McConnell tried to blame the FISA process in his testimony to the House, turns out it was DoJ's problem...
This administrations penchant for bending the truth (lying) is so systemic and trenchant it's ineffable.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
All That Glitters...
We have turned Baghdad into a concrete maze of checkpoints and blast walls, the increasingly 'ethnically cleansed' neighborhoods are experiencing less dramatic devastation but the killings go on. The general population is tuning out both US and Iraqi government proclamations. The battle for hearts and minds languishes under the weight of trying to survive day to day.
This is what happens when you turn a country in to a battle field, this is what happens when we pronounce bombastically that we will fight them over there, so we don't have to fight them over here. The 'over there' realizes that they no longer have a say in the outcome or a stake in their future and all they can do is keep their heads down and hope they are not blown to bits or assassinated in a hospital, or internally exiled or shot for picking up a bright shiney object that, if worth something to somebody and sold, may feed them that day.
This is what happens when you turn a country in to a battle field, this is what happens when we pronounce bombastically that we will fight them over there, so we don't have to fight them over here. The 'over there' realizes that they no longer have a say in the outcome or a stake in their future and all they can do is keep their heads down and hope they are not blown to bits or assassinated in a hospital, or internally exiled or shot for picking up a bright shiney object that, if worth something to somebody and sold, may feed them that day.
'Democracy Tends To Be... Disease Ridden'
Juan Cole seems to be the only one with his eye on this ball. With the situation in Iraq tenuous at best, this could turn into a humanitarian crisis of biblical proportions.
I would assume our fighting men and women's water supply is adequately cleansed, I hope so!
I would assume our fighting men and women's water supply is adequately cleansed, I hope so!
Rudy Has Nuthin...
I can't imagine anyone thinking that this was a good idea...
Of course the disclaimers came flying in from both the fund raiser in question and the Rudy camp proper but, as I've said before, this is the same cynical tactic that the right is infamous for. They can be seen to be backing away but the message was sent. Rudy is 911, Rudy is 911, it's all he's got. If you listen to him speak, he actually has absolutely no grasp of any of the issues, he merely regurgitates the Bush mantra verbatim and throws in 911 whenever he thinks it appropriate, which for a republican presidential candidate is whenever possible.
It's fear mongering propaganda at it's most heinous and in Rudy's case, only to be expected.
I believe Rudy condemned the MoveOn.org ad...
Of course the disclaimers came flying in from both the fund raiser in question and the Rudy camp proper but, as I've said before, this is the same cynical tactic that the right is infamous for. They can be seen to be backing away but the message was sent. Rudy is 911, Rudy is 911, it's all he's got. If you listen to him speak, he actually has absolutely no grasp of any of the issues, he merely regurgitates the Bush mantra verbatim and throws in 911 whenever he thinks it appropriate, which for a republican presidential candidate is whenever possible.
It's fear mongering propaganda at it's most heinous and in Rudy's case, only to be expected.
I believe Rudy condemned the MoveOn.org ad...
Our Robust Economy III
I wondered at the time why the Fed cut the rate by 1/2% and not the 1/4% as most economists had forecast. It seemed a little excessive, almost a panic move. Wall Street, of course, responded with it's usual zeal to the cut and went on another speculative tear, pounding out 300 and 200 point gains like all was right with the world again but, these new durable goods numbers make it look like the Fed knew something deep and overarching was at play in the economy and that money supply was tightening beyond their control.
Interest rate cuts may temporarily assist the large institutions as they scramble to reparcel their portfolios but it will take months for that effect to ripple through to the end user i.e. the ubiquitous american families who over-extended themselves in a frantic quest for the american dream.
The way this economy is being managed exposes the fragility this Fed is well aware of, they may cut interest rates again, they may get to a point where it won't help.
Interest rate cuts may temporarily assist the large institutions as they scramble to reparcel their portfolios but it will take months for that effect to ripple through to the end user i.e. the ubiquitous american families who over-extended themselves in a frantic quest for the american dream.
The way this economy is being managed exposes the fragility this Fed is well aware of, they may cut interest rates again, they may get to a point where it won't help.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Magna Carta
Some someone will be willing to pony up $20-30 million for an Edward III era Magna Carta... Now we all remember the Magna Carta, the first document to frame the basic rules of law by which, in many ways, we are still governed. Habeas Corpus and all that, so to speak.
So someone will, according to a Sotheby's estimate, pay $20-30 million for this historic document whilst our Senate, that august deliberative body, sold habeas corpus down the river for the price of one man's vanity.
So someone will, according to a Sotheby's estimate, pay $20-30 million for this historic document whilst our Senate, that august deliberative body, sold habeas corpus down the river for the price of one man's vanity.
