The Perspective

CIA Intelligence Gaps on Iran and the 'certainty' of the White House

2006-05-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a bit of shaking going in the CIA leadership that, according to the NY Times, is centered around Intelligence Gaps on Iran's nuclear intentions.

... A year after a presidential commission gave a scathing assessment of intelligence on Iran, they say, American spy agencies remain severely handicapped in their efforts to assess its weapons programs and its leaders' intentions. Whoever takes the helm of the C.I.A., after the resignation on Friday of Porter J. Goss, will confront a crucial target with few, if any, American spies on the ground, sketchy communications intercepts and ambiguous satellite images, the experts say.

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CIA officials aren't even sure who is in the room when these policy decisions are made let alone their outcomes, but the American ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, and VP Dick Cheney are far more sure beyond any facts for various reasons.

A majority of Iranian parliamentarians said in a statement that if the United Nations invoked Chapter VII, Parliament would call on the government to consider quitting the nuclear treaty, Reuters reported

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Mr. Bolton said Parliament's threat would not deter a United Nations resolution. "It shows they remain desperate to conceal that their nuclear program is in fact a weapons program," he said, according to The A.P.

I guess he's trying to 'build' the facts now.

This is exactly why invading Iraq was a mistake. It was never about weapons of mass destruction or any involvement in the 9/11 attacks. Some people say it was about euro-petros (accepting oil payments in euros), other say it is strategic to Israel, but personally it looks like support for Osama Bin Laden, for two reasons; one, it takes the focus off of Bin Laden again, and two it makes America look a bit Roman, which can only help Bin Laden's claim of an Evil Empire in the eyes of the middle east.

Media Spin on Iran

2006-04-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

On the front page of the New York Times, the Propaganda war rages on. The article points out that Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that Iran was using P2-centrifuge technology to produce it enriched uranium:

NY TIMES

The assertion involves Iran's claim that even while it begins to enrich small amounts of uranium, it is pursuing a far more sophisticated way of making atomic fuel that American officials and inspectors say could speed Iran's path to developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran has consistently maintained that it abandoned work on this advanced technology, called the P-2 centrifuge, three years ago. Western analysts long suspected that Iran had a second, secret program based on the black market offerings of the renegade Pakistani nuclear engineer Abdul Qadeer Khan separate from the activity at its main nuclear facility at Natanz. But they had no proof.

Then on Thursday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Tehran was "presently conducting research" on the P-2 centrifuge, boasting that it would quadruple Iran's enrichment powers. The centrifuges are tall, thin machines that spin very fast to enrich, or concentrate, uranium's rare component, uranium 235, which can fuel nuclear reactors or atom bombs.

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Okay, wait a second. For 3 years I have been seeing articles about the possible threat that the Iran "regime" poses. I don't know about you, but when I saw the word President today something struck that hadn't before, so I did a little research to figure out how their political system worked and found out it operates like a democracy. It has an Executive Branch headed by an elected official from a popular vote. It also has a Judicial and a Legislative. If anyone knows more specifics help out.

the other thing that occured to me was that in order for this information about the p-2 centrifuge to be accurate there had to be a second facility they weren't acknowledging to the IAEA, but wait let look at what he said. I think it is important to keep in mind that this leader often over-states Iran's position and demands respect for it. It has also occured to me that if his policies were failing, that of a grass roots economic official, he going to try and use tyhe opertunity to gather support from his voter base. It may be a theocratic democracy, but he still has to earn his votes..

A quote from an article in the Washington Post: Rafsanjani's announcement may have been aimed at trumping his rival and taking credit for progress in the nuclear program, which has broad support in Iran, analysts said.

So here what he says according to the NY Times: "presently conducting research" on the P-2 centrifuge, boasting that it would quadruple Iran's enrichment powers. Hmm... He obviously didn't say the whole sentence or the quotation marks would have encompassed it all, right. Lets see what he did say about from the transcript of the announcement April 9th... That's strange. I cant find it anywhere on the internet, (again if anyone has a link to this please post it), but I did find a few article writen the day after the nationally televised speech (Iran).

This article discuss 164 centrifuges:

"We operated the first unit which comprises of 164 centrifuges, gas was injected, and we got the industrial output," Rafsanjani said in an interview with KUNA.

"There needs to be an expansion of operations if we are to have a complete industrial unit; tens of units are required to set up a uranium enrichment plant," said Rafsanjani, who was Ahmadinejad's rival in last year's presidential race.

They don't even have a plant built yet, did you catch that. And they aren't discribing the P-2 centrifuge here. So where did the NY Times get this information?

