Clipmarks | citizenbfk's clips

Anthrax attacks falsely used to promote war

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:51:03 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk

FBI was told to blame Anthrax scare on Al Qaeda by White House officials

WASHINGTON - In the immediate aftermath of the 2001 anthrax attacks, White House officials repeatedly pressed FBI Director Robert Mueller to prove it was a second-wave assault by Al Qaeda, but investigators ruled that out, the Daily News has learned.

"They really wanted to blame somebody in the Middle East," the retired senior FBI official told The News.

On October 15, 2001, President Bush said, "There may be some possible link" to Bin Laden, adding, "I wouldn't put it past him." Vice President Cheney also said Bin Laden's henchmen were trained "how to deploy and use these kinds of substances, so you start to piece it all together."

War Profiters Wrapping Up Their Deals

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:43:54 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk

Clip Source: www.motherjones.com

The Hunt for Kurdish Oil

his week, the Wall Street Journal reported that another Bush administration insider, Richard Perle, had approached Talabani seeking an Iraqi Kurdish oil concession on behalf of a consortium involving Turkish oil companies and the Kazakh government.

The Hunt Oil and Perle-Turkish-Kazakh ventures are among more than twenty oil contracts signed (with dozens more under consideration) by the Kurdish Regional Government, in a process conducted largely in the dark. As troubling, several of the proposed Kurdish oil deals would financially benefit key Washington figures with close ties to the Bush administration.

Republicians Oppose Recent Supreme Court Decision

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:21:09 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: This is wrong. This is very wrong.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Critics Study Possible Limits to Habeas Corpus Ruling

The White House and allies in Congress have begun exploring how to limit the scope of this week's Supreme Court ruling that says suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detentions in federal court.

Administration lawyers were digesting the ramifications of a decision they condemned as an unjustified judicial usurpation of federal and congressional prerogatives in waging war. They said the court provided little guidance for the standards judges should use in evaluating the claims of detainees seeking release, and suggested that they might press Congress to spell out new rules.

"I am hoping that there is some legislative enactments that we can pass that would protect our national security requirements," Graham said.

Tags: guantanamo, supreme_court

U.S Supreme Court v. Guantánamo

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:40:58 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: It's great to see one of the most fundamental principles of the US Constitution (& Anglo-American law) is declared and will be restored: The right of an accused person to have a trial, to have "their day in court."

For six years now 300 people (more - or less, at time) have been held without trial or even without specific charges of what crimes they did.

It feels good that this one of the Bush's administration's evils is undone but feels bad that it was able to be done at all.

Even in victory the law is often cruel. The men still sit in jail. Even though ordered to have trials for the prisoners delays and more delays can be expected.

Who knows? Maybe some will even be found guilty? Although I've heard that several were really "set-ups," just so some warlord could collect a bounty and others just bodyguards or chauffeurs -- yet the military was able to use them for it's propaganda to keep the country in fear.

But the court confirms indefinite detentions are what we should

Clip Source: www.freep.com

Ruling affirms detainees' right to U.S. court hearings

High court rebuffs post-9/11 policies

2007 photo by BRENNAN LINSLEY/AP

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Guantánamo Bay detainees have a right to challenge their imprisonment in federal courts, in another rebuff to the Bush administration's effort to keep detainee cases under military control and away from review by U.S. judges.

"The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times. Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law."

Long a part of Anglo-American tradition, a writ of habeas corpus (Latin for "you should have the body") requires whoever holds the prisoner to allow him to make his case of unlawful confinement.

Impeach Bush Resolution - One More Try

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:14:46 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated that there will be no consideration of impeachment proceedings against Bush and said the idea was "off the table."

So I guess this means this second effort is also going nowhere. Why does the Democratic leadership continue to refuse to do this?
Is having oral sex in the White House with a willing 24-year old worse that killing 5,000 US troops, killing over 100,000 Iraqi citizens, displacing millions, spending trillions, etc.?

At least the 35 points for impeachment that Kucinich spelled out are a nice summary of Bush's war crimes and may prove useful after Bush leaves office.

