Michael Ware Unplugged

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It is about time Michael spoke up. So things aren't as they seem, now are they, Michael? They are violent and far more under the control of the Shi'ite underground than anyone else.

Iraq govt split over hostages, militia threat
Wed Nov 15, 2006 1:35 PM EST

http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-11-15T183550Z_01_IBO132069_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAQ-COL.XML&archived=False

...Briefing senators in Washington, the U.S. commander for the Middle East said Maliki was determined to tackle the militias and was optimistic Iraq could be stabilized as U.S. forces trained and equipped their Iraqi counterparts.

BODY COUNT

Another 55 unidentified bodies, most of them tortured and shot, were found in Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

More than 40 other deaths were reported, including those of six U.S. soldiers and 12 people killed by a car bomb in Baghdad.

Maliki played down the mass kidnap. He has said militia groups nominally loyal to fellow Shi'ites in government can be dealt with through negotiation in good time.

"What happened was not terrorism, rather it was due to dispute and conflict between militias from one side or another," he said in televised remarks. He later said the government's response had been strong and vowed to catch those responsible.

The language is finally clearing up, Michael. Wouldn't you say, Mr. Ware? It's not terrorism. These are not terrorists. Mr. Maliki doesn't even call them insurgents. Why is it General Abuzaid is telling Mr. Maliki he'll have to wait until the Democratic leadership takes their place to know how to quantifiy any reduction in troop numbers? The good General made some interesting statements including setting Senator McCain straight, how an increase in troop numbers would be a MISTAKE. A mistake, Mr. Ware. He said the Iraqis would have to stand up and be counted and take control of their government. I don't know, Mr. Ware, how about this 'idea;' the Iraqis already have control of their government and can enter the middle of Baghdad and dance to the tune of loyalty on all fronts as if ghosts. What does Michael Ware think about that theory? Even your talking head generals...

BRIGADIER GENERAL DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, they could very well, in fact, be a part of the security force, or they could just buy uniforms off the street, which is very easy to do.

But it's obviously a result of detailed reconnaissance, casing the target, planning the ingress and egress routes where they're in cahoots with security forces that manning the -- the checkpoints. These are -- this is secured by an Iraq -- by Iraqi organization. And it's really kind of done to discredit and embarrass the Iraqi government.

... seem to think it's an inside job. I disagree that it is to embrass the Iraqi government. Not at all. It is to embarass the USA Military and let them know who the bosses really are. The Shi'ite nation already has it's own forces. They are just waiting for everyone to wake up to that fact. Obviously, the words of Mr. Maliki reveal same. What do you think Mr. Ware? Hm? Three years is a long time and hundreds of thousands of unregistered weapons and high quality explosives from the formerly secured UN Bunkers makes a fairly substantial military wouldn't you say, Mr. Ware?

Spiderman Marks is wasting his time and energy:

MARKS: Excuse me -- that there are a number of Iraqi security forces that make up the aggregate total.

But you really need to get into the -- into the top leadership and say: Look, actions like this are unacceptable. You know it. You control the streets.

And, as David indicated, clearly, these folks could have been Iraqi security forces, or they could have been guys that came in off the street. But, most importantly, you need to get down to the noncommissioned-officer level, those that actually execute the tasks on the ground, and make sure you can identify those -- those individuals, as best you can, that are with you and those that aren't with you, because the key challenge right now is corruption within the Iraqi security forces, and, I would argue, even more broadly, within the government.

OOOoooohhhh, my, my, my, aggregate total. Such big words. It must something important to say? You'll excuse Mr. Marks, but, your aggregate total is a fantasy. The forces that kidnapped those people knew exactly what they were doing and they had the permission of those surrounding them to do it. Aggregate, my eye. Are you trying to fantasize the ability of a 'strick force' so small that it could pull off any mission in broad daylight? A Shi'ite strick force, highly trained like a Swat Team. I wonder where the Shi'ites got the training, from watching "The A Team" on reruns or from the USA Training Missions there.

Give.

Me.

A.

Break.

DAMON: They were not. Instead, insurgents wearing Iraqi uniforms were conducting an operation of their own.

Posing as a member of Iraq's security forces is easier than you would think. Just head to Baghdad's so-called thieves market. And, as long as you have $23, you can walk into the market dressed as a civilian, and walk out dressed like a member of Iraq's security force. The tailors here once made uniforms for Saddam Hussein's regime.

Nice little slight of hand. I doubt sincerely the uniform makes the man. These uniforms for all we know are legitimately going to Iraqi forces or those they approve of. Showing a show of men making uniforms is meaningless to me. Putting on an Iraqi forces uniform is too simply an answer. The people involved in Baghdad that can come and go as they please are doing so with permission. A uniformed person would have to have munitions and training. Did I hear of any extraordinary 'free lancing' training camps in Iraq? No. These people are being trained in the country and sometimes in places like Jordan, Germany and sent back to serve. What is so incredible is that when they are trained abroad they are sent back to Iraq across An Albar Province without weapons en masse to be killed along the way. It's moronic. The entire set of
circumstances are moronic. You want to try this one again, I don't buy it !

FEMA

Another crony adventure. The modular homes were purchased without a care as to whether they were ever going to be used or not. It was simply a purchase BECAUSE they could not because they should. This is no surprise. What, something like $8 million wasted? That's small potatoes for Bush.

IRAN

Bush is outsourcing his responsiblity on Iran and North Korea. Of course the USA has to meet one on one with both these nations as well as in multiple party talks with allies of the USA. Just because that hasn't happened doesn't mean it's right or a manner in which the USA should conduct itself.

IAEA report 'does not prove Iran building N-weapon'

http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iran/10082917.html

Dubai: The confidential International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report is inconclusive and not proof that Iran is building a nuclear weapon, though there are concerns over an increase in uranium enrichment, according to leading British think-tanks.

"The fact remains that Iran is doing nothing illegal under its Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations," Frank Barnaby, a nuclear issues consultant for the Oxford Research Group told Gulf News.

"Under article four of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty it is entitled to develop peaceful nuclear energy, actually other signatories are meant to be helping it. This is a lot of fuss about very little. We cannot say if Iran is building a nuclear weapon, which even if it was, would still be years away."

The IAEA report on Tuesday indicated that uranium enrichment levels seemed to be under five per cent nowhere near the 90 per cent needed for nuclear weapons production.

We should also be meeting regularly with Palestinian authorities and Israel in joint talks, not just for Prime Minister Olmert to come here so Bush can say, it's Israel that is the reason for the war. That is basically what he wanted the people watching his moves to believe. He is running out of excuses to be in Iraq and to support a war that has no direction and no results. So, in last ditch efforts he is showcasing the Prime Minister to say, "Hey, did you all forget?" No one forgot. But, most of us don't see it Bush's way. We believe Bush's wars and gross lack of diplomacy while frittering away American resources and even arming the oppositon forces only serves to make matters worse.

Israel vows to hit back after Sderot rocket death

http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10083018.html

Sderot, Israel/Cairo: An Israeli woman was killed by Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza yesterday, sparking warnings by the Jewish state it would expand its lethal four-month offensive in the coastal strip.

Fatima Slutsker, a 57-year-old mother of two, died of wounds sustained when a rocket fell in a street in the town of Sderot, five km north of Gaza, police and medics said.

A 24-year-old man was seriously wounded in the strike, one of six rockets to fall on Sderot in the morning hours, one of them not far from the house of Defense Minister Amir Peretz who lives in the town.

In a statement, the defence minister vowed that the Jewish state would strike against those behind the rocket fire.

"These organisations will pay a heavy price," he said.

After meeting with security officials, Peretz "ordered the army to continue its offensive operations in line with government policy," his office said, without elaborating.

THIS IS the result of patience and persistence. I am hoping the Palestinian Unity government is not a faux attempt and the end is reaching a conclusion.