The Washington Post reported this April 12th:

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog group, confirmed that the Iranians were operating an array of 164 centrifuges, and inspectors arriving in Tehran on Wednesday will seek to verify the production of a token amount of nuclear fuel. Producing amounts large enough to power an electrical plant or -- if enriched long enough -- to make a bomb would require several thousand centrifuges, orchestrated in cascades whose constant operation poses significant technical challenges.

"This means they can operate a larger cascade, but can they do it for a long time? We don't know," said a Western official closely involved in monitoring Iran's progress.

Iran had previously enriched uranium to a level of about 2 percent, using a smaller cascade, and separately enriched uranium to about 15 percent during laser experiments in 2002. Bomb-grade uranium must be enriched to a level of well over 80 percent.

IAEA inspectors have monitored much of the work being conducted in Iran during frequent visits over the last month, and the cascade of centrifuges is being monitored by IAEA cameras. Agency officials told diplomats almost a month ago that the Iranians were close to completing the 164-centrifuge cascade and would begin testing it with inert gas and then a small quantity of uranium gas. Though it is technically possible, most nuclear experts agree it is unlikely Iran would be able to make bomb-grade uranium with the 164-centrifuge cascade.

Well none of that sounds like the p-2 centrifuge, and It looks like it would be pretty challenging to accomplish this in secret, considering there efforts here are fundimental at best, as of yet. One thing I'd like to make sure of is that the NY Times is reporting accurate news. This process is taking place in front of cameras and the amounts they would create using this system won't be enough for commercial purposes for some time let alone weapons grades. How is this an immediate threat to anyone?

To Censure or not to Censure...

2006-03-31T21:18:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how out of touch the Republican Party in Congress is getting out of touch with the People. Maybe they have read the polls, but America is getting tired of Bush being in the White House; they're tired of the War, and the Lies... But they keep fighting for him every chance they can. Some of the arguments at today's Censure Debate were anything but idle in the wake of what may be "Bigger than Watergate" according to Howard Dean, who testified against Nixon. The common sound bite seems to be the same Partiotic Bullshit about fighting the war on Terrorism and keeping the President capable of leading it. Haven't we establish that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11? Come to think of it, I have really seen any evidence that points to Osama Bin Laden either.

Oh well... Apples and Oranges I guess. The fact is that the President violated the FISA agreement and should at minimum be forced to stop breaking the law. Feingold made some very good points about the fact that it is still going on and instead of stepping off his high horse Bush is basically telling Congress that he is above them, and the Law and that protecting American's is all about violating their rights. It's kind of Ironic that on the same day they would release all the 9/11 emergency calls and edit out the callers to protect their rights. Excuse me, but they're dead remember, and it was the families that sued NY for the tapes. What about their rights?

Why are Government officials hiding all the evidence from 9/11; like the tapes that recorded the (so called) 757 that flew into the Pentagon, and the fact that the material from the collapsed buildings was shipped to Japan before a thourough investigation could be done, now the callers from inside the building are being silenced. I would think that there lives would be more important than that. After all it was their sacrifice which paved the way to War. They deserve to be heard.

Washington Post Article on Censuring the President

Muse

2006-03-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

Music are the secrets we reveal to ourselves...

It is the Story of our Mystery...

It is the Passion which drives us...

The Satire that mocks us...

The Dream that Manifests our visions...

The Clouds that charm us into dreams...

The Answers to the Questions...

The Murmers in the shadows...

The Culture of our ambitions and distractions...

The reasons for our Madness...

Music is the theme of the soul that words cannot convey alone...

2006-03-30T11:58:00.000-08:00

Let me just say that at times, you can find me interested in one thing and days or weeks later another.. I love a good movie, and aspire to be a filmmaker.. I'm always working on a project, and often it's computer related, but in the summer when the weather is perfect you might find me by a waterfall on Kaua'i, or on a beach in Maui. One day I might be at a Hot Spring in Oregon and a Country Faire the next, at 10,ooo ft. in the Tetons, or Rock Climbing in the gym. The one thing you'll never find is me being bored for long, or busy for long. I love playing music and dream of a band where everyone gets along and loves the music we play, and a World full of people spending their day in the sun, swimming in the Ocean, or laying around laughing in the tall grass..

Where the West was Born

2006-03-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

In the decline of the Roman Empire, rich land owners had to reevaluated their slavery practices. In those days people who were removed from their native lands by the Roman Empire were often sold as slaves to these rich land owners and kept to work on the Estates they owned. Sometimes hundreds of slaves at a time were used to do everything the "Civilized" people rejected; working in the fields, or washing dishes. These tasks were left to the "Owned". As the Empire went into decline some of the problems surrounding the ownership of slaves to do menial tasks became unresolveable through traditional means, as they died or grew too old to be productive, which was to replace them with new slaves purchased from the conquest of new lands or countries that were unable to pay their taxes according to Rome's Laws.