Unfortunately, while the Democrats must be voted for this election,IMO, they seems to have no guts for a real showdown, not wanting to "upset the apple cart," as they trundle along to a presumed election landslide.

Who knows? Maybe they have a point; although if Bush attacks Iran that point is quite lost.

Note: None of this was printed in a USA newspaper.

Clip Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

US congressman moves to impeach Bush

Former Democratic presidential contender, Dennis Kucinich, has called for the impeachment of George W Bush claiming that the president set out to deceive the nation, and violated his oath of office with the Iraq war.

The Ohio representative yesterday introduced 35 articles of impeachment against Bush on the floor of the US House of Representatives.

He accused Bush executing a "calculated and wide-ranging strategy" to deceive citizens and Congress into believing that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States.

[Video]

Tags: bush, impeachment, kucinich, war_crimes

Karl Rove Unraveling: Congress threatens arrest.

Wed, 28 May 2008 11:47:55 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: ormer White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes in a surprisingly scathing memoir to be published next week that President Bush “veered terribly off course,” was not “open and forthright on Iraq,”

ALSO, RE; ROVE, McClellan asserts that Karl Rove, the president’s senior adviser, “Scooter” Libby and VP Cheney had a meeting on how to handle the Valarie Plame CIA leak case (i.e. a collusion in a Federal case)

NOW a Congresswoman on the Judiciary Committee, said on TV yestereday that if Rove doesn't show up for a subpoena --- concerning the Siegelman's case. ---CONGRESS WILL ARREST HIM!

Who knew Congress could arrest people!? (like a parliament deciding to arrest someone).

Well, it turns out there is actually a one room jail in Congress and they can send out the 'sergeant at arms,' and (without the police or courts), go out and arrest someone.

Whew! This just keeps getting -- as Alice in Wonderland cried -- ''Curiouser and curiouser!"

Isn't it great! The wheels

Clip Source: ap.google.com

President Bush's former chief political adviser denied meddling in the Justice Department's prosecution of Alabama's ex-governor and said Sunday the courts will have to resolve a congressional subpoena for his testimony.

"Congress, the House Judiciary Committee, wants to be able to call presidential aides on its whim up to testify," Karl Rove said. "It's going to be tied up in court and settled in court.

Last week, the committee ordered Rove to appear July 10. Lawmakers want to ask him about the White House's role in firing nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman, D-Ala.

Green Zone looking like Sitting Duck

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:02:20 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: I was just thinking how the recent fighting in Baghdad, focused around the Green Zone and Sard City, had comparisons to the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, and those pictures of the US helicopters fleeing of the roof of the Hanoi US embassy.

As a sidenote, It is interesting how an indigenous force uses the terrain and the weather while an occuping army fights against it.

Could you imagine the US Army planing actions around sandstorms?

I read that in Vietnam the Vietnamese quickly realized US actions, especially air strikes, always took a break for lunch.

The USA should negotiate some final political settlement and get out of Iraq.

I note there is a lot of the now-common propaganda between the lines involving latest battles, such as the idea the US is battling an "army."

It is not an "army." It is a militia. It's made up of citizen soldiers mainly from their own neighborhoods. Compared to the US Army they are like fleas on the back of a dog; fleas that are apparently hard

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

A Storm of Sand and Shelling

Shelling rocked the Green Zone as a sandstorm blanketed Baghdad on Sunday,

Clashes continued over the weekend in Sadr City, where U.S. and Iraqi forces have confronted fighters tied to the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia loyal to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Jeremiah Wright or Jeremiah Wrong?

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:34:49 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: This is a brief commentary worth reading. The viral video of Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a ticking time bomb on the road to the USA Elections of 2008.

His words and ideas are also a profound challenge to the policies and attitudes of the USA in the Middle East, Iraq, Iran, etc. -- as well as the policies, past and present, of race in the USA.

Clip Source: americancitizenstogether.org

What Is Rev. Jeremiah Wright All About?

[Video]

Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a man of God. Not a Pharisee pretending to be better than others but more in the Biblical tradition of a prophet challenging a state.

Rev. Wright is a black preacher who sees his people still discriminated against, still suffering, a preacher who sees his own country killing many innocents at home at abroad.

