"News that's not known, or not known enough."
Helen & Harry Highwater's cranky weblog of news and opinion.
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"News that's not known, or not known enough." Helen & Harry Highwater's cranky weblog of news and opinion. |
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To your health by Gertrude Q. Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK McCain's latest skin spot is not cancerous This is terrific news, for John McCain and for America, because if McCain is diagnosed with cancer again he'd almost certainly be dropped from the ticket. Of course, almost any Republican that replaces him would be more intelligent, more credible, more in touch with the issues, more likeable, and a bigger challenge for Obama. Also, I think I've read that McCain only has a regular check-up at the Mayo Clinic once every three months, so this was pretty much the last chance for Republicans to replace him and win. Gertrude Q.  Behold by Rebecca Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Frank (D-Massachusetts) proposes decriminalization of marijuana Behold that rarest of oddities, a Congressman with an IQ. Rebecca Contempt of Karl Rove by Chris M. Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Rove could be held in contempt of Congress
Gee.. took them long enough. I found him to be a contemptible slug from the very first. Oh wait... they didn't say slug... did they?? Chris M. Rove could be held in contempt of Congress, but without enforcement what's the point? The Justice Dept won't enforce such a citation, and the Congress won't act on its own despite its legal ability to do so. For all practical purposes of prosecution, Rove is immune from any form of prosecution. Helen & Harry
Money beats the ban by JR Mooneyham Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK 22 public interest groups roast FCC smutless broadband plan
Note that the rich usually don't even notice government bans on anything (name something in the real world that enough money cannot get you). So we're basically talking here on making porn be yet another thing only available to the rich or well off. I guess the next thing to become exclusively available to the rich after that would be beer. Al Gore places infant son in rocket to escape dying planet JR Mooneyham (www.jrmooneyham.com/) Flip flops by Blue Bunting Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Re With Obama, a little uncertainty by JR Mooneyham With John McCain more FLIP FLOPS and a continuation of Bu$h's policie$. McCain FLIP FLOPPED AGAIN! That’s hardly a shock; he does this all the time. What’s interesting, though, is that McCain may not actually know his own position on the issue. Blue Bunting Canada's military is in Iraq by Herb Ruhs, MD Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK As far as I can tell the Canadian government, contrary to its public pronouncements, is enthusiastically involved in the nebulous project of "The War on Terror." Herb Ruhs, MD Actually, a surge of major offensives by Marie K. Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Re Surge of money by Wig My first reaction was, GEEZ, one more round of someone being duped. After so many articles revealing the lies about Iraq, how IS it possible to say “let the battle resume”? It’s horribly heartless. Surprisingly, it was the comment made related to the 2nd and BETTER of the two linked articles. That 2nd article actually began like this: The “two sieges of Fallujah in 2004 destroyed 75% of the city. Now ... the U.S. is poised to do it again.” It also said this: Those sieges “led to ... thousands of civilian deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.” So ha, ha, let’s just do it again? One quote from the 2nd linked article even raises the question of whether it’s even “needed.” According to the quote, those ruling the city “’suddenly changed their tone from saying that the city was the safest in Iraq to claiming that al-Qaeda is a serious threat.’” The article goes on to say that “Iraqi police officers insist that the situation is under control ...” In the end, I figured that it could have been the pretty BAD 1st linked article that got to Wig — so let’s look at it. It’s from Agence France Presse which is obviously now controlled by the Sarkozy government. What it did was SMEAR the Iraqi victims. To me that is a whopping clue that I’m going to be reading propaganda. So I decided to do some checking. In a matter of minutes I found articles on the same topics that were more nuanced. So here are some points to consider (gained from the 4 articles listed below) when reading the linked stories. By the way, as far as I can tell there are 3 lies/errors just in the 1st excerpt: the Iraqis the US is paying ($10 a day) are acting as police/security people — they aren’t “militants” nor are they “anti- jihadists” (whatever that is), they WEREN’T al-Qaeda® members — they took part in the resistance, and the Iraqi officer that was mentioned as leading the Awakening groups might have BEEN Satar (Sattar), but he was assassinated in Sept. 2007 (just days after meeting Bush). In the eyes of the Iraqis, Awakening