Land Owners found that the lack of propagation could be solved by separating the slaves into smaller groups (usually a man and woman) and giving each of them a parcel of land to work as long as they paid a percentage of what they produced to the Estate Owner. Soon these rich land owners evolved into the feudal Lords that were able to survive the Dark Ages by offering protection to others in exchange for a percentage of their keep for working with the land stewards of their (lords) lands. It was during this time that we saw a rise in power by the institution of religion, mainly the Roman Catholic Church, that supported the Institution of marriage as a moral system of belief, positioning itself as the hierarchical pinnacle of the emerging society in the West that had survived these Empires Collapse. It is likely that the old cities of Vienna, Rome, Paris, London, etc. grew out of these feudal systems and eventually the original Estate Owners Decendants became the Kings and Queens of these European Cities.

Nowadays the consolidation of Land, wealth, and Military Strength is not held by Kings and Queens, but rather the World's Bankers. Fannie May and Freddie Mac hold the leans on almost every deed in America and the Federal Reserves of the World's Countries hold the Gold and Script (money). The Militaries are held by each Government and they are directed by the Arms Dealers like Carlyle Group, and General Electric, which some directly and others less, own a huge portions of the World's Media; television stations, newspapers... And none of them can make a move without some oversite of the World's Bankers. Alexandra Hamilton was censured by Congress for removing the US money from the National Bank, Lincoln, who couldn't borrow any money for the Civil War, created an interest free 5 dollar note to pay for the war.. He was planning on expanding the program after the war, but he was killed, and Kennedy was planning on calling for an end to the Federal Reserve System as well as failed to support the Cuban invasion..

Curious..

What up Dog...

2006-03-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

I recently moved to a college town in the Pacific Northwest. I won't say which one for various reasons. The whole reason I moved here in the first place was to surround myself with what I would like to consider "Enrichening Culture". I figured a college town might be the place for this, but what I have come to is a highly different conclusion.

In the early 80's I spent a period of four years on the streets in Berkeley California, one of the reasons I have, in the past, considered college towns to be more cultural. Of course Berkeley has more culture than most towns anyways, but looking back I don't think I ever even encountered a single student the whole time I was living there. Now days college towns seem to full of high school students still carrying on the mental attitudes of an America that seriously needs a swift kick in the ass.

I remember reading something about Thomas Jefferson's projections of a Democratic Society. His thinking, which I take with a grian of salt due to his overly Aristocratic behavior, was that the first generation would build the foundations of our Culture. These were the farmers and shop keepers that would develope the land. The second generation were the institutions of higher learning and infrastucture that would build an educated society, which would be the foundation for the artist, poets, and philosophers, the people that give us the means to think about life's purpose and meaning; the ones who would give us quality and clarity in our society.. I guess he never saw the mass consumer as an ingredient to all this, but here it is! The really sad part is that most people don't see how it is watering down our existance into something that is entirely meaningless.

The other day I read an Article in the Time about a new smoking ban that was passed unanimously by the city coucil of Calabassas, CA. It calls for a ban of smoking in any public setting, indoor or out, where it can effect other people through secondary smoke. Calabassas is located in a valley just North of the San Fenando Valley in Los Angeles County. It is along side one of the busiest Freeways leading into Los Angeles. The smog literally "rolls" out of LA and funnels down this valley where it is deposited into Ventura County. I really don't think secondary smoke is as serious a problem as the air around it, to be quite honest, and i highly doubt that it is the cause of Global Warming, but the fine for smoking at a bus stop in that city is now 500 bucks, so If you happened to drop in, don't light up!

You're probably thinking to yourself, "What the *&$% does smoking in Calabassas have to do with College Kids. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that America is a lost child in the World dying of it's own character. The things most American's think are important right now really aren't. I met an writer from London, who picked me up hitchhiking a few years back, and really got an ear-full from him about how dead this society was, how lifeless it seemed to him to see so many places that all looked the same; every corner in every town full of the same unhealthy fast food joints, and massive Walmarts swallowing up all the Mom and Pop stores that used to dot the countrysides. The other day I looked through the dating ads on Yahoo and it seems like every womans favorite thing to do is to Eat! No wonder we are such an obeast Nation lifelessly animated by television and shopping to feel better about how empty we feel..

