Clipmarks | BobbyRutan's 'terror' clips

What would a cluster bomb do to your neighborhood?

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:08:46 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: Enter your street and zip code to find out.

What would a cluster bomb do to your neighborhood?

Cluster bombs are weapons of terror, dispersing dozens
or even hundreds of small bomblets over a wide area.
How wide an area would be sprayed with deadly shrapnel?
How many unexploded bomblets would litter the area,
waiting for the touch of a hand or foot?

Enter an address below to find out, then find out
more about banning cluster bombs.

12 M26 MLRS Rockets (1 volley) with 7,728 M77 bomblets
At least 384 unexploded bomblets.
Used by the U.S. in Iraq and Kuwait.

CBU-87 1,000 LB bomb with 202 BLU-97 bomblets
At least 10 unexploded bomblets.
Used by the U.S. in Afghanistan, Albania, Iraq, Kuwait, and Yugoslavia.

2. Enter your address (street + zip)

= cluster bomb footprint

= 1 unexploded bomblet

Britain Drops Label "War on Terror"

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:45:57 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: And to think that those of us who suggested that describing this ideological battle as a war only aided fanatics were labeled as unpatriotic traitors. What a deference 6 years makes.

Clip Source: www.military.com

The words "war on terror" will no longer be used by the British government to describe attacks on the public, the country's chief prosecutor said Dec. 27.

Sir Ken Macdonald said terrorist fanatics were not soldiers fighting a war but simply members of an aimless "death cult."

The Director of Public Prosecutions said: 'We resist the language of warfare, and I think the government has moved on this. It no longer uses this sort of language."

London is not a battlefield, he said.

His remarks signal a change in emphasis across Whitehall, where the "war on terror" language has officially been ditched.

Officials were concerned it could act as a recruiting tool for Al Qaeda, which is determined to manufacture a battle between Islam and the West.

The term "Islamic terrorist" will also no longer be used. Officials believe it is unhelpful because it appears to directly link the religion to terrorist atrocities.

Tags: "war on terror" is not a strategy, it is only a political tool

What can the budget for the Iraq War buy?

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 06:07:04 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: Doesn't clip as well as I hoped so visit the website:

Remarkable, that it is admitted these days (by generals, former administration appointees, and neocon architects of the war) that the war in Iraq is about controlling oil resources, and look what you could do with the money that we've spent on that fiasco.

With $611 billion, you could convert all cars in America to run on ethanol nine times over. TheBudgetGraph.com estimates that converting the 136,568,083 registered cars in the United States to ethanol (conversion kits at $500) would cost $68.2 billion.

Many, many environment-friendly cars on the road
With $611 billion, you could convert all cars in America to run on ethanol nine times over.

TheBudgetGraph.com estimates that converting the 136,568,083 registered cars in the United States to ethanol (conversion kits at $500) would cost $68.2 billion.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

What can $611 billion buy?

Many, many environment-friendly cars on the road

With $611 billion, you could convert all cars in America to run on ethanol nine times over.

TheBudgetGraph.com estimates that converting the 136,568,083 registered cars in the United States to ethanol (conversion kits at $500) would cost $68.2 billion.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

Nearly 14 million years' worth of tuition, room, and board at Harvard

Clip Source: www.boston.com

A real war on poverty

According to World Bank estimates, $54 billion a year would eliminate starvation and malnutrition globally by 2015, while $30 billion would provide a year of primary education for every child on earth.

At the upper range of those estimates, the $611 billion cost of the war could have fed and educated the world's poor for seven years.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

Nearly 4,000 Newton North High Schools

Tagged as the most expensive high school in Massachusetts, at $154.6 million, the construction design for the new Newton North High School could be replicated almost 4,000 times using the money spent

Tags: bush, cheney, conservatives, liars, terror, oil, politics of fear

"Hey Son-in Law", "What?" , "Have a good business trip!"

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 02:32:23 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: The infamous Olof Bin Larsson

Clip Source: www.sfgate.com

A Swedish man accused of falsely telling U.S. authorities that his son-in-law had links to al-Qaida has been charged with defamation, a newspaper reported Friday.