people are collaborators. In the 2nd excerpt, there is probably 1 lie/error: it says “pick-up trucks are roaming the city warning residents that al-Qaeda has once again infiltrated Fallujah” — but I doubt is that more al-Qaeda® are arriving. INFO. FROM OTHER ARTICLES Article (1) below indicates that the money problem is not about “more” but about their $10 a day payments being cut. Article (1) is from Mar. 2008. As they see it they are being used to do the Americans’ dirty work for nothing. So why have they become collaborators? Article (2) discusses the lack of money after the 2004 sieges on Fallujah. One quote says, “’unemployment is killing us slowly, and we have no real government to care for us. Only those who work with the Americans can afford to buy food, while over 90% of residents are very poor.’” The history of these Iraqis being paid is that by Fall, 2005 those who later formed the Awakening group were setting up a police force with US support/bribes. Then, it seems by late 2006 or early 2007 the US got its Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) program going (boy, what a doublespeak name). It included the Awakening group people and others. The Awakening groups seem to consider Iraq’s central government legitimate while some non-Awakening group CLC people don’t. Article(2) includes the idea that the US USED the “Awakening” tribes/clans in the Al-Anbar province, where Fallujah is located, in order to get some Sunni-Sunni fighting going just as they succeeded in getting Shia-Shia fighting going with the use of Shia collaborators in the government fighting the Shia resistance fighters (in addition to creating some Sunni-Shia fighting). Perhaps to get the tribes upset, the US used al-Qaeda® infiltrators to attack them or if the al-Qaeda® people were actually foreign Islamic radicals, then whatever they were doing or saying seemed a threat to those tribal/clan leaders. Wikipedia provides a Sattar quote: “We did not support the US forces or anyone else — we fought on behalf of our people and defeated al-Qaeda.” Of course, all the new offensives planned in Iraq are based on fighting al-Qaeda® again. So is the US (a.) actually bringing in more foreigners or are they (b.) just throwing around the al-Qaeda® name for the sake of propaganda/an excuse to attack? I’d say it’s (b.). (2) also says that the Awakening groups are now seen as a threat because the Shia-led government sees them as “groups who might rival its own security forces ...” or as Wikipedia puts it: “Al-Maliki has feared the US-armed [CLCs] are an armed Sunni opposition in the making ...“ Other Sunni groups view them as collaborators and a political threat — the Awakening people have set up their own political party according to an English Al-Jazeera news article. Actually, the 1st linked and most problematic article is related to another province, Diyala, with its capital, Baaquba (Baqouba). Article (3) says that a large-scale military assault in Diyala is planned — to start on Aug. 1, 2008 to be led by the Iraqi army. Article (4) talks of “thousands of U.S. troops,” too. It also indicates that the Awakening people don’t want to take part. I can think of several possible reasons — because their money has been cut, they are making no headway in becoming a part of the Iraqi army or police forces, or maybe they just don’t want to be involved in more Sunni-Sunni fighting. Note that the 1st linked article also says, “little more than a year ago, Baqouba was the scene of deadly fighting that forced many residents to flee” while not mentioning the major US operation then nor the current one. Well, “tens of thousands” have fled or are NOW fleeing, again. SO, just what is the “logic” behind this surge of offensives? Clearly, it is about fighting the resistance in order to gain more control. BUT, there is this too from (4): “Bush hopes to declare ‘some form of victory’ in the run-up to the U.S. Presidential elections to boost the chances of [the] Republican nominee...” So for the sake of the US election, thousands of Iraqis are going to die. (1) Iraqi Awakening militias threaten strike (2) Awakening forces arouse new conflicts (3) 30,000 Iraqi troops poised for assault on Al-Qaeda bastion (4) Attack on Diyala to start in August, U.S. military says Marie K. Your divine right by The Canadian Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Re Hold this by SirJ Ha ha too funny! (even if you did not intend it to be funny, you made me laugh) Well, aren't you full of piss and vinegar! I like your spirit! Correct me if I am wrong, but based on the words you have submitted to H&HH, I am going to assume you are an American living in the good ol' US of A; home of the free and land of the brave....and all that good stuff. I have a question for you? According to Madison, Jefferson, Washington and all your Nation's Founders, revolution is your divine right. Why are you and other like-minded Americans not fighting for this right? I have to hold my nose when the wind blows from the South as the stink of 8 years of decay is almost unbearable. The Canadian Why do you assume he's not fighting for "revolution"? There needs to be a groundswell of public support before anything can change, and everyone I respect is working on making that groundswell happen. Without the groundswell, there ain't nothing much that one person can accomplish in "revolution" except getting his dang fool head blowed off. Helen & Harry