When I moved to this college town I was really hoping to go to a few poetry readings a week and see an open mic like the ones we used to have in my home town, before they rebuilt the down town there into a new mall looking street to compete with the local mall. In those days there used to be 5 poetry readings a week, several open mics, and theater sports in many of the coffee houses, before the Starbucks strategically put itself in the middle of all their business' and caused them all to close down within a years time. Starbucks hosts nothing and college students are filling the seats, focused on the future and how to build a life-style that suits their consumer dreams of owning the right car, the right clothes, the big house with a swimming pools and a spouce to match.. big dreams. And hopefully, if they are well adjusted, they can join the city council and pass some stupid law that reflects the Political Correctness of the times and ignore the truth entirely, like all the other lemmings who believe they are alive and have pictures to prove it!

And then again..

Abuses or Torture

2006-03-17T10:18:00.000-08:00

Friday, March 17, 2006; 12:00 PM - The Washington Post today hosted a Live Chat that discussed the new documentary, "Big Storm: The Lynndie England Story," with Col. Janis Karpinski on the Military's Actions, Abuses and Torture in Abu Ghraib. Sundance Channel will mark the third anniversary of the Iraq War on Sunday, March 19th starting at 9:00pm e/p with a marathon of films relating to the conflict.

The film's blub reads:

Photos of her smile and thumbs-up gesture taken at Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison are now known around the world as the face of American abuse. In a rare extended interview recorded shortly before her court martial, US reservist soldier Lynndie England tells how a gullible small-town girl from West Virginia found herself at the center of an international scandal. Dutch filmmaker Twan Huys’s disturbing film also features interviews with journalist Seymour Hersh, Paul Bremmer, former Brigadier General Janice Karpinski and England’s family.

I included a few Q & A's from the online chat that I found interesting:

New York, N.Y.: Did the contractors wear military uniforms in the prison, and did they create a "mystic" that implied they were with Military Intelligence for the soldiers?

Did the contractors take the photos or order that photos be taken?

Have you seen the videos that were reportedly made?

Was this torture?

Janis Karpinski: Some of the contractors wore components of the military uniform (for example, they might weare the pants and a different colored T-shirt) and there were some occasions when military interrogators wore civilian clothes to make the prisoner think that they were with the CIA or the FBI. The contractors are the individuals who gave the orders to the soldiers to take the photographs and they are the ones who had the experience at GITMO and brought these techniques with them when they were sent to Iraq and they are also the people who provided the cameras to take these pictures.

No, I have not seen the videos. I've been told that the videos were not videotapes of prisoner abuse but they were videotapes of soldiers misbehaving with other soldiers.

Washington, D.C.: Hi - thanks for chatting online. Can you clarify the chain of command and your place in it?

You state that soldiers were following orders from higher up, and "The chain of command for these soldiers reported to me on a regular basis and never reported any infractions or questionable instructions whatsoever."

Who was in charge? Who did give the orders / instructions? Just wanting a clearer picture of who's involved?

Janis Karpinski: Good questions. At the time these photographs were taken the prison was under the control of the commander of the military intelligence brigade. He was gettin ghis orders form Lt. Gen. Sanchez, the senior commander in Iraq, and absurdly, his intelligence officer was also giving orders on how to continue to obtain information from interrogations and Maj. Gen. Miller, who was not even assigned to Iraq, continued to give instructions to the commander on how to be most effective in interrogation operations. So he, the MI brigade commander (Col. Pappas), had three bosses and most importantly, he didn't work for me, ever.

I can assure you orders for interrogations never came from me.

More blogs about The Washington Post Live Chat.

In Loving Memory of Rachel Corrie

2006-03-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

On March 16, 2003 Rachel Corrie, a 23 years old American, was killed by an Isreali Military Bulldozer that was intending to Destroy a Palistinian Doctor's Home in Raffa. Raffa is the Southern most town in Gaza. Rachel was sitting in front of the Bulldozer wearing bright orange and holding a bullhorn in an attempt to stop it from Demolishing the Home, protesting the systematic and violent actions of the Isreali Government to destroy the lives of the Palistinian people and their livelihoods in Gaza. Viduals are being held today around the World in Memory of her life and sacrifice.

Two weeks ago the New York Theater Workshop posponed indefinitely a play about Rachel, based on her writings before her death. The New York Theater felt that in the wake of news on Ariel Sharon's recent stroke and the newly elected Hamas leadership in Palistine "it would be seen as us taking a stand in a political conflict we didn't want to take.", Quoting the theater's Artistic Director, James Nicholas. The play originaly premiered in London in 2005.

