Happy Campaign Trails + OPEN THREAD

“3rd Straight Night of Youth Riots In France
Voice of America – 32 minutes ago
By VOA News Riots have broken out for a third straight night in a northern Paris suburb despite heavy police presence. Rioters burned several cars in Villiers-le-Bel Tuesday night, where the deaths of two young people whose motorbike collided with a … ”
http://voanews.com/english/2007-11-28-voa2.cfm

BBC World News reported that, since the weeks of riots (two?) years ago, nothing has been done to address problems in those suburbs. True? I haven’t followed that story.

BBC also showed video of the damage done — entire businesses destroyed / blocks and blocks of them. Really bad. The youths are claiming the police didn’t get assistance for the two young people who were riding a bike illegally and collided with the police car?

From the most-emailed story at the NYT on the benefits of garlic, something I didn’t know about its preparation:

“Many home chefs mistakenly cook garlic immediately after crushing or chopping it, added Dr. Kraus. To maximize the health benefits, you should crush the garlic at room temperature and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes. That triggers an enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds in garlic. …”

(Garlic is something we can buy locally from the many organic farmers around me in our relatively unpolluted area. And I make an effort to buy that local garlic, especially since most garlic sold in supermarket chains comes from China and is grown in heavily polluted soil/water and with loads of pesticides, etc.)

One more story from the NYT — about how doctors are bought by pharmaceutical companies, written by a doctor.

My own local doctor has twice given me a prescription for a brand-new drug. The first time, my former ins. co. wouldn’t approve it. Now, I can get the drug. He gave me a second prescription for it two weeks ago. But in the interim, my daughter has told me about an article she read about very disturbing findings of serious side effects of this new drug.

Sadly, I’m too polite to ask my doctor how much he’s getting paid by the drug company to push the drug.

Hillary sent a letter. I hope that it was a ‘sternly worded’ letter. Come on Hillary, how about showing at least a little leadership on the issue? Between now and early Feb – at the minimum – you’re effectively the leader of the Democratic Party. Why aren’t you pounding Bush on this issue? You might surprise yourself and find out that showing some backbone and standing up to Bush will engender ‘strong’ support from many of us that still aren’t too sure about you.

Paul Rieckhoff and IAVA has an action alert regarding the payment of enlistment bonuses back to the military by those that have been wounded in the line of duty – thus not completing their enlistment.
I think this is something that needs to be addressed now – and it seems the kind of thing that should overwhelmingly pass. However one feels about this misbegotten war. The shoddy, inhumane treatment of our veterans – whether its Walter Reed, the lack of suicide prevention hotlines for returning vets with PTSD, the under reporting of 20,000 vets with BTI, the lack of armor, multiple deployments without suitable recuperation time, or this latest shameful episode – we can do something about this. Larry really nailed it in his “It ain’t the Pentagon, it’s Congress” on Nov. 21.

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2007/11/21/it-aint-the-pentagon-it-is-congress/

from Paul Rieckhoff –

I’m writing today to ask you to please take a minute to help us out on an important issue that is affecting wounded servicemembers.

When Jordan Fox was serving as a Private First Class in Iraq in May of this year, he was injured by a roadside bomb. The attack left him with a back injury and blind in his right eye, and as a result, the Army sent him home. A few weeks later, to his surprise, they sent him a bill for nearly $3,000.

The Army demanded that he return part of his enlistment bonus because he had been injured and medically discharged before completing his enlistment. Jordan had signed up to serve his country and was injured in the line of duty, and now the Army was asking for its money back.

Fortunately, there’s a new bill gaining momentum in Congress that would ensure this doesn’t happen to others in his situation. Pennsylvania Congressman Jason Altmire has introduced the “Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act” (H.R. 3793), and IAVA is making a major push to ensure it gets passed as soon as possible. Please take a minute to send a message to your Representatives urging them to support it.

Throughout this fight, Jordan has maintained that he is proud of his military service, and would serve again if asked. But this is a loophole that needs to be fixed immediately. The men and women in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan have served our nation proudly, and this is a terrible way to welcome them home.

So please take a minute now to send your Representatives a message, and tell them to support the Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act.

On behalf of Jordan, and future wounded veterans, thank you.

Sincerely,

Paul

Just click the top action alert – Stand With Our Veterans.

http://www.iava.org/

A Robert Novak online Q & A transcript for the Washington Post is found here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/11/21/DI2007112101671.html

He gives the bluntest statements I’ve heard or read from him about the outing of Valerie Plame.

