The Coup is Real

It's real if you allow it. Freedom does NOT protect itself.

Dan Rather Stands by his Story

Follow the story of Dan Rather's lawsuit. It's important. Implicit in it is how much corporate media is in bed with the Bush cabal. I fear it may get buried, as did the true story of W backing out of his military service in Vietnam, the story for which Dan Rather was fired trying to bring to light. The truth may yet emerge. Let's see. If it doesn't, you know there has really been a coup, and we're just gerbils on the treadmill.

Become a Pool Boy, Start a Revolution

What a sacrifice our Prez makes! He whores for US! No wonder he keeps getting re-elected (not).

Too bad not every American is so grateful.

"If every American had to pool-boy for these people for a day, you'd have a revolution on your hands."

You say you want a revolution? The ex-pool boy to the elder Bush has the answer.

Do it!

I suggest this because no one so much as burped at Alan Greenspan's comment that the war in Iraq is "largely about oil". Well heck, that's no surprise, but why isn't that front page breaking news in the US media? Or is it too tragic to admit publicly the WMD/Democracy/Freedom issue was utter bull (yawn).

We all knew the truth and couldn't stop the insanity. The media can assume shame for that. We know our disastrous and short-sighted policies toward the Mideast for the last century have been about oil…and racism toward the heathen Arabs…and support for dictatorships like the Saudi royal family, to whom the Bushs' are wed.

Iraqis are sick of foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their country. —George W. Bush

No wonder they hate us.

Suppose this were your daily life? Take a moment, at least, to sign another petition asking Congress to recognize that there are likely over a million Iraqi deaths due to the US invasion.

Get angry and do something inventive.

9/11

On this, the sixth anniversary of the attack on our country, there are still unanswered questions, and some questions so ridiculous they don't need answering. (If you still believe "controlled demolition", etc., go here and enjoy. But think about it. How do you gain access to the bowels of a building that size to plant many floors of explosives and keep all the security and maintenance people who saw you quiet?) We may never have answers to the valid questions. The best summation of the outstanding puzzlers to the attack are best summed up by Robert Fisk, the eminent correspondent of the Independent UK.

Robert Fisk: Even I question the 'truth' about 9/11

Journalistically, there were many odd things about 9/11. Initial reports of reporters that they heard "explosions" in the towers – which could well have been the beams cracking – are easy to dismiss. Less so the report that the body of a female air crew member was found in a Manhattan street with her hands bound. OK, so let's claim that was just hearsay reporting at the time, just as the CIA's list of Arab suicide-hijackers, which included three men who were – and still are – very much alive and living in the Middle East, was an initial intelligence error.

But what about the weird letter allegedly written by Mohamed Atta, the Egyptian hijacker-murderer with the spooky face, whose "Islamic" advice to his gruesome comrades – released by the CIA – mystified every Muslim friend I know in the Middle East? Atta mentioned his family – which no Muslim, however ill-taught, would be likely to include in such a prayer. He reminds his comrades-in-murder to say the first Muslim prayer of the day and then goes on to quote from it. But no Muslim would need such a reminder – let alone expect the text of the "Fajr" prayer to be included in Atta's letter.

We do need a much more thorough investigation, as well as real answers to the subsequent anthrax attack on selected Democrats.

Don't hold your breath.

The REAL Rudy

Filmmaker Robert Greenwald has a lot to say about Rudy. He made a four part series on how Rudy failed us on 9/11. You can see Part 1 below. When you're done viewing, interact with his website and learn more.

From Robert Greenwald:

"It's just not possible."

That was the sentence we heard over and over from families who had firefighter sons, brothers, husbands and fathers killed on 9/11, from experts on emergency response, and from investigative journalists. It was just not possible that Rudy could so distort what happened on 9/11 and his role on that terrible day.

These experts, these grieving and furious family members, were united only by the fact that this story had to be told. Republicans, Independents, and Democrats could agree on just one thing: the cold hard facts about Rudy's terrible handling of 9/11 and the aftermath.

And so we went to work. We researched, we read, we interviewed. Jason locked himself in a quiet room, working late into the night. Christopher flew across the country at a moment's notice to interview. Lissette went over and over the footage. Leda kept juggling schedules so we could get the film done. Jimmy worked the phones to try and raise some funds.

