JETTSTREAM

WHEN A PICTURE SPEAKS

2004-12-31T23:28:00.000-06:00

The force of nature.

SPECIAL KUDOS

2004-12-31T00:30:00.000-06:00

A special thanks to the people of Britain who at one point were donating 1 million dollars a hour on special aid relief hotlines. To date, right at a 100 million dollars has already come from the British people. I promise never to crack jokes about the food or weather again.

Also, the people of Sweden whose country of nine million people has over 1500 missing still, a special thank you for the 90 million dollars they've already put into the system. The Germans, Spanish, French among others over that 50 million level.

GOOD NEWS

2004-12-30T15:28:00.000-06:00

The good news is four friends unaccounted for in the disaster have turned up although friend's of theirs weren't so lucky. Still got one out there somewhere.

THE SNAIL IN THE WHITE HOUSE

2004-12-30T15:19:00.000-06:00

How nice of Jr. (Bush) to break himself away from his vacation after four days and finally acknowledge there was a momentous natural disaster impacting millions of people. He talks about forming a coalition (a scary thought considering his track record in that area) but there's already a coalition of groups on the ground. He's behind the curve on that one.

How nice of Jr. to pledge as much money for relief as Britain, Germany and Spain. All countries quite smaller and more limited in economic terms. You know if the U.S. pledged 1 dollar for every citizen, there'd be 270 million more bucks in the till. Actually, a nice gesture would be cancel the fancy inauguration parties being planned where donors are plopping down 100,000 plus for a ticket and spend the money on relief. Cancel the big military style theme and send the troops to help in the stricken areas. It certainly would go a long way in reversing the image being created now.

WHEN A PICTURE SPEAKS

2004-12-29T15:35:00.000-06:00

A father and his child.

EARTH'S ROTATION CHANGED

2004-12-29T00:49:00.000-06:00

From the Chicago Tribune we learn that the earthquake changed the Earth's rotation:

Incredibly, the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck off Sumatra on Sunday morning caused a vertical displacement of so much material that the rotation period of the Earth has been permanently altered. By a tiny but measurable amount, the Earth is now rotating more quickly on its axis, and the 24-hour day is now one ten-thousandth second shorter.That's the result of calculations based on preliminary data made by Oak Park astronomer Dr. Leslie M. Golden. It's analogous to the increase in rotational speed that a twirling ice skater experiences when he or she draws in their arms. It is estimated that during the Sumatran quake, a block of material roughly 600 miles in length and 100 miles in width fell 30 feet closer to the Earth's axis of rotation. The planet has responded by rotating more rapidly, albeit ever so slightly, and our 24-hour days are now one ten-thousandth second shorter.

THINGS I COULD SAY

2004-12-28T01:06:00.000-06:00

I could say how great it is of tiny Netherlands to pledge 1/3 as much money as the U.S. did to relief efforts in Asia. Per capita, several countries are putting us to shame. I guess it is easier to spend 200 billion blowing up Iraq than to do something productive with our money. Is 14 million really the best we could do???

I could say how I'm glad the opposition gave Moscow a collective ulcer by winning the Ukrainian election. I could say how that now the Sunni political parties have pulled out, those January elections in Iraq have become a joke. I could say how ironic it is that the Shiites targeted in today's hit blamed the remanents of the old regime while living in Tariq Aziz's (the ex-foreign minister) house where the bombing took place.

Instead, all I think about is 50,000 plus dead from a Tsunami that didn't stop until it hit Africa. The force it must've had to move an entire island 100 feet and create a 1000 kilometer long crack in the ocean bottom. The images of all those bodies drifting lifeless out to sea that we know will never be recovered. The survivors shifting through corpses several rows deep to look for loved ones. The mass graves being dug to bury the dead. Children drinking contaminated water while relief workers land to sacrifice themselves for others. Then I think about the fuss made over how Wall Street is glad consumer shopping met it's target this weekend and I wonder if anyone else sees something wrong with this picture?

REDO THE MAP

2004-12-27T11:53:00.000-06:00

The earthquake and tsunami which struck Indonesia was so powerful that the entire island of Sumatra, where the earthquake epicenter was near, moved 100 feet to the southwest. All I can say is wow....

TSUNAMI

2004-12-27T02:24:00.000-06:00

Over 16,000 people are dead (a figure that could easily double), millions homeless, and countless others are recovering from the impact of a 9.0 earthquake in Indonesia which triggered a 500 mph tsunami. Disease will surely breakout in the aftermath and only add to the deadly toll. Our official response has been slow and reluctant in coming and the media here has given most of their attention to normally camera deprived weather people trying to explain what a Tsunami is. How we can't give one of the greatest natural disasters of our lifetime 110% of our attention is beyond me. While individually we can't be there in person to assist with the rescue efforts, we can still give to organizations like CARE, the International Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and Save The Children who'll be left with the responsibility to pick up the pieces in the coming months. I hope each of us will do our part.

VOICE OF RELIGION

2004-12-26T11:27:00.000-06:00

Today, CNN's Wolf Blitzer will have as guests Jerry Falwell and Jesse Jackson to speak about morality. The power-hungry hate monger squares off against the womanizing swindler to lecture us about morality with a news anchor who actually believes this constitutes news. But hang on...Larry King will have the head of the Mormon Church on tonight. The face of religion masked in corporate corruption. Then CNN Presents will air a special on Jakes a preacher who likes a 10,000 dollar deposit before booking to preach a sermon. Maybe what is wrong with Christianity isn't if there's prayer in school or whether someone says 'Happy Holidays' instead of 'Merry Christmas' but the fact none of the leaders speaking for it seems to have any integrity.

ELECTIONS

2004-12-25T10:31:00.000-06:00

Two elections take center stage this weekend. In the first local elections since literally half of the voters were born, Hamas won 1/3 of the municipalities in the Palestinian Territory. It is a sign their power base has grown past the boundaries of Gaza and into the mainstream. They are boycotting the Presidential election on Jan. 9th but if the West thinks they can just push them aside because they don't like their radical brand of politics, they're in for a harsh lesson. Hamas is here to stay and is a real threat to the power elite in Ramallah.

The other election is held on Sunday in the Ukraine. Let us a hope that a peaceful, more or less fraudulent-free election occurs. Demonstrators are already camped in the streets and the Supreme Court wiped out one provision of the Electoral Reforms passed in recent days but it may actually help ensure a smoother day at the ballots. Putin seems to have resigned himself this past week that the EU will be camped out on his back door as he offered up the chance of working with the opposition leader if he is elected. That was a new tune from Moscow and even though he mixed the comments with harsh criticisms of the EU and U.S., especially over Iraq, it offered hope for the Christmas weekend vote. Two elections - two events that we'll discover impact our world come Monday morning.

CHRISTMAS TRUCE

2004-12-24T00:52:00.000-06:00

I was recalling the Christmas Truce of 1914 when two opposing armies of WWI decided, quite on their own, to stop fighting. For Christmas that year soldiers, many who wouldn't survive the conflict, traded songs, stories and coffee with one another. There was even a football (soccer) match held in no man's land. Come the morning of the 26th, the two sides picked up slaughtering each other where they'd left off. But for 24 hours, it was indeed a Silent Night and one that showed humans, of whatever persuasion, instinctively prefer peace over war.

It'd be nice if there was even a 24 hour respite in Iraq this Christmas if for no other reason than to save families from receiving the dreaded Dept. of Defense notification on the holiday. Now, that's a Christmas wish. Unfortunately, that is all it is - just a wish. The reality is that even Iraqi Christians, because of the lack of security, won't really get to celebrate the holiday. Since the two sides have failed to negotiate on any issue up until now, a holiday truce is far fetched. With Rumsfeld visiting Mosul, you can almost rest assure that the insurgents feel obligated to step up the pressure. They're not going to want to lose their rising momentum over a holiday anyway. Still, it is no wonder that one of the most important events remembered about WWI after all this time is that Christmas Truce of 1914.

MY PERSON OF THE YEAR

2004-12-23T00:25:00.000-06:00

My person of the year would be tied between two groups. The first is the the entire Spaceone Team which sent the first civilian craft into space. What they did is going to impact our future tremendously. Our children and grandchildren (and hopefully us) will be taking tourist flights into space one day riding the back of their feat.

The second group is the 9-11 families. They outdid Jr. (Bush) to get a 9-11 commission formed and then they forced the issue to make the White House turn over papers and have staff testify. They didn't back down when Jr. and Cheney refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Then they were victorious over a reluctant Republican leadership and White House and got an intelligence bill passed. They accomplished more in one year than Jr. has in four. They could've given up but they didn't. They are the example of real leadership.

Time can pick a floundering failed politician if they want but these two groups are My Person Of The Year.

THE RETIREMENT DEBT

2004-12-22T01:38:00.000-06:00

What Jr. (Bush) is really saying to the country: "We couldn't manage our money so because of record spending and deficits we're going to deplete your retirement fund. But don't worry, we have a plan. We'll borrow 2 trillion dollars in your kid's name so you can gamble with our political contributors in the stock market which is a sound investment rife with corruption and greed and one that fluctuates with every rumor that comes along. Trust us. It'll be fine."

HOW MUCH???

2004-12-21T01:56:00.000-06:00

Americans must make $15 plus an hour to afford the average 2 bedroom apartment according to figures today. That's 11 Euros an hour to my European friends out there. No wonder there are so many working homeless today especially since Federal Minimum Wage is only 1/3 that figure. This White House is against raising minimum wage but then again they've never had to worry about housing have they? It's ok to increase the corporate bottom line but not the working persons. The gap between the rich and poor keeps right on growing as we all gawk from the sidelines.

FIFA SAYS NO

2004-12-21T00:53:00.000-06:00

FIFA said 'No' to Maribel Dominguez's attempt to be the first female in the America's to play on a men's soccer team. FIFA said it intends to keep women and men seperate on the playing field. I understand their logic but it sure would've been nice to see her give it a go.

LISTEN TO YOURSELF AMERICA

2004-12-20T00:14:00.000-06:00

I wish Americans would listen to themselves talk about Iraq. It's no wonder they have a credibility problem with everyone else. Today I was reading Star of Mosul's blog about a schoolmate who got cut down on the school bus by American gunfire that erupted after a bomb went off. The comments she got, and that I've seen on other blogs, just irritates me.

There were the inevitable "it couldn't have been us" comments. Of course it could be you! Whenever you get a bunch of soldiers firing M-16's, machine guns, tank shells etc. you have no clue who or what will be hit. It is a given. Innocents are dying by the scores everyday.

Own up to the fact Fallujah was no magic pill. Three weeks after Gen. Sattler said the battle "broke the back" of the insurgency fighting rages in Fallujah which is why there were air strikes there today. Fallujah is only a skirmish in a bigger war.

Get a grip on the rest of the world. There were some ridiculous comments to Star of Mosul like "why didn't someone call the police" or "that's not what the news reports said at first". To begin with there is no 911 in Iraq. No one is going to rip out a cell phone and call for help when they see a bad guy. The fact that whole neighborhoods watch as insurgents set up for ambushes tells you there is absolutely no security! A group of insurgents should not have that luxury of time and place if a city is truly secure. Not one major city in Iraq has a secured street in it. Not one! So if American troops can't secure it why would you expect a bunch of policemen with little training or weapons making less in a month than you do in a day to get themselves killed trying to do it? As for the reporters, they can't go out on their own. 90% of their stuff is coming from the military.

Give those people food and supplies to live on. Food stuffs are harder and harder to come by because trucks can't run the highways to transport it. Electricity in most of the country is up less than 8 hours a day and as I've mentioned in previous posts it takes 13 hours in a gas line just to fill up your car if you're lucky enough that the gas station has it or doesn't run out before you reach the pump.

Finally, an election solves nothing other than solidifying the fact that the country is split into different factions. So stop acting like if everyone would just raise their hand to express their opinion that it will make everything alright. Has it solved the divisions in your country? So why would you automatically expect it to do so in someone else's? Just do the world a favor, listen to yourselves when you speak on Iraq then maybe you'll understand why you make no sense to anyone else.

AMERICANS TARGETED IN MEXICO

2004-12-19T00:50:00.000-06:00

Americans, tourists and business people, are being targeted for kidnapping in Mexico. Just in Neuvo Laredo, on the opposite bank of the Rio Grande from Laredo, TX, 22 Americans have been kidnapped since mid-August. The problem is growing across Mexico which already has a rep for it's corruption and lawlessness.

Kidnapping has been a lucrative trade in parts of S. America and Asia or war-torn areas like Iraq for some time. In the past couple years, even in places like Arizona, authorities have seen a rise in acts of ransom among immigrant populations. Phoenix now has special detectives dealing with such cases.

The twist in Mexico is that Americans seem to be specifically targeted. It's believed that narco gangs are behind these crimes with the motivation being purely profit. So before you start believing those TV commercials that have popped up lately about how great a vacation in Mexico is, you might want to consider the darker side they aren't showing you and pick an alternative location to visit.