Just after Rachel's Death was originally reported by the New York Times, I wrote a letter to California Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer who failed to respond to my email, to what had happened, nor did she ask the Senate to demand an explaination from Isreal. She did however start sending me junk email and after asking her three times to stop I finally had to block her address. The US has referred to Arial Sharon, who was Prime Minister of Isreal at the time, as a Man of Peace. Isreal has justified its assualt on the Palisinians living in Gaza and the West Bank as the right to Protect Isreal.

Take a moment to watch an interview with Rachel Corrie in Raffa..

Peace..

Freedom of the Spin

2006-03-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

In 2002, during the build up to the Iraqi Invasion, all the Major Medias led the War Cry to the American People Publishing Articles on the White House's Claims to the threat of WMD's. For anyone who missed the show WMD became the Media Catch Phrase for Weapons of Mass Destruction. This War Cry being spouted by the White House from the Press room was generously spread amongst the White House Press Corps and fired directly at the American People, reported like it was straight up truth. We now know that several pieces of that information was fabricated and essentially the White House was misleading the American Public to believe things that have turned out to be quit untrue, but consider this...

The White House could have never gotten that War off the ground if the Press had done their job, investigated the positions of the White House and the Pre-War intelligence more accurately. If anyone should be Censured it should be the Washington Post and the New York Times for giving the Bush Administration full access to the Public unfiltered by investigative work. Even this whole Feingold Censure News Issue is taking a spin in the press. As I recently pointed out, the Washington Post referred to Feingold as a Maverick, and today the New York Times is reporting that the "Threat of Impeachment" is just what the Republican Party needs to get their voter base out to the polls, and spends the "length of the Bible" expressing how Republican this whole issue is, without ever mentioning the real issues.

I guess the NSA's Illegal Wiretapping isn't news worthy enough and it hasn't even been mentioned, but briefly, that the NSA is still operating Total Information Awareness (TIA), which was supposed to be moth balled in 2003. Has the Times or the Post investigated whether or not it is being use in conjunction with the NSA's "Secret" Domestic Spying Program. I refer to it as Secret because Congress hasn't even begun an investigation into the depth of the program (itself), which is basically telling the American People that Bush is the Law of the Land as long as Alberto Gonzales concurs with him.

The very idea that Senator Feingold is a Maverick is trife. According to an American Research Group Poll: 46% of Adults and 29% of Republicans support Censuring the President and believe it or not at least 58% of the American People disapprove of the President right now, but the media is still trying to sell the Republican Slant. Dick Cheney said, "Bla bla bla", and Alberto Gonzales concurred, "Bla bla". So where is the truth being reported. The Republican Party is stating the "American People Approve of this Program" and Dem's are saying they are afraid of looking weak on Security Issue if they back Feingold, but which ones.. The Quote from Nancy Pelosi doesn't say that, and the several Quotes from Rush Limbo, ex-junkie, aren't facts, but they're mentioned.. No mention still of the exact wording of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1973. You know, the one that gives the President 15 days to use Electronic Surveillance without a warrant IF Congress "Declares" War!

Who would have ever thought that you would see the Media in this country so eager to cater to a President that had such a dismal Approval Rating... 38%? Maybe Elliot Spitzer will find a way to investigate the accuracy of the media and charge them with fraternizing with the enemy. Reporting should be about news and be based on the truth and the facts surrounding that news and trife should be kept in the Editorial section, and anyone who buys this crap without testing it for validity is just "polishing the brass on the Titanic"..

Exerps from the Declaration of Independence:

"He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good."

"He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them."

"He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power."

"He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretend Legislation."

"For depriving us in many cases of the benefits of a Trial by Jury."

"For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretend offenses."

"He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People."

"He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation."

"In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated Petition have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people"

Here We Go Again

2006-03-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

Today President Bush announced that he would stay on track with his policy to Shoot First and Rebuild Democracy Later. Of course he never mentioned that they never found any Nuclear or Biological Weapons the last time we were so sure about the Irrefutable Evidence that led us into War with Iraq. This time is different however, this time meaning Iran, because they DO have a "possible" Secret Nuclear Weapons Program that is disguised as part of their Energy Program. Later, after the invasion, it will be justified as freeing the people from the Radical Muslim leadership, and "It was the right thing to do".

It's funny that a lot of the rhetoric that was being used by Hitler in 37 and 38, as the German Army was annexing parts of Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland, were all about Freeing the German People living in those countries, who were being oppressed by the torturest leadership, that every German had the Right to Self-Determination. Don't get me wrong, George Bush is no Adolf Hitler. His oration talents firmly lack the genius that was often evident in his Father speeches, but abilities aside, the Neo-Con Cold Warrior theme is still very present in his rhetoric and agenda.