Doublespeak
Matt disseminates Brooks arguments well here but, I think, the more we buy into the right wing framing of the modern Democratic party the more danger we face of becoming, once again, unfairly marginalized and demonized by the traditional media conglomerates and their rightwing poobahs. That an idiot like Brooks can accuse the netroots of driving the party to the left without ever mentioning his own parties neocon/faith based slide to extremism is evidence of his slanted, smearlike premise. That the Democratic left is closer to a prevailing center in the country is lost on Brooks. America, as a whole, or at least as a plurality, wants an end to the Iraq debacle, wants to maintain Social Security, is open to the idea of a universal health alternative, believes in the rule of law, thought Libby was guilty, wanted nothing to do with Terry Schiaivo, wants Public Education and understands that something terrible may be happening to our environment and nobody in the Cheney administration is addressing that. These stances could easily define the left wing of the Democratic party but they are, for the most part, defining middle America and yet, the left wing is framed as being extreme and republicans, like Mr. Brooks, keep hammering us over the head with labels they alone devise, it's absurd.
So, let's take a close look at right wing extremism and take a stab at defining them and the small cadre of lunatics that set the stage for the expunging of traditional republicans from their party and their inexorable lurch toward a war mongering fundamentalist regional irrelevancy.
To be continued...
So, let's take a close look at right wing extremism and take a stab at defining them and the small cadre of lunatics that set the stage for the expunging of traditional republicans from their party and their inexorable lurch toward a war mongering fundamentalist regional irrelevancy.
To be continued...
Thursday, September 20, 2007
No One Could Have Predicted...
I kind of remember the Cholera outbreak sometime last summer, it didn't get much play in the media, I guess because so many people were dying from other 'ailments' like 'lead poisoning' or just lead flying around randomly and landing in their bodies. But I really had no idea that 25,000 or so cases were reported. Today we have the first reported case of Cholera in Baghdad, a city of seven million.
It's gonna be hard to blame the Iranians for this one, if it goes epidemic.
It's gonna be hard to blame the Iranians for this one, if it goes epidemic.
...more Rice with that?
Can nobody see the irony here? Since 2001, essentially, nothing has happened with the peace process. No roads taken, no maps read. Condi, meanwhile appears at a press conference urging Israeli and Palestinian leaders to agree on some kind of, as yet undefined, parameters to at least carry on a dialogue before the super huge, super important middle east summit that Abbas has already said he may not attend because of the unspecificity of the agenda.
It boggles the mind, and please, consider my mind irrefutably boggled.
It boggles the mind, and please, consider my mind irrefutably boggled.
Sows Ear... Meet, Silk Purse
Those craven idolaters at Focus On The Family have not fallen for Frederick of Hollywood's fatherly flavor. He remains an enigma to Garance also.
via HuffPo and Yglesias.
via HuffPo and Yglesias.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
My Heart Bleeds
Gosh... I just don't have $42 million to throw around anymore, times, I guess, are tough all over.
So the pressure begins to build, and eventually, said Andy Kessler, a former hedge fund manager, “you stop spending.” Why? Fear, mostly.
“You worry about redemptions,” Mr. Kessler said, “you worry about margin calls, and you worry about working for free. Down 7 percent may be no big deal, but when your investors say, ‘Get me out,’ you have to sell everything.”
After years of eye-popping returns, sudden losses can be wrenching. Aware of the psychological impact that high-pressure trading can have, several funds have retained psychologists to counsel stressed managers.
“It has been a very challenging period for these people,” said Jonathan F. Katz, a psychologist who works with large hedge funds. “I have seen people shaken, their confidence eroded. They are upset and depressed.”
Guess they'll just have to pick 'em selves up, dust 'em selves off and wait 'till next year for the 11-acre estate, with its 2 swimming pools, 21 bedrooms and sweeping view of Lake Agawam.
Oh! The humanity...
So the pressure begins to build, and eventually, said Andy Kessler, a former hedge fund manager, “you stop spending.” Why? Fear, mostly.
“You worry about redemptions,” Mr. Kessler said, “you worry about margin calls, and you worry about working for free. Down 7 percent may be no big deal, but when your investors say, ‘Get me out,’ you have to sell everything.”
After years of eye-popping returns, sudden losses can be wrenching. Aware of the psychological impact that high-pressure trading can have, several funds have retained psychologists to counsel stressed managers.
“It has been a very challenging period for these people,” said Jonathan F. Katz, a psychologist who works with large hedge funds. “I have seen people shaken, their confidence eroded. They are upset and depressed.”
Guess they'll just have to pick 'em selves up, dust 'em selves off and wait 'till next year for the 11-acre estate, with its 2 swimming pools, 21 bedrooms and sweeping view of Lake Agawam.
Oh! The humanity...
Israel
Israel plans to lay siege to Gaza and openly discusses the merits and legality of cutting off electricity to the strip. The US has already given it's tacit approval to another form of torture, this time collective torture, even as the always impeccably shod, bobble headed Sec. Rice arrives in town for 'Peace' talks.
How can the US, Israel and Fatah negotiate anything credible or lasting with this potential atrocity playing out in the shadows?
And, the international community will, once again, assume it's accustomed position as casual by-standers.