THE NEW ERA

2004-12-18T01:10:00.000-06:00

The new era has begun. The Mexican female soccer superstar Maribel Dominguez has signed to play with a men's club. FIFA has been asked for permission to let her play. A couple posts ago (and this seems a bit ironic to me) I lamented about Mia Hamm and teammates retiring and wrote about it being the end of an era. Well, apparently, the void is being filled. Although, I would've thought a couple Brazilians would've been better candidates to attempt this, Dominguez should be able to hold her own among the guys. She's scored 42 goals in 43 games for the National Team and is known to be tough and wily. She'll need to be. FIFA should approve the deal and I hope they broadcast some of the matches north of the border so I can see how she progresses.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4101043.stm

ALLIES IN ACTION

2004-12-17T00:25:00.000-06:00

From Saudi Arabia, one of our 'close' allies, we get this shining example of democracy:

Hundreds of Saudi security forces kept an iron grip over central Riyadh on Thursday to thwart protest marches planned by an exiled dissident against the kingdom's absolute monarchy.
Demonstrations are banned in Saudi Arabia.

"This is an Islamic country which does not permit protests. There is no need for it," said a middle-aged Saudi man outside a mosque in central Riyadh.

"Everything is provided for these people. They are just outlaws with strange ideology. We do not agree with them."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DC611AD1-D5B5-4311-A64A-3B6B95D463F9.htm

SECURITY

2004-12-16T01:33:00.000-06:00

It seems like 'inept' is this White House's motto. On the subject of Homeland Security, these topics which have been reported this week:

*Because of a strict population rule, Omaha qualified for a Homeland Security Grant while Orlando (despite all those workers and tourists at Disney World) didn't receive a cent.

*While everyone made fun of the French last week for losing a bomb during a training exercise, it turns out that in Newark, the Americans lost a fake bomb. They lost it because even though the bomb detecting machine signaled an alarm, security personnel never pulled the bag to inspect it. (Is Homer Simpson moonlighting as an airport security agent?)

*1 in 4 'fake' bombs get through American airports undetected. Not bad odds if you're a real terrorist.

*Even though it has been 3 years since the anthrax attacks, Administration officials report that any official response plan to an Anthrax attack is still in the 'talking stages'.

*It is estimated that 25-30% of NY area TSA personnel were hired even though extensive background checks later proved they had criminal records. The record rise in thefts by airport security personnel is attributed in part to the fact TSA has not vetted it's people yet.

*Speaking of vetting, the guy the White House wanted to be in charge of Homeland Security had of this counting (it seems to increase everyday) 3 wives, 3 mistresses, stocks he never bought but sold for a profit, an apartment across from Ground Zero where he rendezvoused with one mistress, and questionable business dealings in NY and Iraq. Most of this a secret even though the White House supposedly vetted him before his nomination. If they can't check the guy in charge of Homeland Security right, makes you wonder what else they think they have right but don't.

FEET OF GOLD

2004-12-15T03:36:00.001-06:00

The roadtrip was 6,000 miles in a week and it made me and my friends part of the fortunate 100,000 to see the largest women's sporting event in history; the 1999 Women's World Cup Final at the Rose Bowl. It was probably also the only part of the trip that I was sober. I was in Africa once and forced a room of guys to watch one of the women's matches. About five minutes in the grumbling had quit and one piped up, "These girls could beat our men's national team!"

I recall all this because about 9 days ago the remaining key players in the national women's soccer team Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and gang, called it quits. I can't think of a group of players who've had a bigger impact on sporting culture than they did. They were the product of Title IX (even though this White House wants to reverse that) and they went from being greeted by a half dozen reporters when they won the 1991 World Cup to being seen by billions when they won their last in 1999. Along the way they picked up some Olympic medals as well. Oh, and did I forget founding the WUSA?

These days school girls are as likely to play sports as guys. Studies show it makes them better people and better students. And I know when my nieces step onto the field they owe something to these women. These athletes have done it without the steroids, their professionalism on and off the field is a textbook on how athletes should behave, and they've gone more than out of their way to pave an easier road for the generation behind them.

While I know great athletes are following in their wake, I still won't forget the weaving of a Mia Hamm, the kick by Chastain, the corners and slides by McMillian, or the headers by Akers. As I watch Mia and company wave and leave the field, I know I'm watching a golden era in women's sports leave with them. Man, will I miss seeing them play. Those players had feet of gold.

McCAIN-RUMSFELD Part Deux

2004-12-15T00:29:00.000-06:00

In response to the emails and comments I got on yesterday's McCain post, I agree that McCain should've spoke up before the election. I agree very little on the issues with McCain but do respect that he's pretty much a straight shooter and about as honest a politician can be in the current climate. And let's face it, if he'd run as an independent he'd probably have creamed both Jr. (Bush) and Kerry. I think despite the lies that Jr. told about McCain, that McCain backed him to collect IOU's for the 2008 campaign or at the very least, if Rumsfeld does go, to take over the post of Sec. of Defense. I mean can anyone sensibly argue that McCain wouldn't do a better job at the Pentagon (and definitely have more credibility) than Rumsfeld? So while I share the sentiment that McCain seems to have 'sold out' to a degree, I think he's got his eye on the bigger political picture.

WHERE'S THE OIL HALLIBURTON?

2004-12-14T02:36:00.000-06:00

According to http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com
who lives in Baghdad, the Iraqi people are going without cooking oil, electricity for heat and lights, and gasoline for cars. She also says this about the planned January elections:
People are wondering how America and gang (i.e. Iyad Allawi, etc.)
are going to implement democracy in all of this chaos when they can't seem to get the gasoline flowing in a country that virtually swims in oil.

She describes in her blog about waiting 13 hours in a gasoline line to fill the car up and then having to siphon half the tank out for the neighborhood generator. She says:
Cooking gas has also become a problem. The guy who sells us the gas cylinders isn't coming around because apparently he can't get the used cylinders exchanged for full ones. People are saying that it costs around 10,000 Iraqi dinars to buy one on the street and then, as usual, you risk getting one that might explode in the kitchen or be full of water. We're trying to do more and more of our 'cooking' on the kerosene heater. The faucet water is cold, cold, cold. We can't turn on the water heater because there just isn't enough electricity. We installed a kerosene water heater some time last year but that has also been off because there's a kerosene shortage and we need that for the heaters.

The other point she brings up is that men - Iraqi men - under 50 are not being allowed to enter the country which I find a warped way to practice 'liberation'. She doesn't blog everyday but when she does she reveals a Baghdad that the White House and the Media here never discuss. I encourage you to click on the link above for the full story and to check back with her for updates.

McCAIN TAKES ON RUMSFELD

2004-12-14T01:31:00.000-06:00

In what can only be a sign to the American people that "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", Sen. John McCain bashed Sec. of Defense Don Rumsfeld today saying he has "no confidence" in him, citing Rumsfeld's handling of the war in Iraq and the failure to send more troops. I'm sure the MSM will play this up but one has to wonder what kind of confirmation hearing ol' Rummy is in for now.

TRASHING THE HOUSE

2004-12-13T00:56:00.000-06:00

Do you ever get the feeling watching this Administration and the world's market driven corporate leadership that when it comes to the environment they're like a bunch of teenagers who threw a party and said, "Last person standing cleans it up!" basically leaving the mess for someone else to deal with? I bring you these short tidbits of news to help make my point:

EPA'S BACKROOM DEAL WITH CHEMICAL COMPANIES TRIPLES RAT POISONING RATE IN KIDS. In 2001, the Bush led EPA struck a deal with chemical companies to remove two important rat poison regulations designed to protect the safety of children. This year more than 50,000 children were poisoned by rodenticides, which is three times as many as were affected prior to the removal of safety regulations. Full story and petition can be found at:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/epa.htm

From the AP comes this nugget: The Bush administration said Friday it will allow developers to complete construction and other projects even after belated discoveries that the work could endanger protected species. A federal judge had blocked the rules last June, telling the government it needed to hear more ideas from the public about the changes. The administration gathered the extra comment and moved ahead Friday in a victory for business over environmentalists.

At http://www.hernanmedia.net(an absolutely fabulous blog dealing only with legal actions across the country) we learn that Holland-America is coughing up big bucks because it's cruise ships dumped 20,000 tons of raw sewage into the ocean off Juneau, Alaska. I guess they didn't realize that if they ruin the environment, no one is going to want to take a cruise there.

BRANDED LIKE CATTLE

2004-12-12T01:02:00.000-06:00

The newest way to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqis is the fingerprinting of every single person and the recording of their retina. The White House and the Pentagon are keeping thousands of residents from returning to their homes while this procedure's set into place in the area around Fallujah. When arrangements are completed, every Iraqi will have to pass the security scan before being allowed into the test cities. If it works, this procedure will be implemented in other parts of Iraq as well. I don't know about you, but I'd be more than resentful if I had to pass a fingerprint or retina test before I came back from say a trip to visit the relatives. Why should we expect the Iraqis to be any less ticked over these measures? I actually hope these efforts fail miserably. If they've planned for this like they planned for the war they probably will but it's still alarming that someone would think this nightmare up.

The other question I have - especially considering the track record of this administration - is how long before such measures are put into place in the States? They're already fingerprinting everyone coming into the country. Have you ever heard of a terrorist act actually being stopped because of this procedure? Is our hard earned freedom to be tossed aside and all of us branded like cattle, as we're doing to the Iraqis, before we're 'permitted' to live a normal life? Tyranny almost always starts at home under the guise of nationalism and security because they're the only pretense of justification people will capitulate their rights too. The wisdom is in seeing it for what it is.

HOPE FOR US ALL MR. HUMPHREYS

2004-12-11T00:16:00.000-06:00

Have you ever thought about bicycling across Siberia? As I sit here shivering from the crisp winter cold front that's blown in the thought seems suicidal to me but let me introduce you to the Englishman Mr. Alaster Humphreys who is doing exactly that as I write even though he reports it is a balmy minus 45 celcius.

Why? Mr. Humphreys has been on his bike for 5 years, and is going 50,000 miles, 5 continents, and 50 countries to raise money for the charity 'Hope & Homes For Children' which works with orphans, kids caught in the sex trade etc. in developing countries. In this time of giving I can't think of a better cause. In fact let me put in a plug. Before you buy your kid his 10th Playstation 2 game of the holiday, remember some kids out there dream of a bed not on the floor of the subway station and a bowl of soup straight off the stove. If you can spare it, put a little aside for them.

What Mr. Humphreys is doing, and has done, says to me there is hope for us all. If I ever show 10% of his stamina I'll be happy. I get emails from him once in awhile. He updates those who are following his trek although as you can imagine in places like Siberia the time between emails can be a couple weeks.

If you'd like to follow him, contact him, or better yet give a few coins to Hope & Homes For Children (it is an internationally recognized charity) then here are some links for you to use:

http://www.roundtheworldbybike.com is his website

http://www.justgiving.com/roundtheworld is the place to donate

roundtheworldbybike@hotmail.com is his email address

http://www.hopeandhomes.org is the Hope & Home For Children website.

I don't know where Mr. Humphreys will be on Christmas Day, but I hope it is a good one for him all the same!

THE EDUCATION QUESTION

2004-12-10T00:45:00.000-06:00

A couple posts ago, I mentioned how U.S. students weren't performing well when compared internationally. I came across a teacher's blog that revealed to me why that might be the case. I wish I could link it but when I went to do that, I accidentally clicked the wrong thing like a bonehead and deleted it. (It's a good blog too and now I have to find it again.) So I'll just have to sum it up.

She's a teacher and her principal informed her that because of the tests required by the Federal Government, she wasn't to present any new lessons but only concentrate on getting her students to pass the 'No Child Left Behind Tests'. I've talked to a couple other teachers I know and apparently, they've run into the same situation at one point or another. If everyone spends all their time cramming for one series of tests, how is anyone going to learn anything?

On the other hand, I have a family member who runs a private school and they just took in a 4th grader who can't read, write or add. Instead of the public school giving the kid special help after obviously passing her on when she should've been held back, they sent her to a private school before the above mentioned tests/evaluations rolled around. Out of sight equals no problem I guess.

Then to add to this little educational discussion (and in a roundabout way touch on the theocrats trying to run things - yes, I'm still irked about that TV show last night) the first teacher I mentioned took a sick day. A minister subbed for her and spent most of his time preaching a sermon on why it would be evil for them to read 'Catcher In The Rye' which she had passed out. Fortunately, she reported it only fired up her students to read it more. Apparently, the guy knew nothing about kids otherwise he'd known if you tell them 'no' they'll do it.

If you find the blog I deleted, let me know would you. I think her name was Renee. I'd appreciate it!

THE CATHOLIC LEAGUE BIGOTS

2004-12-09T09:16:00.000-06:00

For a second I thought I heard goose stepping outside my house. Things are just getting out of hand. I was flipping channels while deciding what to cook myself for dinner and stumbled across Pat Buchanan hosting the 'Scarborough Country' show. Did they invite every bigot they could find on or what???