Abbas: Middle East peace begins with Palestine

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?storyid=2006-11-15T203957Z_01_L15554877_RTRUKOC_0_UK-MIDEAST.xml&type=worldNews&WTmodLoc=World-C3-More-6

By Wafa Amr

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - The creation of a Palestinian state through negotiations with Israel is the key to achieving a wider peace in the Middle East, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday.

The moderate leader, who has been trying to cobble together a coalition with governing Hamas Islamists that might prompt Western power-brokers to ease an aid blockade on his people, called on Israel to enter comprehensive regional peace talks.

"This is the hour of truth, because peace in this region will not be achieved except by Israel's full withdrawal from the Arab and Palestinian territories that were occupied in (the Middle East war of) 1967," Abbas said in a speech.

"I appeal to the Israelis: Do not waste this chance for peace. Enough with the shedding of the blood of our sons and yours," he said.

Ah, see Glen Beck and exclusive from the Middle East called "Get mad as hell they are teaching children to hate and become suicide bombers."

Hm.

Well, that is nothing new. Israel has known about that for decades. I've seen the cartoons and the children blowing up. There is little nothing we can do about that. It is upto the nations allowing this kind of propaganda to exist that is the issue. I doubt much anti-semitism would be tolerated in the USA for long, it's considered a hate crime.

Mosaic is sometimes a good source of news from the Middle East:

http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/streamsArchive/index.php4

But, even the 'special' series; "Insight into the Middle East, Parts 1, 2 and 3" are narrated by white guys. Credentialed white guys, but, you don't hear someone like the anchors from al Jezeera headlining here.

http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/streamsArchive/streamPop.php4?caller=http://www.archive.org/download&prefix=mosaicspecial_20060720&name=mosaicspecial_20060720&filetype=mov

So one is really left to speculate what this mess is over there. The Madris Schools are mostly closed in Saudi Arabia and they are being scrutinized elsewhere.

Zawahiri Was Target in U.S. Attack on Religious School in Pakistan

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/zawahiri_was_ta.html

Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of a Predator missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.
ABC News has learned the raid was launched after U.S. intelligence received tips and examined Predator reconnaissance indicating that al Qaeda's No. 2 man may have been staying at the school, which is located in the Bajaur region near the village that is thought to be al Qaeda's winter headquarters.
Despite earlier reports that the missiles had been launched by Pakistani military helicopters, Pakistani intelligence sources now tell ABC News that the missiles were fired from a U.S. Predator drone plane.

SO, ALL IN ALL, I doubt if I'd be interested in a lot of post election stuff that educates people in this country about what people in other countries are being exposed to. It's like saying "Look you election Jerks who voted for Democrats, I have a darn good look at how you got it "W"rong." We didn't get it wrong and so far as all the 'hate mail' from the Middle East, it is upto sovereign authorities to handle that which should have been a focus of the Rice State Department, but, of course it wasn't. It was saved up for Mr. Beck to scare the public back into their 'Culture of Fear' chairs along with Paula's burning furniture.

Giuliani

He should run. He is probably the only Republican with half a chance of winning the national election. At least he wasn't there for all the corruption.

LAPD

Another use of force that terrifies the public. Right or wrong it will go on and on.

Rumsfeld

KING: So consider this, outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, his reputation already bruised, is facing a new threat tonight. Some of his critics are pressing to put him on trial for alleged war crimes. They say they have new evidence linking Mr. Rumsfeld to torture programs at Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo Bay. And they want to take their case to Germany, of all places. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not content with his political demise, some of Donald Rumsfeld's antagonists want him to pay a legal price.

PLAINLY. He served at the president's pleasure. Everyone can decide if Rumsfeld alone was the fault of American policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. I say not. As much as Rumsfeld had a say in the events with our military he also did not have a say:

‘Cheney cabal hijacked US foreign policy’
By Edward Alden in Washington
Published: October 20 2005 00:00 Last updated: October 20 2005 00:19

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/afdb7b0c-40f3-11da-b3f9-00000e2511c8.html

In a scathing attack on the record of President George W. Bush, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to Mr Powell until last January, said: “What I saw was a cabal between the vice-president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy did not know were being made.

RUMSFELD is an interesting character, however, there are far bigger fish to fry.

Voting Irregularities

It's interesting you want to talk about this now, because then Democrats talk about it they are called complainers and 'conspiracy theorists.' I tell you what I could not believe, the way after elections on Tuesday the eleven undecided seats in the House were dropped like hot potatoes. They were never scrutinized to the extent they should have been as to why those seats took so long for results. But, the attention fell to the Senate and we all know the outcomes there. I don't believe their is a reason for computer balloting in the USA. Eventually, the plan will include voting from your home computer with a justification that the nation will be able to vote and increase 'the base.' I don't see how that will ever work without a polling place and there is so much possiblity for misuse and corruption it's out of the question. We need a paper ballot system and that is all we need.

Veterans returning to the job market

To begin the job market isn't really overloaded with opportunity. In the past when veterans were hurting for jobs the federal government would give tax credits that meant something so employers would have not just an incentive to hire veterans but would be aware of the need. The problem this time is that a lot of the returning veterans will be National Guard troops. They left well paying jobs because their country called. Most of those jobs have been filled and possibly under Bush's policies outsourced. So, it's going to be a challenge to get these veterans back into the job market but not impossible.

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I don't recall Aaron having his face on someone else's body?

Anderson Cooper Tattoo Defies Our Expectations



To review last nights 'show.'

John McCain has his head in the sand over Iraq. He is completely out of touch with the way this country sees it's problems in that country and the way they see the resolve to move our troops out of Iraq. Will it hurt his 'bid' for 2008 presidential nominee? No. He just won't win the election. He might even try to 'Swift Boat' the Democratic candidate as Bush 'swift boated' his past attempt at nominations.

John McCain has had a rough go of it in politics. He is well liked in Arizona, but, that could be changing by the virtual fact the Republicans have a very poor record on Immigration Reform and Immigrant Amnesty and that is a huge issue in Arizona. It is such a huge issue is caused Kyle to only receive 50% of the vote a drop in nearly six percentage points in the final weeks of Kyl's re-election.

The point is that the Republicans are completely out of touch with the country. They 'hedge' every issue including immigration reform because they don't have clear policies on anything. Even on Iraq the Republicans have no clear policy. The electorate was Buffaloed into believing they did as Bush yelled out from every potium he appeared on "Stay the Course." The fact of the matter is Bush is treating the Iraq War as a police action against the Shi'ites when it is truly a Civil War between two ethnicities. Bush and OUR military are actually taking sides in looking for Sunnis friendly to the idea of a 'unity government' regardless of elections, regardless of any majority decisions. Bush is trying to create a Sunni arm of a unity government by giving favor to those the Central Government calls suspicious and enemies. Iraq is a mess and Bush has absolutely 'No Clue.' He never did have any clue about anything that he was doing over there including tracking American munitions that were used to kill our own troops. And along comes McCain saying 'Stay the Course.' "Clear, Hold and Rebuild, with the emphasis on 'HOLD' he what he states. Well, what do you think 'Say the Course' means?

And Anderson can handicap 2008 all he wants, McCain and Guilliani will be the candidates to beat as there is little else coming out of the 2006 elections otherwise for Republicans. The former Senator Alan is out of the race and Frist will never make a good showing, he has a worse message than McCain.

And when it comes to Bush and his Iraq Study Group, basically, Maureen Dowd is right on the money in her appearance on "Meet the Press" this past Sunday. Bush #41 has sent in 'his team' to save the day. I doubt they will. The circumstances in Iraq are more clear to me than ever before. Basically, the Shi'ites have majority rule and the Sunnis are being ostracized from the process. The Sunnis are still trying to out maneuver the Shi'ites and they will never be able to do that. The Shi'ites have the majority. The Shi'ites have experienced decades of hate and killing and they aren't about to relinquish any of that control to any other majority. The Mahdi Army exists because of the profound fear of the Shi'ites to be killed en masse numbers again. Iraq will be a Shi'ite nation, the majority has it. How that will work out in square miles and will the Kurds secede as well as the Sunnis into autonomous nation-states? The future will tell. What is probably more realistic is that there will be provinces that ultimately have equal share at the federal level making decisions about assets and debt, but, each province will have autonomy in areas of law structured within their culture and religion. Time will tell.

