DoD Investigation of Feith Stalls Intelligence Investigation
Fri Feb 03, 2006 at 10:07:11 AM PDT
Notorious neocon Douglas J. Feith --aka "the dumbest fucking guy on the planet"-- is
under investigation by the Department of Defense. That investigation is said to be holding up the Senate's (already reluctant) hearing into bogus pre-war intelligence that led us into Iraq.
Feith and the Pentagon have made the case that they will not share any information until the Senate provides them with full documentation of what the investigation is looking into, documentary evidence that Senate staff have acquired, and any other key findings that Feith's lawyers believe should be made available to them.
More after the fold.
Gore Vidal Calls for Protests Tonight
Tue Jan 31, 2006 at 10:43:41 AM PDT
Israel Kills 9-Year-Old Palestinian Girl
Mon Jan 30, 2006 at 12:45:38 PM PDT
Originally from the
Guardian UK:
As the votes were counted in the Palestinian election and the scale of Hamas's landslide became apparent to the world, Aya al-Astal drifted away from her home and wandered towards the fence along the border between the Gaza strip and Israel.
The nine-year-old girl's parents realised she was gone as they watched the election results on television. They do not know precisely what happened, but the Israeli army later said Aya was behaving in a suspicious manner reminiscent of a terrorist - she got too close to the border fence - and so a soldier fired several bullets into the child, hitting her in the neck and blowing open her stomach.
The article goes on to note Palestinian outrage that Israeli soldiers have killed twice as many Palestinians in the the last week - both of them children - as the number of Israelis killed by Hamas all last year.
More after the fold.
Another World is Preparing to Confront America
Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 02:15:19 PM PDT
"Those in power can handle people going on the occasional police-controlled march. They can also, let's be honest, handle small groups of people doing actions that no one else gets involved in. What they can't handle is people making alliances, building links, supporting and learning from each other through action." - Noam Chomsky
Sixth World Social Forum, January 24, 2006, Caracas, Venezuela:
"The battle must be waged in the entire world. We have to link all of our causes -- unity," [Hugo] Chavez said.
Increasingly, those causes are being linked. The United States is not only facing an endgame financially, it has --through the belligerence of the Bush administration-- enraged the rest of the world and essentially united it in seeking a way to reign in Imperial America.
More after the bump.
Al Gore, Movie Star? (With Poll)
Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 01:05:35 PM PDT
Al Gore is the subject of a film that is turning out to be
a surprise hit:
An Inconvenient Truth is getting standing ovations at the Sundance film festival in Utah this week. The festival guide describes the film as a "gripping story" with "a visually mesmerising presentation" that is "activist cinema at its very best". In Nashville, Mr Gore's home town, fire marshals had to turn away hundreds of fans trying to get into a screening.
Hmm. So if this film does turn into a breakout hit, is that good or bad for Gore in '08 boosters?
Bush Prepares to Legalize Illegal Wiretapping
Wed Jan 25, 2006 at 12:39:39 PM PDT
United States Attorney General Abu Gonzales has been quietly laying the groundwork for the administration's plan to legalize Bush's illegal wiretapping, according to
this article in Time.
The talking point is that FISA is tired, a relic of the 1970's, totally unhip to the new technology we have today, baby:
"I think we all realize that since 1978, when FISA was passed, there have been tremendous changes in technology," (Gonzales) said on CBS's "The Early Show." "We are engaged in a debate now, a conversation with Congress about FISA and about these authorities."
With their boy Alito poised for ignition, this is an ominous development. I have two questions about this after the fold.
PATRIOT Act to Provide Bush His Gestapo
Tue Jan 24, 2006 at 10:12:30 AM PDT
Russ Feingold posed a very interesting rhetorical question in the wake of the disclosure that President Bush had personally authorized the NSA to conduct illegal domestic wiretaps. "If the President has the power to do this," Feingold asked, "what does he need the PATRIOT Act for?"
Hmm. What does he need the PATRIOT Act for? He stumps for it incessantly in near hysterical terms. What could be buried in there that is so terribly interesting to a man already in possession of self-proclaimed dictatorial powers? For a man that already has the fourth amendment down for the count? Well, as has been amply demonstrated recently, the first amendment is the one that really rankles this administration - as it serves to protect most forms of dissent.
Well, the PATRIOT Act is poised to give the administration the ability to effectively put down public displays of dissent.
More after the fold.
Hillary Clinton, Nomination Clinched, Moves Right
Mon Jan 23, 2006 at 03:45:45 PM PDT
A couple of interesting ideas knocking around in Justin Raimondo's new
Hillary Clinton, War Goddess article.
First, Raimondo posits that Hillary now has the distinction of being the first politician from either party (or the first from the lone 'War Party' if you prefer) calling for permanent military bases in Iraq.
More after the fold.
