Blast from the Past

Is it right to dredge up things on their anniversaries? I'm not waiting. On June 15, 1965, Lyndon Baines Johnson, President, in a telephone call to Dean Rusk, I think, or maybe Bob McNamara (he was on the phone with both that day, and others), that the thing about the Vietnamese, and "winning" that war, is that he knew something about the Vietnamese. They were never going to leave. Johnson basically said, in 1965, that we couldn't win because the Vietnamese were not "going to leave" Vietnam

O'Reilly Lies

Don't worry, Fox viewers, this is not the first time. O'Reilly had lefty pollster John Zogby on, who did an exceptional job describing the polling data he had accurately. Zogby noted that "church attendance" was 25% higher in "red" states than "blue" states. What Fox damn well knows is that it is not a matter of States, but Cities, but that's not the point. Jokingly, O'Reilly said blue state residents didn't attend Church. Actually, if the average in red states is 4 times per moth, then it is 3 times per month in the blue states. Consdidering that GOD DOES NOT EVEN EXIST, and that EVERY RELIGION IS A BUNCH OF LOONY DECEIVERS, I would rather be a blue stater. Sorry that all those christians got brainwashed by their parents. Family Values is a 4,000 year old philosophy, perfect for the son of a President President.

Let me guess

Yonah Alexander is a pretty ardent supporter of U.S. and Israeli foreign policies? As a "director" at some think tank, seemed to blame the entire existence of Islamic terrorism on the Iranian revolution of 1979. Fuck all to the fact that the Algerian revolution was done by a terrorist campaign that began in the 1950s. Is there some excuse for Alexander not to know that? Of course not, since the Algerian Ambassador to the United States was the second speaker he introduced. First though was the Ambassador from Sri Lanka, a teardrop-shaped, Ohio-sized country off the coast of India. This person called the Tamil Tigers an "international" terrorist movement. Dear readers, the Tamil are an physically distinct looking minority population of the southern part of India and Sri Lanka. It's an indigineously populated rebel movement. Sure, the guns aren't local, they don't make them, so they come from another country, so they are "international." Just like the people who eat Costa Rican beef in their McDonald's burgers are really "international" gourmands. Idriss Jazairy of Algeria spoke next. He is a thoughtful guy in a difficult position. I hadn't heard about his "three phases" of Algerian terrorism, so I'll share. 84-94, GIA-based, 30-50 terrrorists now, targetted at intellectuals, foreigners, possibly been educated by Egyptian teachers Algeria imported to help the country. 94-98 I forget 98-03 150 members of IGCA? Algeria has lost more Muslims that any other country to Al-Qaida, he stated. This guy has my focus.

Think

Think a lot. Think about punk bands like Minor Threat, Corrosion of Conformity. Would you hire them to teach morals to your children? Now, think about a group that calls itself "Global Risk," would you trust it to keep security in Iraq? You would if your a crony of Chalabi! Haha, isn't capitalism great! I mean, crony capitalism!

Shorter Immigration Policy

"Get a J-O-B"! If you are already an illegal immigrant with a job, you can get a three year legal visa to continue working. If your employer has agreed to hire you, you can come from Mexico for the same three years. Here's saying the same thing.

Extremely disappointing," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza. "They're proposing to invite people to be guest workers without providing any meaningful opportunity to remain in the United States to become legal permanent residents."

Another Major Iraqi Scientist on WMD

Omar Khadduri I linked to before. Now Tamimi was used in this Washington Post article to say that all the weapons systems he ever worked on were just on paper, and not anything like a threat.

Shameless!

Fox News gave a teaser about "Dean" and profiteering in government, but did the story have anything to do with Howard Dean? Viewers would have had to wait around for ten or fifteen minutes to find out that Fox was full of crap. They were naming the PROSECUTING ATTORNEY ("Deen)" in a speed trap case. Does Fox usually cover speed trap cases? Yes, if someone is named "Deen" and they can use his name in the teaser and get a chance to use "Deen" and "government profiteering" in the same sentence! This is a well orchestrated operation that is operating against the interests of the United States. Fox News is a treasonous station, and any rational President would do something akin to seizing their license under the RICO statutes.

Oil Security in Iraq!

Well, I didn't find the story myself (no mention of it on C-SPAN or near the front page of whatever news sources I tried at that time) but here it is, from Counter Punch. this year's biggest Christmas present...

We refer, of course, to the $40 million contract awarded by occupation authorities to a private security company called Erinys Iraq. ... Now little Erinys will guard the Holy Grail of the entire invasion project: Iraq's oil industry. Erinys is a joint venture between a large South African freebooting firm and a few choice Iraqi investors. How choice? They are intimates of Ahmad Chalabi: leader of the Iraqi National Congress exile group, member of the Bush-appointed Governing Council

Now this story has been out one week, and I am going to google for Erinys, and here is a larger section of the story. From the Indian newspaper Sify

Coming to grips with the number of security firms operating throughout Iraq and the exact nature of their missions is next to impossible. The biggest players in Iraq's security bonanza are US firms ArmorGroup and Haart and the British Control Risks Group (CR), and Erinys and Olive. That is without mentioning the private armies employed by the likes of oil firm Halliburton and its unit Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), Bechtel and power giant General Electric, who are the biggest beneficiaries of Iraq's multi-billion dollar rebuilding contracts.

