Friday, April 04, 2003

Promoter of World War considered for Iraq post Hard to believe some of the stuff that comes out of wing-nut mouths these days.   Read the stuff below… it is simply incredible to think this guy might be considered for anything other than a padded room – never mind a key position in the occupation of Iraq.   Hard to believe this guy was in charge of the CIA, but then so was GHW Bush.   And what a strategy! Let’s destabilize the entire Middle East in our quest to win the “4th world war.”   I’m just sure the “liberated” people who make the regions regimes so nervous – people like bin Laden – will embrace us with open arms, just like in Basra, Nasiriyah, Baghdad…   (thanks to MWO)   In the address to a group of college students, Woolsey described the Cold War as the third world war and said "This fourth world war, I think, will last considerably longer than either World Wars I or II did for us. Hopefully not the full four-plus decades of the Cold War."   Woolsey has been named in news reports as a possible candidate for a key position in the reconstruction of a postwar Iraq.   He said the new war is actually against three enemies: the religious rulers of Iran, the "fascists" of Iraq and Syria, and Islamic extremists like al Qaeda.   Woolsey told the audience of about 300, most of whom are students at the University of California at Los Angeles, that all three enemies have waged war against the United States for several years but the United States has just "finally noticed."   "As we move toward a new Middle East," Woolsey said, "over the years and, I think, over the decades to come ... we will make a lot of people very nervous."   It will be America's backing of democratic movements throughout the Middle East that will bring about this sense of unease, he said.   "Our response should be, 'good!'" Woolsey said.   Singling out Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the leaders of Saudi Arabia, he said, "We want you nervous. We want you to realize now, for the fourth time in a hundred years, this country and its allies are on the march and that we are on the side of those whom you -- the Mubaraks, the Saudi Royal family -- most fear: We're on the side of your own people."   4:30:42 AM

April fools Nothing punctures bloated self-righteous fervor like humor. With that in mind check out these photos from a very effective April fools spoof of pro-war “patriots.”   PS: Don’t miss the sign thanking Bush’s right-hand knave of self-righteous blather: Ralph Nader (7th one down).   (Thanks to MWO) 4:13:55 AM

A not so feel-good story The economy continues to worsen…   And as Krugman notes, SARS may further contribute to the spiral.   But the key word is “contribute” – the spiral is already firmly in place and Bush policies have done far more to create our present economic weakness than any “business cycle” has or SARS ever will.   Here are the key ‘graphs: read ’em and weep.   Gun, Germs and Stall? By PAUL KRUGMAN   Over the last two weeks, nobody has been paying much attention to economic news; even the ups and downs of the Dow have reflected reports from the battlefield, not the boardroom. But the economic news is quite worrying. Indeed, the latest readings suggest that our recovery, such as it is, may be stalling.   Actually, the recovery can't officially stall since it hasn't officially begun: the committee that rules on such matters still hasn't declared the recession that began in March 2001 over. There are good reasons for the committee's hesitation: while G.D.P. started growing in late 2001, the job situation — which is what matters to most people — has more or less steadily worsened. In particular, fewer people are working now than were employed a year ago. Since the working-age population continues to rise, jobs have become steadily harder to find.   Still, the latest data suggest that the rate at which things are getting worse is accelerating. In February, payroll employment fell by 308,000 — the worst reading since November 2001. Some analysts suggested that number was a fluke, distorted by bad weather, but yesterday there were two more worrying indicators: new claims for unemployment insurance jumped, and a survey of service sector companies suggests that the economy as a whole is contracting. 3:46:26 AM

Safire - (Or as we call him my household – Safliar) - reporter or provocateur?   Josh reports, you decide. 3:34:20 AM

Here is a feel-good story Even amid all the carnage and infantile politics of our “leaders” the human spirit somehow endures. Let’s hope it can survive the occupation to come. (thanks to agonist) 3:26:30 AM

First “freedom fries”… …now this:   Both houses of Congress approved bills Thursday to spend nearly $80 billion on the U.S.-led war against Iraq and related expenses, but the House added to its version a measure meant to punish France, Germany, Russia and Syria for opposing the coalition to topple Saddam Hussein.   Yep, this will strengthen our alliances and international influence.   This will make us more secure from terrorism.   This will convince the world that we are only interested in Iraqi freedom (oddly enough, something we never cared about before…).   “We’re not bullies, we’re heroes!”   “And if you don’t believe us we’ll get all pissy and stomp our feet and pass laws against you, so there! Nyah Nyah!! Poopy-heads!”   I am so tired of these GOP “adults” being in charge. 3:11:46 AM