And here it is... The REAL Rudy: Command Center. The first of a devastating four-part series.

Labor Day 2007 - 125 Long, Eventful Years

Nearly 6000 Americans were killed last year - on the job. Yes. As bad as that figure is, it would be a lot worse if there was no labor movement.

Here's what AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said about our workplace today:

Our workplaces should be getting safer, not more dangerous. Yet six years of Bush Administration neglect and failure of workplace health and safety have put millions of workers at increased danger. It's clear that a change in direction and leadership is needed to protect workers on the job and to improve their lives.

While some groups of workers saw improvements, in 2005 job deaths increased among Latinos, Blacks, children, immigrants and agriculture workers. Sadly, but not surprisingly, these numbers confirm that under the Bush Administration, workers at the bottom of the economic ladder are paying a very heavy price.

Looking back in our history, do you honestly think a benevolent industry leader proposed the 5 day work week? Did you know people were killed by police in an effort to prevent it? How about child labor laws: do you think legislators generously created those laws to correct the brutal treatment of children in our factories? It was through the perseverance of the labor movement that forced that legislation on Congress.

So many of the things that are decent and fair in today's workplace were the product of strikes, demonstrations, beatings, and murder by the forces of law and order, as our industrial and legislative leaders stood by. If they did not obstruct, they did little of nothing to improve the lives of the people working for them. Next time you go to work, think about the sacrifice of many generations of the labor movement that allowed you a safe, somewhat fair, workplace with (somewhat) decent hours and wages.

There's still a ways to go for fairness in the workplace, and the offer of hope for a living wage and a decent middle class life. You certainly know that. Just remember those who got you where you are today.

Happy Labor Day, 2007.

Extra credit:

Don't be fooled by the latest foolery of the boy President. Read this, briefly excerpted below.

Seven Years in Hell

On Body Counts, Dead Zones, and an Empire of Stupidity

By Tom Engelhardt

(referring to the President's recent VFW speech)

"In its own strange way, Bush's speech was an admission of defeat. Somehow, Vietnam, the American nightmare, had finally bested the man who spent his youth avoiding it and his presidency evading it. The President had finally mounted the tiger you are always advised not to ride and had officially entered the dead zone, where the bodies pile high and victory never appears, taking the rest of the country with him."

Blogged with Flock

Stand Up for Peace

The MoveOn.org Stand Up for Peace vigil in Boston this past Tuesday attracted an impressive array of committed individuals. This event, coordinated with hundreds across the country, solemnly commemorated the fallen soldiers of Bush's obscene war for oil and empire for the New American Century, the neocon project to force puppet democracies upon hostile governments through military conquest and/or intimidation. Basically, the policy is best summed up with this: "We have the world's greatest military, let's use it!" As always, it's our money they're borrowing for this colossal blunder, and our blood they are sacrificing. The MoveOn volunteers read the names of those who gave their lives with genuine dignity and respect, creating a moving moment of solemnity amid the flash and fragile posturing of our commercial culture. We only wish our Congress people were with us to honor them in person and cast their votes to end this mad war.

Click here to see a few more images.

Global Village

Blogs fall into two categories: those who repackage commercial media with an overlay of commentary, and those that speak directly and locally. I'm going to tell you about the latter. I fall into the first category because our culture is almost completely monetized and prepared with advertising dollars in mind. I try to direct you to comment and opinion that penetrates the commercial, corporate fog. There is another source of news and culture that usually doesn't reach us, mostly due to language and technological hurdles. The technological hurdles are fairly well addressed these days, now the language barriers are, too.

Global Voices is a blogging channel discovering feeds from local sources around the world who want to connect to the Western audience. They do the discovery and translation, you do the reading. This is the true global village. Dig in and support them, why don't you!

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Note to bloggers: Get involved with Global Voices. Find out how from their For Bloggers link.

Bonaparte and Bush, Great Expectations

It was the highest-tech military of its moment and its invasion of the Arab land was overwhelming. Enemy forces were smashed, the oppressive ruling regime overthrown, the enemy capital occupied, and the country declared liberated… then the first acts of insurgency began…

George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003? No, Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt in June 1798. There are times when the resonances of history are positively eerie. This happens to be one of them

…Napoleon wrote a letter to one of his generals, well into the occupation, forbidding the beating of insurgents to extract information: "It has been recognized at all times that this manner of interrogating human beings, of putting them under torture, produces nothing good."

