the evidence that he had in-hand, and which he sheilded from both the judge from whom he obtained the search and DNA warrents, and from the grand juries from which he obtained his indictments. If we permit this DA to railroad some innocent rich white assholes, on what basis will we protect others? How does this case affect authentic cries of rape and racism?

The Marine Who Saw Too Much

A former lance corporal explains why he intentionally failed a drug test to avoid going back to war-torn Iraq.

Fighting in the war flipped Daniel's political beliefs. "I came back very anti-Bush. I used to be a Republican before I joined the military. Not any more." His experiences on the ground, he says, convinced him he'd been lied to. The Iraqis "are a defeated people," he says, not a threat to America. "It's a third-world country. These people walk around with no shoes, nothing. These guys are working for a dollar a day. The military would pay the village people to come on base and build sandbags so that they can be more comfortable in their tents and pay them a dollar a day, and these guys will work making seven dollars a week just to feed their family."

Watching the construction of permanent barracks on bases in Iraq convinced Daniel that the real goal of the war was control. "Iraq is the center of the Middle East. If you control the center, you control the whole Middle East. You control all the profits that you get from there," he says about the oil reserves.

Iraq Amnesty Plan May Cover Attacks On U.S. Military

"Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday proposed a limited amnesty to help end the Sunni Arab insurgency as part of a national reconciliation plan that Maliki said would be released within days. The plan is likely to include pardons for those who had attacked only U.S. troops, a top adviser said."

The Iraqi government is so happy the US has brought them "democracy" that they will pardon guerrilla fighters who attacked US troops? How does that make you war proponents feel?

Fmr.President Gerald R. Ford:"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have"

The SCOTUS Kelo decision hits NOLA.

Iraq using 'treasure' of al-Zarqawi info

National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie also said he believed the security situation in the country would improve enough to allow a large number of U.S.-led forces to leave Iraq by the end of this year, and a majority to depart by the end of next year. "And maybe the last soldier will leave Iraq by mid-2008," he said.

I'd say that's news everyone can be happy about.

"We believe that this is the beginning of the end of al-Qaida in Iraq," al-Rubaie said, adding that the documents showed al-Qaida is in "pretty bad shape," politically and in terms of training, weapons and media.

"Now we have the upper hand," he said at a news conference in Baghdad. "We feel that we know their locations, the names of their leaders, their whereabouts, their movements, through the documents we found during the last few days."

All-in-all, good news.

Operation Pipe Dreams

The film "a/k/a Tommy Chong" tells the depressing, often ridiculous and generally enraging story of how and why Mr. Chong (above left, next to his long-time partner Cheech Marin), an extremely laid-back and genial camera presence, ended up doing time in the minimum-security Taft Correctional Institution in Taft, Calif.

US Invasion of Mexico

If Mexico is improving, why are so many still coming to the US? I don't understand yet...

A Poetic Diversion: Woodstock

Here is a lyric that works well as poetry and as song. Sorry. It is only slightly political. Though it expresses some commie hippie sentiments, it is poetry.

Woodstock by Joni Mitchell
I came upon a child of God He was walking along the road And I asked him where are you going And this he told me I'm going on down to Yasgur's farm I'm going to join in a rock 'n' roll band I'm going to camp out on the land I'm going to try an' get my soul free We are stardust We are golden And we've got to get ourselves Back to the garden Then can I walk beside you I have come here to lose the smog And I feel to be a cog in something turning Well maybe it is just the time of year Or maybe it's the time of man I don't know who I am But you know life is for learning We are stardust We are golden And we've got to get ourselves Back to the garden By the time we got to Woodstock We were half a million strong And everywhere there was song and celebration And I dreamed I saw the bombers Riding shotgun in the sky And they were turning into butterflies Above our nation We are stardust Billion year old carbon We are golden Caught in the devil's bargain And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden
Copyright © Siquomb Publishing Company

The 'Kweisi Problem'

As Democrats elsewhere rub their hands in anticipation of congressional gains in the midterm elections, Democrats in Maryland are gloomily contemplating a scenario in which they may lose a U.S. Senate seat they've held for 30 years.