The false warning spoiled a business trip to the U.S. for the man's son-in-law, who was stopped at a Florida airport and questioned for 11 hours before being sent back on a plane to Sweden, the Sydsvenska Dagbladet daily reported.

U.S. authorities apparently reacted to an e-mail sent to the FBI saying the man "likely has links to the Muslim terror organization al-Qaida's network in Sweden," the newspaper reported

The 52-year-old father-in-law admitted to having sent the e-mail after it was traced to his home computer

The man said he did not expect such a "paranoid reaction" from U.S. authorities

he was charged Thursday with grave defamation

and could face up to two years in prison if convicted

He reportedly told police he sent the e-mail in anger after a dispute with his son-in-law, who was divorcing his daughter

Tags: too much love in the house.

Why does Bush want to attack Iran? It's not as dangerous as Pakistan.

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 08:01:59 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: The safe haven provided by Pakistan has already had dire effects on U.S. and NATO efforts to fight the resurgent Taliban next door in Afghanistan

Dozens of Taliban commanders have moved their wives and children to Pakistan, where they live in the suburbs of cities like Peshawar and Islamabad

The militants dominate in areas beyond the tribal areas as well. Armed groups have effectively seized control in places like the picturesque Swat Valley, where a jihadi leader named Mullah Fazlullah rides a black horse and commands hundreds of men under the noses of a nearby Pakistani Army division that seldom leaves its barracks. Peshawar is perhaps the most important production and distribution center for Taliban and other Islamist material. Jihadi CD and DVD shops abound. One shop features large posters of the notorious Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah Akhund, who was killed in Helmand earlier this year, and pictures of Guantnamo inmates in their orange jumpsuits behind barbed wire

Clip Source: www.newsweek.com

Today no other country on earth is arguably more dangerous than Pakistan. It has everything Osama bin Laden could ask for: political instability, a trusted network of radical Islamists, an abundance of angry young anti-Western recruits, secluded training areas, access to state-of-the-art electronic technology, regular air service to the West and security services that don't always do what they're supposed to do

Then there's the country's large and growing nuclear program. "If you were to look around the world for where Al Qaeda is going to find its bomb, it's right in their backyard," says Bruce Riedel, the former senior director for South Asia on the National Security Council.

Clip Source: www.newsweek.com

Militancy is woven into the fabric of Pakistani society

Pakistanis were taught that the guerrillas were Muslim heroes, fighting for national honor and security. Such loyalties cannot be turned off like a tap

Taliban fighters now pretty much come and go as they please inside Pakistan

Tags: bush, cheney, liars, chickenhawks, conservatives, war, terror, iran, iraq

IRAQ: Reduction in Violence = Ethnically Cleansed Neighborhoods

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 07:36:37 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: Christoff’s conclusions echo that of ret. Gen. James Jones last month, who observed “progress” in a Shi’a-led ethnic cleansing campaign.

Also in attendance at the hearing was Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) Stuart Bowen. In his quarterly report to Congress released today, Bowen acknowledged the reduction in violence but stated that it has not been accompanied by tangible political reconciliation, a finding that was neglected by the traditional media in its reporting today. In Baghdad, for example, Provincial Reconstruction Team officials note:

Despite reduced violence, officials are pessimistic that lasting reconciliation is occurring. … In Diyala, there is a desire to work toward reconciliation, but it will take years to overcome ill-will between tribes.

Earlier this month, Gen. David Petraeus confidently declared, “There’s a local reconciliation” in Diyala province.

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

the Bush administration has been quick to jump on reports of reduced violence in Iraq

The “violence is thankfully coming down,” said White House spokesperson Dana Perino. Violence is “down significantly from last year,” declared President Bush

before the House Appropriations Committee today

Joe Christoff of the Government Accountability Office stated that this recent reduction in violence should be taken with a grain of salt, as it coincides with increased sectarian cleansing and a massive refugee displacement

I think that’s [ethnic cleansing] an important consideration in even assessing the overall security situation in Iraq. You know, we look at the attack data going down, but it’s not taking into consideration that there might be fewer attacks because you have ethnically cleansed neighborhoods, particularly in the Baghdad area