The worse was a Mr. Bill Donohue from the Catholic League. I can't recall hearing so much anti-Semitic drivel outside the Jerry Springer show(when they had racists guests) on national television in my life. According to Mr. Donohue, it is "secular Jews" who have "ruined" Hollywood and used it to ruin the moral fiber of the country, made it "unpatriotic", and "anti-American". According to the shouting match that erupted (there was a rabbi on the show - 3 against 1 poor guy) Jews are the biggest threat to the nation because "Jews hate Christians".

What brought all this on? Whether or not Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of Christ" deserved an Oscar vs. Michael Moore's F.9-11 documentary. And I must say here, there are still a half-dozen great movies to be released (The Aviator comes to mind) and it is too early to say one movie deserves an Oscar over another. And for Moore, while I liked the film, there were better documentaries out there this year. They didn't make as much money or get the press but they will get nominated. Bottom line, IT'S A STUPID ARGUMENT!

But apparently it is just the excuse needed to push an anti-Semitic agenda on national television. I'm still shocked it was aired. (It got so bad, I actually turned it off. Hey MSNBC guess how long it will be before I watch you again?) This though is what everyone feared. A theocratic movement bent on destroying our liberties one industry and one minority at a time. And I'm sorry I have to write this but the filth spewed by Donohue and the Catholic League could have fit right into a Nazi election campaign. If you ever have studied them you would've recognized the language immediately. There is no place for any of this racist bigotry in this country or anywhere else for that matter.

Let me finish with a reminder that Hollywood is not of one mind. Never has been. (Reagan, Arnold, and Heston aren't exactly Democrats). There are good movies and bad movies. If you don't like something, don't watch it! The film industry is America's most successful export. Over 1,000,000 jobs in this country depend on it. Can you name a town or city that doesn't have a movie theatre? Then think of those jobs, the candy distributors, the advertising, the packaging, the movie rental store etc. Yeah, now you get the picture. So, what I have to say to Mr. Donohue is I don't know where you acquired so much misplaced hatred but you need to do some serious soul searching and I think you're going to find a lot of resistance to your new packaging of an old bigotry.

RUMMY'S PHOTO OP

2004-12-09T00:55:00.000-06:00

Sec. of Defense Donald 'Rummy' Rumsfeld found himself unexpectedly facing down his own troops during what was suppose to be a PR photo op in Kuwait. While visiting troops in Kuwait, he was peppered during a public Q&A session with questions clearly indicating that morale among U.S. troops may not be all the Pentagon has led the public to believe it is. The questions ranged from a mother-soldier wondering why she is forced to go back into Iraq for another year even though her enlistment is up to a soldier expressing his frustration at having to dig through scrap metal to find armor for his unprotected vehicles. This was not the PR 'feel good about the war America' stunt the Pentagon had in mind.

As a follow-up, the Pentagon at first denied that soldiers (as claimed by the troops there) were digging through scrap metal to find extra plating for themselves. However, they were shortly contradicted by the General in the field who said definitely his troops were having to forge for themselves to find adequate protection. Maybe if Halliburton would quit ripping the Pentagon off they'd be able to afford the right equipment.

HAPPY HANUKKAH TO YOU TOO O'REILLY!

2004-12-08T04:47:00.000-06:00

From the ever so tolerant, ever so understanding, Mr. Bill O'Reilly (makes you want to run out and buy his book for kids doesn't it?):

A Jewish caller phoned in to talk about Christmas in school. He said that all of the Christian culture pressured non-Christian kids into becoming Christians. O’Reilly responded kindly, as always:
O’REILLY: Well, the seven candles [sic], you get a gift for every night, don’t you?
CALLER: Actually, the Jews give gifts on –
O’REILLY: All right. Well, what I’m tellin’ you, [caller], is I think you’re takin’ it too seriously. You have a predominantly Christian nation. You have a federal holiday based on the philosopher Jesus. And you don’t wanna hear about it? Come on, – if you are really offended, you gotta go to Israel then. I mean because we live in a country founded on Judeo – and that’s your guys’ – Christian, that’s my guys’ philosophy. But overwhelmingly, America is Christian. And the holiday is a federal holiday honoring the philosopher Jesus. So, you don’t wanna hear about it? Impossible.

(thanks to the http://ihatepatrobertson.com site for staying on top of the latest)

U.S. STUDENTS BRING UP THE REAR

2004-12-08T00:46:00.000-06:00

If you have kids in school this is troubling news. For the country as a whole it should be disturbing. U.S. teenagers (15 y.o.) once again bring up the rear in educational scores (this time in math) when compared to their international counterparts. An excerpt from the news wire tells you all you need to know:

Among 29 industrialized countries, the United States scored below 20 nations and above five in math. The U.S. performance was about the same as Poland, Hungary and Spain. Compared with peers from the OECD countries, even the highest U.S. achievers — those in the top percent of U.S. students — were outperformed.

FBI SAYS ABUSES AT GUANTANAMO

2004-12-07T02:36:00.000-06:00

Anytime I write or say anything about prisoner abuse at Guantanamo, I get the inevitable emails or comments about it just being liberal rhetoric. Well, guess what??? The FBI says there are prisoner abuses going on at Guantanamo. Maybe now, America will realize this whole horrific fiasco is staining it's reputation and bring the officials at the Pentagon perpetrating these crimes to justice. Excerpts from the AP below:

FBI (news - web sites) agents witnessed "highly aggressive" interrogations and mistreatment of terror suspects at the U.S. prison camp in Cuba starting in 2002 — more than a year before the prison abuse scandal broke in Iraq (news - web sites) — according to a letter a senior Justice Department (news - web sites) official sent to the Army's top criminal investigator.

In the letter obtained by The Associated Press, the FBI official suggested the Pentagon (news - web sites) didn't act on FBI complaints about the incidents, including a female interrogator grabbing a detainee's genitals and bending back his thumbs, another where a prisoner was gagged with duct tape and a third where a dog was used to intimidate a detainee who later was thrown into isolation and showed signs of "extreme psychological trauma."
One Marine told an FBI observer that some interrogations led to prisoners "curling into a fetal position on the floor and crying in pain," according to the letter dated July 14, 2004.
Thomas Harrington, an FBI counterterrorism expert who led a team of investigators at Guantanamo Bay, wrote the letter to Maj. Gen. Donald J. Ryder, the Army's chief law enforcement officer who's investigating abuses at U.S.-run prisons in Afghanistan (news - web sites), Iraq and at Guantanamo.
Harrington said FBI officials complained about the pattern of abusive techniques to top Defense Department attorneys in January 2003, and it appeared that nothing was done. .........
"I finally voiced my opinion ...," the FBI agent says. "It still did not prevent them from continuing the methods."
Three of the four incidents mentioned in the letter obtained by the AP occurred under the watch of Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, who ran the Guantanamo camp from October 2002 to March 2004, and left to run Abu Ghraib prison. Last month, Miller was reassigned to the Pentagon, with responsibility for housing and other support operations.
According to the letter, in late 2002 an FBI agent observed an interrogation where Sgt. Lacey whispered in the ear of a handcuffed and shackled detainee, caressed him and applied lotion to his arms. This occurred during Ramadan, Islam's holy month when contact with females is considered particularly offensive to a Muslim man.
Later, the detainee appeared to grimace in pain, and the FBI agent asked a Marine who was present why. "The Marine said (the interrogator) had grabbed the detainee's thumbs and bent them backward and indicated that she also grabbed his genitals. The Marine also implied that her treatment of that detainee was less harsh than her treatment of others by indicating that he had seen her treatment of other detainees result in detainees curling into a fetal position on the floor and crying in pain," Harrington wrote.
In September or October of 2002, FBI agents saw a dog used "in an aggressive manner to intimidate a detainee," the letter said.
About a month later, agents saw the same detainee "after he had been subjected to intense isolation for over three months ... totally isolated in a cell that was always flooded with light. By late November, the detainee was evidencing behavior consistent with extreme psychological trauma ... talking to nonexistent people, reported hearing voices (and) crouching in a corner of the cell covered with a sheet," the letter said.
In October 2002, another FBI agent saw a detainee "gagged with duct tape that covered much of his head" because he would not stop chanting from the Quran.
___
Associated Press writers Curt Anderson and John J. Lumpkin in Washington contributed to this report.

Mother Nature, Filipinos, and Haiti

2004-12-07T00:24:00.000-06:00

No one loves Christmas more than Filipinos. I've actually been on a Filipino bus in July, heard a Christmas Carol come over the radio, and the whole bus start singing along. Christmas is a week long holiday there. Like I said, no one loves Christmas more than the Filipinos.

So it's too bad then that this season is marred by natural disaster. Typhoons have slammed into the islands, particularly Luzon, and nearly a thousand people are dead. Tens of thousand homeless. Floods and mudslides have wiped out bridges, homes, crops, and whole villages. The situation it seems was aggravated by unsupervised logging. In other words, cutting down trees to make a quick profit.

I can't blame people with little for trying to scrap up a living anyway they can. But this is not the first warning we've had from Mother Nature that the landscape of this planet has been severely damaged. Earlier this year several thousand people died in Haiti from the same exact type of tragedy. A hurricane hit the island and because of logging and land erosion there was nothing to soak up the water. Nothing to stop the floods. For weeks, people lived on top of their houses. Some survivors starved to death because there was little to no relief. The country still hasn't recovered.

Even in the States, there are floods, mud slides, and uncontrolled wildfires due to the Government basically leasing out public lands, or turning over their control, to corporate hacks who don't have the planet's welfare at heart. In Brazil, it was announced a couple weeks ago that half of it's forest is now inhabited.

The plight of the poor people of the Philippines, who have enormous ties to America, got little attention or aid from their friends. They're friends. They deserve our help. The government there has since banned logging altogether. It is time we wake up and realize that the more we squander our natural resources, the more we neglect our environment, the more people will die in natural catastrophes as Mother Nature lashes back.

LETTER ABOUT AUSCHWITZ

2004-12-06T03:18:00.000-06:00

My post a few days ago about the startling number of people who have no clue what Auschwitz was generated a lot emails and a few comments. One poignant email which I received backs up my post and I think sums up what is wrong with our educational system. Here is the email I got from flirtingwithlife:

I grew up in a mostly Jewish suburb on Long Island. It's always been considered one of the "best public school districts" in the nation.We never learned about the Holocaust. My next door neighbors were Survivors. I asked the principal if they could speak to us about it. He said it was a subject we should learn about at home or in religious school. Our country hasn't dumbied down when it comes to learning history--we just didn't learn it. We're creating an atmosphere that's ripe for Holocaust revisionists. If we don't learn about it how could it have existed?

GOD'S HEADACHE

2004-12-05T15:16:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder if when Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson speak, God has to reach for the aspirin?

"But you've got to kill the terrorists before the killing stops. And I'm for the president to chase them all over the world. If it takes 10 years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord." - Jerry Falwell, Oct. 24, 2004, CNN.

FBI SETS UP AIPAC

2004-12-05T02:00:00.000-06:00

The Jerusalem Post is reporting in an exclusive how the FBI set up AIPAC officials so they could accuse them of spying. Here is an excerpt of the article and a link for the full story:

AIPAC, the powerhouse pro-Israel lobby currently embroiled in allegations of spying for Israel, was set up by the FBI, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
FBI agents used a courier, Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin, to draw two senior AIPAC officials who already knew him into accepting what he described to them as "classified" information, reliable government and other sources intimately familiar with the investigation have told the Post.
One of the AIPAC pair then told diplomats at the Israeli Embassy in Washington about the "classified" information, which claimed Iranians were monitoring and planning to kidnap and kill Israelis operating in the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, the Post has been told.
It is unclear whether the "classified" information was real or bogus.

http://www.jpost.com

IN DEFENSE OF THE UN

2004-12-05T00:01:00.000-06:00

Watching Sen. Coleman trek out in front of the cameras this week to demand U.N. Sec.-Gen. Annan resign, was a little like the pot calling the kettle black. After all, since the American occupation, billions in oil revenue have disappeared into numbered accounts controlled Stateside. NBC the other night reported on the American accounting firm handling the books; a house in Texas with four employees none of whom were accountants. I haven't seen Sen. Coleman asking for a resignation in Washington like say Rumsfeld's.

Sure there are things wrong at the U.N. It would be a miracle if in an organization that large something wasn't wrong. Americans like to trash the U.N. but that is only because they don't control it. People there actually voice opposing opinions. Imagine that in an international body.

The U.N. does a lot of good. Think of the health programs like eradicating polio and smallpox, or the housing and feeding of tens of million of refugees, or a program for children like UNICEF. Then of course there is the IAEA curbing nuclear programs (something D.C. refuses to do) and those peacekeepers in places like the Middle East, the Balkans, and Africa or the formation of new nations like in East Timor. So before Americans start their old chorus of how useless the U.N. is and start whipping it up about how the group needs to go, they might want to take a look at the good the group has done and who will have to pick up the slack if something does happen to it. Give that some real hard thought.