I’m not so sure that PII (personally identifying information) from Amazon.com’s purchase records has not been made available to federal agencies operating under anti-terror law. The case written about was a criminal investigation matter. If federal agencies have obtained purchase records en masse, the corporation’s officers and employees are not at liberty to talk about it. I hope that no such data grab has occurred.

Do credit card invoices for Amazon.com purchases state titles?

It’s a shame what’s happened to our public libraries and their users (“patrons”).

Wonder what Larry was doing in Minnesota?

Minneapolis: I found your book very entertaining reading. Since you finished writing it, it has been disclosed publicly by the government both that Valerie Wilson was a covert employee by the CIA’s own standards, and that investigators determined early on that she was in fact a “covert agent” covered by the Intelligence Identities Protection Act — in part because, contrary to what you say in your book, she indeed had performed missions abroad undercover in the period immediately preceding the public blowing of her cover in your column. She was not, as you assert in your book, a desk-bound analyst at CIA headquarters. (And by the way, it is investigators’ and prosecutors’ responsibility, not the CIA’s, to determine whether Wilson was covered by the IIPA legislation.) How does that change your view of the case and of your own role in it? Have you revised your view of whether what you did was regrettable?

Connect the dots.

Mideast peace conference? OPEC attendance?

This is why:

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Al-Maliki Negotiates a Treaty with US
Kurds Defiant on Oil Deals

The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is negotiating a formal bilateral treaty with the United States. The question is whether the agreement will be submitted to parliament for ratification, and whether al-Maliki will be able to get a majority of parliamentarians to vote for it if so. Much of the work of the Iraqi government is never put through parliament and is just implemented by fiat by the executive.

http://www.juancole.com/

In the same thread Cole follows up with the money shot:

Iraq’s Kurds are undeterred by the warning by federal Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani that contracts signed by the Kurdistan Regional Government with foreign oil companies are null and void unless they are also signed by the federal government. The Kurds say they will go on making the contracts.

Aid for people to fight terror if they agree with the oil bids as we plan. Anyone who does not is a foe.

That’s one reason we’re trying to use Turkey for plausible leverage against Kurds.

Cole notes in the next thread that Al-Maliki is also trying to ‘marginalize Sunnis’ in his government.

No way these conflicting points can find consensus that affects lasting or change or even immediate security.

Romney says, not enough Muslims in America for a cabinet post. There’s only slightly more Mormons. So logically, will Romney disqualify himself?

On the other hand, maybe he won’t have to bother with the effort. The Greg Sargent article also says Romney had previously said, “They’re radical. There’s no talking to them. There’s no negotiating with them.”

Then to try and damage control by stepping in it further with both feet he said he didn’t think you need a Muslim in the cabinet to effectively fight Jihadism.

It’s a rare gift to have a mouth that can accomodate not one, but both feet.

“The assault on your civil liberties continues”
Are we outraged? Maybe.

As problematic as Orwellian government is, many people’s worst privacy/security/identity threat is their own carelessness. The unfortunate but true fact is that many people give away their personal security for free, without a care in the world.

Everytime we have Santa Ana winds on trash day, there’s junk mail blowing down the street, some of which is credit card signup offers, complete with blanks to correct the address, just like the ones delivered to my own mailbox.

Think it can’t happen? Think again. A few years ago my wife had a Spiegel catalogue taken from her mail delivery. The person opened an account and started having purchases delivered to their desk at work. Even though we knew the perpetrator early on, the police were paralyzed. Why? It’s such a common crime, the police are hopelessly overwhelmed.

It’s a known fact that many people with wireless home computer ethernet switch/routers, will many times not bother to secure the network. Not only that, a number of businesses don’t either. That means there’s businesses out there doing unsecured wireless network credit card transactions.

Ever wonder why there’s so many hackers? Think about supply and demand.

Lame-ass passwords abound. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve serviced a computer that has the word “password” as the password, or an exact duplicate of the login name, or other stupidities. I even once had a customer complain about having to have a password at all. The guy was a doctor, who of course deals with personal patient information. Keep in mind that the vast majority of computers I service are either file servers or web servers or both.

As important as privacy and personal security are, for every person who takes it seriously, there’s at least one other who couldn’t care less. Unfortunate as it is, I’m not holding my breath for a ground-swell over privacy rights.