It’s produced 2.2. million refugees that have left, it’s produced two million internally displaced persons within the countryas well

Tags: "mission accomplished", awol liar, bush, cheney, neoconservatives, war, terror, islam, iraq

"Out of Iraq" Polish Party wins National Elections

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:26:45 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan

Clip Source: www.philly.com

A pro-business opposition party that wants Poland's troops out of Iraq ousted Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's government in parliamentary elections Sunday, as Poles opted for leadership offering a more cooperative approach to the European Union

Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party led with 41.1 percent of the vote after 11 percent of the ballots were counted early Monday, and exit polls for TVN24 private television showed the party projected to win 226 seats in the 460-seat Sejm lower house

"Today I am the happiest person in the world," a teary-eyed Tusk told supporters. "People in Poland voted today to chose their own fate

Both Tusk and Kaczynski favor good relations with the United States, but Tusk argues Poland has not gotten enough from its close ties with Washington and wants the country's 900-strong detachment in Iraq to come home. He also says Poland should drive a tough bargain in return for hosting a missile defense base.

Clip Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn

Donald Tusk

Tags: donald tusk, determining their own fate, poland, iraq, war, terror, lies, bush, conservatives

Merle Haggard has left the Republican Party - Sorry n2

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:02:46 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: The thing that gets under my skin most about George W. is his intention to install fear in people," he said, after walking me down a hallway lined with gold and platinum records

"This is America. We're proud. We're not afraid of a bunch of terrorists. W is all about terror alerts and scaring us at airports. We're changing the Constitution out of fear. We spend all our time looking up each other's dresses.

Haggard sensed reluctance among the Hillarians to embrace his endorsement—in part, I imagine, because he's not shy about saying that one of the biggest things Hillary has going for her is Bill, who ranks up with Reagan in the Haggard pantheon and not only because the former President used to have a pickup truck with Astroturf in the back. "He cared about this country, about our problems," Haggard said, with a twinkle. "And I figure that whatever she doesn't know, he does."

When Al Gore wins the Nobel and Merle Haggard leaves the party, it's a bad day for Republicans.

Clip Source: www.time.com

Merle Haggard has always had his guitar hardwired to the gutbucket pulse of Middle America

Back in the Vietnam era, he seemed the essence of a historic political migration: white males fleeing the feminized, antiwar, politically correct Democratic Party

His brilliant anthem—Okie from Muskogee—became a rallying cry for those who were disgusted by the "hippies out in San Francisco" smoking marijuana and burning draft cards

so when I heard that Haggard had written a song endorsing Hillary Clinton for President

I was more than curious about the motivation for his apparent left turn

I supported George W. I'm not exactly a liberal

But I know how that Texas thing works, who those oil folks are and what they wanted in Iraq

I'm a born-again Christian too, but the longer I live, the more afraid I get of some of these religious groups that have so much influence on the Republicans and want to tell us how to live our lives

Fear's the only issue the Republican Party has

Enlarge Photo

Merle Haggard.

Tags: fear, religious zealotry, iraq, hillary, war, terror, bush, cheney, republican

U.S. Military and Iraqis Agree: Blackwater unprovoked, Fired on Fleeing Citizens and Cars

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:28:14 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: U.S. soldiers did not find any bullets that came from AK-47 assault rifles or BKC machine guns used by Iraqi policemen and soldiers. They found evidence of ammunition used in American-made weapons, including M4 rifle 5.56mm brass casings, M240B machine gun 7.62mm casings, M203 40mm grenade launcher casings, and stun-grenade dunnage, or packing.

At least two cars, a black four-door taxi and a blue Volkswagen sedan, had their back windshields shot out, but their front windshields were intact, indicating they were shot while driving away from the square, according to the photos and soldiers

An Iraqi colonel walked up to Tarsa and described the Blackwater shooters as men in "tan uniforms, black helmets, and that flag," pointing at the U.S. flag on Tarsa's sleeve.