How can the US, Israel and Fatah negotiate anything credible or lasting with this potential atrocity playing out in the shadows?
And, the international community will, once again, assume it's accustomed position as casual by-standers.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Iran
Simon Tisdall (Guardian UK) lays down some salient points with regard to the Iran pot-boiler. I don't necessarily agree with his forecast for the future as, I think, too much is reliant upon the implied intransigence of the mullah's and the neocon hawks.
Too much of this mess has been created via the Cheney administrations meddling, through rhetorical slants, with the diplomatic process. It is hard enough to negotiate with the schitzophrenic leadership of Iran, but every time a step forward is taken the US nullifies it by opening it's sanctimonious maw and blithely trashing any progress and basically calling it's head of state, rightly or wrongly, a crazyman.
The neocons need to be taken off the world stage, their naive shoot first ask questions later policy stances are not helping the broader pragmatic approach that, in this instance, may provide for a greater platform toward progress.
I am not saying we should appease the Tehran government, we should utilize every tool in the draw to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, but name calling and sabre rattling are really very unproductive and merely serve the purpose of stonewalling the process until, exasperated, Bush sees no other option than pulling the trigger on another preemptive action. And let's face it, Bush is and always has been in a constant state of near exasperation, it happens when you truly don't understand what all the adults in the room are actually talking about.
That he will be lead to that conclusion by Cheney and his feckless accomplices and by the ineptitude of his SecState is not yet inevitable. And, Iran must understand this, they too must come to the table as willing participants and give ground on key sticking points in the process.
With Europe, Russia and to some extent China engaged, the Arab world must finally grow up and become a component in this clash of idealogies. They are losing ground here and must be seen as being 'competent' regional participants, too many of their governments, historically, have hidden behind a western veil, unable to progress with one clear unadulterated voice, each playing off one another, scoring points in their internal and external games of insult and innuendo. The west has to allow the Arab world to rise or fall at it's own behest. We have policed the region for far too long and with only a modicum of success at the best of times, we cannot be the parent any longer. We must help in the transition, see Iraq, but we can not keep patting them on their heads and pulling up their socks. They need to grow as nations and experience those growing pains without the analgesic the west has so willingly and perhaps irresponsibly provided. As much as we are addicted to their oil, they have become addicted to our salves in the form of dollars, weapons and perceived protection.
If it is all about oil, and most now suspect it is, then the only guarantee we need is that the oil will flow unhindered, do we need to send in 160,000 troops, 185,000 mercenaries and a trillion dollars to ensure the 'black-stuffs' security (and we wonder why oil is so expensive)? No, it is in their interest to keep it flowing, it is, afterall, all they have now. Any 'serious' leader should be aware of that. The problem is serious leadership in the region and that is what we should be ensuring, I am not advocating regime change here, we just tried that with what could only be described as disasterous results, I am merely stating that if we want stability in the region we need to be assured that the players in the middle east are as committed to that outcome as we appear to be.
We need to turn off the idiotic rhetorical spiggott, put the sabres back in the scabbards and engage these people. Where would that leave Bin Laden and his murderous band of thugs... dangling in the wind, I would imagine!
Too much of this mess has been created via the Cheney administrations meddling, through rhetorical slants, with the diplomatic process. It is hard enough to negotiate with the schitzophrenic leadership of Iran, but every time a step forward is taken the US nullifies it by opening it's sanctimonious maw and blithely trashing any progress and basically calling it's head of state, rightly or wrongly, a crazyman.
The neocons need to be taken off the world stage, their naive shoot first ask questions later policy stances are not helping the broader pragmatic approach that, in this instance, may provide for a greater platform toward progress.
I am not saying we should appease the Tehran government, we should utilize every tool in the draw to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, but name calling and sabre rattling are really very unproductive and merely serve the purpose of stonewalling the process until, exasperated, Bush sees no other option than pulling the trigger on another preemptive action. And let's face it, Bush is and always has been in a constant state of near exasperation, it happens when you truly don't understand what all the adults in the room are actually talking about.
That he will be lead to that conclusion by Cheney and his feckless accomplices and by the ineptitude of his SecState is not yet inevitable. And, Iran must understand this, they too must come to the table as willing participants and give ground on key sticking points in the process.
With Europe, Russia and to some extent China engaged, the Arab world must finally grow up and become a component in this clash of idealogies. They are losing ground here and must be seen as being 'competent' regional participants, too many of their governments, historically, have hidden behind a western veil, unable to progress with one clear unadulterated voice, each playing off one another, scoring points in their internal and external games of insult and innuendo. The west has to allow the Arab world to rise or fall at it's own behest. We have policed the region for far too long and with only a modicum of success at the best of times, we cannot be the parent any longer. We must help in the transition, see Iraq, but we can not keep patting them on their heads and pulling up their socks. They need to grow as nations and experience those growing pains without the analgesic the west has so willingly and perhaps irresponsibly provided. As much as we are addicted to their oil, they have become addicted to our salves in the form of dollars, weapons and perceived protection.