THREE WEEK COUNTDOWN

2004-12-04T11:14:00.000-06:00

I'm so happy for the people of Ukraine! The announcement yesterday by their Supreme Court that the election was riddled with fraud and that a new vote must be taken the day after Christmas, gives the democracy movement there a BIG victory. This the day after Russia's Putin (while meeting with Ukraine's current ruler) mocked the concept of a new vote in front of reporters.

As I mentioned before, it is definitely not in Russia's interest to see Ukraine go it's independent way. Putin, who has lost face now in the view of his own people, will be tempted to intervene somehow between now and the new election date. Let's hope he passes up that urge and any plans to undermine the will of the people fails. In the meantime, I'm sorry I'm missing the party in Kiev!

BASEBALL

2004-12-04T00:51:00.000-06:00

I quit caring about baseball somewhere in the early 90's so I suspect this may be the only time I write a post about it. I quit watching it for the very reason the sport is in the news today: steroids.

For me, accomplishing the feat is everything not what comes when you do it. What I mean by that is it's the sprinter's run, not the medal he wins, that makes him special. If you can't do it on your own, you can have 50 medals slung around your neck - or in this case a World Series Ring on each finger - and it means nothing other than your ego is out of control.

As far as I'm concerned, they can start the record books all over. Scratch those home runs by Bonds (accidentally took steroids? Pleeez...), Giambi (at least he fessed up), McGuire (he retired in time didn't he?), Sosa (hmmm...that HR count sure dropped off), and tell the players union to get a grip. I use to be really into the sport back when Billy Martin managed the Yanks when the catcher Munson was just as likely to hit the home run as anyone. These guys now don't belong on the same field as those players. And while I'm saying my piece... hey Marion Jones how was that steroid free Olympics? Now that there's an eyewitness that saw her shooting up, I hope she gets banned for life. College Basketball anyone?

AUSCHWITZ

2004-12-03T01:38:00.000-06:00

I shouldn't have been startled when I read that 60% of Britons under 35, (45% overall) didn't recognize the name Auschwitz or what it represents but I was horrified. The stat shows up in a BBC poll but after catching my breath I realized I'd had personal experience with this lapse of history.

One evening years ago, when a blizzard had shut all the bars early, a girl I was dating and I decided to see Schindler's List. I'd already seen it once but she hadn't and the movie was due to end it's run in the small Midwestern town where we lived. We sat near the front even though we were two of the only three people dumb enough to brave the snow that night to see a film.
I remember her fidgeting in her seat uncomfortable by what she was seeing, and every now and then she'd lean over and ask me a question, which at first puzzled me. She was a bright university grad, career minded, with a good head on her shoulders but she was also aware that I'd studied the period and of course already seen the film. Suddenly, at the point where people are moved from the ghetto to the labor camp, she leaned over to me, and with total bewilderment asked "Did this really happen?"

Suddenly, I was the one bewildered. How could an American University grad not know about the Holocaust??? I told her 'yes' and to keep right on asking questions because there were things in this world she needed to know about. She's not the only one. Periodically, I find myself explaining the horrors of those years albeit from knowledge gained by limited contact with surviors and Nazi films from the camps shown in my University classes. So, when I see stats like those published in the BBC poll I have to hide my anguish and realize we're failing in teaching the past. Failing badly.

SAY WHAT?

2004-12-02T13:35:00.000-06:00

The U.S. Government in all it's wisdom actually argued in Federal Court that they have the right to hold prisoners in Guantanamo even if those people never fought the U.S. or unwittingly helped those who did. So does that mean if the American Government does something another Government considers illegal or hostile, that the foreign government has the right to hold Americans indefinitely for their unwitting support?

RED vs. BLUE AT THE MALL

2004-12-02T00:33:00.000-06:00

My friend Jeff sent me this great email. It details the major retail outlets-industries and which party (and how much) they supported in this year's election. So if you feel like throwing some economic weight around, let this list be your starting point:

Retail Shopping (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=N03)
Price Club/Costco, donated $208K to campaigns in 2004, 98% of it went to democrats
Barnes & Noble, $103K, 98% to democrats
Gap Inc, $244K, 61% to democrats
WalMart, $2Mil+ 80% to republicans
Sears, Roebuck & Co., $268K, 76% to republicans
Circuit City Stores, $117K, 96% to republicans Home Depot, $716K, 94% to republicans Hallmark Cards, $287K, 81% to republicans
Limited Brands $263K, 73% republican
Target, $314K, 73% to republicans
JC Penney $105K, 81% to republicans
Staples, 133K, 61% to republicans
Walgreens 140K, 52% to republicans
Rite Aid, $96K, 52% to republicans

Clothing (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?ind=M3100)
Anne Klein Inc., $66K, 100% democrats
Gap Inc, $244K, 61% to democrats
S. Schwab Co., $68K, 100% democrats
Ralph Lauren Childrenswear, $26K, 100% democrats
Donna Karan Int’l, 38K, 95% to democrats
Cintas Corp (sportwear with logos ie Nike, Nascar, uniforms, college/university logo gear, etc.), $340K, 100% republicans
Dollar General, $54K, 100% to republicans
Jones Apparel Group, 59K, 71% to republicans
Guess Inc., $63K, 83% to republicans
Fruit of the Loom, $19K, 100% to republicans
The Finish Line $19K, 74% to republicans

Spirits (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=N02)
Astrale E Terra Winery $53K, 100% to democrats
E&J Gallo Winery, $225K, 90% to democrats
Southern Wine & Spirits, $242K, 54% to democrats
Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons (includes beverage business, plus considerable media interests), $2M+, 67% democrats (2000 Election Cycle)
Coors, $174K, 92% to republicans
Anheuser-Busch - $872,716 56% to republicans
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America $530K 65% republicans
Brown-Forman Corp. (Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels, Bushmills, Korbel wines - as well as Lennox China, Dansk, Gorham Silver), $393K, 64% to republicans

Restaurants (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=G2900)
Hardrock Café Intn’l, $64K, 100% to democrats
Triarc Companies (Arby’s, TJ Cinnamons), $45K, 100% to democrats
Sonic Corp, $45K, 100% to democrats
Outback Steakhouse, $502K, 98% to republicans
Dominoes, $57K, 100% to republicans
McDonalds, $310K, 80% to republicans
Wendy’s, $230K, 91% to republicans
Waffle House, $96K, 99% to republicans
Pizza Hut, $125K, 95% to republicans
Hooters, $59K, 97% to republicans
Dunkin Donuts, $44K, 88% to republicans
Yum! Brands (Pizza Hut/Long John Silver/KFC/Taco Bell) $155K, 83% to republicans
Brinker International (Chili's Grill & Bar, Romano's Macaroni Grill, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Maggiano's Little Italy, Corner Bakery Cafe, Big Bowl Asian Kitchen and Rockfish Seafood Grill) $148K, 92% Republican
CBRL Group (Cracker Barrel, Logan’s Roadhouse) $94K, 95% to Republicans
Ilitch Holdings (Little Caesars Pizza, the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Champion Foods, Uptown Entertainment, Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program) $118K, 79% to Republicans

Hotels (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?ind=N08)
Loews Corp $49K, 99% to democrats
Diamond Resorts $73K, 90% to democrats
Hyatt Corp $142K, 87% to democrats
Holiday Inns $53K, 76% to republicans
Hilton Hotels $113K, 61% to republicans
Marriott $188K, 76% to republicans

Oil & Gas (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=E01)
Phoenix Oil & Gas, $185K, 100% to democrats
Shell Oil, $212K, 56% to democrats (it looks like every other gas company in the country supported republicans with more than 80% of their donations, except BP & American Gas, with 65% and 63% respectively going to republicans)

Lynne Cheney's Lesbian Novel (For Real)

2004-12-01T02:35:00.000-06:00

Ok, this was just too good to pass up.
I found it at http://politicalwire.com

Lynne Cheney's "lesbian romance novel" from 1981 called
Sisters is now available in blog format, thanks to a Political Wire reader. "The text is unedited, uncut, unexpurgated. The only additions are chapter titles; the chapters bore numbers only in the original edition."A re-release of the book was blocked by Cheney and copies are now going for more than $500 in used book stores.

To bad Kerry didn't hold a copy up in the debates.

RED CROSS vs. U.S.

2004-12-01T02:11:00.000-06:00

In a confidential report sent to the White House, the Red Cross has leveled charges of prisoner abuse against the military in Guantanamo. The existence of the report was made public by the NY Times a day after Amnesty International requested military records on the use of tasers which they suspect are being used to torture prisoners.

There is no reason for prisoners to still be in Guantanamo. Hundreds have been turned loose after years of confinement without any charges being filed and yet hundreds more still languish there. If the government can't figure out what to charge them with by now then they should be cut loose and sent home. Truth is, if another country was treating Americans this way, there'd be threats flying all over the place.

One has to wonder what message was sent by not bringing more than a couple low-level personnel to justice for Abu Ghraib. What really did happen there? The fact we don't know more about this dark moment in American history is disturbing. It may also be serving as a signal to others that the chances of getting caught when treating other humans in this fashion is slim. Kudos to the Red Cross and Amnesty International for staying on top of the situation. Nice to know there is a conscience out there somewhere.

WHERE TOO NOW?

2004-12-01T00:47:00.000-06:00

It may feel like the Cold War all over again. The lines drawn between West and East. European democracy versus Kremlin authoritarianism. The Ukrainian crisis has hit a new and more dangerous phase. The opposition, despite what is overwhelming support among the people and institutions, has broken off talks with the government. This as protesters came close to storming the Parliament which, under pressure by the Russians and outgoing President Kuchma, failed to call for a new round of voting.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters are still in the street, tempers frayed, the future more uncertain. The Russian backed PM is pushing ahead with setting up an autonomous state in the East and this move could trigger the civil war everyone has worked hard to avoid.

A succession is in Russia's interest. It will be able to control the government in the East. The people speak Russian there and have closer economic ties than the West of Ukraine. It also will allow Moscow to control the mining and most importantly it will give the Kremlin continued control of the Black Sea ports which are it's natural warm weather sea bases.

It isn't clear how this will end up. But it seems a given that something has to give and give soon. With the opposition breaking off talks indicators are this crisis may be resolved by force on one side or the other.

OK - THAT BUGGED ME

2004-11-30T15:05:00.000-06:00

'Protesters' Signs Have Vulgarities About Bush' was the Breaking News caption on CNN. Like the vulgarities were the news. Then I had to listen to this new and clueless anchor they have, (I believe his name is Tony), explain how they couldn't show the protesters or their signs because some of them were vulgar.

First off, what did you expect??? Secondly, have we sunk to such a level of denial that we won't even show a protester or in this case about 15,000 of them because we don't like their signs? I mean we're fighting a war but you don't see pictures of the casualties because if we did we might actually have to admit people are dying. Prisoners are still being abused but we've quit discussing that. It is a delicate subject after all and might damage our moral sensibilities. We show nothing of the turmoil in Darfur because then we might have to do something. The environment is being trashed but we won't release those stats or go into details because it might be bad for the economy. (Tried fishing in the Delaware lately?) But we will show for hours a bunch of idiotic shoppers lined up like pigs at a trough to buy a flat screen TV they don't need.

If America doesn't like what it's hearing then they should change their behavior. Jr. (Bush) doesn't deserve a free pass with the hatred and destruction he's created. America might be in denial but the rest of the world knows what's happening. And if you think things are nasty now, just wait.

AMERICA MEET YOUR NEW SEC. OF STATE!

2004-11-30T13:04:00.000-06:00

And you thought the Dukakis photo op was bad!

SUDAN TAKES A SWIPE AT CHARITIES

2004-11-30T01:17:00.000-06:00

Would someone pleeeezzz slap these thugs into place!!!

Sudan has ordered the expulsion of the directors of two British-based humanitarian organisations, accusing them of tacitly supporting rebels in Darfur.
The country's Humanitarian Affairs Commission said the programme directors of Save the Children UK and Oxfam International had violated the law on non-intervention in the country's political, ethnic or sectarian issues.
"It has been decided to consider you persona non grata for the management of your organisation in Sudan," the acting commissioner, Abd al-Khaliq al-Husain, said in letters addressed to the local directors of the aid organisations.
"Therefore, you must leave the country within 48 hours."

The ministry criticised a 21 November press release by Save the Children UK that accused the government of bombing a site in the North Darfur town of Tawilla.
Ceasefire violations
It said the aid group's report of both sides breaking the cease-fire did not distinguish between the rebels and the police who were protecting civilians.
In a 22 November statement, Save the Children had accused both sides of "utter disregard" for the ceasefire, saying innocent people were suffering "at the hands of the rebels and their own government".

Full Story: (not the American media of course)

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C3FC5A15-28D5-49A7-96DC-361F4B77943C.htm

ISRAEL'S SHINUI

2004-11-30T00:25:00.000-06:00

Shinui just engineered two no-confidence votes in the Sharon government. Shinui. Remember that party's name. Yosef Lapid. Remember the leader's name. You're going to be hearing a lot about them.