Their actions underscore the long-standing tensions between the U.S. military and private security companies -- and the military's concerns that such shootings could undermine U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Blackwater USA guards shot at Iraqi civilians as they tried to drive away from a Baghdad square on Sept. 16, according to a report compiled by the first U.S. soldiers to arrive at the scene, where they found no evidence that Iraqis had fired weapons

It had every indication of an excessive shooting," said Lt. Col. Mike Tarsa, whose soldiers reached Nisoor Square 20 to 25 minutes after the gunfire subsided

His soldiers' report -- based upon their observations at the scene, eyewitness interviews and discussions with Iraqi police -- concluded that there was "no enemy activity involved" and described the shootings as a "criminal event.

Their conclusions mirrored those reached by the Iraqi government, which has said the Blackwater guards killed 17 people

It was absolutely tragic," said Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil

the Army's top commander for Baghdad

In the aftermath of these, everybody looks and says, 'It's the Americans.' And that's us. It's horrible timing. It's yet another challenge, another setback

Tags: blackwater, criminal mercenaries, iraq=fiasco, war, terror, military, bush, conservatives, cheney

Blackwater draws guns on U.S. Soldiers

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:18:22 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: Testifying before Congress last week, 38-year-old Blackwater chief Erik Prince vigorously defended his company's "dedicated security professionals"

In deflecting questions about a drunken Blackwater operative who allegedly shot and killed a bodyguard for Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi in the Green Zone on Christmas Eve last year, Prince said that the employee, later identified as Andrew Moonen, had been fined and fired. But on Friday House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. Henry Waxman released a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recounting evidence that Moonen was able to return to Iraq and worked there for another company.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

The colonel was furious. "Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers

describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee

The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV

His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company

many American civilian and military officials in Iraq also have little sympathy for the private security company

Unlike nearly everyone else who enters the Green Zone, said an American soldier who guards a gate, Blackwater gunmen refuse to stop and clear their weapons of live ammunition once inside

Blackwater

has a well-earned reputation in Iraq for arrogance and high-handedness

Their attitude was, 'We're f---ing security; we don't have to answer to anybody

Gervasio Sanchez

Tags: lawless mercenaries, war, terror, republican, conservative, bush, cheney, politics, liberal

Quiet Baghdad Streets: The Surge is Working

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 08:33:09 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan

Clip Source: www.mcclatchydc.com

About the Cartoonist

Jim Morin / The Miami Herald (September 13, 2007)

Tags: iraq, sunni, shiite, war, terror, bush, al qaeda, conservative, republican, liberal

Plant based plastic - No more Wars for Oil.

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:16:47 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: Plant based plastics provide an alternative to conventional plastics, especially for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), that relies heavily on extremely toxic feedstocks and additives that have devastating impacts on our health and environment through their production, use and disposal. Many of the chemicals used in PVC production are linked to cancer, birth defects, reproductive harm, and a host of other health problems. In contrast, biobased plastics are generated using renewable materials by converting plants such as corn into plastic. The production of bioplastics can help contribute to rural economic development, providing a steady income for farmers. It also uses fewer fossil fuels compared to petrochemical plastics, even after accounting for the fuel needed to plant and harvest the corn or other feedstocks.

Clip Source: www.besafenet.com

In fact, the first plastic ever developed was a “plant based plastic,” a cotton-derived product designed to replace ivory

Did you know that before the chemical revolution, our society was based on materials made from plants, such as corn, soy and sugar beets? Plants, not oil, used to be the primary raw material used to produce chemicals, paints, construction materials, clothing, and other household materials

Henry Ford was a proponent of plant based plastics and he developed a demonstration vehicle in 1941 whose seat covers, dashboard, wheel, and tires were made from plant based materials. Unfortunately, this all changed when the chemical industry hijacked the plastics market and introduced low-cost toxic plastics made from oil

Plant based plastics (also called bioplastics or biobased plastics) can be produced using several different processes including starch conversion, microbial conversion and genetic modification of plants

In Europe, bioplastics are even more popular

Tags: oil, plastic, war, terror, iraq, republican, democrat, conservative, liberal, bush

Banned from Iraq: Blackwater Mercenaries

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:16:45 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: Blackwater is one of many security firms contracted by the U.S. government during the Iraq war. An estimated 25,000-plus employees of private security firms are working in Iraq, guarding diplomats, reconstruction workers and government officials. As many as 200 are believed to have been killed on the job, according to U.S. congressional reports.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee estimated in February that nearly $4 billion had been spent on security contracts amid the insurgency that followed the U.S. invasion in 2003 -- costs that have forced the delay, cancellation or scaling back of some reconstruction projects.