If it is all about oil, and most now suspect it is, then the only guarantee we need is that the oil will flow unhindered, do we need to send in 160,000 troops, 185,000 mercenaries and a trillion dollars to ensure the 'black-stuffs' security (and we wonder why oil is so expensive)? No, it is in their interest to keep it flowing, it is, afterall, all they have now. Any 'serious' leader should be aware of that. The problem is serious leadership in the region and that is what we should be ensuring, I am not advocating regime change here, we just tried that with what could only be described as disasterous results, I am merely stating that if we want stability in the region we need to be assured that the players in the middle east are as committed to that outcome as we appear to be.
We need to turn off the idiotic rhetorical spiggott, put the sabres back in the scabbards and engage these people. Where would that leave Bin Laden and his murderous band of thugs... dangling in the wind, I would imagine!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Greenspin
Because no one could have predicted that once a, once willing, lackey departs from the inner sanctum of Bush idolatry, they write tell tale books slamming the administration in a desperate attempt to rehabilitate their sullied reputations and legacies and, of course, increase their fees on the after dinner speaking circuit/gravy train.
Quite 'predictably' the right wing smear machine is on message and in da house.
Spokesman Tony Fratto told ABC News he would try to restrain himself. But he still took a pretty good shot at Greenspan: "That sounds like Georgetown cocktail party analysis. The reasons we went to Iraq are well understood and had to do with wmd (weapons of mass destruction), enforcing UN sanctions.
Mr. Fratto sharpens some old saws and comes across as... well, shrill! Hey Tony, have a martini and chill out or something.
Quite 'predictably' the right wing smear machine is on message and in da house.
Spokesman Tony Fratto told ABC News he would try to restrain himself. But he still took a pretty good shot at Greenspan: "That sounds like Georgetown cocktail party analysis. The reasons we went to Iraq are well understood and had to do with wmd (weapons of mass destruction), enforcing UN sanctions.
Mr. Fratto sharpens some old saws and comes across as... well, shrill! Hey Tony, have a martini and chill out or something.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Perception
Most Americans don't give a rats ass about how they and our country is perceived abroad, after all, they could only be jealous of our fantastic wealth, technology and superior bulging muscularity... right? Riiight!
Your Liberal Media
Eric Alterman took this piece from Media Matters and posted it on his site:
Sixty percent of the nation's daily newspapers print more conservative syndicated columnists every week than progressive syndicated columnists. Only 20 percent run more progressives than conservatives, while the remaining 20 percent are evenly balanced.
In a given week, nationally syndicated progressive columnists are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of 125 million. Conservative columnists, on the other hand, are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of more than 152 million.
The top 10 columnists as ranked by the number of papers in which they are carried include five conservatives, two centrists, and only three progressives.
The top 10 columnists as ranked by the total circulation of the papers in which they are published also include five conservatives, two centrists, and only three progressives.
In 38 states, the conservative voice is greater than the progressive voice -- in other words, conservative columns reach more readers in total than progressive columns. In only 12 states is the progressive voice greater than the conservative voice.
In three out of the four broad regions of the country -- the West, the South, and the Midwest -- conservative syndicated columnists reach more readers than progressive syndicated columnists. Only in the Northeast do progressives reach more readers, and only by a margin of 2 percent.
In eight of the nine divisions into which the U.S. Census Bureau divides the country, conservative syndicated columnists reach more readers than progressive syndicated columnists in any given week. Only in the Middle Atlantic division do progressive columnists reach more readers each week.
I'm shocked, shocked I tell you! They cater to their readership which is aging and disappearing.
Sixty percent of the nation's daily newspapers print more conservative syndicated columnists every week than progressive syndicated columnists. Only 20 percent run more progressives than conservatives, while the remaining 20 percent are evenly balanced.
In a given week, nationally syndicated progressive columnists are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of 125 million. Conservative columnists, on the other hand, are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of more than 152 million.
The top 10 columnists as ranked by the number of papers in which they are carried include five conservatives, two centrists, and only three progressives.
The top 10 columnists as ranked by the total circulation of the papers in which they are published also include five conservatives, two centrists, and only three progressives.
In 38 states, the conservative voice is greater than the progressive voice -- in other words, conservative columns reach more readers in total than progressive columns. In only 12 states is the progressive voice greater than the conservative voice.
In three out of the four broad regions of the country -- the West, the South, and the Midwest -- conservative syndicated columnists reach more readers than progressive syndicated columnists. Only in the Northeast do progressives reach more readers, and only by a margin of 2 percent.
In eight of the nine divisions into which the U.S. Census Bureau divides the country, conservative syndicated columnists reach more readers than progressive syndicated columnists in any given week. Only in the Middle Atlantic division do progressive columnists reach more readers each week.
I'm shocked, shocked I tell you! They cater to their readership which is aging and disappearing.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
MoveOn Ad Hominem Attacks
Glen Greenwald sums up the absurd and mendacious nature of the right wings, oh so shocked, reaction to the MoveOn.org Petreaus shennanigans.