And that scenario has a name: Kweisi Mfume.

Antidepressant approved for winter blues

Oh for Christ's sake, just smoke a f*cking joint! But wait, that's still illegal, isn't it?

The Mayor of Simpleton

" I'm not proud of the fact that I never learned much,
Just feel I should say,
what you get is all real,
I can't put on an act,
It takes brains to do that anyway."

"The Mayor of Simpleton" by XTC

Why, I think he's talking to you Nadir

"So by all means investigate Haditha. Try and convict any who broke the rules of war, and sullied the honor of the U.S. Marine Corps.

But please spare us the scripted outrage that is simply cheap cover for wanting Iraq to end as Vietnam, as there appear ten stories on Haditha for every one about either an American victory over terrorists or help for Iraqi civilians. Any true moralist who cares for the Iraqi people should pray that this war doesn’t devolve into helicopters on the embassy roof — followed by the old predictable liberal silence when the real killing begins."

Father of Beheaded Man Blames Bush, Not Zarqawi

Michael Berg, whose son Nick was beheaded in Iraq in 2004, said on Thursday he felt no sense of relief at the killing of the al Qaeda leader in Iraq and blamed President Bush for his son's death.

Asked what would give him satisfaction, Berg, an anti-war activist and candidate for U.S. Congress, said, "The end of the war and getting rid of George Bush."

"I don't think that Zarqawi is himself responsible for the killings of hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq," Berg said in a combative television interview with the U.S. Fox News network. "I think George Bush is."

America's Endless Race Wars and Massacres

From The Black Commentator:

Massacre is an acquired taste. The United States is arguably the only country on the planet whose national personality and self-image is rooted in centuries of unremitting expansion through race war punctuated by massacre. There have always been “free-fire zones” all along the coveted, ever moving peripheries of white American power, from the “Indian country” surrounding the settler beachheads of Plymouth Rock and Jamestown to the “Sunni Triangle” of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan. Whole peoples – millions – have been erased in the glorious march of American Manifest Destiny.

Top "Minuteman" Dead

John Murtha must be terribly disappointed.

New DNA Analysis Frees Innocent Man

This guy got convicted of rape and beating due to an accuser's ID. It's the same sort of ID that got the Duke assholes charged with these crimes. Nadir says that the Duke rape case bores him to sleep. Will he wake up when some black guys get successfully accused by a white stripper under these circumstances? Will his job as champion of justice be easier or harder then due to his sleep now?

Repeat after me, "There Is No Terrorist Threat"

Ann Coulter Attacks 911 Widows

Earlier today, the Today Show's Matt Lauer challenged fright-wing pundit Ann Coulter on this charming statement of hers:

"These self-obsessed women seem genuinely unaware that 9-11 was an attack on our nation and acted like as if the terrorist attack only happened to them. They believe the entire country was required to marinate in their exquisite personal agony.

Apparently, denouncing bush was part of the closure process."

Then Matt said "and this part is the part I really need to talk to you about: 'These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by griefparrazies. I have never seen people enjoying their husband's death so much.'

Ann Coulter is the Howard Stern of political pundits - all shock-jock. Hasn't she been seen stripping on Stern's show?

She will say whatever comes to mind, if she thinks her beer guzzling, red state, red neck audience will shout out a "HELL YEAH, ANNIE!!"

So why is she on Bush's jock so much?

These are women whose husbands died so that her president could wage endless war. If anything she should be expressing sorrow at their loss and understanding their anger. Even if the government wasn't complicit in 911, at the very least the intelligence community was inept.

I mean, even Canada can foil terrorist threats within its borders...

I think those 911 widows (and military families) have every right to complain. Don't you?