I don't know if I've ever seen an article in the States written just about Shinui or Lapid. I'm sure some have been written. Probably in NY where a large Jewish community resides but I hate the NY Times so I wouldn't know. Israeli's have grown accustomed to Shinui in the last decade so much so that they've brought it from new party status to the third most powerful political force in the country. Actually, it is only a couple elected seats away from being the number two player. After the last election, Shinui joined Sharon's government (unlike the States, governments there have to work with other parties to keep power) and until about 48 hours ago the arrangement was working.

The two no-confidence votes weren't enough to bring down the government. While the motions against Sharon won, the magic number of 61 wasn't reached to force him to resign thanks to a small party not showing up to vote. But it sends a clear signal that Shinui and Lapid are ready to take Sharon on in a head to head contest.

Shinui has got plenty of ammo. The poverty report this week showed that Israel is hurting and hurting bad. 22.4% of the population lives in poverty. Poverty being about $500 a month. Go to Jerusalem and you'll find a 1/3 of the city living in those conditions. A large hunk of them children. It could be worse. In the Palestinian territory, the rate is 50%.

Sharon's Finance Minister Netanayhu has for months been withholding pay from municipal workers trying to force them to sign deals to pay them less before they could receive their back pay. The workers finally had to go on strike to get their money and they still haven't all been paid. And speaking of money, the Sharon family has been mired in corruption investigations ever since he took office and may well be long after he's gone.

The current crisis though was initiated, with this backdrop, by Sharon promising to pay the ultra-religious parties about $65 million dollars in funding to keep their support for the government. In cash strapped Israel, that's a lot of money. (Most countries can't do like America and just go out and keep going further and further in debt without making cuts.) So imagine how the secular society - which Israel is - took the news that instead of food on the table religious groups would be expanding.

So stepping up to the plate is the secular party Shinui. They will keep after Sharon now. Other parties are beginning to smell blood. Labor wants to take a more hostile role toward Sharon. Don't be surprised if at some point in the next few months new elections are called. And don't be surprised when that happens if at the end, Shinui is in the hunt for the top slot.

COAL IN MY STOCKING

2004-11-29T01:53:00.000-06:00

During the holiday, I found myself listening to a disturbing dinner conversation centered around the start up of more coal mines. Everyone except me thought this was great. A sure way to prosperity. How wonderful it would be for the community and the country.
Why it means another restaurant or two and with our luck a second Wal-Mart.

They never questioned the fact that most of the land in the area, which a century ago use to be great farm acreage, is too contaminated to grow crops on as the result of earlier mining. They didn't question the fact that the U.S. already is creating nearly 40% of the world's pollution and that more coal would only pad that figure. Even if the U.S. refuses to recognize it, other countries see the global warming threat and are taking steps to cut global emissions. More coal will only harm those efforts. (Like everyone doesn't have enough reasons to hate us the way it is.) Nowhere in the conversation did it come up that nearly a 1/4 of NY children suffer from asthma the source of which is coal powered plants. Acid rain didn't cross the minds at that table either. All they thought about was the income potential.

For me, it was disturbing because these people are 'Reds' (you know that moral part of the country) and yet their goals were so self-centered and narrow in scope. Profit is morality but the environment isn't. When are people going to realize that at some point sooner than later, either in a totally devastated environment or disease ridden planet (or both), the greedy way we're trashing the planet is going to result in some major payback by Mother Nature?

ZIMBABWE

2004-11-28T01:40:00.000-06:00

With uncontrollable violence in Iraq, revolution in Ukraine, and Iran speeding toward nuclear prowess, it's easy to ignore the puny regime of Zimbabwe although Americans for the most part have never even given it a parting glance. They should. A racist dictator who is starving millions of people in what use to be Africa's bread basket uses his power to run rampant over his people. Opponents of the regime are thrown in jail, there is no independent press and Western reporters aren't allowed in the country while government thugs roam the streets picking up people at random then taking them to torture cells where they're subjected to the worse horrors before being dumped on the street for dead.

This week, England and the World Cricket Federation had a chance to send a clear message. England was scheduled to play in Zimbabwe. Just before they arrived, Zimbabwe refused to allow sports journalists inside the country. The English players, whom it seems never wanted to go there to begin with, refused to leave S. Africa for Zimbabwe. Instead of using Zimbabwe's actions to send a clear message that the Dictator Mugabe is a thug who has no business with the rest of the world, England and the World Cricket Federation negotiated to get the journalists into the country and force the players (over their protests) to show up for the matches.

It is a moral disappointment that England and the world cricket body has failed to take a stand against the racist Mugabe. The man needs to be in the Hague standing trial for Crimes Against Humanity. Instead he's at a cricket match, filming it for propaganda purposes, and laughing at Downey Street. Zimbabwe needs to have attention paid to it. It needs to be dealt with....with an iron fist.

ALLAWI FOLLOWS JR's LEAD

2004-11-28T00:32:00.000-06:00

Well, it seems that Iraq's Allawi has been following Jr.'s (Bush) lead when it comes to the issue of elections in Iraq. Despite 15 of the major parties (including some U.S. allies and the 2 biggest Kurdish parties) jointly calling for a postponement to the 30 Jan 05 elections, Allawi insists on going ahead as scheduled.

In an effort to keep power for his friends and cronies, Allawi is insisting that the calendar be kept. He seems to have learned from Jr. how to parade his arrogance, ignore the advise of his friends and allies, and shrug off reality as inconsiquental since it doesn't impact those Swiss accounts he's got tucked away. Yup, Allawi is following Jr's lead alright straight down a path of chaos. Call it a success when it isn't and hope it turns around on it's own. Hopefully, the other Iraqi political players will be able to make Allawi see common sense.

PARLIAMENT VOTE

2004-11-27T15:59:00.000-06:00

The Ukrainian parliament voted not to support the Russian backed PM and to disband the Election Committee. This is a big victory for the opposition. The Supreme Court will hear the issue on Monday. There is some indication the PM may be trying to loot State bank accounts to keep hold of the funds. The national TV stations & journalists have gone over to the opposition. As a result, in the PM's home region, the national TV networks are no longer being shown. All this while protesters keep their viligence in the streets.

I Like Their Style

2004-11-27T00:40:00.000-06:00

Ok, while I agree with their sentiments, it was wrong, they shouldn't have done it. But you have to like the plan of action they chose. And the image of all those people who beat the sun up this morning just to crash a store because they couldn't contain themselves from going further in debt, standing in parking lots wondering if they're going to get inside before the sales expire just gives me the chuckles. Like I said, the vandals shouldn't have done it but I do like their style.

LAFAYETTE, La. - The busiest shopping day of the year turned out to be a sticky affair. Vandals apparently glued the locks on dozens of Lafayette's biggest retailers, preventing managers from opening up promptly on lucrative "Black Friday." Hundreds of shoppers, some of whom arrived before dawn, were forced to wait outside Barnes & Noble, Old Navy and other stores while managers summoned locksmiths.

At least 200 locks on dozens of businesses were glued, including main entrances, rear doors and employee entrances, locksmith Garan Wilson said. Wilson's first job at about 5 a.m. Friday was to make his way to the front door lock at Old Navy — by pushing through about 500 shoppers waiting outside, he said.
"I found about a half a tube of glue stuck inside," he said.
Kevin Vizena, head locksmith for Pop-A-Lock in Lafayette, said the vandals squirted the glue deep inside the keyholes, forcing him to drill holes and remove the locks from the doors.
"We've never run into a day that's been quite so busy with these particular problems," Vizena said.
Chuck Trenchard, an employee of S&K Menswear, said the prank had cost his store more than $1,000 in business, because potential customers had arrived early, then took off because they couldn't get inside.
Most of the stores had their doors open for customers by midmorning, Vizena said.
Lafayette Police had no suspects but were investigating the vandalism as cases of possible criminal mischief or criminal damage to property, both misdemeanors, Lt. Angelo Iorio said.

IRAQ ANSWERS MY QUESTION

2004-11-26T14:44:00.000-06:00

Earlier in the week a post I wrote asked, "would you stand in a line at a Baghdad polling place to vote?" Iraq has answered my question. With seemingly endless violence and danger in every Iraqi city, major political parties there are requesting that the Jan. 30 election be postponed. As I mentioned in the same post where I asked the question, we need a reality check and we need to first worry about there being enough security so the average Iraqi can stick his head out of his house without being shot at or kidnapped. No one is going to vote if there's a 50-50 chance they'll be blown up on the way to the polls.

The one thing that did surprise me about today's political call is that the Kurds joined the chorus for an election postponement. The Kurds have been semi-autonomous for over a decade now and if going to the polls probably will vote in one big mass bloc. Maybe they feel that an election would threaten the independence they crave and which Jr. (Bush) is denying them. Maybe they feel they have a better chance for freedom without the elections. I don't know. But if that is the case, it makes you wonder how they'll react after the elections when an Arab Iraq tries to absorb them.

CORPSES IN MOSUL

2004-11-26T09:40:00.000-06:00

35 dead bodies have been recoverd in Mosul this week. Most of them belonging to Iraqi security forces. I keep wondering if Iraqi security forces don't carry their weapons with them at all times or are reluctant to put up a fight when confronted by the resistance or what the deal is? How many times in Iraq have unarmed policemen and soldiers been killed? How many times have they surrendered only to be executed? I don't know if the Americans have put restrictions on them or not but if I was in their shoes, my weapon wouldn't leave my side.

They don't publish a stat to reflect the Iraqi dead here as though it doesn't count. It does of course even probably more so than the American dead in the sense that it is after all Iraqi's who have to live with the situation. If they did announce Iraqi casualties maybe Americans would take more notice of the war which gets pushed aside for 24 hour holiday shopping this weekend. Then again, that's probably the way the Pentagon wants it. The less atttention, the less questions they have to refuse to answer.

OPPOSITION GAINS THE BIG MO'

2004-11-26T09:35:00.000-06:00

The Ukranian opposition has all the momentum now. Security forces have publicly began going to their side, the government buildings are circled by protesters, and yesterday the EU played hardball with Putin who said that the "people should decided for themselves". Hey Putin, take a look in the street. I think they have decided!

Today, a meeting is scheduled with EU and Russian envoys, the oppositioin leadership and of course the Russian supported PM and outgoing President. Hopefully, the corrupt regime is reading the writing on the wall and will set in motion the cessation of power while the situation remains peaceful.

WAL-MART'S REP

2004-11-26T00:39:00.000-06:00

Wal-Mart's rep keeps getting worse and worse. I'm not sure how people shop there anymore short of it being a last resort. Forget the fact that it has closed numerous factories in the U.S. and is the source of hundreds of thousands of people being out of work. I listened to a Military Representative talk today about how the chain is targeting military bases to ruin the PX system. Then there was the news this week that China (unlike Jr. - Bush's- administration) played hardball with Wal-Mart and is forcing them to unionize the work force there. Now this is still a far cry from being the Teamsters but it is a start. A Canadian court recently forced Wal-Mart to allow unions there. That doesn't sound like a big deal except Wal-Mart refuses to allow American employees to unionize. Apparently, what is good for it's foreign workers is not good for it's American ones.

Then there was the case of the one Wal-Mart heir whose parents paid the Univ. of Missouri a few million to name a stadium after her. Overlooking the fact of course that she didn't attend the Univ. of Missouri but another college instead. Oh, and that other college....she passed but it seems only after spending over 20,000 dollars for a friend to do her homework for her. I'm sure she'll make a fine CEO someday. She has all the deceitful, cheating, lying qualities required. She'll fit right in with Wal-Mart.

Of course how can I write this without mentioning the pyramids? Yes, it is not only Americans who don't want those ugly super-centers (that eventually get abandoned and sit empty for years) built in their cities, but also the people of Mexico. This is especially true after Wal-Mart opened one up next to an ancient pyramid. If that doesn't show no class or respect, I don't know what does.

Wal-Mart and Enron are standard bearers that epitomize what is wrong with business in America. We can only hope the rest of the world learns to avoid these practices. I'm sure though that as long as the people in Bentonville, AR are able to keep ripping the public off and costing them jobs, they'll keep tossing the public's welfare aside for the sake of stock prices.

Thanksgiving in Iraq

2004-11-25T13:53:00.000-06:00

Two people have been killed and 14 wounded in bomb attacks, one of them involving a human bomber, in the Iraqi town of Samarra, police and hospital officials said.
"We received two bodies completely burned and 13 wounded, six of them from the police and seven civilians," a doctor at the general hospital said, referring to the first attack, a car bombing which police said took place as a US-Iraqi patrol was passing on Thursday.

The second attack - a short time later, in western Samarra - targeted a police station but claimed no victims except the human bomber, police said.

A third bomb exploded and injured an Iraqi guardsman while police were inspecting the area near the second attack, police said.