It begs the question; is the right wing noise machine, along with their cohorts in the so called liberal media, aware that their words and misdeeds are on record?
Or are yesterdays just erased from the collective memory of these small time neocon wannabees?
Glen barely touches the surface of the organised republican slander machine's attacks on any one, yes any one who opposes their twisted vision for 'muricas future.
It begs the question; is the right wing noise machine, along with their cohorts in the so called liberal media, aware that their words and misdeeds are on record?
Or are yesterdays just erased from the collective memory of these small time neocon wannabees?
Glen barely touches the surface of the organised republican slander machine's attacks on any one, yes any one who opposes their twisted vision for 'muricas future.
Learned Men
The search for the next lick-spittle, god-fearin', bush-lovin', repug-crony AG narrows and Ted Olson (pictured) seems to be the front runner. The man has been a republican operator for quite a while and seems to have the requisite Clinton-Hating gene necessary to be a fall-up success in this, infamous for it, administration.
The Times gives a brief synopsis of the race and the lack-luster field.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
The Argument
The rightwingnutosophere is up in arms over MoveOn.org's potrayal of The General as a 'traitor' and the smearing of his good name. I understand that he was confirmed in an 81-0 vote in the Senate and that both Democrats and Republicans never questioned his integrity, we all wanted some form of success in Iraq and Petraeus appeared to be the best person to acheive that aim however either side defined success.
Betrayal can be defined in many ways and to make the leap to him being a traitor is a bit much, his betrayal is to the truth which, as with all Bush lackeys, he has buried under the murk of propoganda and manipulated figures. That is not treason, afterall, he has the full support of the White House here so how could it be construed as a crime against the state, which is how treason has always been defined.
No, The General is not a traitor, he has merely allowed himself to become a conduit for administration spin and obfuscation, he is therefore, a good soldier, in the mould of a Colin Powell or Westmoreland, a man more concerned with perpetuating and preserving his own legacy than serving the American people and their Constitution.
The press - for the most part - and the right wing have given him a free pass on the self-serving rubbish he presented to the House yesterday but some have looked deeper at the numbers - McClatchy for instance;
A chart displayed by Army Gen. David Petraeus that purported to show the decline in sectarian violence in Baghdad between December and August made no effort to show that the ethnic character of many of the neighborhoods had changed in that same period from majority Sunni Muslim or mixed to majority Shiite Muslim.
Neither Petraeus nor U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker talked about the fact that since the troop surge began the pace by which Iraqis were abandoning their homes in search of safety had increased. They didn’t mention that 86 percent of Iraqis who’ve fled their homes said they’d been targeted because of their sect, according to the International Organization for Migration.
While Petraeus stressed that civilian casualties were down over the last five weeks, he drew no connection between that statement and a chart he displayed that showed that the number of attacks rose during at least one of those weeks.
Petraeus also didn’t highlight the fact that his charts showed that “ethno-sectarian” deaths in August, down from July, were still higher than in June, and he didn’t explain why the greatest drop in such deaths, which peaked in December, occurred between January and February, before the surge began.
And while both officials said that the Iraqi security forces were improving, neither talked about how those forces had been infiltrated by militias, though Petraeus acknowledged that during 2006 some Iraqi security forces had participated in the ethnic violence. (C&L)
We just want the truth, we're adults, we can take it. If it is a godawful mess then tell us so... what this whole Iraq fiasco has taught us is that if we are to lead the world we better have the leadership capable of doing that. The Bush administration has proven itself woefully lacking in that department and, for the most part, the people they chose to take the flack for their incompetence have, incomprehensibly, done so willingly, so Petraeus has no one to blame but himself.
That the Right defends their man from name-calling and smears is understandable, they have nothing left but their irrational cults of personality. However, when the General stood in the bright white light of accountability he was exposed for what he is... a good man caught in a terrible dilema and incapable of telling a terrible truth.
Betrayal can be defined in many ways and to make the leap to him being a traitor is a bit much, his betrayal is to the truth which, as with all Bush lackeys, he has buried under the murk of propoganda and manipulated figures. That is not treason, afterall, he has the full support of the White House here so how could it be construed as a crime against the state, which is how treason has always been defined.
No, The General is not a traitor, he has merely allowed himself to become a conduit for administration spin and obfuscation, he is therefore, a good soldier, in the mould of a Colin Powell or Westmoreland, a man more concerned with perpetuating and preserving his own legacy than serving the American people and their Constitution.
The press - for the most part - and the right wing have given him a free pass on the self-serving rubbish he presented to the House yesterday but some have looked deeper at the numbers - McClatchy for instance;
A chart displayed by Army Gen. David Petraeus that purported to show the decline in sectarian violence in Baghdad between December and August made no effort to show that the ethnic character of many of the neighborhoods had changed in that same period from majority Sunni Muslim or mixed to majority Shiite Muslim.