OMG! I am a complete used book freak! In fact, I would bet that at least 50% of my very considerable library was purchased used, and I still buy a large percentage of my books, especially the ones on the Middle East, from used bookstores, and online used book venders, of which Amazon is probably the primary one. Some of the most important information on Middle Eastern history is in books that had very small printings, and have been out of print for years. I used to spend hours and hours (and plenty of dollars) in one used bookstore after another, but now it is so much faster and more convenient to search and order online. Maybe I should go back to the non-virtual stores, though!

Well, all this nonsense could end up giving a real boost to independent used book stores!

“the U.S. will have enduring military super-bases in Iraq”

Super-bases is right. These bases are like American towns. They have things like miniature golf courses, and one of them even has a car dealership (why does a soldier serving a limited tour of duty in a country where he presumably will be mainly confined to base need to buy a car?!!!!!!).

“if the deal goes through the Iraqi parliament…“American companies would get access to 63 of Iraq’s 80 known oil fields for 30 years.”)”

And, of course, the Iraqi resistance will not accept permanent American military bases, but it would be better if less violence were necessary rather than more. (Got that, ya Feds? I am counting on the Iraqi resistance to stop Bush if all else fails. Put THAT in your book report!)

Mr Murder, Speaking of blk gold/texas tea, oil that is: I was was watching Anderson Cooper on CNN tonight & he was talking about the previous & the current Isralie/Palistinian talks. Then some reporter (commentator) comes on to spell it all out to us in very elementary terms; what he boiled it down to was either the talks all end on a happy note for the Arabs or we’ll be paying out the nose for a few drops of oil, that’s if we’re lucky enough to get a few drops. These people would sell out their Mama for oil & some people on this blog are worried Bush might get a deal on Iraqi oil? Who cares if Maliki signs the deal through promalgated rule? (I haven’t read the Iraqi constitution to know how much power the president has) Have you ever thought of what would happen to the U.S. if we couldn’t get oil? These current ME talks look like a gang bang to me (& we’re suppose to have low expections?) After we sell out Israel, what’s our next bargaining chip?

I’m not being an idealogue here, I’m being very pragmatic. Since the consenus on this blog is Maliki is only being propped up by us, if we don’t leave enough troops in Iraq to continue to prop him up & he’s the only one that’s willing to sell us oil, & instead we just pull out & HOPE the “real” leader of Iraq will give us a good price,… Yes Hillary, whatever you say.

Superbases are old, old news. In one of the debates in 2004, Kerry charged that Bush had plans for 14 permanent bases in Iraq. Bush didn’t respond, and the media didn’t either. I had read of the plan long before that, though.

Later that year, or the next, it was announced the 14 bases plan was dropped in favor of four Superbases. I don’t know if the Green Zone counts as one of them.

GB

Susan
Sometimes politeness is a really overrated virtue.
Doctors should always and in all circumstances be treated with all the reverence that we give to our auto mechanics, and be changed as often as we change mechanics.

Not to mention that huge area in south-western Iraq that has yet to be fully mapped and tested for oil. The area that includes all those Blocks that Cheney and the American Oil Company bosses were holding meetings about just prior to the invasion. It isn’t just the known fields, it is the “to be magically discovered new fields” that will also fall under the perview and control of the select group of multinationals we all know and pay tithe to each and every day.

Why we might have to buy oil on the open market.
Same place china and japan and india buy their oil.
Could be a wee problem in doing that since those other nations have currencies that actually hold some value and are appreciating in value. Tough to buy beans with hot air and pretty paper; easier to steal someone elses beans.
Could be a wee problem with attempting to continually steal someone else’s beans, have to have a functioning army and a populace willing to feed offspring into the gaping maw forever. Nukes being not so good for acquiring useable assets, will need human sacrificial offerings in uniform to steal and hold.
Wasn’t it Kissinger who said the only thing worse than having America for an enemy was having it for a friend.

Thanks for the open thread…
I have some thoughts about the recent events of Sean Taylor the Washington Redskins Safety that was shot and killed a few days ago.
That facts of the case don’t add up and I think other things are going to surface in the coming days.
I’m speculating here but..
Last year Sean got in trouble brandishing a gun at someone
and was put on probation..Was this related?
8 days ago someone broke into Sean’s house and left a knive on his bed. Then several days ago the intruder bursts into Sean’s bedroom at 1:30 in the morning a shot him..the intruder did not also shoot his wife but only Sean. Nothing was stolen from his house in either Breakin.. It would seem to me there was something else at play here.. Demons from a troubled past? revenge? It just doesn’t add up.
Rest in Peace Sean.