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Anderson's Post Election Blues - Let's retake the vote

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Of course the election was just full of blunders and errors and wasn't meant to turn out the way it did. The Republicans are still really Republicans and it was circumstances that dictated their wrongful direction in voting. Of course the vote cast was a matter of strategy and not issues, all that went wrong was due to a lack of political insight and let's face it, hind sight is better than foresight.

First on the agenda to retake the vote is Iraq. The theme continues throughout the program so let's set some ground rules for evaluating Iraq.

RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

Iraq has a relationship with the troops.

The Iraqi citizens have a relationship with the troops.

The USA has a relationship with the troops.

The USA has a relationship with Iraq

Iraq has a relationship with it's citizens

Now I could spell these out but I think breaking it down and asking oneself what relationship am I looking at here is a better idea.

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Hind sight Gingrich states if the president resigned Rumsfeld before the elections the Republicans would still hold the Senate and would hold 10 additional seats in the House.

That is incorrect. Any resignation before the elections would have increased the lack of confidence in the president and his 'resolve.'

I consider this news item the relationship between the USA and the troops. Not one word was spoken by Gingrich about the troops and what is best for them or the relationship being changed when Rumsfeld resigns between the battlefield and the troops. Gingrich is ony obsessed with the politics and the troops are completely invisible to the issue. Rumsfeld resignation is not about the troops or the battlefield, it is however about the election. Is this the type of party Americans want overseeing a war that has escalating casualities. One might ask where is the 'responsibility' for the disasterous war? There isn't any. There is only politics and how it plays out in elections.

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Brownstein states the resignation before the elections would have told the voters disgusted with the 'Stay the Course Policy' that Bush was no longer 'insulated.'

In response Mr. Bacon stated it would have been seen as waffling and would have not changed the election except to make it more blue.

They are both "W"rong and are mired in the poorest of relationships with the troops.

This administration plots every course and deployment.

Weeks ago Bush stated and was repeatedly backed by Mehlman and Snow appearing on CNN; the course in Iraq has never been 'Stay the Course.' It was always 'reaction' to the outcome of strategies tried and failed, but, it has never been "Stay the Course.' So much for Brownstein's observation.

If Republicans would have accepted that Bush was no longer insulated it would have been with statements in reaction to their poll results and his explanation of the circumstances of his Commander and Chief decisions. Republicans IF believing at all in the morality of the war would have voted with Bush and believed him in the explanation put before them.

Republicans aren't robots. They don't respond to stimuli as if Pavlov's Dog. They are thinking people that can discern for themselves that the war in Iraq is going badly either Stay the Course or not and that the war has no moral basis.

If Bush knows his constituency enough to realize many of their decisions are based in morals and values then he knew full well entering these elections that nothing was going to change by 'playing politics' with the battlefield. He knew and he stated when Rumsfeld's resignation was announced that this was not a political issue. At least he has that much right about the relationship this nation should have with the troops.

However, the Republicans in the White House don't like to shake up the base because it doesn't react well to it. Different from the Democratic base which loves change and challenge at any time, the Republicans do like consistency in leadership, after all these are the wealthy value voters that seek prosperous outcomes for many reasons after the elections. To make a sudden change before the elections is questionable on many fronts.

In regard to Mr. Bacon's assessment, he could not be more wrong. This administration would never enter into a relationship of waffling. They aren't 'built' that way. They are completely reactionary and seek to demonstrate to people that they have power over the power they hold in the Executive Branch, no matter the illusion of same. Rumsfeld resignation was a surprise to Rumsfeld. When Bush asked him to resign and already had a successor in mind it was because he expected this outcome to some degree but hoped differently.

He was hoping his campaigning would make the slightest of differences to swing the Senate his way. He campaigned primarily in Senate races and when campaigning for the House it was in tried and true Red State territory. He campaigned in all the questionable states; Montana, Virginia and Missouri. He knew how this was going to come down and was ready with a post election strategy to hold the attention of the country on his agenda. He was hoping he could leave Rumsfeld in place should the elections come his way and there was still a belief in the Bush White House. The elections proved to Bush there was no confidence in his White House and Rumsfeld was the price he had to pay.

The relationship between both these journalists is based in assessment of politics and not the best outcome for the troops. Why is winning the House and Senate by the Republicans vitally important? Are we not all equally as concerned about the troops, the people of Iraq and the best outcome for both? Or. Is there something else mudding up the relationships of understanding that allows this chaotic war to continue without end?

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The Baker Hamiton Iraq Study Group (click on)

I wondered at first if the Baker Hamilton Group was not a study at all but a building. (click on) You know it's the difference between Blue and Red. The 911 Commission was the 911 Commission, but, the Iraq Study Group is the Baker Hamilton Group. It sounds like an investment firm and not an issue of the day.

While we dont' know the outcome of this group's work, Senator Reid does present a good alternative and for all we know that alternative might even appear in the Iraq Study Group recommendations. Senator Reid wants a Middle East Regional Conference. It has to take place sometime and in a relationship with Iraq and the people of that country and the troops it should facilitate the quickest resolve to the fact Iraqis have to stand up and take control of Iraq.

OR.

They simply don't want it, explaining why the munitions assigned to the Iraqi National Military and Police, the ones without registered numbers in USA military inventory, went to the rebels to fight the USA occupation and each other. In trying to understand the relationships of all entities all the way around there is one topic chronically left out of the dialogue. That one topic is the possibility that the undermining of the Iraq military and police is simply a way of torpedoing Bush's established Central/Unity authority. We know the Kurds aren't the least interested and have already formed their own autonomous province.

No one ever goes there. They leave it alone thinking foolishly that the people of Iraq voted. Yeah, they voted alright. But with a gun to their heads. No different than their daily lives under Saddam.

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Andy is simply upset that Negron lost Foley's seat. Of course, the Foley scandal and it's e-mails were a convenient way and timed right to influence the electorate to allow a Democrat to be elected. Gee whiz, it's a shame that the discovery of Foley's 'minor' affairs were more predatory on children than simply a Gay Love Affair. It must be that Boy - Man connection that the pedophilias long to have accepted as vital to the development of the Gay Man. "W"rong. That is like saying a woman that has sexual relations even without intercourse with girls is doing them a favor. I remember developing most of my opinions about dating, boys, men and sex from piers of the same age and not MY MOTHER !

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Andy's bummed out over the Evangelicals bailing out of the picture.

They feel taken advantage of. They were but what they have to come to terms with is the fact this country does not hold bias against them within the framework of the USA Consitution. Quite the contrary.

The Values Voter has to come to understand the definition of government. Government is of, by and for the people. Not just one segment of people but all the people. Lady Justice wears a blindfold for a reason. Government is not the place for Value Voters to aire their demands on society. Government is a place where all laws apply to all people. Within in that definition lies a challenge to all of us. That challenge is to accept the values of others as their own. We don't have to agree. We don't have to accept them as ours, but, we do have to allow all value systems within reason to exist. There is a long history of 'acceptance' of segments of society by the Consitution through Amendments. That has empowered this country. There is however NO Amendment that excludes any human being from the equality of our laws. The equality of our laws under the USA Constitution is the morality of it. It is a far more complex morality than dictated by any church doctrines.

I have to agree that the name "Jesus" has been exploited rather than revered. The exploitation of the name "Jesus" for political gain has manifested some Big Bucks to many people including Mel Gibson. You might like the movie and consider it a great picture, however, it was used for political clout among candidates. It was not set in esteem to glorify the name of Jesus or God. The word "Jesus" in politics has become an impetus to an outcome and is watched for by journalists as well to comment on the likely outcome of a political campaign. The Value Voters need to become one of the citizens of this nation rather than a 'segment' of it WILLING to be a political pawn for the sake of gaining power to expand their Evangelical nature to all those '... under God.'