Neither Petraeus nor U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker talked about the fact that since the troop surge began the pace by which Iraqis were abandoning their homes in search of safety had increased. They didn’t mention that 86 percent of Iraqis who’ve fled their homes said they’d been targeted because of their sect, according to the International Organization for Migration.
While Petraeus stressed that civilian casualties were down over the last five weeks, he drew no connection between that statement and a chart he displayed that showed that the number of attacks rose during at least one of those weeks.
Petraeus also didn’t highlight the fact that his charts showed that “ethno-sectarian” deaths in August, down from July, were still higher than in June, and he didn’t explain why the greatest drop in such deaths, which peaked in December, occurred between January and February, before the surge began.
And while both officials said that the Iraqi security forces were improving, neither talked about how those forces had been infiltrated by militias, though Petraeus acknowledged that during 2006 some Iraqi security forces had participated in the ethnic violence. (C&L)
We just want the truth, we're adults, we can take it. If it is a godawful mess then tell us so... what this whole Iraq fiasco has taught us is that if we are to lead the world we better have the leadership capable of doing that. The Bush administration has proven itself woefully lacking in that department and, for the most part, the people they chose to take the flack for their incompetence have, incomprehensibly, done so willingly, so Petraeus has no one to blame but himself.
That the Right defends their man from name-calling and smears is understandable, they have nothing left but their irrational cults of personality. However, when the General stood in the bright white light of accountability he was exposed for what he is... a good man caught in a terrible dilema and incapable of telling a terrible truth.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Wow... Massive Progress In Iraq
General Betrayus speaketh, and the world listeneth:
Overall Assessment: “The military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met.” Most Important Development: The rejection of Al Qaeda by Sunni tribes in Anbar province. Other areas are following suit, he adds.
End of Surge: The troop levels in Iraq can return to pre-surge levels by the Summer of 2008, he said. “However, in my professional judgment, it would be premature to make recommendations on the pace of such reductions at this time,” he added.
Troop Cuts This Year: He said a Marine unit was set to leave this month, and a combat brigade of 4,000 troops could leave in December, as was reported this morning in The Times.
Violence: A slew of charts reports that violence is dropping in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. The general says the number of attacks and deaths would be lower without Al Qaeda in Iraq’s attacks. One chart shows that two provinces have seen increasing violence during the surge.
Al Qaeda in Iraq: The deals with Sunnis in Anbar province and operations against leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq have left the group “off balance,” but not defeated, he asserted.
Iran: The general said there is evidence that the Iranian government is using its Al Quds force to help spur the insurgency in Iraq, a charge that the U.S. military has leveled before. The aim, he said, was to create a friendly organization in Iraq as Iran has in Lebanon with Hezbollah. The general closed his statement, which lasted about 30 minutes, by buttering up lawmakers.
Filched from the Lede (NY Times)
Not for nothing but, most of this is complete rubbish. And, when it isn't complete rubbish it's just made up stuff for the sake of a cheap sound bite-talking point.
It really is sad that this is the best this shower could come up with. Stale ideas, shabby reporting, propositions a five year old could conjure, it looks as if they really did not take this whole thing very seriously and threw something together the night before. Kinda like their entire Iraq strategy, so why did I expect more.
Overall Assessment: “The military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met.” Most Important Development: The rejection of Al Qaeda by Sunni tribes in Anbar province. Other areas are following suit, he adds.
End of Surge: The troop levels in Iraq can return to pre-surge levels by the Summer of 2008, he said. “However, in my professional judgment, it would be premature to make recommendations on the pace of such reductions at this time,” he added.
Troop Cuts This Year: He said a Marine unit was set to leave this month, and a combat brigade of 4,000 troops could leave in December, as was reported this morning in The Times.
Violence: A slew of charts reports that violence is dropping in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. The general says the number of attacks and deaths would be lower without Al Qaeda in Iraq’s attacks. One chart shows that two provinces have seen increasing violence during the surge.
Al Qaeda in Iraq: The deals with Sunnis in Anbar province and operations against leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq have left the group “off balance,” but not defeated, he asserted.
Iran: The general said there is evidence that the Iranian government is using its Al Quds force to help spur the insurgency in Iraq, a charge that the U.S. military has leveled before. The aim, he said, was to create a friendly organization in Iraq as Iran has in Lebanon with Hezbollah. The general closed his statement, which lasted about 30 minutes, by buttering up lawmakers.
Filched from the Lede (NY Times)
Not for nothing but, most of this is complete rubbish. And, when it isn't complete rubbish it's just made up stuff for the sake of a cheap sound bite-talking point.
It really is sad that this is the best this shower could come up with. Stale ideas, shabby reporting, propositions a five year old could conjure, it looks as if they really did not take this whole thing very seriously and threw something together the night before. Kinda like their entire Iraq strategy, so why did I expect more.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Crisis, What Crisis?
Buried deep inside the 'Newspaper of Record' are the latest foreclosure figures.
They are sobering, but ya gotta love da spin:
“What continues to drive the national numbers,” Mr. Duncan said, “is what is happening in the states of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona.”