Bio-fuels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Gbphh4U1Y

go Sheryl Crow!!!!!!

I’m also sort of pointing out that on Friday nights, if your PBS station carries it, it’s always good to watch or tape the McLaughlin Report … he gets or highlights information that the typical news shows don’t. He made a big deal about the “super-bases” and that that’s the new term that Robert Gates and Bush are using all the time now … and that the U.S. companies will get 63/80 Iraqi oil fields for 30 years. Which, he points out, ENSURES that the U.S. will be there at least 30 years, no matter WHO is president. (Even you, Dennis and Ron.)

Last Friday’s show, btw, was all about global warming … McLaughlin is way ahead of his conservative pals on issues like that. Kind of surprises me / is cool.

NOW! If I could just remember which show I watched — was it Keith? — that pointed out how Bush has circumvented U.S. law to make this deal with Maliki... by not calling it a treaty when it is in fact a treaty. Anyone have more on that?

Yes, always put the onus on HRC.

Reality bites: Do you think ANY U.S. president — if that deal is in place — will be able to empty out all of those bases? If you really think that Dennis or Ron can, I have a bridge to nowhere to sell you.

It is a certainty that this HAS occurred. ALL Edomestic databases from ALL sources, of any consequences, are sucked up via the splices that the NSA has created at all the Domestic and Foreign major telecommunications nodes. Second the “laws” that require all financial transactions and other ecommerce activity, to be retained in some cases for ever, are subjected to the same procedures that “warrant-less wiretapping” have been subjected to. (I really wish I was being paranoid but I am not.) It really depends on what patterns of activity are being looked for. So when Hayden says “procedures of minimization” of “unintentionally” captured items what else do you think he means? There is NO expectation of privacy on the internet period.

Permanent bases are, yes, old news. The term “super-bases” is what McL. said is new, especially along with what Shirin describes above about those bases, and the purpose therefore (to protect the 64 oil sites that U.S. companies will control for 30 years).

Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos once did a presentation at the magazine where I worked at the time. He was trying to sell the editors on something…forget the details. Anyway, during the presentation he bragged about Amazon’s ability to track purchases. It all sounded very Big Brother. So I asked Bezos if Amazon’s purchase tracking system could be turned off by the purchaser? He said yes. But indicated it was a somewhat elaborate procedure.

It was funny. Because several people, who hadn’t attended the meeting wanted to hear all about it. And I told them what happened. One guy was shocked, SHOCKED that I asked Bezos how you turn off the damn thing.

Plus, Amazon donates heavily to the GOP and the Bushies! I’ll buy from Amazon on this website, to support NQ. But otherwise, I don’t like Amazon.

I’ve been wondering about that too, HH. Some TV reporter said yesterday that a week before, when his house was broken into while he was gone, a butcher knife was left on Taylor’s bed — was that an ominous threat?

I also heard somewhere that Taylor made a plea deal with the prosecutor over his own gun troubles — he’d been facing something like 36 years in prison but he got off on a MISDEMEANOR.

Did he rat on other people? That’s usually what prosecutors require before they’ll agree to a plea deal.

I haven’t read any of the background articles. If I had the time, I’d go digging because I wonder if someone he ratted on is seeking revenge.

Brazil!

The current ME talks look like a photo op to me. The corporate media have been portraying this as an opportunity for Condi to rescue her failed legacy as well. [Why else would Bush hold ME talks, other than to rescue Condi's legacy.] Bush won’t even be at the meetings. He’s ignored the Israeli/Palestinian problem for 7 years now. The talks appear to be total BS. Make it look like you’re doing something, when in fact you’re doing nothing.

Solar, geothermal, ocean waves and wind!

I think so too. Did you catch Keith last night? How Bush botched the names of the leaders? It was pathetic.

Seattle PI does a great story on new threat from Chinese-made toys and more:

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Asbestos turns up in toys, children’s clay
DIYers who use duct tape, spackle, roof sealer also at risk of exposure

Last updated November 27, 2007 9:41 p.m. PT

By ANDREW SCHNEIDER
P-I SENIOR CORRESPONDENT

Asbestos has been found in a variety of consumer products, including one of this season’s biggest-selling Christmas toys, according to the nation’s largest asbestos victims organizations.

The CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit, two brands of children’s play clay, powdered cleanser, roof sealers, duct tapes, window glazing, spackling paste and small appliances were among the products in which asbestos was found by at least two of three labs hired by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.

The group, which was created in 2004 by asbestos victims and their families, spent more than $165,000 to have government-certified laboratories examine hundreds of consumer products over 18 months to determine whether asbestos was present.

It is unusual for a group of volunteers, many of whom have asbestos-caused diseases, to fund research that impacts public health.

“We had to. No one else was doing it,” said Linda Reinstein, the group’s co-founder and executive director. “This is information that consumers and Congress must have because asbestos is lethal and we naively believe that the government is protecting us, when it’s not.”

The product that is of greatest concerns to some public health experts is the fingerprint kit, which is a huge seller, according to sales personnel interviewed by the Seattle P-I.

The kit, made in China, is one of several items licensed by CBS after its popular “CSI” science-crime shows. …

READ ALL.

– Hope people share this story with friends who have children or are DIYs.

Go vegetarian!

Yeah, saw Keith. Bush also botched the handshakes. Olmert had to suggest they move away from the podium so the photographers could capture them [Olmert, Abbas and Bush] shaking hands.

Is Bush drinking again? Or maybe he’s always that befuddled and clumsy.

Veggie exception for Fuzzies!

ybnormal you are 100%. I have had folks say “why do I need a password?”. Back to the world of a better “mouse trap”. Have you heard the commercials of companies that will “secure” your ID? Now we have to pay for our 4th amendment rights. I agree with you, that train left the station a long time ago.

For example:

Under the new regulations, cable companies will for the first time have to give the FCC the most complete data available on how many subscribers they have.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/27/AR2007112701191.html

If you dissapear, Shirin, I will think the worst, and I hope you will let us help bail you out. See what we get in exchange for giving up our freedom???

God, what more have we yet to learn??? I will not be buying very much unless it is local, USA made, as much as possible. And I don’t even trust that very much, because of bushco… Yep he treated this country, and runs it like any other business… right into the ground. Who is going to bail him out this time???

Except for US beef, poultry, seafood, lettuce, etc. Have you guys forgotten all the tainted US food alerts since Bush took office? Believe there’s a recent one out on American beef again.

Yes, Susan, I agree. Heard there were Two polls done at same time, both with opposite results. Zogby, the one we hear about, shows HRC lose to all repubs. Methadoloyg is questionable as well. The other one, by Gallup is considered a standard poll, and much more reliable. It shows Clinton winning by a fair to good margin. Why is not the MSM or the blogs not talking more about it???

One of my children, who has consistently refused efforts to register to vote, has now done so. He says, anybody but another bush or clinton… Yet when I ask him why, he can only repeat the same old lies, talking ponts, and then just says he doesn’t ‘like’ her… very sad, I am still working on him. at least he is going to vote, at 34 years old…

The company filed for bankrupcy. I sure they open under “New Management”…

Anybody work in k-12? Have you seen how completely unaware our children are of whats coming? They won’t know what they’ve got till it is gone. It is not important to most young people. Teaching critical thinking skills is like pulling teeth….has it alsways been like this?

PrchrLady: “Zogby, the one we hear about, shows HRC lose to all repubs. Methadoloyg is questionable as well. The other one, by Gallup is considered a standard poll, and much more reliable. It shows Clinton winning by a fair to good margin. Why is not the MSM or the blogs not talking more about it???”

YES! Zogby’s was an first-time experimental poll — all on-line — the first one he’s ever done, and it has ZERO track record of being accurate. (And Zogby’s more reliable polls show her ahead.) Whereas, as you say, the Gallup poll is time-tested and shows her winning against all candidates, some by double digits.

That line about the Bush/Clinton dynasty … I don’t get it. If a candidate has the experience, brains, and success in working with both Republicans and Democrats (as Sen. Clinton is known for having done so well in the U.S. Senate), what difference does it make that a relative or spouse has preceded them?