Reverse Migration In Israel

2004-11-25T13:00:00.000-06:00

In the 90's there was a mass migration of Russians to Israel. A lot was made of that by the Israeli government even though the society had trouble, and still does, assimilating them. According to the BBC, 50,000 Russians have returned to their former countries in the last couple years and the trend seems to be increasing. The report states that main causes of this are the fact that 1. Highly skilled Russians were not appreciated for their talents and therefore could not make enough money to live a decent life. This included artists, doctors, and teachers. 2. Many came to Israel simply as a stepping stone to a third country like Canada or America. When that didn't happen, they opted to go back. 3. Those trying to strike out in business on their own are not able to find business opportunities in Israel simply because they didn't go to the right schools or have the social standing expected. That and the Israeli economy has been in a recession like state for the last few years making financing impossible. I found this an interesting take on the situation and wonder if Israel won't in the long run be missing the ingenuity and brain power once it is gone.

UKRAINE GOES TO COURT & UPDATES

2004-11-25T09:59:00.000-06:00

The Ukranian Opposition has appealed to their Supreme Court which in turn has ordered the election results be 'frozen'. It has agreed to examine the issue in the coming week. Let's hope their court isn't stacked like the U.S. Supreme Court. Ukranian Diplomats around the world have also openly joined the opposition.

Other updates:

*Head of security forces in Kiev and in the Western Ukraine Command have come out publicly for the opposition.

*Shipyard workers in Odessa were paid to show up in Kiev to support the government but apparently they took the money and stayed with the opposition.

*Those Russian troops are dressed in Ukrainian uniforms according to American officials and are in positions around key buildings including the Presidential offices.

*An Emergency meeting of town councils supporting the opposition was scheduled to take place at the Ukraine House in Kiev this afternoon.

*The National Bank and members of the Education Ministry have joined the opposition.

*The government is sending convicts - rabblerousers - into Kiev by train in anticipation of trouble on the street.

Updates can be found on the opposition website:

http://www.razom.org.ua (Remember to click 'Eng' at the top for English)

A STAR FROM MOSUL'S DAD

2004-11-25T01:58:00.000-06:00

A Star from Mosul's dad ( http://astarfrommosul.blogspot.com ) said something - well, it was posted on the blog - that fit in with information nagging at my brain. He said he wouldn't be surprised if Zarqawi was made up by the Americans to give them an excuse to retaliate against factions they wanted to hit in Iraq. After all, in this day and age it's not that difficult to make a person up. While I don't believe Zarqawi is made up (although you have to ask yourself why Jr. (Bush) didn't take him out when he was operating a terrorist base in American run territory in N. Iraq) this theory tied in to several attacks/events that have happened in Iraq the last 2-3 weeks and which have been bothering me since they started.

Start with the recent event. Today a tape reputed to be the voice of Zarqawi was exposed as an edited tape. Zarqawi's voice had been edited from a speech he made criticizing Saudi clerics to make this new recording sound like he was criticizing Sunni Clerics In Iraq. To the American, this sounds like no big deal. They couldn't tell you the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite if they were holding the textbook. But Sunni Clerics are most likely to be supporting Zarqawi's brand of jihad especially in Iraq.

This is not the only episode. In the last 2-3 weeks, at least half a dozen Sunni Clerics, especially those who are of the firebrand nature or supporting a boycott of elections, have been targeted for assassination. The hit attempts have been made in Baghdad and the Sunni triangle including at mosques which we all must admit would be a strange thing for the insurgents to do.

It is exactly that which is bothering me. See the hits are reportedly done by a previously unknown insurgent group. The American military says it probably has ties to Zarqawi. But the targets are people supporting Zarqawi's goals if not Zarqawi himself. The hits are spread out over a few days so they aren't grouped together. You take the half dozen hits plus this tape of Zarqawi which is a fake and you have to ask yourself, what is really going on here???

A Star From Mosul's dad may have something. It is one of the oldest covert tricks to mimic your enemy in order to wipe out your enemy. In other words, you take out your opponent and then blame your opponent's allies so that the dirty work can't be pinned on you.

One or two assassinations and you would be able to dismiss these events as coincidence. But a half-dozen, the fake tape....? Who benefits? In a round about way the Americans do. They've made no big push to track down this new group even though they obviously have very good intelligence on their targets and are really, really good at carrying out their attacks. Better than the average insurgent.

But the person who really benefits is Allawi. The clerics being hit are his opponents. Like I said they are Sunni. Allawi is not allied with them. The clerics were calling for election boycotts...Allawi has to have the election to stay in power. There is no proof for certain that Allawi is behind this...how would we prove if he was? He stays hidden in the Green Zone. But I find it curious that this series of sudden random hits have so much in common.

I don't know what A Star From Mosul's dad would say to all this. I don't know what the average Iraqi thinks of all this or the attacks themselves. But it makes me wonder if a Military Intelligence which gave us Abu Gharib and miscalculations about the war hasn't gone totally black op to rid themselves of public opponents to the election and pave a way for Jr. (Bush) to drape Iraq in the illusion of success. Do we have a group claiming to be insurgents but who are really coalition operatives running around taking out their enemies?

THANKS TO MOSUL

2004-11-25T00:48:00.000-06:00

As we learn many troops won't be coming home for the holidays as promised because of the manpower shortage, and the fighting spirals out of control in most major provinces in Iraq, it is important that bloggers, and readers, and the public in general keep the pressure on to tell the truth about what is happening there. Obviously, Fallujah wasn't the magic solution the politicians promised and it didn't break the back of the insurgency as Gen. Sattler claimed. The media lid (such as the Marines firing on a bus which I posted a few days ago but got not one mention in the American press) is as tight as ever. This doesn't hide the fact that the people of Iraq still live in constant danger. In fact, they are now dying at a rate faster than that under Saddam's reign.

I don't know if you saw or not, but 60 Minutes got a letter from the Pentagon where they stated in writing that there were another 15,000 casualties not included in the war figures that have had to be airlifted out of Iraq. Apparently, as 60 Minutes discovered, only direct battle casualties (major engagements) are being counted. This would mean that in reality there are over 1200 American dead and around 30,000 wounded. This of course doesn't include the 100,000 plus Iraqi's that have been killed. This explains the manpower shortage.

It came to my attention today that the blog A Star From Mosul, http://astarfrommosul.blogspot.com
has quoted something I posted earlier about elections in Iraq. This is a very excellent blog, widely read and respected, and I encourage everyone, if you are interested in the view from the street there, to click on it regularly. I want to say thanks to Star From Mosul for quoting me. I felt honored by that. I hope they keep up the good work and that their family manages to stay safe.

I know I've been writing a lot about the crisis in the Ukraine the last couple days. I will continue to do so until the situation is resolved there. It will be a juggling act to write about both Iraq and Ukraine but I'll do my best.

RUSSIAN TROOP UPDATE

2004-11-25T00:29:00.000-06:00

Sources say that the Russian troops reported earlier at the Kiev airport were 2-3 planeloads of Russian Special Forces. Obviously they were dispatched to support the 1000 Special Forces sent before the election and to sieze key buildings, personnel etc. if required to do so.

EU PHONE HOME

2004-11-24T15:38:00.000-06:00

The opposition leader, who has also called for a general strike across the Ukraine, has spoken on the phone with the EU leadership. A press release reads:

Victor Yushchenko has held a lengthy telephone conversation with Javier Solana, the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union. In the conversation, Victor Yushchenko laid out his view of the political situation in Ukraine. He told about the peaceful protest rallies, held throughout Ukraine. Yushchenko said that the protest rallies “show the strife of the people for democratic changes in Ukraine and the disagreement with brutal election fraud.”
Solana assured that the entire Europe was concerned with the situation in Ukraine in connection to the falsification of election results.

A PASTOR'S ACCOUNT

2004-11-24T13:42:00.000-06:00

The following are excerpts from a pastor in Kiev. The whole article can be located at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4038595.stm

Pastor Igor Nakonechny:

It has happened. Our dreams are coming true.
The freedom that has been slowly slipping away is coming back fully and not in any small measure. .... I attended the most important gathering in Kiev with hundreds of thousands of people on the central Maydan Nezalezhnosti [Independence Square].
If freedom has a colour, it's orange for Ukrainians, as it's the colour of Yushchenko's campaign.
Orange ribbons have been wrapped on car antennas, on people's arms and heads, on trees and pillars. Orange flags and posters are visible everywhere. People are all wearing orange clothes.
When I'm walking on the street it gives me a feeling of unity with people that I have never even met.
During the day on the central street in Kiev and even late at night I see not just students or other young people but elderly people and couples - some with children - in the crowd.
Most of the time they are all smiling. At times they are shouting and chanting: "We are together, we are many, and we can't be defeated!", "Yush-chen-ko!", and "Freedom can't be stopped!"
Voices of many
I am there with people on the street because I love freedom. I love that God given gift that every government in the world should recognise. ....Every time I leave my home to go to the protests I am a little fearful.
But when I kiss my wife and my five month old daughter before I open the door I know this is all happening for me and for them.
My one voice is very important. As are the voices of many fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, daughters, and sons.
People are constantly calling us from all around the country asking how it is going, stating their support.
My brother, my cousin and their friend - a pharmacist, a dentist and a heart surgeon - are all coming to Kiev tonight from Lviv, as are hundreds of thousands of others from all over Ukraine, to stand for freedom peacefully with a smile and a brave heart being their only weapons.
We believe in our victory!

RUSSIAN TROOPS

2004-11-24T13:39:00.000-06:00

It was just reported on the opposition party's website that Russian troops are landing en masse at the Kiev airport. Specifics are still being determined.

http://www.razom.org.ua

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

2004-11-24T13:10:00.000-06:00

The U.S. Government has come out in favor of the Ukraine opposition. In a press conference, Sec. of State Colin Powell said that the election results were not legitimate and would not be recognized by the U.S.A. Nothing like waiting 4-5 days to speak your mind but better late than never in this case.

Other details that emerged from his press conference:

*The EU will have a showdown with Russia tomorrow over this issue at a conference that is scheduled.

*Poland has offered to mediate the situation and apparently is heavily involved in behind the scenes diplomacy.

*The U.S. warned of repercussions if troops were used against the opposition

Hopefully, all this will boost morale in Kiev where protesters still occupy the streets. I have wonder though why none of this is getting real air play on the news channels here. It really is an embarrassment but shows how far news organizations here have strayed from actually reporting the news. CNN is treating this like one side is just sore because it lost the election ignoring the fact international observers say the election was a sham, that a poison attempt was made on the opposition leader, or that Russian special forces are in Kiev. MSNBC was not much better. Their big coverage of it was 30 seconds with a security advisor from the Clinton Administration. But hey, what is a revolution when you have holiday weather to report?

RUSSIANS IN KIEV

2004-11-24T11:23:00.000-06:00

Russian Special Forces are in Kiev. This was rumored to be the case last night but it was confirmed earlier today. How many or how far they will go to prop up the puppet regime there is not known. If this doesn't smack of the Czech's in '68 or Budapest in '56, I don't know what does. Hopefully, the West won't allow a repeat of those tragedies.

Here is an excerpt from the opposition party's website:

Oleksandr Zinchenko, the head of Victor Yushchenko’s election campaign, declared that Russian Special Forces “Vityaz,” up to 1000 strong, have been deployed in Kyiv; they had been brought to Ukraine from Russia on the eve of 21 November elections and remain in Kyiv. “We have received this information from various sources within Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, we saw those very people while at the Presidential Administration of Ukraine yesterday,” said Zinchenko.

The opposition party's website (remember to hit the 'Eng' at the top of the page for the English version) is at http://www.razom.org.ua

TENSION RISES

2004-11-24T11:12:00.000-06:00

The government ran Ukraine Election Committee has declared the fraudulent results to be the official count in the election there. This has led to the Election Committee offices being surrounded by protesters and now the other side has sent it's supporters into the street. Right now they are only trading verbal jabs with riot police separating the two sides but one has wonder how long it will be before the situation escalates. I've been having trouble getting the opposition party's web site to come up in English today. Hopefully, I can manage to overcome that glitch.

My European friends assure me that while this story barely is mentioned here in the States that in Europe it is all the buzz with people pulling for the opposition to bring freedom to their country. Full a complete update stay with the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4039329.stm

BIG BROTHER

2004-11-24T01:35:00.000-06:00

In another sign that Big Brother is watching it was revealed on Monday that printers/copiers have for a long time been programmed to put specialized markers on any documents you make. Often they are like a little dot that requires a microscope to see but they are there. This enables the government to trace any document to a printer/copier and then presumably to the owner. Makes you wonder what they've been doing with computers and cell phones don't it?

Another Night In Kiev

2004-11-24T01:25:00.000-06:00

In a snowy tense capital, Sarah Rainsford of the BBC braved the winter weather to report that protesters have settled in for another night in what often resembles a siege. Several thousands are camped out on the streets but many returned to their homes late tonight and will return in the morning.