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commercials

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Michael Weare gives an assessment about the propaganda from Iraq following the resignation of Don Rumsfeld. There was the usual boasting by al Qaeda and that mess, but, the most interesting statement came from Cleric al Sadr, 'Rumsfeld's resignation is a defeat for the USA.'

Cleric al Sadr is protected by the Mahdi Army. It is the best organized army in Iraq. He isn't the head of it but they look to him as their spiritual leader and no different than their protection of the Grand Ayatollah al Sistani they protect Cleric al Sadr. Many of the relationships that brought orgnaization to the Mahdi Army is due to a dominance in the region by al Sadr's family which are rich in Ayatollah and Grand Ayatollah status. The al Sadr family was slaughtered by Saddam for it's religious allegiance to the 'conservative' side of Islam, the Shi'ites.

That said. If Cleric al Sadr is feeling as though the USA 'still' cannot protect his flock he isn't feeling very confident about asking the Mahdi Army to disband or disarm. On the contrary, as long as the USA has no ability to bring peace to the Shi'ites following the repeated slaughter of them by Saddam they will continue to stand their ground as a means of protection for their hamlets and neighborhoods. That simply plays into the USA Military plans for urban warfare of 'attack, hold and rebuild' which has yet to have any success even in the area of Baghdad. Heck the rebuild part hasn't provided all that impressive rebuilding by USA contractors eitehr.

This is not going to end and every day that passes pushes 'The Unity Government' further and further from success, but, yet we as the USA are supposed to continue to kill these citizens. It is grossly "W"rong and genocidal.

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Homeless Vets - this is a no brainer. There is stated to be approximately 600 homeless veterans in need of benefits because they are unable to work.

600?

I don't care if there is 6000, this is typical of the kind of treatment the veterans have received from the VA for decades.

WHERE ARE THE CASE MANAGERS? There should be minimally a dozen case managers assigned to cleaning up all these issues over the next 6 months to a year. This is Bush's idea of treating our soldiers right? Typical, negligence of those that fought and came home scarred.

This could ALL be handled easily and without delay with a minimal amount of cost to the VA. Send the Case Managers to the veterans and get them their benefits. FIND them and get them a home. Just that simple.

Typical. Bush could not care less about these men.

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The soldier featured for a Veteran's Day Memorial segment started the segment young and vital and by the time the segment was over and he was killed in Iraq his appearance had changed to a man with bags under his eyes, showing the fatigue of battle as a daily grind. It is my guess the 'attitude' he had in the beginning when he stated "Mission Accomplished' with the destruction of Fallujah dimmed to the point where insight to the 'end' of the war caused him to accept war as his life's calling and he was becoming less immune to preventing his own demise.

In my opinion and realizing the American Soldier's experience with the Iraq War is different than the perception of the Homeland, the lack of morality of this was with it's neverending confrontation to still one new strategy after another spells defeat to these men. When they have fought a long and bloody confrontation, having the technological advantage and the capacity to wipe out villages within days, with dead and injured squad members to fly home, hoping the Commander and Chief has new recruits to take their place, the continued lack of resolve in Iraq has to take it's toll. Soldiers are not without conscience. Even the most aggressive 'grunt' with little feeling for the ? enemy ? has to ask themselves at one point, "We just wiped that town off the map, where are these ? insurgents ? coming from. These were supposed to be the nasty 'dead enders.' Like what gives already."

When a moral conscience of a soldier enters the battlefield what results is fatigue to the most seasoned and the opportunity for mistakes in judgement that lend itself to increasing their odds of death.

I am sorry, Anderson, but if watching this segment is supposed to make me angry with the ? enemy ? it doesn't, however, it makes me completely disillussioned with the purpose of this war, it's etiology and the profound lack of leadership in DC. We need to bring them home. There is no doubt this soldier fought for his country. It's that realization that brings anger and not resolve from me. That soldier's will to protect us all was misused and abused by his Commander and Chief. It is how I can support the troops WITHOUT supporting the mission. I don't care if they live for the mission. When the mission is as "W"rong as this one it has to come to an end. End of discussion.

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I am impressed with the New Democratic Leadership. They have real ideas, not chronic campaigns

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I think 'Frankenstein' should be the offical voice of CNN

1007

Senator Elect Webb is impressive. He has clear ideas about the resolve of the issues. It's nice to hear. All Bush and the Republicans ever had was 'mind speak' narratives and slogans. They treated people as mindless and manipulative.

1009

The Republicans are welcome to say "No" all they want. It's about right in their growth and developement, stuck at the age of two.

1011

commercials

1014

The New Blue - I think the nation is grossly releaved that the Constitution is safe.

You know I am interested in knowing how much of crony Bushism is going to disappear after this election. The Conservative Bloggers want an input into the Minority Nominations coming up. That was a priviledge so long as they were supporting a winning policy. That was under Mehlman. There may be a cold wind about to blow for all the losses and blame placed on those that didn't do enough to secure a Conservative Republican Congress for Bush's last two years. If the Conservatives are too spoiled by Bush and his politial crony machine' they might find the affection for their support was lots of 'priviledge of purpose' but now that affection will turn to excuse as to why things aren't going well and therefore need to work harder to return their prestige and priviledge under the Republican Political Machine. The Conservatives need to reassess how much of their values are contrived as a favor of power or are sincerely their values.

Iraq is a stark example. The war was and is illegal. Yet. They don't preceive any guilt for the 150,000 stated dead. They only want to see their ambitions for the return of same rather than doing penance for their sinning in the first place.

1025

Rove is the most devisive person in Bush's troupe. He created 'wedge' issues and enforced them to keep political leverage. He's a criminal. He made promises regardless the consitutionality of them and didn't care if there was a country at all so long 'power' remained with their party and money machine.

1033

Michael Moore has been publishing about this since Bush went into office and Cheney was using the "No Child Left Behind Act" to serve as a tool to military enlistment.

1046

It's my guess as the Mexican border closes and the drug supply to the nation dries up, the drug deals might see service in Afghanistan as a venue to make in roads to new supplies for the Drug Economy of the USA.

1047

The News Secretary - well, hello Erica. You know this metal slivers in a generic medication is kinda like an advertisement for NAME brands such as Tylenol. What would Bush's Medicare Perscription Drug Program do without generics, right? Next we should see an advertisement from AARP playing into the Bush initiative, right? After all the pharmaceutical companies are some of Bush's best cronies. Where would they be if genetic medicine actually found cures?

I find the it an oddity that the spinach of the nation from organic farms actually manifested just before elections where a former organic farmer was elected in Montana. There is still no conclusion about the CAUSE of that effect, huh? One death was it? Oh, I think there are people completely capable of it.

1050

Who could hold a candle to Ed Bradley? Dignity was his middle name. This is real loss. It's very sad.

1054

A lame duck? Bush? More like a dead duck.

enough

Ohhhh, say can you see? The light at the end of the tunnel?

Can't wait for Dawn's Early light !

The People are Taking Back the Country !

Americans Rule !!!!!

Republicans prepare for a corrupt outcome

1014

There is no ground swell. There is no 'bump' in the polls. There is no grassroots movement.

What those have been witnessing on CNN with Mehlman and Santorum is an attempt at creating a smoke screen for the corruption of the voting mechanisms across the country.

Everyone knows that the people of this nation are expecting an outcome similar to reliable polls such as Zogby. The only way the Republicans can raise enough 'doubt' in those polls to justify a different return is to portray a campaige change in direction at the last minute. That is why Mehlman and Santorum, the well rehearsed politicans of corruption, are bringing up 'marginal' issues such as Saddam, Iran and the like. They choose issues not debated within the campaigns as if these subjects were suddenly an 'awakening' to voters that will explain away the differences in the outcomes than expected, that the Republicans are hoping for OR worse, planning for.