Home buyers in those four states relied on the low introductory costs of adjustable-rate mortgages. Payments on many of those loans are expected to climb over the next year or so.
The national foreclosure rate excluding those four states actually declined in the quarter, Mr. Duncan said.
If you take out those four states over the last six years, there would not have been a housing boom that, when times were real bad in this economy, was the only good news and driving force we had out of Bush's first recession.
It's preposterous to even make a statement like that. Let's just eliminate the foreclosure numbers from the four most prosperous states in the last decade and gee-whiz, we don't have a mortgage crisis at all.
They are sobering, but ya gotta love da spin:
“What continues to drive the national numbers,” Mr. Duncan said, “is what is happening in the states of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona.”
Home buyers in those four states relied on the low introductory costs of adjustable-rate mortgages. Payments on many of those loans are expected to climb over the next year or so.
The national foreclosure rate excluding those four states actually declined in the quarter, Mr. Duncan said.
If you take out those four states over the last six years, there would not have been a housing boom that, when times were real bad in this economy, was the only good news and driving force we had out of Bush's first recession.
It's preposterous to even make a statement like that. Let's just eliminate the foreclosure numbers from the four most prosperous states in the last decade and gee-whiz, we don't have a mortgage crisis at all.
Our Robust Economy II
Continuing signs of contraction and fall-out from the mortgage crisis.
The only, only reason the Fed tinkers with the interest rate is to head off a recession. Wall Street is practically begging the Fed to cut interest rates. Now, there are some very smart economists paid a gazzillion dollars to predict fluctuations in the economy and to 'lobby' the Fed to save their asses when all their predictions of continued strength and dynamism in the market proves groundless. Right now, those 'super' lobbyists are on bended knee. They see the future and they are worried.
The only, only reason the Fed tinkers with the interest rate is to head off a recession. Wall Street is practically begging the Fed to cut interest rates. Now, there are some very smart economists paid a gazzillion dollars to predict fluctuations in the economy and to 'lobby' the Fed to save their asses when all their predictions of continued strength and dynamism in the market proves groundless. Right now, those 'super' lobbyists are on bended knee. They see the future and they are worried.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
The Bad News
This is too funny...
JIM LEHRER: Yes, yes. Much has been made that the people who could give President Bush bad news, who knew him well enough over many years to look at him straight in the eye and say, "Hey, this isn't working" or whatever, with candor, those people are now gone. Is that true? Can you give the president bad news?
JOSHUA BOLTEN: Sure. I do every day. And I view it as an important part of my job and an important part of everybody serving the president to give him the story straight as we see it. And he accepts that. He accepts that very well.
In fact, on some of the rare occasions in which I've seen him angry are situations in which people have failed to give him their honest counsel or failed to give him the bad news out of fear that it's just unpopular to deliver bad news sometimes. So I don't see that as a problem at this White House, certainly not with this president.
Joshua Bolten is delivering bad news on a daily basis to the preznit who, in turn, delivers daily, good news to the American people. A disconnect? And, just what is that bad news arriving daily at the White House?
Joshua Bolten is a sycophant of the highest order. I watched the whole interview on PBS and during those brief moments where I wasn't being violently and copiously sick, I was crying on god's shoulder.
JIM LEHRER: Yes, yes. Much has been made that the people who could give President Bush bad news, who knew him well enough over many years to look at him straight in the eye and say, "Hey, this isn't working" or whatever, with candor, those people are now gone. Is that true? Can you give the president bad news?
JOSHUA BOLTEN: Sure. I do every day. And I view it as an important part of my job and an important part of everybody serving the president to give him the story straight as we see it. And he accepts that. He accepts that very well.
In fact, on some of the rare occasions in which I've seen him angry are situations in which people have failed to give him their honest counsel or failed to give him the bad news out of fear that it's just unpopular to deliver bad news sometimes. So I don't see that as a problem at this White House, certainly not with this president.
Joshua Bolten is delivering bad news on a daily basis to the preznit who, in turn, delivers daily, good news to the American people. A disconnect? And, just what is that bad news arriving daily at the White House?
Joshua Bolten is a sycophant of the highest order. I watched the whole interview on PBS and during those brief moments where I wasn't being violently and copiously sick, I was crying on god's shoulder.
DeBremerfication
Let's not bicker and argue about who lied to who...
Bremer III defends the 'process' whilst hyping the outcome.
Is he so far out of touch that he really wrote this:
Moreover, we were right to build a new Iraqi Army. Despite all the difficulties encountered, Iraq’s new professional soldiers are the country’s most effective and trusted security force. By contrast, the Baathist-era police force, which we did recall to duty, has proven unreliable and is mistrusted by the very Iraqi people it is supposed to protect.
Whilst in the same newspaper we read this.
It has been noted on numerous occassions that the Iraqi police force is but an extension of the Badr Corps and acts in concert with said militia as a kind of state sponsored death squad. Don't get me wrong but the Badr Corps are shi-ites and the Baathists secular Sunnis.