Wednesday has been announced as a day of negotiation between the two sides. This is either a good sign or an omen that the leaders are grasping at any last attempt to avoid violence. Riot police and troops are still manning their position and it is not clear which side they will back or how they will react should a resolution not be reached.

NUKES NUKED

2004-11-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

Common sense gets a lucky break... In the budget being wrangled through Congress, the Senate and House has gutted Jr.'s (Bush) funds to develope a new generation of nuclear weapons. In other words, they nuked the nukes!

UKRAINE OPPOSITION PROGRESS

2004-11-23T16:43:00.000-06:00

You have to love the internet. The opposition party in the Ukraine has a website which is constantly updating the world on the events in Kiev. You can find the site at:
http://www.razom.org.ua If it comes up first in Ukranian, which it did for me, look to the very top of the webpage and you'll see an 'ENG'. Click on it and the page will then come up in English.

Here are the two latest major developments but which can be found in more detail on their site:

*FROM THE STREET:

11:35PM People’s deputy of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko addressed rally participants near the Presidential Administration having climbed a KRAZ truck filled with sand. She reported the assembled that President Kuchma was ready for negotiations planning, perhaps, to transfer power peacefully. Tymoshenko called on men to spend the night in Bank Street and the rest to come to Maidan Nezalezhnosti in the morning.
She appealed to protesters to behave calmly and not to react to provocations.
The event is going along in an organized fashion: a live corridor has been created through which people are arriving at Bank Street.
The mood is cheerful and decisive.
Special Forces near the Presidential Administration have decorated their shields with orange ribbons.
10:50PM Victor Yushchenko along with his supporters Yulia Tymoshenko, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Lesya Hryhorovych, Oksana Bilozir, Volodymyr Yavorivskiy, and Oleh Tiahnybok have been admitted into the building of the Presidential Administration. Information was provided by people’s deputy Ivan Plyushch. Negotiations are underway. Protesters in Bank Street are determined to wait for victory.
10:10PM Victor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko approached the Presidential Administration from the direction of the Verkhovna Rada. People’s deputies Volodymyr Filenko and Oleksandr Ivchenko are waiting near the line militia.
The crowd is shouting addressing the law-enforcers: “Drop your shields, you are our brothers!” “No provocations!” as well as “Staying here

*According to “Radio Freedom” journalist, in an interview to an American television channel the first president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachov denounced the actions of the Ukrainian government and expressed support for Victor Yushchenko.
The reaction to the events in Ukraine has been described the following way: “The wall fell for the second time.”

CROWDS CIRCLE THE PRESIDENTIAL OFFICES

2004-11-23T15:59:00.000-06:00

The BBC is reporting that protesters in Kiev have marched and encircled the Presidential offices. Riot police have taken up positions to keep the buildings from being stormed by the masses. It sounds like the tension is rising.

NIGHT OF CHAOS

2004-11-23T13:46:00.000-06:00

Below is the latest report from Sarah Rainsford of the BBC in Kiev:

NIGHT OF CHAOS by Sarah Rainsford

It has begun snowing heavily again here in Kiev and it is freezing cold.
But still thousands of opposition supporters are out on the streets of the capital.
I am outside the parliament and the crowd here is waving orange flags and banners of support for the man they have declared the legitimate president of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko.
In fact, many here are celebrating a victory of sorts.
Mr Yushchenko swore an oath this evening inside parliament and here on the streets they have taken that as his official inauguration.
But the chairman of parliament has dismissed it as a purely political act.
He says it has no legal status at all. For many in the crowd, like Andrei, this is a turning point for Ukraine, a chance of change he says his country cannot afford to miss.
"At this moment, it's the future of our country, for my son... some personal feelings," he told me.
"So we have to find real solutions that will help develop Ukraine like independence and a European country."
Tonight, though, Kiev is in chaos.
Rumours of a military build-up have been flying around.
Mr Yushchenko himself has called on all sides for calm and Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged both sides to remain within the bounds of the law.
The opposition's room for manoeuvre is extremely limited and tonight no-one here appears willing to take it upon themselves to predict exactly how events will develop from here.

SYMBOLIC OATH

2004-11-23T10:52:00.000-06:00

In a symbolic move, opposition candidate Yushchenko has taken the oath of office at the Ukranian parliment in front of opposition MP's and nearly a quarter of a million people standing outside. In his speech, he warned of the possibility of civil war. A full update can be found at the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4035755.stm

KIEV AT A STANDSTILL

2004-11-23T09:03:00.000-06:00

Protesters now control Kiev. I know this is my 4th post on this in the last 48 hours but this is one of those historical moments that potentially impacts the world.

The streets are gridlocked with marchers, as many as 300,000, while tents have sprung up in places like the main plaza. Makeshift kiosks hand out coffee, tea, and I'm sure vodka to those protesting the rigged election results. Some MP's are beginning to side with the protesters but will it be enough and more importantly quick enough to avoid bloodshed? Security forces are being brought into the city and the main buildings are now more heavily guarded. You get the feeling that sometime in the next 48 hours, the crisis may come to a head.

WHERE IS THE U.S. IN ALL THIS??? The only person who has spoken out is Sen. Lugar who is proving gutsy as always in these events. All we've heard about for the past couple years is how we have to spread democracy but now that a real democratic movement could use our help we fold like we've done so many times in the past. If Putin wins out, and the Ukraine falls into dictatorship, the U.S. will have to claim part of the blame.

The BBC is doing an EXCELLENT job of reporting. There is a video link in the previous post which you can use to hear the latest from Kiev. The video reports are updated regularly and for the BBC this is a main story. I'll try to keep posting updates as I hear them here.

CAMPED IN THE STREETS

2004-11-23T01:30:00.000-06:00

Tonight, in the cold Ukranie air, tens of thousands of protesters are camped out in streets across the country refusing to move until the opposition leader is declared the winner in the election and can take his rightful place in office. The PM, Russia's man trying to keep control, made a speech to the nation but to no avail. So far security forces have refused to step in and both sides refuse to blink first. The BBC seems to be the only major English Western news organization with people on the ground (like that is a surprise). Update can be found at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4033475.stm#

On the right side of the page you'll find a box marked video. Click on it and you can play the latest video reports from Kiev. The crowds are enormous and the people deserve our support!

RECOUNT UPDATE

2004-11-23T01:26:00.000-06:00

Third parties have ante up on the bond for a recount in Ohio. This in combination with several lawsuits is probably going to finally force a new count of the ballots in that State. Democrat lawyers have also started stepping in behind the scenes and are beginning to become more involved in the recount process.

IRS FOLLOW-UP

2004-11-23T00:21:00.000-06:00

It seems, according to a Congressman, that the part of the budget which would've allowed the IRS and politicians to access and publish a person's tax returns without their knowledge was actually written by the IRS themselves. I'm not sure when the writing legislation became the job of the IRS but apparently they were given a free hand. Thankfully they got caught. Sen. Conrad seems to be making the biggest stink about this http://conrad.senate.gov

SEN. LUGAR A WITNESS IN THE UKRAINE

2004-11-22T15:27:00.000-06:00

As unrest spreads in the Ukraine over what is clearly a fraudulant election backed by Putin's regime in Moscow, Sen. Lugar, the U.S. Observer has spoken out against the results. Here are excerpts from his remarks taken from his website http://lugar.senate.gov A full copy of the text and I'm sure future updates can also be found on the site.

Monday, November 22, 2004
Statement by U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, November 22, 2004, Kiev, Ukraine: I have been honored to serve as President George Bush’s representative during the November 21st run-off election in Ukraine. As I approached that responsibility, I noted that the campaign had already been marked by widespread political intimidation and failure to give equal coverage to candidates in the media. Physical intimidation of voters and illegal use of governmental administrative and legal authorities had been evident and pervasive. I have come not as an advocate of either candidate in the November 21 election, but to stress free and fair election procedures that would strengthen worldwide respect for the legitimacy of the winning candidate. OSCE/ODIHR and other observers mention an extensive list of serious procedural violations including:
Illegal expulsions of opposition members of election commissions;
Inaccurate voter lists;
Evidence of students, government employees and private sector workers being forced by their deans and supervisors to vote for one candidate over another;
Busloads of people voting more than once with absentee ballots;
Representatives of the media being beaten and their equipment stolen or destroyed; and
Suspiciously large use of mobile voting. Even in the face of these attempts to end any hope of a free and fair election, I was inspired by the willingness and courage of so many citizens of Ukraine to demonstrate their passion for free expression and the building of a truly democratic Ukraine. As corrupt authorities tried to disrupt, frighten and intimidate citizens, brave people pushed back by continuing to do their best to keep the election on track and to prevent chaos.

PEOPLE POWER IN UKRAINE

2004-11-22T11:01:00.000-06:00

Unlike Americans who sit on their hands when elections get rigged, the Ukranians have taken to the streets in the tens of thousands to protest the 'official' result of this weekend's election there. Russia's candidate, the PM, is the 'official' winner but the people know the opposition actually won. Results are not being recognized by the people, the cities, and the EU. One can only hope that the situation stays bloodless, that Russia backs down, and that the people win out. Good luck to the people on the street!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4031981.stm

Marines Fire on Bus

2004-11-22T10:55:00.000-06:00

This didn't get a single mention in the American media and it seemed to me it should've. Here is an excerpt and link to the full story.

US marines have killed several Iraqi civilians after opening fire at a bus which drove through a checkpoint in the city of Ramadi, the US military and Iraqi police say. Police said seven died on Saturday while the military said three.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E4F9CD7D-282E-47A9-99C4-B6F5B8BF56CC.htm

THE MAN WHO STARTED THE BRAWL

2004-11-22T01:56:00.000-06:00

John Green of West Bloomfield, MI who didn't show up to meet police. If you see him, feel free to throw a cup.

IF YOU REALLY HAVE TO CATCH A FLIGHT

2004-11-22T00:25:00.000-06:00

Found this story on the BBC. Full story is at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4026795.stm
Excerpt is below:

A 15-mile stretch between Baghdad airport and the city centre is said to be the world's most expensive taxi ride.
Small convoys of armoured cars and Western gunmen charge about £2,750 ($5,108) for the perilous journey. It equates to about £183 a mile compared to £4 a mile for the 2,540-mile flight on the only commercial airline flying to Baghdad.

You could jump in an Iraqi taxi with a gun and get there for $20," said one security contractor, quoted by the UK's Times newspaper.
But with kidnappings a daily occurrence and Westerners being sold to Islamist militant groups for about £150,000, he advised against it.
A few thousand pounds will afford you two cars and four Western ex-military bodyguards, usually American, South African or British, packing MP5 submachine guns, M16 rifles and/or AK47 assault rifles.
The client rides in one vehicle at speeds averaging 100 mph, while the other, called the "gun car", travels close-by, looking out for potential assailants.

REALITY CHECK PLEEEZ!

2004-11-21T14:18:00.000-06:00

Can someone in D.C. take a reality check pleeez??? Two indicators that they need to caught my eye this morning. One was the election date - Jan. 30 - set in Iraq. Now ask yourself, if it was YOU would you risk standing in line in Baghdad to vote?

How with dozens of major daily attacks going on they expect people to peacefully cast a ballot is beyond me. This is a total political gimmick so they can say they had a vote. What we'll end up with is maybe 20% of the country registering and then them saying to the world well, 50% of those registered voted! In reality that means only 10% of the country. You can't expect people to stand in line at a polling place with men firing RPG's on the street or tanks operating nearby or car bombs going off. My question to the Americans is "If you can't guard a few power plants successfully then how you going to guard a few thousand polling places?"

All this of course before you start discussing the nature of the politics there like which tribal and religious groups will actually boycott elections (could be as much as 40% of the country) and which candidates will be allowed to run. I mean do we really think the U.S. is going to allow someone other than Allawi to win or permit an Islamic cleric to take control? How would Jr. (Bush) explain a war that ended up with the creation of an Islamic State? This election smacks of all the freedom and democracy of a Chicago City Council ballot.

Then there was the snooping portion of the budget bill which led to the legislation being stalled in the House. It seems - although no one has fessed up to being the culprit - that someone sneaked a section into the budget that allowed for certain members of Congress and government agencies to examine - secretly of course - people's personal tax returns. Fortunately, somebody actually read the bill before the final vote and now they're trying to get this provision taken out. Makes you wonder how many other nice surprises lay in wait in the fine print for the American public. Makes you wish someone in D.C. would take a reality check.

DIS'd AGAIN

2004-11-21T00:47:00.000-06:00

Jr. (Bush) was dis'd again both by the international community and here at home. The chill in Chile between Jr. and Putin was so obvious. Putin barely wanted to shake hands and reports are planned meetings were scrapped and only a brief conversation took place. Putin has made it clear...he's no Blair. The Russians have their own agenda and he's going to push forward with it. Other leaders at the APEC conference showed no great interest in spending time with Jr. People just aren't as friendly and cozy when you leave the bunk house in Crawford are they?