Quoted from:
Tomgram: Juan Cole, The Republic Militant at War, Then and Now

The neocons of the past century floated visions of rosy, sanitized, hi-tech invasions that would outsource democracy and freedom to welcoming masses, paid for by their own treasuries. Now they desert W en masse, realizing their dreams were floated by their own passed gas. The Party is in free fall, and it's solely up to Dick and George, oh and David, to salvage some dignity. Remember WWII! Remember Korea! Remember Vietnam! How about "Remember Napoleon"?

Raus! al-Maliki

Raus! Get out! Veterans of WWII would remember the phrase.

Bush basically said the same to Nouri al-Maliki for talking with Syria and Iran. We mustn't have our puppets courting the Axis of Evil, after all. Just like "Bring It ON", W, our Mr. Tough Guy, spoke impulsively, revealing his hand. So now, al-Maliki is a "good guy", as long as he doesn't do bad again by disobeying our wishes. That's democracy, Bush style.

One of the best writers to sort all the players, past and present, is Robert Fisk, writer for the Independent UK. He's been there, not just for brief tours, but for the duration. And his grasp of the history is lucid.

The Iraqis Don't Deserve Us, So We Betray Them
(August 23, 2007)

First, the Americans loved Ahmed Chalabi, the man who fabricated for Washington the"'weapons of mass destruction" (with a hefty bank fraud charge on his back). Then, they loved Ayad Allawi, a Vietnam-style spook who admitted working for 26 intelligence organizations, including the CIA and MI6. Then came Ibrahim al-Jaafari, symbol of electoral law, whom the Americans loved, supported, loved again and destroyed. Couldn't get his act together. It was up to the Iraqis, of course, but the Americans wanted him out. And the seat of the Iraqi government -- a never-never land in the humidity of Baghdad's green zone -- lay next to the largest US embassy in the world. So goodbye, Ibrahim.

Saddam Hussein: A Dictator Created Then Destroyed By America
(December 30, 2006)

Who encouraged Saddam to invade Iran in 1980, which was the greatest war crime he has committed for it led to the deaths of a million and a half souls? And who sold him the components for the chemical weapons with which he drenched Iran and the Kurds? We did. No wonder the Americans, who controlled Saddam's weird trial, forbad any mention of this, his most obscene atrocity, in the charges against him. Could he not have been handed over to the Iranians for sentencing for this massive war crime? Of course not. Because that would also expose our culpability.

You can see the trend line from reading more in these stories. We are the puppet master, and we will not be leaving, let the Devil take the hindmost.

…that is, until he takes our hindmost.

For extra credit read this interesting book, written in 1999, just before the bubble burst:

D E V I L T A K E T H E H I N D M O S T
A History of financial speculation from the Roman Empire to the present brims with bad tidings.
BY EDWARD CHANCELLOR

"I daily hear such reports of advantages to be gaind by one project or other in the Stocks, that my Spirit is Up with double Zeal, in the desire of our trying to enrich ourselves."

: >)

Wars-R-Us, It Didn't Happen Overnight

I thought you'd want to read an essay by Norman Solomon posted on www.mediachannel.org.

Let's Face It: The Warfare State is Part of Us

A few excerpts:

Born 50 years before George W. Bush became president, I have always lived in a warfare state. Each man in the Oval Office has presided over an arsenal of weapons designed to destroy human life en masse. In recent decades, our self-proclaimed protectors have been able — and willing — to destroy all of humanity.

… One day in 1969, a biologist named George Wald, who had won a Nobel Prize, visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — the biggest military contractor in academia — and gave a speech. “Our government has become preoccupied with death,” he said, “with the business of killing and being killed.”

…The warfare state doesn’t come and go. It can’t be defeated on Election Day. Like it or not, it’s at the core of the United States — and it has infiltrated our very being.

Be sure to read his book, "Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America’s Warfare State". Go to: www.MadeLoveGotWar.com.

And see what you can do to prove him wrong.