How does it feel America? To have criminals pulling all the strings behind the election mechanisms and pulling your strings to overcome the objection of those results.

Slick. The Republicans are slick. Or. At least they try to be. They are so disgusting. They have no respect for this country and it's Constitution.

1021

Vanity Fair did not 'cherry pick' the information from the interviews. The 'dictatorial' manners of the people interviewed is just too bad. They opened themselves upto interviews and now they have to be 'grown ups' and accept the editorial content of the interviews. To continue to OPPRESS the editors of the newsprint and magazine print across the country in criticism that amounts to 'bad sportsmanship' is an attact on Freedom of the Press.

The one 'aspect' of journalism that terrifies Bush and Rove is 'Bloodsport.'

You know, Anderson, the eveneing was interesting right up to the point where YOU WERE THE ONLY face on the screen. Tell me, boy, how narcisstic are you exactly?

1030

commercials

1035

Just a note more about Vanity Fair. They have been one voice of 'truth' about Iraq since the very beginnings of this illegal war with the clear and open infomration that Molly Ivers brought back to the USA many times over.

1038

Haggard is gay. Fighting the feeling has always been a montra of the Evangelical Christians as if that was a possiblity. He is a two faced jerk. I guess the money was more important than the sex for awhile at the expense of mind and mood altering drugs. Methamphetamines. Let's see. Meth. Ah, yes. He had to keep his slim figure for his preacher TV image as well as his lovers. Makes sense.

1042

John King belling up to the Evangelicals. The 'idea' that Gay Unions will ever be banned is a violation of the USA Constitution. The Haggard Preacher Practice will only serve to prove the oppressive nature of the extremist religions of the country and the undo influence they have blurring the political issues regarding the separation of church and state and it's inappropriate nature under this administration.

1047

Corker modeled himself after Bush during the 2004 elections while the Swift Boaters beat up Kerry for absolutely no reason at all. Corker doesn't belong in the office of the Senate. He oppressed the 'message' of Ford with a false scandal. I could not believe my ears when Elizabeth Dole actually approved of the campaign ad. She stated same with a panel on Tim Russett's hour debate. I could not believe the zeal she exhibited at undermining Ford's campaign in such a disgraceful manner.

Obama stumps for Democrat in Tennessee

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5637498&nav=HMO6HMaY

I found this a special team. A belief in Ford by a high profile Senator. It was really nice.

1058

Hi, Wesley. You're right. We are far less secure as well as more ridiculed throughout the world. What kind of world are we leaving our children, General Clark? Tell me that.

1102

Yes, Paul, the Republicans are breaking the telemarketing laws. We already checked it out in NC. They don't care. Once a criminal, always a criminal. Get this though. When the Attorney General was asked to do something about them, we discovered the calls were coming from out of state and could not immediately be stopped. The one aspect of these 'robo calls' that is not only highly illegal but down right dangerous is when it disconnects the phone line from it's dial tone. The call leaves the line open once answered. The party receiving the call then is left without a live phone line to call 911 or anyone else for that matter.

1110

Bi-partisan does not mean 'a sell out.' We'll see. Because Bush has already said he won't cooperate with any Democratic majority in either house. The problem is Bush's because unless the Republicans reform and get things done the 2008 elections will be decided already.

Bush's charges about taxes don't matter. He is running up deficits at record rates. His 'no new taxes' rant is ONLY appropriate when the tax rate is burdensome. The American people need to realize they are losing their tax base. They have to find the best way to address that and go there. There is no choice in that. PUTTING tax structures BACK for corportations, the wealthy, wind fall profits such as Big Oil and the Inheritance tax is a good start and one to watch for further action beyond that. BEYOND THAT, might not at all be necessary. In actuality, the taxes that need to be put back is simply a return of monies to the USA Treasury. I'm not joking here. Bush has 'bouyed' his economy with our treasury. The taxes is simply paying bills that should not have existed in the first place.

1117

Good luck everyone. We are taking back our country. I have no doubt it won't be easy or a smooth going but a venture we have to embark on.

Peace.

enough

There are no 'forensics' on the Southern California fire presented here as promised.

This was the broadcast on Friday Night:

King: First, though, the wildfire burning out of control in Southern California, it has forced the evacuation of more homes. And, then, there's the human toll. Four firefighters are dead, and a fifth is in a hospital, with burns over 90 percent of his body. Doctors say the prognosis is poor.
Nearly 2,000 firefighters are battling this blaze. It now covers at least 24,000 acres between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, and officials say it was not -- it didn't start by accident.
With the latest on this battle, here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A fire truck destroyed by fire, caked in soot. Now a sobering memorial to firefighters who died when fast moving flames overtook them while they were in the truck.

They had just arrived at a home in the path of the fire, hoping to save it. But that home and others in this mountainous area west of Palm Springs were destroyed.

We now have pictures of three of the four men who were killed. Mark Loutzenhiser was the engine captain, 44 years old with 21 years of service. Jess McLean, 27 years old, with five children. Jason McKay was 27 years old, four years as a volunteer firefighter. And Daniel Hoover-Najera, only 20 years old. It was his second season of firefighting. He also died.

Authorities say their deaths could be homicides, because this huge 24,000-acre fire was started by arson. And a $500,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to a capture and a conviction.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: We are searching for the arsonist. We will find them, and we will punish them.

TUCHMAN: A fifth firefighter is in the hospital. Doctors say his prognoses is poor.

DR. DAVID WONG, ARROWHEAD MEDICAL CENTER: His degree of burns is one of the most severe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much of his body?

WONG: Ninety percent.

ALISON STEWART, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Keep your thoughts and prayers for these folks and their families at this time. And also their colleagues on the forest. There's a lot of pain right now. TUCHMAN: The blaze is still only five percent contained. It threatens to get much bigger because of extremely high winds and extremely low humidity.

It has already spread extraordinarily rapidly since it began Thursday morning, climbing up mountain sides and igniting dry brush as the 45 miles per hour gusts help propel it along.
The fire still smolders at this house, one of at least 10 homes that have been destroyed.
Alex McKenzie actually saw his house being burned on the news after he evacuated.

ALEX MCKENZIE, RESIDENT: Paintings, statues, titles for cars, paperwork, everything but my beds and couches was in that storage trailer out there. Now it's all gone. Gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that.

TUCHMAN: Hundreds of more homes are vulnerable. Thousands of people have evacuated. Life is still in danger as loss of life is mourned.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Gary Tuchman joins us now from Beaumont, California.

Gary, you mentioned only about five percent contained. How concerned are the authorities about this blaze spreading even more?

TUCHMAN: John, this is a very precarious time. The forecast has no rain in the immediate future. The winds have literally been tropical storm force gusts today at times, up to 40 miles per hour.

And because you only have five percent containment and such a huge jump from a few hundred acres today to 24,000 acres today, there is a lot of concern right now for the safety of the firefighters.

Seventeen hundred fifty firefighters are out there; 171 fire trucks; dozens of helicopters and airplanes. And you just saw in the picture just now -- we showed you a picture. That was a DC-10 jumbo jet, retrofitted to drop flame retardant.

They're bringing out the big guns to try to put out this fire, because they know right now they are dealing with something that could be even more tragic than it's been already.

KING: You mentioned the tragedy. It's an enormous challenge fighting a fire like this under any circumstances, especially when the weather conditions aren't cooperating. These firefighters are not only exhausted; they're dealing with the fact that four of their comrades have died. A fifth is in very poor condition. Their spirits must be -- it must be very difficult to maintain their spirits.

TUCHMAN: That's a real good point, John. You know, we were here in the Palm Springs area about a month ago for a wildfire that started from lightning strikes. And nobody was killed. The firefighters worked hard. They were very happy. There was no loss of life, and relieved that it was an accident or Mother Nature that caused it.