The problem with this is not so much the threat it imposes, which could easily be argued by every Afghan and Iraqi or American who has lost a loved one to this war, but the backlash that will ensue from a World that will no longer tolerate this Administrations Unilateral Behavior. I mean, come on! Every time This President visits another country the protests range in the better part of a quarter of a million people that are very displeased with his Agenda. And as far as extremist Islam goes, George has got to be their greatest advocate. It is really making all of Osama's arguments about the Evil Empire look pretty damn real, and probably making him seem more like a hero than Cat Stevens, who used to be able to visit America.

It really is a shame that we headed down this road in the first place. We had a real chance to make the World a very different place. We could have used all of the monies that have been poured into these wars and shrunk our defense budget to pay for the infrastructure needed to change the Nation's whole energy scheme. This would have allowed us to completely pull out of the Middle East, as so called Liberators or Democracy Builders and also given us the position of being a leader in Peace instead of the war mongers we are now. We could have shored up Social Security in preparation for the Baby Boomer Generation, passed laws that would require everyone to have solar panels on new homes through tax breaks, instead of just giving it away to the rich and multinational corporations.

It's just a waste to keep killing for oil while we create ridiculous Medicare Drug Programs that are too complicated to understand and don't really help anyone, or find creative ways to cut Education spending through test failure, or releasing Mental Patients onto the streets to be homeless instead of developing housing and care facilities that are humane and conscious.. I for one am disappointed!

Rogue Senator of Public Voice?

2006-03-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

Today's article in the Washington Post, on the possible Censuring of President Bush, labeled the Senator from Wisconsin, responsible for introducing the resolution into Congress, a Maverick. Senator Russell Fiengold (D) has been the most outspoken opponent to many of the Neo-Conservative policies being loyally pushed through the Congress for some time now including; the Use of Force in Iraq, the renewal of the Patriot Act, and now the Foreign Intelligence "Domestic" Spying by the NSA that was Authorized by the President in direct opposition to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

I just amazes me that the media seems to be so behind the Bush Administration's plan so blindly that they are willing to become a voice in a choir of propaganda being spoon fed to the American Public about the policies being undertaken by this Neo-right wing group of Cold Warriors. To Quote Noam Chomsky, "in bed with the military". So, I guess it doesn't surprise me that they are giving him the appearance of a Rogue Senator, acting of his own Political Agenda, to promote himself as a possible candidate for the 2008 election. Okay, so... Maybe there are some politically based motives in his actions, but if you listen to what he's saying it isn't so much about running for President as it is about forcing the Senate to look further into the Surveillance program instead of allowing the Republican Party to just lamely follow the President's lead on this and other issues, including what has now become an extremely unpopular War.

As a matter of fact more and more people are starting to question this Congress, which I believe you'll see reflected in the coming mid-term elections. My Brother recently brought to my attention that there was a mid-term election coming up and I've never even heard him use that phrase before, let alone suggest he was taking action on it. I don't think Russell Feingold is alone on this one, but as long as the Press continues to side with the Administration in it's language and focus it is going to nicely open the doors to more and more alternative sources, for news, to spring up and find an audience that is thirsty for the truth without the slant. It's seems like every email I get these days always comes with a link from a friend to some other than main stream source to a news story that isn't even being covered in the press. Astonishing.

Ignore the Man Behind the Curtain

2006-03-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

We have heard and seen, on TV, the trials and outcomes of what was said to be individuals action being taken at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. Several Soldiers have been prosecuted for what the Government and the Media are saying were "Not the Policy of the United States". Recently a slew of Judicial orders have forced the Government to change the policies at Guantanamo Bay, and even more recently we have heard that Prisoners there are being restrained and force fed to combat their Hunger Striking, in order to keep them alive. The worry it seems is that the International Community might frown on more deaths in those camps and it's best to keep these prisoners alive, even if it is against their will to do so. I could go into details, but someone has already done it so go here for more.

Since the Courts in the US have determined that the prisoners being held in Guantanamo deserve the same rights as anyone held in captivity and called into question the very idea that these prisoners somehow weren't protected by the Geneva Convention, the US has begun to concentrate more prisoners in other camps including one in Afghanistan, at Bagram Air Base. According to the NY Times, Bagram holds some 500 terror suspects in more primitive conditions (than Guantanamo), indefinitely and without charges. The Associated Press sued the Department of Defense on Monday for the release of records identifying all past and current detainees at a US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, According to AP news yesterday, but the US has already stopped sending prisoners to Guantanamo and are instead routing them to others including Bagram. We have no way of knowing who is being held captive in this and other prisons that may exist elsewhere because the State Department refuses to reveal the identities of their prisoners.