The 3 days of rioting in the capital by tens of thousands were a reminder that Jr. is no more popular in South America than anywhere else. Not that Jr. saw the tear gas or water cannons of course since as we in America know he demands that protesters be kept out of his eye sight. After all, democracy is all about not having to deal with dissent.

And while he was busy being dis'd in Santiago, members of his own party were dissing him in D.C. by stalling and effectively killing for now the reforms recommended by the 9-11 commission. Jr. pushed for watered down reforms (so he can say he did something without really doing what he told everyone he did) but he can't get them despite making personal phone calls. Even threats from Cheney didn't help. Another vital mission unaccomplished. So the intelligence agencies are pretty much as screwed up as they were before 9-11 and Homeland Security is being run by the roll of the dice.

I really wonder though if Jr. is disappointed. After all, he tried to keep the 9/11 Commission from being formed, then he tried to limit it's powers, then he tried limiting it's funds and when that failed he tried shortening the time span it could operate. And after losing those battles, he at first refused to turn over government files to it then when that caused an uproar he gave them the papers but refused to co-operate by testifying. That turned out to be a really dumb decision in an election year so he testified but only while sitting in Cheney's lap and not...repeat... not under oath. He'll have to leave office before anyone finds out the truth.

FACE THE IRAQ DEAD END

2004-11-20T13:51:00.000-06:00

I keep hearing Americans say they have to stay in Iraq until it is stabilized. They don't explain how that should be done and the more they say it the more unstable it becomes. It is logical to look at Iraq now and admit the situation has reached a dead end. There is no way to push forward.

All the American goals have been lost. 1. Weapons of Mass Destruction - didn't exist 2. Unite the country- pushed it to civil war 3. Get rid of terrorists - recruited tens of thousands more
4. Install democracy - settled for a puppet government that is sure to fall after the troops leave
5. Secure oil supplies - is there a week that goes by when the pipeline isn't blown up?
6. Scare off Iran and Syria - both are pushing ahead with nuclear programs as a result of the war.

The question should be what else is left for the Americans to screw up? Fallujah, hotbed that it was, lays in ruins. Not a single major Iraqi city, with possibly the exception of Basra, is safe for the citizens. The casualties keep rising and rising and to what end? What allies there were have turned anti-coalition.

It is time for the Americans to face the fact the Iraq War is a failure and that nothing they do will change the outcome. There is no amount of money, troops, or weapons that will end the chaos. Only the Iraqi clan leaders can do that now and they won't be able to set about making peace until the Americans leave.

Seems like the only thing the Americans are left with is to admit they've hit a dead end, turn around, and go home. It will take years to recover it's reputation if ever but then again it's reputation is already gone. The illusion is to think it isn't.

EPA CHEMICAL TEST ON CHILDREN

2004-11-20T00:15:00.000-06:00

Please read the excerpt below then click on the link to sign a petition to send the EPA. The EPA was meant to protect the citizens but now under this White House it's allowing children to be used as guinea pigs.

11/18/2004: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Bush appointees, is seeking input on a new proposed study in which infants in participating low income families will be monitored for health impacts as they undergo exposure to known toxic chemicals over the course of two years. The study entitled Childrens Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS) will look at how chemicals can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed by children ranging from babies to 3 years old.
For taking part in these studies, each family will receive $970, a free video camera, a T-shirt, and a framed certificate of appreciation.
In October, the EPA received $2.1 million to do the study from the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry front group that includes members such as Dow, Exxon, and Monsanto (see full list of members on sidebar of this page). Critics of the research, including some EPA scientists, claim the study's funders guarantee the results will be biased in favor of the chemical industry, at the expense of the health of the impoverished children serving as test subjects.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/epa-alert.htm

DETROIT

2004-11-20T00:01:00.000-06:00

I always suspected Detroit was kinda a low-class city...that is why I hate even flying through there...but after watching the riot they caused at the end of the Pacer's game I KNOW they're low class. If Wallace can't take a foul (as wimpy as he was I'm not sure he'd make the WNBA) and the fans can't take the loss maybe the proper punishment would be to suspend Detroit's next dozen home games. Count them as losses. Maybe they'll get the clue. What a pitiful bunch of bums.

PASTOR DIES IN HOMELAND SECURITY CUSTODY

2004-11-19T13:19:00.000-06:00

This was first posted on the Moorish Girl blog. Makes you think.

Another Victim of Homeland Security
Sorry to cut in on a Friday, but this is important and I had to post it when I found out about it. Acclaimed novelist Edwige Danticat's grandfather, who was 81 and who'd raised her while she lived in Haiti away from her parents, has died while in the custody of Homeland Security. He was a church pastor and he had a valid visa to enter the United States. Upon arriving here he requested asylum, which shouldn't have been a problem; instead, he was taken into custody. He had high blood pressure, but he was denied his medication and his family was not allowed to see him. He died five days later. We always hear about tangles with Homeland Security and think they couldn't happen to us until they do happen to someone you know. If I find out more about the case, I will update this post.
Posted by moorishgirl at 07:12 AM
-->

THE MULLAH'S BOMB

2004-11-19T13:04:00.000-06:00

Sitting in Moscow, I read in the Moscow Times a full page article on Iran's nuclear weapons development. This a full two year's before Jr.'s (Bush) Administration announced that they had 'just' discovered Iran was working to build a nuclear warhead. While Jr.'s (Bush) Administration was busy planning to carve up Iraq, the Mullah's in Iran were quietly going about building a nuclear weapons program. A program that's been sped up since the War in Iraq started. Since he's leaving office, Colin Powell is free to speak now and this week warned of the Iranian Nuclear Program. Hopefully, the respect held for him will cause the issue to finally resonate in the States.

Now, that the Americans are bogged down in Iraq, the Europeans have been left to try and solve this growing crisis. They've made headway reaching tentative agreements but there's already evidence that the Mullah's are breaking their agreement. The Iranian Opposition group announced the location of a secret lab/facility that hadn't been reported to the European-U.N. teams.

From the Iranian viewpoint, a nuclear arsenal makes total sense. It keeps the Americans at bay and could potentially be used against Israel. This fact is not lost on Israel which has been training to make bombing raids on Iran itself. MK. Gen. Sneh said only today on CNN that the window of opportunity for peaceful resolution is closing. Earlier this year, Israel proposed a sensible solution by sounding out the possibility of having a regional nuclear agreement with not just Israel and Iran but all the other countries around them. The Americans under Jr., the ones supposedly so worried about WMD and democracy, cut down that option.

There is a growing movement, a desire really, for democracy in Iran. I don't know if they'll succeed. They've received absolutely no help from the West. In fact, it seems the West has done the reverse and propped up the Mullahs to some extent.

Americans can ignore the problem if they wish that is until it rises up to bite them. And one can assume that countries like Israel will continue to prepare for the worse. All the covering over here in the West won't make the Mullah's bomb disappear.

GREENSPAN'S SHOT ACROSS THE BOW

2004-11-19T11:51:00.000-06:00

Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan today took a shot across the bow of Jr. (Bush) Administration. He publicly voiced concerns over what everyone else has been talking about for weeks now. He reiterated that the Current Accounts Deficit is out of wack and that the national debt level (raised by the 'conservative' congress again this week) is out of control.

Most Americans don't realize that the U.S. has to borrow 3 billion a day just to stay in business. And little do they know that back in September foreign investors refused to buy almost creating a panic. Lots of institutional arm-twisting has been going on since to keep things going but this can't continue.

Jr. as usual isn't listening. He's intentionally pushing the dollar down (at record lows against every currency now). I wonder if American's realize that since Jr. took power in 2000, that on the global market place the average American's buying power has literally been cut in half? If Jr. doesn't stabilize the dollar, cut the budget deficit instead of setting new records for debt every year, then the American economy is going to take a real tailspin.

Signs of this are already evident. Inflation jumped at the highest level in 14 years last month. Overseas investors are again publicly debating about pulling their money out of the American economy and real American growth has stalled.

Mr. Greenspan sees all this and he is shouting a warning to us all. It is time Jr. and the rest of his cohorts start listening while there's still time.

The Deer Shoot Back

2004-11-19T01:24:00.000-06:00

You have to wonder I think if Bambi wasn't camped out in the woods waiting for a car to drive by so she could get some vengence.

MARSHFIELD, Wis. Nov 16, 2004 — An arrow smashed through a car window and hit a hunter in the neck in the woods of northern Wisconsin, the hunter's family said.
Bill Rusch, 50, was recovering in fair condition at St. Joseph Hospital on Tuesday four days after the bizarre shooting mishap caused an arrow to penetrate about 2 inches into his neck, threatening his spinal cord, said his daughter, Jenny Gilbert.
Tim Lawhern, hunter education administrator for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the errant arrow came from the bow of another hunter, Rusch's companion.
Gilbert said the bow's release malfunctioned as the hunter walked from the woods to get into the car. The arrow flew through the window on the driver's side, missing the driver before striking Rusch.
Rusch was breathing on his own Tuesday and could move his legs and arms, Gilbert said. His neck remained in a brace.
Gilbert said her father kept his sense of humor during the ordeal, joking the arrow was a cheap one, "not the kind he sells," Gilbert said.

Dad= 1 RNC=0

2004-11-18T16:17:00.000-06:00

It is always reassuring to learn that logic...to some degree or another... runs in the family tree. My father is a Red (Bushie). I don't know why because he's spent his life helping other people and the Reds...well lets face it...pretty much run in the other direction. He believes in funding soup kitchens, helping the homeless, and giving clothes to the needy while the people he voted for cut the budgets of Aid Agencies, pursue greedy policies that increase the ranks of the poor, and frankly show no compassion at all.

So there was a measure of redemption today when I handled a phone call for him from the RNC (Republican National Committee) and a Congressman who was inviting him to a dinner that featured Jr. (Bush) as the speaker. I bit my tongue to choke off the explicatives in my throat and copied down a return phone number.

When I passed it on to my dad, he wasn't just Red, he turned red. Seems that the RNC and this Congressman had sent him a package with ...to make this short...a lot of sales B.S. They promised to make him a Co-Chairman, even put his name in the Wall Street Journal, all for the price of $500.

Now while the party of moral integrity was selling theirs, my dad sent the package back. He said he knows a 'scam' when he sees it. They did a follow-up with him and apparently a verbal argument ensued. So today's call was a little unpleasant surprise he'd rather not have.
So a word of advice to the RNC and the Red Operatives- Don't push your luck. Your support may not be as strong as you think it is. Oh, and PS- Don't call his house anymore!

Get A Life

2004-11-18T03:21:00.000-06:00

Do you ever get the feeling that some people never get the joke? Check out this AP story.

Texas schools scrap 'cross-dressing' day
By BOBBy ROSS JR.ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
A homecoming tradition in which boys dress like girls and vice versa in a tiny Texas school district won't be held Wednesday after a parent complained about what she regarded as the event's homosexual overtones.
As a substitute for "TWIRP Day," the schools ranging from elementary to senior high decided to hold "Camo Day" - with black boots and Army camouflage to be worn by everyone who wants to participate.
TWIRP, which stands for "The Woman Is Requested to Pay," was hosted by Spurger schools for years during Homecoming Week - to give boys and girls a chance to reverse social roles and let older girls invite boys on dates, open doors and pay for sodas.
Plano-based Liberty Legal Institute issued a news release Tuesday reporting that it "came to the aid of a concerned parent" over an "official cross-dressing day" in the school district 150 miles northeast of Houston.
"It is outrageous that a school in a small town in east Texas would encourage their 4-year-olds to be cross-dressers," Liberty Legal Institute attorney Hiram Sasser said in the release
Tanner T. Hunt Jr., the school district's attorney, called Sasser's statement "inflammatory and misleading." He said the district never planned or conducted a "cross-dressing day."
"They are a tiny little East Texas school district," Hunt said. "It never occurred to them that anyone could find anything morally reprehensible about TWIRP Day. I mean, they've been having it for years, probably for generations, and it's the first time anybody has complained."
Delana Davies, 33, said she complained after reading a school notice about "TWIRP Day." Davies, whose 9-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter attend Spurger Elementary, said she viewed the day not as a silly Homecoming Week activity, but rather something related to homosexuality.
"It's like experimenting with drugs," Davies said. "You just keep playing with it and it becomes customary. ... If it's OK to dress like a girl today, then why is it not OK in the future?"

BAD DAY FOR THE IDF

2004-11-18T02:31:00.000-06:00

The last 24 hrs. has been brutal on the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). A tank just accidentally fired a shell on the Egyptian border killing at least 3 Egyptian soldiers. I'm not sure how a tank 'accidentally' fires a shell... seems like that would need to take some thought before the button is pushed...but that is the official line.

Then this story first broke on French TV and now being basically confirmed in Israel about how there was an Israeli intelligence operation which may have provided info to the Ivory Coast government before they attacked French troops. This is definitely France's sphere of influence and besides how wise is it for Israel to start picking sides in a war-torn region like W. Africa? Hopefully, it doesn't create a huge rift between France and Israel and the Israeli's will back off these kind of operations.