Would I prefer a candidate where politics and policy discussion was the TOP item analyzed at every family mealtime and throughout every day? Yes. That’s one thing all the Kennedy relatives had — they came from a family of political and news junkies, and it shows. (For that matter, Romney has that advantage too, with his father’s considerable experience and legacy.)

In 43′s case, that’s a no-brainer. He didn’t have the experience or intellect. But HRC? She gotter better grades at Yale Law School and she got better offers upon graduation than Bill did. She got a plum job on a House impeachment committee (Nixon) right out of law school … but she was in love, and left it all for Bill and Arkansas, where she immediately began working on state policy and agency issues, while also working on a national board to protect children (forget the name of the national org.). She worked on government policy issues throughout her years in Arkansas and led numerous projects on education, etc. Now she’s got seven years in the U.S. Senate — over twice as much as Obama and more than Edwards.

I believe that people are hard on HRC because they’ve unconsciously bought into the rightwing’s attacks on her over the years. It was difficult for me to admit that my former apoprehensions about her were influenced by the right, but I had to ‘fess up to myself that that was the case.

I think Romney has pretty much shot himself in the foot…once to many times, and with the accumulation of so many self-inflicted injuries indicating a politically self-destructive behavior pattern it’s a wonder that a political intervention group hasn’t been formed to come to his rescue.

Yes, ‘cept for our precious “obligate carnivores”!

Example Number 2

Mission Creep Any one?

And now they think about the folks out on the tarmac.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-11-27-tsa-checks_N.htm

Isn’t it amazing. But isn’t he still ahead in all the polls for the first four states? Someone this morning was talking about Rudy gambling on losing the first four, then winning Florida, but that that’s a very risky strategy. Dunno.

While I do think that Rudy trying to blame him for the decision of that Mass. judge is a bit of a stretch, it was awful how Romney reacted when he talked about it — without any emotion or regret for the Wash. state couple the released Mass. convict murdered, at least in the clips I saw. (People compared Romney’s reaction to that of Dukakis with Bernard Shaw asked him that now-infamous Q about what he’d do if his wife Kitty were raped.)

Not exactly correct Susan, Treaties require the advice and consent of the Legislative branch ( at least according to that old contract which we never signed but is called the constitution ). So until there is an amendment to the constitution allowing presidents to sign any treaty they wish, it is an agreement with no carry power. Isn’t it amazing how relevant Paul and Kucinich suddenly are becoming. If it isn’t a treaty then it is as good as Bush’s word and as binding on any following administration.

How much for the bridge, madame?
ANd is it in Minnesota?

Which American companies made these toys in their foreign factories? One of the reasons for setting up factories in foreign countries is that the factories are subject to local laws. America being a law ridden country puts many impediments some reasonable others not so much in the way of making things. Producing wealth stealing investment scams however is still an all world sport.

Last week I asked “what if they gave a party and no one came. I should have asked “what if they gave a party and no one came…prepared.”

Re: How Bush botched the names;I am still cringing when I think of it….
and I am still stuck on the “monkeys flying out of Bushes butt”….ewwww!!! LOL

Fred Fielding current White House Counsel was lead attorney for Blackwater regarding Fallujah.
John Roberts (Supreme Court Justice) was chief assistant under Fred Fielding.
Fred Fielding was lead manager on the republican side. Not mentioned in the 911 commission Report index.
Blackwater was also represented by Greenburg & Traurig lawfirm who also employed Jack Abramhoff
Ken Star defends Blackwater with 18 page petition motion to stay the SO Carolina case while seeking “writ of certiorari” October 18,2006
Justice Jon Roberts “denied” no accompanied opinion October 24 2006.WHY??? Stalling?

On Rudy. Think anyone will guestion him about this?

Rudy’s Ties to a Terror Sheikh
Giuliani’s business contracts tie him to the man who let 9/11′s mastermind escape the FBI
by Wayne Barrett
November 27th, 2007 3:39 PM

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0748,barrett,78478,6.html/1

Pelican Brief II

Alberto Gonzales Justice Dept also filed motion for delay of deposition and trial. Re:secerecy ACT
KBR Files Amigus Brief in Favor of Blackwater
John Potter where is he now??? Whistleblower was removed from the US and was unable to be deposed.

From the WaPo:

Detectives said they would explore whether there could be a possible connection to a dispute between Taylor and several Miami men over his all-terrain vehicles in 2005 that led to criminal charges against Taylor, who received probation after entering a guilty plea but was later sued by one of the men.

