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Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, equality, truth and justice for all.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Files prove Pentagon is profiling reporters

So this is what constitutes journalism today? Since the beginning of blogging, the medium has been ripped for not adhering to some strict phantom code of journalistic ethics. At this point in history, it's the citizen journalist I trust over the super-mega-multi-national-military-industrial-corporate-newspaper. I may not hold a journalism degree from Northwestern, but I know bullshit when I read it. And the folks at the Times and the Trib can't figure out why their papers are dying. Here's a suggestion; how about growing a spine for your country, and not selling your soul for ad space dollars?

I'm just sayin'....

Files prove Pentagon is profiling reporters | Stars and Stripes

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

At What Cost?




After watching John King this Sunday, on CNN's State of the Union, lay out the opium production numbers from Afghanistan, is there any question as to why we are there?

In 2001, before we invaded, Afghanistan produced 185 metric tons of opium, or 12% of the worlds production.

In 2008, after seven years of being occupied by the U.S., Afghanistan produced 7,700 metric tons of opium, or 93% of the worlds supply.

Let's see; $157 a gram, 453 grams per pound, 2204 pounds per metric ton, 7,700 metric tons........

Hmmmmm.


Is It For Freedom, Sarah Thompson

Monday, August 24, 2009

Torture Prosecutions Coming Soon? Justice Dept. Report Advises Pursuing C.I.A. Abuse Cases




This is my response to a statement that questioned whether prosecuting torturers would be bad for the democrats in the 2010 elections.


Doesn't anyone else see the reality that there is no such thing as 'democrats' or 'republicans', there is only the corporation? The current health care 'debate' surely proves that fact. And let us not forget the bankers' bailout. Members of both the house and the senate have decried the full ownership of congress by bankers and insurance companies. It's have versus have nots, nothing less and nothing more.

So who gets hurt by a drawn out investigation into torture is irrelevant in 2010, or at any other time: the corporations' candidate will always win. Without true campaign finance reform and strict term limits, nothing will change.

And the Orwellian way in which 'debate' is happening in this country will continue unchecked. Since we certainly cannot rely on the corporate owned media to inform, I see very little in the way of options.

We will reach a breaking point, and if the uber rich can't see that, then maybe they ought to reread the history of human kind. I hear they go well with Merlot.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Sunday, August 23, 2009

RebelReports

RebelReports

Jeremy Scahill Slams Chuck Todd, Media, Congress Over Blackwater On "Real Time With Bill Maher" (VIDEO)




We have to prosecute these animals, or we are equally complicit in their actions.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Hey Mister, Wanna Buy A Rug?


I would like to confront the absurd notion posited by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Meet the Press; that 'extremist Muslims' are holed up in a cave, or remote outpost in the foothills of the Himalayas, plotting the demise of Americans. When asked, ‘who we are fighting?’, the response is always ambiguous; we are fighting the September bomber/plotters, we are fighting Al Qaeda, we are fighting extreme Muslim factions of the Taliban.

If I could be so bold as to ask a couple of basic questions; where do these groups get these highly sophisticated weapons? How were they able to purchase them? How was that transaction allowed to happen; the purchase and transport of such equipment? The planet I live on has such an extreme surveillance and police/military presence, that the only people who could pull off any of this would be the people in the military of all sides.

Where’s the upside to this war? Who stands to make any thing off this war? Well, pretty obviously the arms manufacturers, arms traders/dealers make money every time a weapon is fired. So it stands to reason that the more times a weapon is fired, the more money they are making. Then there are the ‘contractors’. This is the mercenary arm of the mega corporations that land all the no-bid contracts to rebuild whatever country that the arms merchants destroyed (think of the massacres in Ghana (Shell), Chile (Chiquita Banana), Haiti(textiles, fruit) and now Honduras(textiles, fruit) to name just a few. And, of course, if you were to combine these forces into one supermegamultinationalcorporation, you would have Blackwater and Halliburton.

Then there’s the drugs. Lets look at where in the world we are deeply involved militarily (an increasingly private, christian military that answers to no one), shall we? Columbia(Bush 'candy'), Indonesia/Philippines(refined heroin, methamphetamine), Nigeria(pharmaceuticals), Afghanistan(raw opium)(today's State of the Union podcast shows the dramatic increase of production since our occupation), and here at home(the best marijuana in the world, bar none). That covers cocaine, heroin, ice, marijuana and pharmaceuticals. Are we trying to eliminate the drug cartels, or just our rivals? Which country consumes the lions’ share of drugs?