It would appear to me that the Interior Ministry, which controls the police force, underwent it's very own special kind of DeBaathification process without much help from Mr. Bremer or subsequent Viceroys and nabobs and is only mistrusted by the Baathists and Sunnis expunged from and unable to reinfiltrate it's unreliable and bloodthirsty ranks.
By the way, the Baathists and Sunnis are now our friends and allies battling with us against the 950 strong AQI. Confusing aint it.
Bremer III defends the 'process' whilst hyping the outcome.
Is he so far out of touch that he really wrote this:
Moreover, we were right to build a new Iraqi Army. Despite all the difficulties encountered, Iraq’s new professional soldiers are the country’s most effective and trusted security force. By contrast, the Baathist-era police force, which we did recall to duty, has proven unreliable and is mistrusted by the very Iraqi people it is supposed to protect.
Whilst in the same newspaper we read this.
It has been noted on numerous occassions that the Iraqi police force is but an extension of the Badr Corps and acts in concert with said militia as a kind of state sponsored death squad. Don't get me wrong but the Badr Corps are shi-ites and the Baathists secular Sunnis.
It would appear to me that the Interior Ministry, which controls the police force, underwent it's very own special kind of DeBaathification process without much help from Mr. Bremer or subsequent Viceroys and nabobs and is only mistrusted by the Baathists and Sunnis expunged from and unable to reinfiltrate it's unreliable and bloodthirsty ranks.
By the way, the Baathists and Sunnis are now our friends and allies battling with us against the 950 strong AQI. Confusing aint it.
Childhood - Part the Deux
This is the shortest 'piece' I could find...
The divine Mrs. B insists he was great, she may have seen him more than once but swears it was all drug induced and therefore groovy!
Still haven't ascertained which drug she was using but I'd imagine it would have to have been one of the stronger ones.
Fredrick of Hollywood
Where else would a 'serious' presidential candidate unofficially officially announce his intent to run but on the Jay Leno show.
Fred Thompson - practically a legend in his own make-up!
Fred Thompson - practically a legend in his own make-up!
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Childhood...
So the divine Mrs. Buffletucky and I were discussing pre-punk-most-mainstream-street-cred-destroying gigs we ever attended.
The best I could come up with, having been blessed with a nose for preposterous, posturing, pre-punk pomposity;
Sheffield City Hall, 1978 (I think) 'A Farewell To Kings' Tour.
Pretty loud three-piece though!
Mrs. Buffletucky's tomorrow... teh fun!
Our Robust Economy
Every time the Preznit mentions the US economy he uses words like vital, robust, dynamic well, as with all our dear leaders political speechifying whether it be Katrina, Iraq, Traditional Marriage, Family Values etc, etc it is pungent with the odor of sanctimony and incompetence. Far from the boom of his rhetoric, lays the potential carnage of an American economy on the verge of implosion.
For me, this is not a 'bubble' economy, fraught with those inherent and well documented dangers, this is something more significant, more entrenched and therefore more virulent.
This administration has encouraged i) the 'Ownership Society' based on home ownership providing equity to the masses, the premise being 'the more you borrow, the more you can borrow.' ii) the 'Ownership Society' based on accumulation of wealth by the ownership of stocks and shares, which with the huge cash infusion from the little guy could only go up, but, unlike a huge institutional investor or a rich bastard just trying to get richer, the little guy can't take repeated hits when his 'portfolio' under-performs. He/She will, reluctantly (because it is the only piece of the pie they actually have any vested interest in) pull their savings from the market and put them in a safer place, perhaps a modest interest bearing account at their local bank.
Now their local bank may be carrying a little bit of debt from the mortgage crisis, nothing to worry about right? How many local banks are independently owned and operated anymore?
So our 'growth' is based upon squeezing as much cash as we can out of the people who can least afford to lose it.
The signs of a contracting economy are everywhere, look here, here, here and here.
For me, this is not a 'bubble' economy, fraught with those inherent and well documented dangers, this is something more significant, more entrenched and therefore more virulent.
This administration has encouraged i) the 'Ownership Society' based on home ownership providing equity to the masses, the premise being 'the more you borrow, the more you can borrow.' ii) the 'Ownership Society' based on accumulation of wealth by the ownership of stocks and shares, which with the huge cash infusion from the little guy could only go up, but, unlike a huge institutional investor or a rich bastard just trying to get richer, the little guy can't take repeated hits when his 'portfolio' under-performs. He/She will, reluctantly (because it is the only piece of the pie they actually have any vested interest in) pull their savings from the market and put them in a safer place, perhaps a modest interest bearing account at their local bank.
Now their local bank may be carrying a little bit of debt from the mortgage crisis, nothing to worry about right? How many local banks are independently owned and operated anymore?
So our 'growth' is based upon squeezing as much cash as we can out of the people who can least afford to lose it.
The signs of a contracting economy are everywhere, look here, here, here and here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