The existence of these prison camps was reported in Nov. of 2004 by the Washington Post and CNN, and at the time were known to be in Eastern Europe, Russia, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. These sites known a "Black Sites" according to the Washington Post are being reported in other locations in Africa as well. How many detainees are being held and their conditions are tightly guarded secrets. The White House has argued that these prisoner do not have the protections of the Geneva Convention regarding prisoners of war because they are not affiliated with any particular country. The fact is that without accountability nor the protections of the Geneva Conventions there is no way of knowing whether or not We The People of the United States of America are torturing people in concentration camps.

This is not the way to promote Democracy.

Our Way of Life?

2006-03-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

In the summer of 2002, I remember reading the newspaper, shortly after America had invaded Afghanistan, and seeing some obscure article about Iraq. I realized as I was reading this article that it was a propaganda piece intended to bring the Iraq issue into the forefront of peoples minds as an important issue that needed attention. Within a years time from originally seeing that article the voices that had once been a whisper on the 3rd page of USA Today became a choir singing the same song; this time on the front pages of the NY Times, The Washington Post and blasted into every living room on every major Network TV News Program. All of them echoing the same information over and over; WMD this, and nuclear that...

The song was this story of a Gangster Terrorist, who had somehow been a contributor to the 9/11 attacks on our piece of mind. This Gangster Terrorist was heavily armed If we demand of our Representatives in Government to take action, or vote for lewith verifiable Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's). And whether or not the threat was real, Liberating the Iraqi People from this tyrant leader would free the American People of the imminent threat that this individual represented to the American Way of Life. And how behind it were the American People joining in to harmonize, that Congress leaped forward and gave the Nobel President of this Country the Authorization to Use Force to put an end to the Mad Gangsters Regime. In the mean time literally millions of individuals took to the streets and protested the Unilateral Actions of this Nobel President and received an ignorant single voice in the Media that was consumed by the roars from the Secular Mainstream Supporters of this Nobel President. And guess what.. It's not the followers fault, or at least it wasn't in the beginning. The Media completely shaped their thinking by staying strictly On Message.

Now we are beginning to hear the same choir about Iran, which I somehow managed to see coming the day I was reading the article in the summer of 2002, and this was a plan that had been in the works for some time. Now lets just stop for a moment and think about our very way of life; how precious and fragile it is. How import is it if the very things we are doing Unilaterally are going to be the means to its end. I agree that we have the most Powerful Military and Strategic Positions on the Globe. I understand that some people might see that our victory in the Cold War should be an opportunity for shaping the World's way of thinking to be more like ours, but what if the World decides that what we are doing "Unilaterally" isn't a good thing for the rest of the World. Personally, I don't care how big someone is, if they are threatening my Mother their going to put me into a defensive stance. And how do you think all those sons and daughters out there in Afghanistan and Iraq might feel now.

So now we are seeing the build up to Iran reaching the UN Security Council. From that point on, with the Iraq issue, it took less than a year for the US and its Allies to take Unilateral Action. Stop for a moment and think about this. Stop pretending you're too busy working out your own issues, or too busy making a living. It's time to stop ignoring what could very well change our lives permanently, because when the World's people have had enough of our Unilateral Behavior their going to make us stop for you. Something like this could end all our dreams and ambitions overnight. Once that threshold has been crossed there is no turning away from our Unilateral Actions. The World won't believe us until it is sure we can't take any action without asking for help to do so. Are we all ready to answer to the world for our Unilateral Actions... "Oh, but I didn't do anything. It was the Administration in Office and not me. There was nothing I could do...", but the World sees it as American's and America, the Evil Empire...

I remember years ago meeting some young man from Germany, and all he could do was endlessly apologize for the things His Country did to the World. He said he would never stop feeling responsible for what had happened and would never let anything like that ever happen again. This was in the early 80's and he wasn't any older than 22 at the time. He was more than likey to be a Grandson of a Nazi Soldier, rather than a son and definitely not himself a participant. I realized that it was going to take generations for these people to be forgotten for their Unilateral Actions. And after the war was over and all the smoke cleared from the streets of Europe, it was the booming economy of America that supported rebuilding those cities and their infrastructures. So, whose going to rebuild our schools and water treatment facilities. Where's the money going to come from to rebuild our precious way of life. Do you think anyone will care at that point. It's likely that a full scale World War would just thrash the World's Economy, which means health care and the safety nets in place for the elderly, not to mention World trade and technology.