That’s right, us.

Now, if you want to believe that a group of poppy-growing-goat-herding-rug-making Afghanis are plotting away in some Dr. No type highly sophisticated cave, you go right ahead. There is no possible way that anyone had the ability to manipulate the CIA, FBI, FAA, FEDERAL, STATE and LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, from some fucking cave in a war torn hovel. And who, on this planet, makes nano thermite?

I am, of course, referring to September 11th.

Every action this country has taken, both domestically and internationally, has been based on the premise that it was a cave dwelling goat herder that planned and executed this horrible farce. And it saddens me that even the so-called progressives, the Bill Mahers, the Art Bells, The Rachel Maddows, refuse to even entertain the blatantly obvious; Dick Cheney, and the rest of that reptilian/evangelical cadre, perpetuated that atrocity for financial and, for some, spiritual gain.

Follow the money. Follow the abolition of our rights. Follow the unbelievably despicable acts of cruelty perpetuated in our name. Look at the admission by the first head of the Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge; that he was forced to raise the so-called terror alert level for political reasons, (specifically to manipulate the 2004 presidential election). Look at the ties between Al Qaeda (MI6’s term meaning “friendly Arab”) and the CIA and the PSI(Pakistan's CIA, for whom Osama Bin Laden worked) and the whole Bin Laden family. Look at the “C” Street revelations and the Eric Prince/George Bush evangelical crusade.

Look at the MONEY.

And why drugs? Well, if the populace is stoned, they wont even get up to change the channel on the TV. We have removed all the nutritional value from our food and replaced it with sugar/corn syrup. And let’s not forget ALL our corn is genetically modified. We are the most obese nation in the world. I could go on and on, as the signs of this global conspiracy are everywhere. They aren’t even bothering to hide it anymore.

Don’t be afraid. Be informed. Ask the hard questions and don't let up until you have the truth. We know the truth when we hear it. And we know when we are being lied to. And if you find yourself getting angry, look in the mirror and be angry at yourself for not having the balls to follow through with some basic reporting. Just a few tough questions that really need answering. The truth is gonna suck: a really traumatic event happened to us. But the fact that we did no investigation, the fact that we have held no one accountable, the fact that we have only been reporting the symptoms, not the disease; this is what is inexcusable. This is the cancer to our democracy. And any doctor will tell you that if you only treat a patient’s symptoms, they’s gonna die.

So Bill, let’s put down our bongs long enough to get the answers to these very basic and admittedly painful questions, and then we can curl up to the TV for the inevitable trials, twist up a fatty and celebrate the return of our testicular fortitude.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Follow the Money

Cartoon by R.J. Matson


Recently, a Brazilian news caster was arrested for creating his own news. He was hiring people to do break ins and other criminal activity, so that he and his crew seemed to always be in the right place at the right time.

The recent co-ordinated attacks in Iraq on August 18th reinforce my long held belief that we create the mayhem so that the Iraqis appear inadequate in their own defense, and therefore need our continued occupation to maintain security.

At some point in the beginning of the occupation of Iraq, a car dealership was attacked by a "suicide" car bomber. I remember thinking aloud, 'how odd that there would be a "crowded car dealership" in northern Iraq in the middle of a war'. Then I wondered aloud 'who would attack a car dealership'? Clearly whoever perpetrated this crime was against the Iraqi civilians, as they would be the only ones at a car dealership.

Then a very unsettling thought occurred to me; what if there were no "suicide" bombers at all? What if the people in the cars were already dead? Their hands taped to the wheel of a remote controlled car?

Now why would anyone do that? Well, what are the effects of these bombings? And take a look at the timing of the attacks; seems to me to always be around the time the Iraqis decide to hold some vote on how the hell they can get us out of there.

And now these recent bombings; six bombs going off in intervals, designed to make it impossible to react to any one of them. Then let's look at the buildings chosen for demolition; all of them governmental, and even two of them inside the so-called 'green zone'.