But here they're dealing with people who they believe are criminals who caused this fire. So there is a lot of anger and resentment among the firefighters.

KING: Gary Tuchman tracking this extremely difficult challenge for us in Beaumont, California. Gary, thank you very much.

And as Gary just showed us in his report, fighting fires is a dangerous and a very tough job. When they're deliberately started, proving who set them is almost as difficult. Arson is not easy to prove.

Like the Colorado fire in June of 2002, where the crime scene was a massive 137,000 acres.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reports on how this mystery began.

From here the program goes off on a tangent.

We should be hearing from investigators as to the 'reason' they believe this was arson and not a spontaneous fire due to drought and possibly lightning. Heat lightning happens. I think it's unfair to have the public believe there is a criminal to carry the responsiblity for this without bringing forward the evidence that leads them to bring such strong charges. The evidence may help the public identify the arsonist. I just don't believe there is one right now.

Ah, the al Qaeda ticket

1011

Peter Bergen - Thank you. The violence in Iraq has nothing to do with the death of al Zarqawi.

There is al Qaeda in every country in the Middle East. There are an average of 30 or so in Saudi Arabia that appears on an annual list for remanding to the authority. Rarely do the Saudis have anyone on the list that is not caught within that year. Iraq will have to find a way to deal with extremists no different than every other nation of the region. Bush's war is causing more war and not less. The genocide of the Iraqi people has to stop.

Ah, the Democrats see a 'draw down' of troops. Bush doesn't because he is incompetent in all venues of war. Just look at Afghanistan.

"We have to stop a mini nation of Jihadists in Iraq." according to Bergen. Sort of like the mini nation Osama bin Laden enjoyed/enjoys in Afghanistan. That kind of 'mini nation.' That 'idea' is irrelevant in Iraq. Iraq has Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds in 'control' of their country. Fractured into ethnic realities and seeking places safe away from the others. That does not leave room for al Qaeda. While there are some jihadists in Iraq which was admitted by an Iraqi rebel in the first "Progress Report Card" two years ago on CNN; that role in Iraq is not viewed as a 'connected' roll to the ethnic rebellions. The Sunni leader stated, indeed there was al Qaeda in the country that carries out the most deadly blasts and attacks, but, it was clearly delineated that al Qaeda was not a part of the 'Sunni Mini Nation.' Al Qaeda in Iraq are Jihadist Special Forces and while they would not be removed to exile as a government might demand of such mercenaires, they will not be allowed to cause trouble OR become more powerful than any ethnic 'native' to Iraq.

Kindly, remember, al Qaeda can become another Saddam and the ethnic emcampments/Mini Nations if you will aren't interested in domination by anyone. In all honesty I don't know where Peter gets the 'idea' that al Qaeda even has a better chance with the Mini Nations of Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds than it did with Saddam. I wish he would explain that. He doesn't know. Unless he is in the inner circle and KNOWS of weaknesses in the Ethnic Mini Nations of Iraq and how they can be infiltated and taken over by al Qaeda he is simply blowing smoke up everyone's skirt.

Next.

1028

This is so blasted boring.

Hello, America. The hard work is already done. The Kurds have their own Mini Nation

News and Articles compliments of the Kurdistan Regional Government

http://www.krg.org/

26 Oct 2006
Iraqi women make waves with radio show
25 Oct 2006
Kurdistan: Iraq's Success Story
25 Oct 2006
British producer hopes to make feature film in Kurdistan
24 Oct 2006
Sarkis Aghajan receives third award for helping Christians
22 Oct 2006
KRG petroleum law to go to Kurdistan parliament
22 Oct 2006
Press Release: KRG Final Draft Petroleum Act
22 Oct 2006
Press Release: Revenue Management and KRG Draft Petroleum Act
22 Oct 2006
Press Release: Kirkuk Oil and the KRG Final Draft Petroleum Act
20 Oct 2006
Health minister: Top priority is improving primary healthcare
20 Oct 2006
Kurd tells Saddam trial of attack
18 Oct 2006
Witnesses in Saddam Hussein trial recall massacres of Kurdish detainees

1040

"Waste Management" also known as the campaign to bring the Bush Administration under control.

I get tired of writing when others have already written what I already know. Read this.

Don't Create a Government in Iraq
By Chris Westley

http://www.mises.org/story/2109

You can't? Perhaps it hasn't occurred to her that the creation of such a government is not in the interests of the parties involved. You can't blame them. After all, their experience with an Iraqi national government hasn't exactly been positive, while Saddam Hussein, when still in power, was no Warren G. Harding. Absent US involvement in Iraq since the late 1970s, the hated Saddam certainly would have been overthrown, a fact well known by rank-and-file Iraqis. Furthermore, although Saddam was able to keep competing factions at bay through his strong-arm rule — a feat that doubtlessly makes Iraq's present occupiers jealous — his police state is not missed.

What's more, contrary to Rice's assumptions, the mullah on the street may not share her political need for the creation of a national governing coalition. It may help Rice, discredited neocons, and the GOP to have such a coalition in place so that they can claim progress and accommodate the growing demand for withdrawal as gas prices rise and the November elections draw near. But like New Englanders in 1776 — or even South Carolinians in 1861 — Iraqis resent centralized governments imposed on them by foreigners.

Like so many political problems, this one can be explained by a faulty theory of government. Many believe that as long as governments are chosen through some democratic process, they are essentially benign. Others argue, along with the great classical liberal economist Ludwig von Mises, that governments are nothing more than agents of compulsion and coercion. Once created, they exert monopoly power over the provision of some goods and services, as well the legal system, to increase their scope in society and to extract wealth.[1]

Continued below. No need to thank me for the insight. I had the easy part.

I congratulate the Kurds. Home at last.

Secretary Rice with President Barzani at a press briefing in Erbil

What do you think I lie? Do you think I play politics with human life as Bush does? No, way. The Bush Genocide needs to stop. It's not getting him votes anymore !!!!!

US Secretary Rice visits and shows support for Kurdistan Region’s autonomy


KRG.org , 6 Oct 2006

US Secretary Rice visits and shows support for Kurdistan Region’s autonomy

KRG Office of the Prime Minister
UPDATE

Erbil, Kurdistan – Iraq (KRG.org) In the latest of series of high-level visits to the Kurdistan Region, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Erbil on Friday for meetings with the senior leadership of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Rice: Region has special history

In a press briefing with President Barzani, Secretary Rice said, "It's wonderful to be in Erbil again. I said to the President that it is a beautiful region that is obviously growing very rapidly."
She said to Mr Barzani, "I appreciate your leadership and I appreciate also your important participation in the process of national reconciliation."

When asked about guarantees for the rights of the people of the Kurdistan Region, Secretary Rice said, "We have been friends with the Kurdish people for a very long time, and in fact prior to liberation, well prior to liberation, I think helped to provide stability and protection to the Kurdish people. We now are able to have a situation in which we will have a democratic Iraq, not just a democratic Kurdish region. There are guarantees in the constitution of that unified Iraq. People understand the importance of autonomy here in the Kurdish regions. They understand the special history of Kurdistan."

President Barzani helping to building national reconciliation.

President Barzani in their meeting reaffirmed his support for a federal and democratic Iraq, noting that the Kurdistan Region made a voluntary decision to remain part of a federal Iraq and would continue to do so. “We continue to support efforts toward national reconciliation and the peaceful and democratic evolution of Iraq,” he said. “We are doing our part to bring all groups together in a structure which provides autonomy and freedom for all the people of Iraq.”

President Barzani thanked the Secretary for US’s continuing commitment to the region.

On the matter of oil, President Barzani said the Iraqi constitution provides for fair and equitable distribution of oil revenues, while allowing individual regions to maintain substantial control of their own natural resources. He said, “We will continue to press for a solution which respects our rights, but which is part of a fair and equitable treatment of all Iraq’s natural resources”.