Wake Up Call: America is Falling to a Revolutionary Power
Mon Jan 16, 2006 at 02:05:11 AM PDT
I want to be invisible. I do guerrilla warfare. I paint my face and travel at night. You don't know it's over until you're in a body bag. You don't know until election night. --Ralph Reed
The impassioned squabbles raging back and forth at DailyKos at the moment revolve around the degree to which the evident (although by no means foregone) capitulation of the Democratic party to the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court represents a betrayal of its supporters, and if so, what an appropriate response to such a betrayal should be. While these are interesting and necessary debates, what I see missing from the discussion is any mention of the fact that the Democratic party continues to negotiate and work in good faith with a Republican party that clearly represents a revolutionary movement out to smash the Constitution of the United States. This cannot continue and is rapidly approaching the point of absurdity.
More after the fold.
Sibel Edmonds Verifies Blogger On the Right Track
Fri Jan 06, 2006 at 12:43:31 PM PDT
UPDATE: Many have pointed out that Scooter Libby has had the lucky draw of Reggie Walton to be the judge presiding over the case Patrick Fitzgerald is bringing against him. Reggie Walton is the judge that, according to Sibel Edmonds, unfairly dismissed her lawsuit against the FBI over these issues - issues that seem to implicate Libby in a series of crimes against the United States.
Judge Reggie Walton seems to be the go-to guy whenever the administration gets into legal trouble.
Gagged whistleblower Sibel Edmonds has verified that
a comprehensive review of her public statements has provided one particularly dedicated blogger with the most accurate picture yet of the web of corruption she has long tried to expose.
i got an email from sibel edmonds the other day after she had read some of my posts about her story - basically she wanted to let me know that i was on the right track (and that virtually no-one else is).
More after the fold:
UPI: U.S. Tells NATO Allies to Prepare for Iran Strike
Fri Dec 30, 2005 at 11:24:36 PM PDT
According to United Press International,
the United States is preparing NATO allies for strikes on Iran in 2006.
German media speculation about the supposed U.S. plans has been fueled by a number of high-profile visits to Turkey this month, including trips by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, by the CIA's Porter Goss and by the FBI Director Robert Mueller, who also delivered U.S. intelligence reports on Iranian backing for PKK operations aimed against Turkey. There have also been some significant Turkish visits to Washington, as reported by Der Spiegel.
...
The CIA Director's [Porter Goss] Dec. 12 call on the Turkish prime minister last for over an hour, far longer than customary for a mere courtesy call, and followed an even longer meeting with senior staff of MIT, Turkish intelligence. The Turkish Daily Cumhuriyet reported on December 13: "Goss also asked Ankara to be ready for a possible U.S. air operation against Iran and Syria."
How To Spy on the DailyKos Readership
Sat Dec 24, 2005 at 05:53:03 PM PDT
Some people have unreasonable expectations re: their privacy as a reader of DailyKos. Let me explain to you how easy it is for the government --and in fact more or less anyone-- to learn that you are a reader of this site:
So you want to spy on the DailyKos readership, eh? You naughty boy! Do the following:
Post a diary or a message and in the body of the message add a tiny image, either white or even better as an invisible "transparent gif". Serve this image from your favorite web server that has it's logging facility enabled. You now have your own personal DailyKos "web bug"!
Sit back and enjoy as the IP addresses of DailyKos' readership rolls in! You're well on your way to data mining for strategic individuals to disappear, harass, kidnap, arrest, detain or whatever else your little fascist heart desires. Should DailyKos address this problem? Yes. Force all embedded images to conspicuously announce themselves.
Prove me wrong, or address the problem and I'll update/delete this diary immediately as appropriate
Bush the Despot: I Promise You Will Be Amazed
Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 03:39:14 PM PDT
When you
watch this short film from 1946 and consider it in the context of where America stands today; particularly in light of the startling revelation that our President has now openly informed America that he
is the law.
This film was produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films, Inc. almost exactly 50 years ago. I came across it in the blog of writer William Gibson, who himself thanks his friend Joi Ito for originally pointing it out to him.
Zogby: McCain Crushes Hillary in '08
Wed Dec 14, 2005 at 01:11:48 PM PDT
Zogby International's
year-end poll is out and the results generally look quite good for Democrats in 2006:
Asked if they would "definitely" or "probably" vote for the Democrat or Republican in next year's fall congressional election, 48% said the Democrat would get their support, compared to 40% who said they would vote for the Republican. While 3% said they plan on supporting a third-party candidate, 9% said they were unsure.
The bad news for us is that at this moment at least is that consensus leading candidate Hillary Clinton would likely to be crushed by McCain in '08: Zogby seeing 52% to 37%, McCain in such a matchup with 11% unsure.
So the message seems to be: all systems go for a good 2006 showing, and we clearly need a better candidate in '08. Will Al Gore please stand up?
Bush: Malignant Egophrenic?
Mon Nov 28, 2005 at 11:17:28 AM PDT
Seymour Hersh's
interview on CNN yesterday has set alarm bells ringing again that George W. Bush may be seriously mentally ill. In considering that possibility and what it might imply, there has been some back and forth about the nature of what precisely we as a nation are facing in the Bush administration - are these individuals "crazy", are they "evil", are they merely "statist fanatics" and no more than a transient shift in the political winds? Do moralistic terms such as "evil" even merit a place in any serious discourse about a branch of government?
More evil and madness after the fold.