Who has the ability to pull that off? In the capital of a fully occupied country, that has been reduced to rubble? All communications, in or out, are fully monitored. All persons, young or old, male or female, are subjected daily to full searches and renditions. Who would have the capability to store such massive amounts of explosives? Who would have the ability to co-ordinate such an attack, spread throughout the city?

And then, who stands to make money rebuilding the structures and highways taken down? Why that would be our private no-bid contractors.

And lastly, doesn't it seem odd to anyone else as to the timing of this attack? On the eve of a mandated referendum on whether the U.S. should leave sooner than agreed.

And now the 'prime minister' is suggesting the Iraqis are not ready for us to pull out at all.

This is all so sickeningly obvious, and yet not one news organization has even suggested the possibility of our involvement. Maybe we could send the F.B.I. in there and do a real crime scene investigation and figure out who, exactly, is responsible for this shit.

Or maybe we could just keep on believing that a group of radical Muslims are holed up in a burned out, blown up building somewhere in the city with caches of supremely sophisticated equipment and explosives, and have the technical capability of pulling something of this scale off.

I also have a tooth under my pillow, can't wait for the tooth faerie to come.

Can someone please do some investigative reporting? Please?

My wish has been granted; definately check out Jeremy Scahill's blog, Rebel Reports. This man is a true patriot; putting his life on the line to bring us facts, so that we may be able to make informed decisions. Democracy can not work without an well informed electorate. Thank you, Jeremy, for having the balls to be a reporter, not some corporate whore.

Monday, August 10, 2009

How 'Bout Some Campaign Finance Reform?


Comic by Mike Luckovich


After watching the Congress open the Treasury to the bankers, insurance companies, car industries and now Big Pharma (Eli Lily, 80% owned by the Bush's) and the Health Insurance companies, under the auspice of Reagan's trickle down theory (the masses will benefit if the multi-national corporations are forgiven their debt, allowed to conglomerate, and break up what's left of the unions), don't you think it's time to accept a few things about our government, and maybe human nature in general?

During the bank bail out, two different congressmen flat out admitted that over half of congress was bought and paid for. Bribery?, you say. Not exactly. Through a series of complex avenues, these multi-national corporations donate massive amounts of money to campaigns. And they make it clear if you are already an incumbent, that if you don't vote the way they want, they will finance several campaigns against you. This has played out right in front of us with the health industry take over of the health care reform movement.

How can we change this? How can we maintain access to our politicians, without compromising the integrity of the office? How about 1 (one) term in office? Remove the revolving door of the election cycle. Once you're in, you're in. Once your time is up, it's up. And no consulting, board placements or any other kind of alternative compensation when you get out of office. This would eliminate so much of the inherent corruption in the system.

As far as campaign finance reform; make it simple. The amount of money, both spent and raised, must be limited. Equal amount of free air time, but definitely limited to a certain amount of time before the election, ie. six months, one year. Also free and equal amount of time in the papers, on the radio, and on the television. Anyone caught breaking the basic rules, the so-called Spirit of the Law, should be barred from holding any public office. Town halls, whistle stop tours, or just plain going door to door is fine (frankly, preferred) because this is how we used to get a feel for the integrity of a person. Not some Madison Avenue-market research-spin doctor-poll tracking version of a candidate.

The way things are, we have the Bush's, the Cuomo's, the Clinton's, the Kennedy's, and the Rockefeller's. And we are going to keep having them there until the laws are changed. This country never wanted a monarchy, or a House of Lords, but believe you me, that is exactly what we have.

The Executive branch has become almost 'all-powerful', what with it's own army that answers neither to the civilian police, nor the military. They answer only to the president. This army use to be called norcom, but I believe is now referred to as JSOC. The People's house is like the little kids' table at a sit down dinner. Every once in a while it might get a little noisy, but that's more nuisance than anything. The Senate has all the power, all the purse strings. And, if the multi-nationals don't want a specific bill read or voted on, surprise surprise, it dies in committee. AND EVERYONE KNOWS THIS IS HAPPENING!?!?!?!

How about we do what we fought so hard to have the right to do? Let's throw these bums out, close the door, and change the rules so that we can learn from our mistakes, our shortcomings, and become a better country, a better example to the rest of the world. I strongly support campaign finance reform and the reintroduction of term-limits, and I believe that it will be business as usual until that has been resolved.