This was Secretary Rice’s second visit to the Kurdistan Region in the last two years. As well as meeting President Masoud Barzani, she also met Vice President Kosrat Rasoul, Mr Nawsherwan Mustafa, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Deputy Prime Minster Omar Fattah. Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador to Iraq, and a delegation from the State Department, accompanied Miss Rice.

Updated 7 October

http://www.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?ArticleNr=14121&LangNr=12&LNNr=28&RNNr=70

ENOUGH

Anderson Cooper the Anti-American Anchor

1000

"They will loosen the reins on Terror."

Extremists everyone.

Habeas corpus abolishment ruins Bill of Rights

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/letters/3235767.shtml

On Sept. 29, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 at the behest of President Bush and wiped out our Bill of Rights. And we, the people, like the chicken with its head cut off but doesn't yet know it, are still running around as though nothing in our lives has changed.

The greatest tragedy to ever befall our nation happened, and our flags are not at half-staff, we are not gathered together in mourning, nor are we holding the president and his Republican Congress, who swore an oath to protect, uphold and defend our Constitution, accountable for their treachery. What is wrong with us that we have lost our most cherished way of life without a roar; without a whimper?

"We are a nation of laws, not of men," Thomas Jefferson said of our new Republic. Now, 230 years later, we have become a nation of men, not of laws. One man's whim, Bush's, now decides who shall live and who shall die, who will suffer cruel and useless torture, who will rot in prison without The Great Writ of Habeas Corpus -- the cornerstone of human freedom since the year 1215, which guaranteed prisoners held without charge the right to challenge their incarceration in a court of law. Abolishing habeas corpus obliterates our Bill of Rights, destroys our democracy, and silences dissent.

May God have mercy on us.

Patricia Norton
Augusta

1009

Ah, Glen Beck the all seeing and correct 'Married Man.' "Father Knows" Glen Beck "Best."

1015

commercials

1017

If the Republicans maintain control the Social Security Act will be attacked.

Bush makes work on immigration and Social Security top priorities
GOP candidates told: Talk issues

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061023/NEWS07/610230349/1009

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush said Republicans can hold their congressional majority by focusing on national security and the economy, and that he'll return to overhauling Social Security as a domestic priority for his last two years in office....

... Regardless of how many seats Democrats may win, Bush said he'll make the tactical changes necessary to accomplish his goals. At the start of each congressional session, he said, "you test the mood of the Congress, find out what their appetite will be. But it doesn't change your priorities."

The top items on the agenda, Bush said, are immigration and Social Security. The Republican-led Congress stymied Bush on both after he was re-elected in 2004 and made them his top priorities....

1027

The reason why the rhetoric by major newsprint continues to rant that staying in Iraq is essential to the outcome of the sovereignty of that country have 'bought into' the idea that nation building is required in Iraq as it is 'in fact' the central front on terror. There is no central front on terror. Iraq is on it's way to dividing into three sovereign countries with religious leadership. They don't want the central government.

It's been foretold years ago.


CIA Officers Warn of Iraq Civil War, Contradicting Bush's Optimism
by Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0122-01.htm

WASHINGTON - CIA officers in Iraq are warning that the country may be on a path to civil war, current and former U.S. officials said Wednesday, starkly contradicting the upbeat assessment that President Bush gave in his State of the Union address.

The CIA officers' bleak assessment was delivered verbally to Washington this week, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified information involved.
The warning echoed growing fears that Iraq's Shiite majority, which has until now grudgingly accepted the U.S. occupation, could turn to violence if its demands for direct elections are spurned.

Tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims protest in the streets Baghdad, Iraq. The protesters are demanding a fair election process for Iraq. (Photo/ Tom Pennington) Meanwhile, Iraq's Kurdish minority is pressing its demand for autonomy and shares of oil revenue.

"Both the Shiites and the Kurds think that now's their time," said one intelligence officer. "They think that if they don't get what they want now, they'll probably never get it. Both of them feel they've been betrayed by the United States before."

These dire scenarios were discussed at meetings this week by Bush, his top national security aides and the chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, said a senior administration official, who requested anonymity.

Another senior official said the concerns over a possible civil war weren't confined to the CIA but are "broadly held within the government," including by regional experts at the State Department and National Security Council.

Top officials are scrambling to save the U.S. exit strategy after concluding that Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al Husseini al Sistani, is unlikely to drop his demand for elections for an interim assembly that would choose an interim government by June 30.

IN the year 2004, "The Lancet" stated there were 100,000 Iraqis dead in a 100 to 1 ratio of dead American soldiers. Now, in a repeat statistical survey the same prestigeous journal states there are 600,000 deaths of Iraqis, in a ratio of 215 dead Iraqis for every dead American soldier. Occupying Iraq is out of fear for the outcome of when the USA leaves. In satiating fear the USA is committing genocide against these people. We know for a fact there has been soccer fields turned into graveyards in places like Fallujah, a Sunni city that has been completely leveled. What makes you think for one minute the numbers put before us by The Lancet isn't correct?

The Grand Ayatollah al Sistani has been able to maintain his flock in Iraq in the face of the hatred of Saddam Hussein. There is absolutely nothing to fear in the teachings of this man, yet, because he is a Muslim Ayatollah the USA sees him as a threat to the potential nation building Bush has ensued. The Grand Ayatollah al Sistani is a man of peace. His flock is flourishing as a majority in Iraq as testimony to that. There is nothing to fear about this man. There is nothing to fear about a young Cleric al Sadr who has witnessed the deaths of his entire male family members at the hand of Saddam Hussein. In order for Bush to nation build he has to either 'convert' the Shi'ites into sheep to his central government or he has to kill them. The first initiative won't work. The Shi'ites will never again 'risk' their opportunity for a safe place on Earth for all of them. They won't become sheep. They don't mind voting for the chance of peace and security, but, they will never give up their 'private armies' to allow a central authority over them again. The later, whereby Bush continues to mask genocide by demonizing men like Cleric al Sadr will only come to serve the hatred of the USA and as a focus of more attacks by determined and vengeful terrorists.

1048

There needs to be no war in Iraq. There needs to be no central authority beyond what the people of Iraq find necessary. The central government are comprised of men that are primarily exiles whom speak English and understand the international community while holding clout with Bush and Cheney. The Iraqi people understand these men little nor care to. They listen to their Holy Men who do not necessarily understand or care about the dynamics in Baghdad and it's central government either. The people of Iraq and their Holy Men understand only 'one thing' and that is compliance with a government's authority allows them to stay alive. When Bush and Bremer shut down the newspaper by Cleric al Sadr it was a betrayal of a Holy Man that determined in his understanding of the world that the occupying military would eventually, if not already. become the next dictator. He had a right to that opinion and concern, yet the free expression of it was taken from him. To cement the reality that closing the newspaper was a legitmate maneuver, Bush characterized this young and inexperienced cleric who probably didn't and still doesn't speak English as a radical man whom no other Holy Man would approve of. That isn't so. The Grand Ayatollah al Sistani demanded the Iraq Central Authority to meet all of Cleric al Sadr's demands following the defeat of the USA attacks at the Imam Ali Mosque and it did. If the Grand Ayatollah, a man of peace has that degree of love and respect for Cleric al Sadr then he must be the same kind of man with the same vision of a nation completely safe for the Shi'ites.

There is no doubt the people of Iraq will be melded into a spiritual unity with Iran in time as they are all Shi'ites, but, that isn't trouble as is demonized. Iran has a large, moderate and educated "middle class" that before the invaison had many members in the Parliament. Iran was experiencing 'free expression' of it's student populations and the Prime Minister at one time paid attention to these burgeoning democratic movements.