I’m just pointing out that the massive powers aligned to protect those oil interests in Iraq will prove so formidable that whoever is president will be nearly, if not completely, paralyzed by tremendous pressures from getting rid of all the bases because those are necessary to protect the oil interests.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Richard Clarke

Richard Clarke, former counter-terrorism czar, gave a nice rousing speech at the local university organized by “The Security Network”, a group of pro-Dem former security officials. Clarke’s underscored the costly blunders of Bush and his team and urged the departure of US troops from Iraq. He even blasted al-Maliki’s request for a long-term US presence there.

http://nuralcubicle.blogspot.com/2007/11/richard-clarke.html

I didn’t get to ask any questions during the Q&A, but wanted so badly to ask if, when Bin Laden was being recruited by Zbignew Brzezinski, there was someone arguing that instrumentalizing a revealed religion, especially Wahhabi Islam, to fight Communists was a really bad idea.

It would be wonderful to find an exceprt of this appearance.

Perhaps Good Harbor Report can aid that interest…

At least it is possible to visit those facilities in the U.S. whereas in China it is not. The FDA tried recently but by the time they got to the Chinese facilities, they were closed up, dismantled, and all the employees vanished.

I personally hope that Menu Foods, the U.S./Canadian pet food facility that was responsible for a lot of tainted food last spring/summer, remains in business because they’ll be on their toes now, and it will be possible to visit those facilities easily and make sure they are following proper procedures. (Their stock has plummeted and they’ve lost some major customers, so their future is iffy now.)

A lot more pet food is being made in China now … the U.S. parent companies promise that the meat is “human” quality and that everything is done properly. But how can we easily find out?

Purina has opened a dry food processing plant in China. How can we be sure that there’ll be any oversight beyond what Purina promises it’s performing? At least in the U.S. we can check out the Purina facilities.

I buy my canned cat food from Evanger’s, which has its plant in Illinois, and also By Nature Organics, which has its canned food processed at the same facility as Evanger’s. (btw, I order it now through Amazon and save a lot of money compared to what local pet food stores charge.)

“… when Bin Laden was being recruited by Zbignew Brzezinski …”

What?

The oil tap saw spigots opened unnaturally wide yesterday and today to bring the market up during talks. Record two day climb in the market for oil decrease to such a level.

Of course they gamed the prices just before the Holiday quite a bit anyways, enough to cover some of the short term concessions this conference will make.

There’s enough action there to warrant investigation of place orders on the oil sector here, if the SEC cares to delve into such issues…

As for the conference itself, it’s a farce. Iran isn’t invited, so it’s clearly a regional intimidation tactic. This is trying to artificially install classic isolation and polemic parity by refusing one party a seat at the table.

Of course Saudi Arabia and Dubai will pony up cashto buy American banks while they ease spigots for a brief instant, so long as they dominate long range market access to Iran by the West.

Not only is Iran not represented, neither is Hamas. This is the same static model AWOL and Condi barfed upon the Mid East coming out of 2000. Things got so bad that we’ll consider the starting point for 2000 a success, comparatively.

We should be thankful that the best case scenario will be agreeing to disagree, with major players not included in any solution, and everyone bribed or bought off in the short term?

Pig.Meets.Lipstick.

2nd what?

Zbig was a major shaper of the policy, although to the point he envisaged diverting funds to set up kickbacks for other hemispheres or middle men(Marcos, Noriega) was probably never on his mind.

The fact is that Zbig’s strategic plan was more effective than anything Kissinger tried. You create buffer states by arming elements along the border of opponents, advisory status, proxy client state support, etc.

We funded the initial mujahadheen movement and gave them advisory assistance to knock out the Soviet tactical air power advantage, neutralizing their helicopter sorties effectiveness.

We did it with help from proxy states, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Nur-al simply wanted to try and get someone from a once Senior position to confirm longstanding shortsightedness. The ignorance of seeing how power voids fill within regional models after destabilization is something neither side of the political aisle has done well, until SE Europe and the Bosnia/Kosovo crises were addressed with minimal casualty rates and maximized political leverage.

That’s the problem with Iraq now, no surge success has initiated the political transformation, nor will it ever so long as we are there.

Our presence alone is trespass, no amount of good will or aid can change what has been done or undone there. We need to be out of there, a regional coalition needs to take that, yet it’s clear none of the static Mid East models can take such pressure on its own political infrastructure.