Sunday's incident highlighted concerns in the U.S. Congress about a subject that one lawmaker, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, has called "one of the biggest gray areas of the entire war effort" -- the legal status of private security firms in Iraq.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Iraq's Interior Ministry has revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security firm whose contractors are blamed for a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead

In addition to the fatalities, 14 people were wounded, most of them civilians, an Iraqi official said.

"We saw a convoy of SUVs passing in the street nearby," Hussein Abdul-Abbas, owner of a mobile phone store in the area, told the AP. "One minute later, we heard the sound of a bomb explosion followed by gunfire that lasted for 20 minutes between gunmen and the convoy people who were foreigners and dressed in civilian clothes. Everybody in the street started to flee immediately."

An Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf, said, "We have revoked Blackwater's license to operate in Iraq. As of now they are not allowed to operate anywhere in the Republic of Iraq. The investigation is ongoing, and all those responsible for Sunday's killing will be referred to Iraqi justice.

Tags: blackwater, iraq, war, terror, islam, bush, conservative, liberal, democrat, republican

Alan Greenspan: US Soldiers Die for Oil

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 04:21:20 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: Cannot be repeated enough:

“I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil,” he says.

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

AMERICA’s elder statesman of finance, Alan Greenspan, has shaken the White House by declaring that the prime motive for the war in Iraq was oil.

In his long-awaited memoir, to be published tomorrow, Greenspan, a Republican whose 18-year tenure as head of the US Federal Reserve was widely admired, will also deliver a stinging critique of President George W Bush’s economic policies.

However, it is his view on the motive for the 2003 Iraq invasion that is likely to provoke the most controversy. “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil,” he says.

Greenspan, 81, is understood to believe that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the security of oil supplies in the Middle East.

Britain and America have always insisted the war had nothing to do with oil. Bush said the aim was to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and end Saddam’s support for terrorism

Tags: bush, lying sack of feces, war, terror, iraq, greenspan, conservative, liberal, election, politics

More Bush Lies from National Address: Grand Coalition

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:46:37 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More:

The most substantial non-U.S. troop contribution, from the UK, pulled back from Basra earlier this month to assume the non-combat "overwatch" role that General Petraeus believes that the U.S. can adopt at some as-yet-undefined point in the (far) future. Others are pulling out: the Danes, proud contributors of 470 troops in Iraq, have said they would withdraw in August, but that seems not to have happened yet. South Korea is expected to get out at the end of the year.

Then there's Fiji, which devotes 150 troops to helping secure the United Nations' assistance mission in Iraq -- a job mostly done from outside of the country, but with a new mandate approved by the Security Council last month, it may soon have a more substantial presence inside Iraq. Go Fijans!

Clip Source: www.tpmmuckraker.com

Let's clarify a bit about the Iraq coalition. President Bush last night thanked "the 36 nations who have troops on the ground in Iraq." We count 25 of them (including, um, us) as part of Multinational Force-Iraq, most of whom have a tiny presence "on the ground"; six nations that have a non-MNF-I presence as part of a Nato mission that mostly takes place outside of Iraq; and then brave Fiji, which helps protect the United Nations mission. (Also mostly outside Iraq.)

Nearly all of them have minuscule numbers of troops devoted to the Iraq mission, for a total of only 11,732

The Coalition of the Willing:

* Albania * Armenia * Austrailia * Azerbaijan * Bosnia and Herzegovina * Bulgaria * Czech Republic * Denmark * El Salvador * Estonia * Georgia * Japan * Kazakhstan * South Korea * Latvia * Lithuania * Macedonia * Moldova * Mongolia * Poland * Romania * Singapore * Slovakia * Ukraine * United Kingdom

Tags: lies, war, terror, iraq, bush, iran, politics, conservative, republican, democrat