Whine and ruses by MonkeyMan Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Re Visit lovely somewhere else by Fanny Mac I would love to visit somewhere else, but as the current exchange rate for an U.S. twenty dollar bill is one dead chicken and 2 postage stamps, I'll stay here and annoy my congressman for the summer. Try this: Cut a date open, insert a spoonful of cream cheese, then an almond. You'll have a new addiction, I promise. MonkeyMan The stupid and the gullible are the backbone of the Republican Party. Helen & Harry I was talking to another die-hard Republican yesterday and she plans to vote for Obama. The Republican brand really is hard to sell right now. MonkeyMan Well, that sounds like change we can believe in. Helen & Harry
Decay of etiquette by SirJ Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK With all the weighty dialogue about how to handle discourteous people, I decided [yesterday] a little levity was in order. Humor gets the point across as well as anger and is generally a lot less risky. With the low functioning people Dr. Ruhs ran into, humor would sail right past them with no effect. Most of the functioning population, who have learned how to be civil, will be at work when he is out and about with his grandson. He won't encounter them. He ends up with a non-random sample. This can lead to a distorted view of any trends in the overall society. E.g. when I was a kid forty five years ago, most of the people in the movie theatres were adults. These days the crowd is mostly teens and decidedly boisterous. Is this a sign of decay in etiquette or a result in a change in the mix of the customers? It is a confusing picture.
Now if that isn't the dumbest excuse for shooting a bear. Since when is a bear's life worth less than a kid being knocked over or a dented car? With it's head caught in a plastic jar it posed no danger. They weren't able to catch it or hit it with a tranquilizer dart it in the six days they knew it was roaming around. But their aim was good enough with a gun. What losers! SirJ The link you sent wouldn't open on my computer, so I ended up spending a few minutes looking for the same news from different sources, and in Googling around I saw three different news photos of the bear wandering around for more than a week with a jar on its head. So we've got at least three different photos of this huge animal shot at three different locations, but nobody could shoot a tranquilizer dart at it? Only a bullet? Sounds like the agency in charge of wildlife is run by people who don't give a damn about wildlife. Helen & Harry
Not with a whimper by Wig Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK America is already committing acts of war against Iran
Here we go again. GWB intending to go out with a BANG? While blinded by Iraq...... other inroads of al Qaeda go on. Wig I'm not sure I believe in al Qaeda. Helen & Harry I'm still wrestling with the idea of a boogieman my mother told me was under the bed to carry me off if I didn't go to sleep right away and quit horsing around. Wig The think difference by Angry Annie Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Re With Obama, a little uncertainty by JR Mooneyham When Bush or McCain speak I can only marvel at their stupidity, that people dumber than anyone I know are considered national leaders. When Obama speaks he sometimes has something more than sloganeering to say, and briefly makes me think more advanced thoughts. This is what I call the think difference, the elusive quality that, to me, makes Obama "Presidential" and Bush and McCain not. Angry Annie McCain's already failed tactics by Erik K. Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Re With Obama, a little uncertainty by JR Mooneyham Much better than the McSame Sh*t. Obama doesn't have a history of corruption, bad family ethics (McCain left his former wife after she was disfigured in a car accident, cheated on his current wife, and called his current wife a c*nt). McCain refuses to release his psychological records (which is a good indication whether he's level headed enough to be commander in chief). His wife refuses to release her tax records. McCain has been heavily funded by oil lobbyists and special interests (selling away America's future one donation at a time). He plans to increase taxes (even when he said he wouldn't). If you earn less than 250K per year you will actually be paying more taxes through McCain than Obama. Can we really afford four more years of Bush policies? We are already in record deficit owing billions to China. McCain will only continue using these already failed tactics. Erik K. Yup by Sara S. Thursday, July 31, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Re Appealing to our worse selves by Herb Ruhs, MD Says it all really. Sara S. |
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