Someone wanted Democracy all over the place there. It cannot come on the point of a bomb, bullet or bayonet.

We cannot put a kinder local face on a Democratic Iraq because none of its neighbors have one. We’re looking at you, Arabia.

The party that hates the USA and West the most, aside from hating Israel the most, will win the election every time. Reactionaries inspire reactionaries.

Had someone made an emphasis on soft coercion from the start, upon our allies, we’d have already transformed much of the region. Hard coercion on hard targets isn’t what wins hearts and minds. It’s hard to even play that line at this time anyways, people can call the bluff of our bully bravado since we’re sunk into quagmire.

The primary reason for this conference has nothing to do with Condi’s legacy, because there just aren’t enough good department store sales in the world to satisfy that deficit of class.

The class wars, driven by a lack of it, will not sustain this conference. Those notes are simply part of the sell message to the media Legacies out there. Tucker, Gwen, etc. had best sing the praise of Bushco. no matter the result if they want to stay at the front of the line for perks and kool aid.

The ability of Chavez and Ahmadinejad to form a voting bloc in OPEC of South/Central American and prospective pan-Muslim Central Asian to Mid-Pacific and African states within the crescent, that is what this conference is butting heads with.

Old guard vs. the new up and comers.

It’s all about the oil, it always has been so. The MIC runs on it. One serves as justification for the other’s excess in the realm of policy.

Thanks. Agreed.

I think Romney should go to Iraq. When he returns, say that we’ve been brainwashed…

Having graduated HS in 1967, I felt that the vast majority of my fellows were jingo-swallowing/repeating morons who lacked the critical thinking skills of Boo Radley.

Nothing occurring since that time has improved my opinion. Most probably think that Strunk and White were an opening act for Madonna, and that Irwin Copi is a luthier…or Britney Spears’ brassiere wrangler…if they think at all.

I asked a question like this at a World Affairs Council forum. It didn’t go over well.

Did you see Olbermann tonight? He did a great segment on that story — with lots of photos and history of those involved — as well as Rudy’s use of city monies to pay for his security when he went to the Hamptons to have trysts with his mistress (and his wife pined away at home alone).

Larry, Pat and anyone else who would care to answer, this question is for you. Have you seen the Art of Mental Warfare blog about a former covert psyops agent speaking out? I found the entire thing fascinating and scary as hell and quite beleivable. I’d love any insight you guys can provide. And any suggestions as to what we normal citizens can do to combat it.
http://artofmentalwarfare.com/pog/covert-agent-speaks-out/

Thanks muchly,

Dee

You can say what you want about illegal immigrants, but first you should read the following story…

Illegal entrant who saved boy in desert thought of his own children

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/213782.php

Again, the four permanent Superbases are old, old news. The change was announced by the Pentagon, IIRC, in late 2004 or 2005. It’s likely I even read about them right here.

That they are to control the oil in all the Mideast is basic common sense. Even Alan Greenspan acknowledged in his recent book that the Iraq war is about control of oil.

GB

I did. Why wasn’t Rudy questioned about this during the debate or by anyone else?

I’d like more information on this

The Pentagon’s Information Operations Roadmap now describes the Internet as an enemy “weapons system.”

Everytime I hear about malware now I’m going to wonder who is really responsible.

I was just told that his phone line wasn’t cut.

The police need to have a long talk with the unmarried baby mama…drama folks.

What Skeletons in my closet? oops! I was actually surprised at the level of implied bigotry last night. They are all so ivory soapish…Romulan is up there acting all pure and sayn Cofer Black is his man. I wonder if Cofer is still running ops out of Blackwater? All of them including McCain are “torturing” us with stale BS. Not one comment on the any topic that mattered. Except for Ron Pauls’ comment on the constitution being under fire.
And why did they not get the same questions that the Dems got ? Are they not seeking the same positions? I had to go for the mile walk after that.

Example Number 3

TSA to seek more info on passengers…

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2007-11-29-secure-flights_N.htm?csp=34

Mitt Romney is being accused of Religious Bigotry?
He has been suggesting that everyone else is bigoted because we should not talk about Mormons, but here he expresses his views of Muslims in general.
Listen to this episode of the Hot Conflict Radio show discussing Mitt Romney on Islam.

http://www.hotconflict.com/blog/2007/11/mitt-romney-isl.html

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