And a little more from them to get just a taste of their "progress"

Erinys was awarded a contract this summer to deploy 6,500 mostly Iraqi security force to guard the country's oil pipelines and facilities, which have come under frequent attacks and sabotage by insurgents since Saddam's fall, prompting the closing of the vital northern export pipeline... ...The British advisor says..."They are not disciplined, you train them then the following week they go to 'Inshallah' because they have no white eye looking over at them,"

Hasn't whetted your appetite yet for oil security in Iraq?

Bless America!

I can say that. I lot of people would have a tough time saying that. Want a great chuckle? Have a visiit to Church Lite. and a marvelous time was not had by all, since some believed mighily in an almighty

I Can See Far?

I watched the State Department breifing today, I hadn't noticed Boucher had been changed. The new guy has a pretty funny "I am being serious face." I am just kidding, of course. I listen with extra-regular interest, for numerous reasons, when the topic is Iran, and I was thinking how that although the Iranians didn't accept Bush's offer of kindness at this time (which the spokesperson mentioned), but that we actually appreciate that about them: independence being part of the bedrock of our nation, and the selfish benefit of saved resources. May all our dialog be as pleasant, and may it not again be over matters so calamitous, Adieu! (unmistakable, in every way) Is this what Zarathustra said to the adder? I don't know, but it sounds like chimes from here.

Lieberman and Citizen's for Tax Justice Disagree

Whom do you trust? This article, part of this study, at Citizen's for Tax Justice (CTJ) shows that noone except the top 15% has a tax cut over $1800, yet Senator Lieberman said that the "average family" in Iowa got a tax cut from Bush of $1,800. Looks like Lieberman is spinning, just wrong, or the CTJ study is too old. Lieberman said the most outrageous thing, that he wanted another income tax cut, and that that, an income tax cut, is "Clinton" economics. I seem to recall a tax hike at the outset of the Clinton administration, no cut. He's been on Dean's leg quite fiercely.

They aren't talking about it!

I've been watching, or sometimes half-watching, the Demcorat Debate going on now in Iowa. Braun was sounding good (whoops, she just said the job loss was 6 mill, not 3). The rest fought a lot. But none of them talked about cutting defense spending. We are planning to spend 2.5 Trillion dollars on the JSF (the new one, the F-22 went on without the JSF title, it's now the F-33). We are planning a new round of aircraft carriers, and the first one of the new type to be rolled out in 2013. I would (perhaps) increase R&D but decrease prototyping and push back the roll out We keep our Nuclear ("boomer") subs in the Oceans like Total Nuclear War is close to imminent (reduce "optempo" (8 from 14 per batch)) FInally cancel the Osprey (all the danger of a Helicopter in a Plane! Paratroopers Union Says No! j/k) Is the Crusader canned for good? I've got an idea for transforming the tech (less of a total loss?) Base cafeteria nutrition analysis! OMG. They feed our boys crap, I swear, it's crap. I'm not saying they should have balsamic vinagerette on mesculun and bitters, but Iceberg lettuce? Is anyone growing up on fruit cocktail anymore? pre-BRAC environmental clean up where available (which would have to make them less eligible to be R'd or C'd) If I think of more I'll add them here.

DEAN IS ANOTHER MCGOVERN

¿Vote NIXON? Vote for the candidate who will bring

Illegal and internationally condemned bombings! Yay!

Massive, private interest planned social programs (this time, no costs until after the election!) Yay!

Enjoy freshened relations with foreign despots! Yah!

Get ready for another resignation! VOTE NIXON BUSH 1972!

Giving Bush Credit

I am glad President Bush wanted to send a mission to Iran with Senator Elizabeth Dole, and considering that the same President Bush had repeatedly called Iran "evil," (without any sort of qualification, or any type of hedge, implying an absolute and pure evil), I am not surprised that Iran turned the U.S. down. Does anybody not think that the U.S. would likely use the mission for intellgience activities? This morning on C-SPAN I learned about Bush's "Millenium Challange Act" which is supposed to go to aid to foreign governments that aren't police states, and instead are making an honest effort at honest government. The Congress hasn't appropriated anything yet, and I can't imagine that the highly partisan nature of today's politics won't mutate the process (supporting free market countries that are really corrupt, while ignoring politically free but economically controlled societies), but it sounds like a good idea. The President has spent hours and horus of press time talking about tax cuts and wars, but I haven't seen him talk about the MCA, but maybe that's just me.

Christmas/NY Pudding

Like I said before, the ultimate "Friday news release time" is actually the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve. The only even semi-interesting thing this season was Ashcroft's recusal of himself in the Plame affair. Is it really anything? I have no clue.