"God Damn America for it's sins," is what Rev. Wright was saying. God condemn America for it's sins.

Maybe, though, the Rev. Wright might listen again to the words, tone and spirit of Martin Luther King's famous: I Have A Dream," speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Maybe Rev. Wright's words aren't pallative enough to swallow.

Jerusalem rabbi school killings. UN condemn?

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:13:47 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: I agree with Libya and the others who stopped this from becoming a one-sided resolution (despite the support of Canada, the USA and the EU).

Why was there no move for such a UN resolution last week when Israeli killed 120 Palestinians civilians??

Or why no such resolution when that Russian school was taken over and many killed a few years ago.

Why not a resolution about school shooting in the USA and other nations by deranged individuals?

The POINT is we have an undue and excessive focus on Israel and are totally one-sided in our attitudes. Are 120 Palestinian dead last week somehow less important than 8 Israeli dead this week?

Israel invaded these Arab lands in 1947, if you don't know, and one of the consequences of 60 years of invasion is hate, war, and murder.

And as Canada, the USA and the EU watch over a million people in Gaza being starved to death in front of our eyes the UN does nothing.

Now the UN is concerned?

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Libya blocks UN move to condemn Jerusalem shootings

“We were not able to come to an agreement because the Libyan delegation with the support of one or two others did not want to condemn this act by itself but wanted to link it to other issues,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters after the council meeting.

The Libyans wanted to include in the statement language condemning the recent Israeli incursions into Gaza, which have killed over 120 Palestinians, many of them civilians

Americans Dumb: And Proud of It.

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:05:40 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: Although I suppose if this author can quote a writer from the 19th century and use words like 'jeremiads' that not Everyone has drunk the kool-aid of anti-intellectualism; or at least not completely.

Personally, continuing to be modest as usual I never vaunted intelligence as a scorecard for superiority but recently realized, not that I was smart, but that lots of other folks were dumb as dirt.

They haven't a clue (nor concern) about valid history and a recent poll indicated that most Yanks can not name the four books of the Christian Bible.

Can not name the four books of the Bible? Think that the American Civil War was fighting against the Germans? Etc.

I guess this is why our dumb President has to explain the war as "fighting against the bad guys."

Duh!

P.S. > Lots of folks are far more smartie then me be, two, BTW.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The Dumbing Of America

Call Me a Snob, but Really, We're a Nation of Dunces

"The mind of this country, taught to aim at low objects, eats upon itself." Ralph Waldo Emerson offered that observation in 1837,

Does all this matter? Technophiles pooh-pooh jeremiads about the end of print culture as the navel-gazing of (what else?) elitists.

Last Screams for Ice Cream?

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:52:39 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: Now this is the type of issue you can really sink your teeth into.

Maybe it will help 'increase awareness,' about the reality of a poisoned environment...effecting generations.

On the other hand, though, perhaps there will be more job opportunities if we have to hire people to fertilize the flowers.

Clip Source: money.cnn.com

Disappearing bees threaten ice cream sellers

Premium maker Haagen-Dazs says vanishing bee colonies in the U.S. could mean fewer flavors and high prices.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Haagen-Dazs is warning that a creature as small as a honeybee could become a big problem for the premium ice cream maker's business.

At issue is the disappearing bee colonies in the United States, a situation that continue to mystify scientists and frighten foodmakers.

Chinese 'Sexy Photo Gate" Battle

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:44:32 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: With a headline like: "Lurid images tell a tawdry tale," it's hard to skip over.

& the idea that the posting of 'lurid photos,' of Chinese celebrities has become a Battle for Internet Freedom is also intriguing.

also here a twist on a famous saying of nChinese Revolution leader, Chairman Mao...who, while being a bit of a thug leader said something good about the idea of freedom, saying

'let a thousand flowers grow,' and now...
Now the Chinese Netizens have posted: "When one IP address is shut down, a hundred thousand spring up/When one identity is shut down, a hundred thousand spring up.

Also !? Can it really be true that a Chinese bishop in Hong Kong quoted the "Speak no evil, see no evil and hear no evil proverb, claiming it was part of The Bible?