In the last year, The Grand Ayatollah al Sistani opened schools in Iran. Why? Because Iran already has a univeristy infrastructure that can compete internationally, and Iran is safer than Iraq. Do you see where all this is going? The Grand Ayatollah wants his flock's young people educated to the standards of Iran's middle class. It's a trend I can respect and one with a great deal of promise considering the burgeoning competitive economies of Asia. There is a sophistication in Iran that will never exist in Iraq so long as there is war. The Grand Ayatollah is wasting no time to place his young people in a Shi'ite university system in Iran to bring back to Iraq an educated and sophisticated 'brain trust' that can bring legitimacy to the central govenrment or to an exclusive Shi'ite nation out of the hands of exiles and out of corruption that is rampant in Iraq's central government.

1112

The USA is in the way and the prolonged war endangers the existance of these people. Our continued presence in Iraq is an atrocity to humanity. Iraq never was and still is not a threat to the USA.

What are we doing there?

1116

CNN is turning their 'Broken Govenrment' ANGLE into a campaign for the re-election for Republicans. You don't want to go there. Believe me you don't want to go there. The focus on war is to divert the electorate from the issues of exploitation that is planned for Bush's last two years. Bush cares little about the soldiers of this country so much as the political clout they bring his party. The USA has been replaced in Afghanistan by NATO because Bush's military was too incompetent to lead to a victory over al Qaeda. Now. Bush is left to kill Iraqis to his satisfaction for his political campaigns at home regardless of the outcome of the burgeoning instabiilty that will assuredly become Iraq.

The Iraqis are not our enemy. The Shi'ites and their Holy Men are not our enemy. These people need a chance to have their nation of exclusivity and perhaps as they find peace rather than war they will find a friendship with the USA rather than seeking to end that relationship for fear of domination. Stop killing Iraqis. They have suffered enough.

We don't belong in Iraq.

We never did.

enough.

George "W" Bush should have a "C" for a middle initial for Corruption

The 2004 election was marred by an incumbant president that was completely irreverent to a decorated Senator running as a Democratic candidate in allowing "Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth" to call him a liar regarding his Vietnam service.

Then as an additional insult "W" Bush called Senator John Kerry a 'flip-flopper.' He pinned that jargon on Senator Kerry because initially the good Senator believed the Bush intelligence report and voted with the majority for the USA military's invasion into war. As time went by, it became obvious how misguided that information was and Senator Kerry began to take a stand against the Bush lies about the war and voted against budgets for the military.

Today, it isn't Senator Kerry that is the wrongly accused as a "Flip-Flopper" but, indeed this time and rightfully so "W" "C" Bush is the definitive 'Flip Flopper.' He is not only a Flip Flopper in purporting the 'strategy' in his favorite war, Iraq, isn't "Stay the Course" but was a wrongful statement that didn't accurately characterize his policies. He admits now that "Staying the Course" was never the directive that Iraq has more or less been a 'Continuous Quality Improvement' strategy. Basically, no one knew or knows what they are doing in Iraq and they make up the rules as they go.

It's called incompetency.

George W. C. Bush has put our troops in harms way for absolutely no reason. Lied all the way including his latest "Flip Flopper" stance and today expects to be able to cover up his genocide of Iraqi people by ignoring research regarding the estimate of the dead in that country.

The latest statements of the USA Commander and Chief illustrates very, very clearly that his policies have nothing to do with governance or National Security but ONLY with winning 'power play' politics.

He disregards human life chronically, of our soldiers, the quality of life of Americans and Iraqis in exchange for crony agendas of exploitive government that sucked the USA Treasury dry endangering the sovereign of the very country USA citizens live within and their children will inherit.

George W. C. Bush is the most corrupt president this country has had on a scale that is yet to be measured. This country is supposed to be moral. It longer even comes close.

Kim can't do anything that A. Q. Khan didn't already do.

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The harassing of North Korean ships is just a Bush Bullying Excuse.

Khan's acts greatly damaged Pakistan's image: Musharraf

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200610181710.htm

Islamabad, Oct 18. (PTI): The proliferation activities of Pakistan's disgraced scientist A Q Khan could have led to the country being declared a "rogue state," President Pervez Musharraf has said.
The President also said it was wrong to call Khan the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme as there were some 7000 other scientists who worked for many years on it.
In an interview to ARY television, Musharraf said Khan's activities greatly damaged Pakistan's efforts to get nuclear technology as no country came forward to assist it.
He said Pakistan could have been declared a rogue state or faced severe sanctions because of Khan.
"We are not an oil producing country and imagine how critical it would have been for Pakistan in case of sanctions. This proliferation ghost is still chasing us," Daily Times newspaper today quoted him as saying in the interview.

THIS IS all nonsense.

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commercials

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For decades North Korea has conducted 'legal' contracts between other countries and it's missile industry. In this case, in 2002, the USA interrupted a legal shipment to Yemen. After first trying to intimdate Yemen to hand over the missile shipment, it ultimately went on it's way to it's destination.

Countries are allowed to have a defense. That is what North Korea provides. Even Iraq had missiles that were allowed to fly as far as the country's sovereign borders.

U.S. lets Scud ship sail to Yemen

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/12/11/us.missile.ship/

ANAA, Yemen (CNN) -- U.S. officials allowed a freighter with 15 Scud missiles aboard to proceed to Yemen Wednesday after the Yemeni government said it purchased the missiles from North Korea.
U.S. and Spanish forces seized the freighter So San in the Indian Ocean Monday about 600 miles south of Yemen. Yemeni officials protested the seizure, and U.S. officials released the vessel after receiving assurances that the missiles would not be transferred to a third party.
"There is no provision under international law prohibiting Yemen from accepting delivery of missiles from North Korea," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "While there is authority to stop and search, in this instance there is no clear authority to seize the shipment of Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen. Therefore, the merchant vessel is being released." (The law on sea searches)

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Foley. Right.

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The big threat is that North Korea will perfect a nuclear weapon and transport it to all it's customers. Well. There needs to be a law that prohibits that type of transport. Because at this time there are liberal regulations regarding nuclear shipments. Basically, all these laws are 'honored' for their merit. Quite frankly, there is no prohibition of any country from shipping nuclear material and missiles anywhere in the world in very short time. What's with that? The world should allow any country to transport nuclear weapons to any country they want to?

Safety of Nuclear Shipments

http://www.dfat.gov.au/security/safety_nuc_shipment.html

Australia is an active member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA sets strict standards for the transport of nuclear material, which have been transported safely around the world since the 1960s. The IAEA advises there has never been an accident during the transport of nuclear fuel that has resulted in any release of radioactivity.
The nuclear companies involved have comprehensive emergency response plans and safety procedures to minimise the environmental risks of any accident, no matter how unlikely.
Australia has actively participated in the development of the international framework of legal arrangements covering shipments of nuclear materials, set out in various United Nations (UN) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) Conventions, regulations, codes and protocols.
The IAEA’s Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (the Transport Regulations) relate to the safe transport of radioactive material. They can be adopted in whole or in part through incorporation in the national legislation of countries transporting radioactive material.

THERE ARE COUNTRIES near North Korea that can directly threaten North Korea as well.

Safety & Security First

http://www.japannuclear.com/nuclearpower/transportation/safety.html

Nuclear materials have been safely transported from Japan to France and the United Kingdom since 1969. As described in other sections, Japan is working to create a "closed" nuclear fuel cycle. Various spent nuclear fuel activities, such as reprocessing and vitrification, have been occurring through contracts with corporate partners in Europe. All nuclear materials, including MOX fuel and vitrified wastes, must be transported between Japan and Europe. Considering the long history of nuclear transportation across the world, Japan's nuclear utilities are confident that safety and security for these shipments can be met. In addition, Independent nuclear experts around the world have stated that transporting these materials is safe.

THE NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY is NOT respected, at all. There is supposed to be five nuclear nations. And that's it. There is room for nuclear energy. It is upto the five nuclear nations to stop the abuse of international law. What is everyone waiting for? The third nuclear weapon detonation before the escalation STOPS? Where exactly will that third detonation take place? China? Russia? France? The US? The UK? Where will that detonation take place?

All Nine Nuclear Powers Are Violating Non-Proliferation Treaty

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100906A.shtml

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