If each of us cannot see the need to put away the ideas of our importance long enough to make a change in our direction in the US it is very likely that the World will. This government must pull out of Iraq now and NOT attack Iran, or the voices of protest will far outweigh the choir of Propaganda about how important this Unilateral behavior is.. No one sane approves or engages in War unless it is the last alternative to protect their own security, and We The People of the United States of America are waging War on the World's right to sovereignty. Know this at night when you lay down to sleep in your comfortable bed, in your comfortable room, in the quiet of your comfortable town...

The common argument I hear is, "what can I do?" or, "nothing I do will change anything.", but I say that's misinformation we've been trained to believe from every source in America. In India, when the people had had enough of being told how to live by the British Empire, they simply stopped doing anything. The one thing we NEED to do is to be present and acknowledge that our attention is required at this time to face our own responsibilities. We are responsible for the hundreds of thousands of lives our Military is currently displacing. We are responsible for our Administration's Behavior and Unilateral Actions. Not doing anything, to send the message to our Government that this is NOT okay, is our responsibility. It's time to talk about these issues with each other and stop acting like there is nothing that can be done. It's time to look at the information available and find out what we are truly responsible for. This Government is Our Responsibility and no one else's!

We can start by sharing this link with others. I have much to say!

Domestic Surveillance

2006-03-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

This topic has been in and out of the news now for several months. Congress recently gave the White House the benefit of the doubt and elected not to further investigate the full extent of the program. According to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), any surveillance undertaken by the Government must have Judicial Oversite. This law was first enacted by Congress to end what had been 40 years of the Government's warrantless Surveillance of Telephone and Telegraph communications inside and outside of the country. The Fourth amendment is absent of these forms of communication in its protections of searches and seizures. They would have obviously been over looked by the States at the time of its writing, as these technologies hadn't even been invented.

FISA is a secret court that grants warrants for Electronic Surveillance of Foreign communication to government agencies allowing them to wiretap individuals suspected of terrorism. It gives the Attorney General x amount of days to present the FISA Court with evidence to justify the surveillance. A fifteen day grace period is offered to the Justice Department, Authorized by the President, in the case of a Declaration of War by Congress, allowing them to act without warrants to gather Intelligence through Electronic Surveillance, but has no such clause in the case of the "Use of Force" as outlined in the War Powers Resolution. The Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has stated that Congress has given the President the Executive right to side step FISA when it gave him the Authorization to use force against Al Qaida. This is contradictory to what it says however.

In 2001, one week after 9/11, George Bush signed an order to give the Nation Security Agency authorization to conduct warrantless surveillance of cell phone calls and emails coming in and out of the country. The extent of it is yet unknown and without an investigation could remain this way for some time. It should be mentioned however that the program once known as Total Information Awareness (TIA), a computer data base that collects information from every cell phone call and email sent out linked with software technology to sift the data for identifiable patterns, known as data mining, and which was shut down by Congress in 2003 one year after its conception, was said to have been dismantled and moved to the NSA shortly after the program's supposed end, according to Shane Harris' article in the National Journal. It is still uncertain whether it is being used at this time or whether or not it is part of the NSA's current Surveillance Program.

This weekend Wisconsin Senator Russell Feingold one of the earlier critics of TIA says he will introduce legislation asking Congress to Censure the President for "his unlawful authorization of wiretaps of Americans within the United States without obtaining the court orders required.Â The last time a President was censured dates back to Andrew Jackson and the last time it was attempted was against Bill Clinton, which failed to gain enough support in Congress. The major mainstream media, joined by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and Vice President Dick Cheney, seem to suggest that somehow popularity of ideas among the America Public are now the new Law of the Land, and that the laws written by Congress and the Constitution are no longer binding agreements of the American people. I think the only way the Public could ever be behind being spied on is if they weren't fully aware of it in the first place.

In The Beginning

2006-03-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

I made a decision some time back to start a Blog of my own. I wrote a ton of letters to news papers hoping to make the Editorials and had little luck getting published. I've sent out emails to various friends and made a million attempts to compile the things I have to say in various ways, which as well, never made it past the rough draft stage. I've come to the conclusion that I am either a worthless writer, or the subject matter I find interesting just doesn't sit well with the media.. It's probably a little bit of each.. Anyway.

This is my new hobby. A place to vent my concerns for things I might find interesting from day to day, and my psychologist if no one ever reads a word I write.. If you did make to this place then I must thank you for taking the time to trudge through the worthless writing and wish you well to find something of interest in my banter..

Peace