Another reason… …why the rich pay less in taxes than you do - right here.   Who says we need a flat tax system?   For all intents and purposes we already have one… and it sucks.   2:51:13 AM

What happened to those deemed “guilty”? Read the snippet below and see if you can guess where it is happening… hint, it is a contemporary account, not from a history of Nazi occupation.   …the army said that on Wednesday it summoned all male residents between the ages of 15 and 45 to appear in the camp's center, where they were detained and interrogated one by one.   Those deemed innocent were placed on trucks and sent to another camp, where they were released and instructed not to return home for three days, the army said.   Click here to find out more about this and other matters like the routine destruction of “illegal” houses.   And people wonder where suicide bombers come from?   2:37:21 AM

You won’t hear this on US airwaves: George W. Bush is just like Osama bin Laden.   And you don’t have to have Arab heritage to make the simple connection between these two “chosen of god.”   Get used to it. This is how most of the rest of the world views the current US regime.   "Osama bin Laden always says he speaks in the name of Allah," says writer Juan Goytisolo, on the phone from Guadalajara. "And now the American administration has been kidnapped by a group of fundamentalists and messianics who continually use the word 'God.' They should leave God in peace."   Radio host Jose Gutierrez Vivo nods, and millions of Mexican listeners hear him laugh in agreement. "All sorts of things, including this war, are being done in God's name, don't you think?"   Gutierrez Vivo is known here as "the voice that Mexico hears," and it's no exaggeration. An estimated 8 million people around Mexico City listen to his daily show, "Monitor," which is carried by more than 40 other radio stations around the country. Millions more tune in to the four-hour morning show in taxis and taco stands and workplaces from the Texas border to the frontier with Guatemala. 2:25:45 AM

Shock and Awe… …somely funny: right here, enjoy. 2:14:46 AM

"Bush and bin Laden are alike…” “…They're extremists and think they are on a mission from God."   Amen to that. But don’t hold your breath waiting to hear such common sense sentiments in the US media.   That is why people who can are choosing Al Jazeera over US networks as more balanced and less biased source of news.   Read this article and you’ll understand why – Al Jazeera’s coverage is comprehensive and balanced, not selective and slanted. Here's an excerpt below:   Hafez Mirazi looks a little haggard, but that's not surprising. He's the Washington bureau chief of al-Jazeera, the controversial Arab TV news network, and he's had a tough couple of weeks.   First, American and British military brass denounced al-Jazeera for showing video of coalition casualties and POWs. Then the New York Stock Exchange responded by ejecting al-Jazeera's financial reporters. Then the network's English-language Web site debuted, only to be hit by computer hackers who emblazoned "Let Freedom Ring" across it, then knocked it out entirely.   Still, Mirazi greets this bombardment with a shrug and a smile. He's seen it all before.   "This is very typical of what al-Jazeera has been through in the Arab world and in many authoritarian regimes," says Mirazi, 45, as he sits in his K Street office, where two TVs are tuned to war coverage -- one on CNN, the other on al-Jazeera. "It's just sad that the U.S. and U.S. institutions didn't deal with us any differently than the Iraqi regime did."   Yesterday Iraq expelled one al-Jazeera reporter and barred another from reporting in Baghdad. It was unclear why, but it wasn't the first time the network has run into trouble with Iraqi officials.   Five months ago, Mirazi says, the Iraqi government withdrew the accreditation of one of al-Jazeera's reporters in Baghdad. "They accused him of using U.S. propaganda terms, like saying 'the Iraqi president' without saying his name," Mirazi recalls, laughing. "And he asked tough questions at press conferences, so they were not happy with him."   Now it's the Americans and the British who aren't happy with al-Jazeera. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld denounced the network for showing video footage of American prisoners of war, and British military commander Brian Burridge called al-Jazeera's close-up videos of two dead British soldiers "shocking" and "disgraceful."   Mirazi disagrees. An Egyptian-born U.S. citizen who worked for the Voice of America in Washington for 12 years and for BBC radio for two years before joining al-Jazeera in 2000, he defends his network's policy of showing gruesome footage of dead soldiers and civilians.   "There is a feeling in our newsroom that you need to be as realistic as possible and carry the images of war and the effect that war has on people," he says. "If you are in a war, your population shouldn't just eat their dinner and watch sanitized images on TV and video games produced by the technological whizzes in the Pentagon and say, 'This is war.' No. You really need to show every family what your men and women are going through. That's important because the families [of dead soldiers] are going to be the only ones who see those gruesome images when they get the bodies. How about the rest of the American population? How are they going to appreciate their sacrifices? . . . If you leave it to politicians, you won't see anything."   2:05:08 AM

A good question Right here – unfortunately there is not one simple answer.   Here are some attempts:   They just don’t understand what it means to be an American citizen (i.e., the right to exercise liberties) and instead equate free speech and civil disobedience with “terrorism.”  They think war and politics are only sports – if you're not "playing" then you can only cheer.  They have Saddam-envy: “everyone else just shut-up.”  They take their cues from the white house: in short, this war is about marginalizing domestic opposition – “you’re either with Junior or the terrorists.”  Our soldiers need “support” – unthinking knee-jerk cheering for an unexplained, unjustified and unprovoked war in which they are stuck fighting (and dieing) because… Junior said so. 1:33:44 AM

Sad but true The justice “system” coughs up another sacrificial victim.   At least this guy was spared the all too typical ordeal of having the current prosecutors dream up new scenarios for him to “prove” his innocence, such as “he must have used a condom wile raping” or “he raped without ejaculating” etc.   What is most chilling is the last quoted statement: "There are a lot of other people who are in the same circumstances and I hope they get the help they need."   Man exonerated by DNA free after 19 years By DENISE LAVOIE April 3, 2003  |  BOSTON (AP) --   A man who spent 19 years in prison after three rape victims identified him as their attacker was freed Thursday, cleared by new DNA evidence on evidence dug up by a law student working on his case.   "It's a big change," Dennis Maher said at the Boston office of his attorneys. "I expected to die in prison and now I'm out."   After prosecutors dropped charges against him before a packed courtroom, Maher also said he had a message for the women: "What happened to you really happened, and I hold no grudges against you."   Maher, a 42-year-old former Army paratrooper and mechanic, said he blamed Lowell police and his former attorney, now deceased, but was too overwhelmed by his newfound freedom to feel any anger about his years of incarceration.   After his conviction in 1983, Maher told the court his conviction was a travesty. He continued to proclaim his innocence as he spent the next two decades in prison.   His big break came in 2001, when the law student discovered two boxes of evidence, including the clothing of one of the victims, in the basement of the Cambridge courthouse.   Prosecutors agreed to have the clothing sent to California for DNA testing, and the results showed that Maher did not commit the rape. A slide from the rape kit of a second victim was immediately sent for testing, and those results also cleared Maher as the attacker.   On Thursday, prosecutors agreed to drop charges in all three cases against him, prompting applause from Maher's family and friends, who packed the courtroom.   Although the third case was an attempted rape and there was no DNA evidence, prosecutors said they no longer believe Maher was the assailant.   District Attorney Martha Coakley said there was no indication the case was marred by sloppy police work. All three women identified Maher as their attacker, and their description of clothing and a military knife matched items found in Maher's car.   "Obviously, we have profound regrets about this," Coakley said. "There is not much you can say to someone who has unfortunately been at the wrong end of an imperfect system."   Maher was represented by the Innocence Project, which provides legal assistance to inmates where DNA testing of blood, sperm, saliva, hair or skin could establish proof of innocence. His current attorney, Aliza Kaplan, deputy director of the Innocence Project, said about 80 percent of the 126 convictions reversed by the Innocence Project have involved mistaken eyewitness identifications.   Maher said his time at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater was difficult in part because he had to go to group therapy sessions and listen to child molesters and rapists talk about what they did to their victims.   Kaplan said Maher is considering a civil lawsuit, though Maher said money won't give him back nearly two decades of his life.   "I should be married with children. You can't make up for that," he said. "Compensation will go part of the way, but you can never make up for what I lost."   Maher said he'd like to find a job as a mechanic, his last job in the Army, and was trying to understand some of the things he missed while in prison. He used a cellular telephone for the first time Thursday.   Maher also thanked his lawyers and his parents for standing behind him.   "There are a lot of other people who are in the same circumstances and I hope they get the help they need," he said. 1:03:10 AM