So,...Sexy Photos? Netizens? Chairman Mao?
Bishops fabricating Bible quotes?

It doesn't get much better than this. IMO
&
"And if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you're not going to make it with anyone

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

'Sexy Photo Gate' Mesmerizes
Hong Kong, China and Sparks
Police Crackdown, Backlash

Over the past two weeks, someone calling himself "Kira" has posted hundreds of photos online that purport to illustrate the sexual exploits of Mr. Chen, a 27-year-old actor, hip-hop artist, Pepsi pitchman and "newcomer" in People magazine's 2006 Sexiest Man Alive issue

he result: China's first big Internet celebrity sex scandal.

Bank Bailout Bill Begins

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:06:14 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: I did this big video job on 'Safety Training for Zookeepers, but to customer went broke because a tiger escaped and killed two people and they got sued.
"We can't afford to pay for the safety film now," they said.
I told the government and they said they would help and buy the video tapes from me.
"We'll give you more money than you'd get if you erased the tapes and pay you to re-edit the film so it might be able to be shown on the Home Improvement Channel.:

Nice government, I thought.

They also give subsidies to Exxon, which declared today it made more money IN HISTORY than any US corporation.

I'm glad they get the subsidies and glad the government gives me money in case any job falls through.

So this 20-billion to the mortgage banks to pay off all their bad loans sounds like a good idea to me. Nice too that not only did they get big fees and resale profits on the bad loans but that now we can pay 'em to 'restructure,' the loans and sell them to us."

(Note: I'm being

Clip Source: money.cnn.com

New $20B subprime bailout on the table

Senator Chris Dodd proposes setting up a fund that would buy defaulting subprime mortgages and restructure loans for borrowers.

Home Ownership Preservation Corporation, which would purchase mortgage securities that are backed by at-risk, subprime loans from lenders and investors.

This corporation would give these lenders and investors a better price for the securities than they would get if the properties backing them were put through foreclosure.

investors would still recoup more of their outlay this way, rather than going through the expensive foreclosure process.

Borrowers could see their monthly costs drop dramatically.

Torture not illegal because we don't do it.

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:33:50 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: USA Attorney General says today he doesn't know if waterboarding is legal or not; This is the nations top lawyer. You'd figure he' have more of an opinion than: "I don't know."

The AG also says: "We don't torture."

This all the more outrageous because video tapes of USA torture/waterboarding were destroyed so they couldn't be evidence.

Plus there are all the images of Abu Garaib prison all over the web.

!?

It's almost beyond words to describe but fortunately the basics will do: The USA Attorney General is deceptive. He is also not honorable, not true to his word.

He is now part of the White House plot to cover up the very exsistence or admission of waterboarding.

He's smirky. Gads. Our nation's top lawyer is smirky.

I wish I could think of other words or phrases to describe this 'disconnect,' this "lack of coherence," in one's presentation, this clearly displayed dislocation between reality and legal charade shell game.

Any other expresseion to describe this?

Clip Source: ap.google.com

Mukasey Refuses to Judge Waterboarding

Mukasey said Wednesday he would not rule on whether waterboarding is a form of illegal torture because it is not part of the current interrogation methods used by the CIA on terror suspects.

ritics want the Justice Department to join other nations and outlaw waterboarding as illegal. But U.S. intelligence officials fear that doing so could make government interrogators — including those from the CIA — vulnerable to retroactive criminal charges or civil lawsuits.

Waterboarding is at the heart of a Justice Department criminal investigation over whether the CIA illegally or otherwise improperly destroyed videotapes in 2005 of two terror suspects being interrogated.

Big Brother Bank's Robbery Explained

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 14:48:58 GMT

clipped by: citizenbfk
clipper's remarks: Most times we don't see the outrageous greed behind the scenes of banking, and in the relationship of banks to governments.

Such crimes are not as dramatic as a man in a black hat with a gun stealing a purse from an old lady on the street: The picture is not that clear.

But more get's stolen using a lawyers briefcase and a banker's ledger than any guns, 4sure.

The current so-called 'sub-prime' bad loans mess, though, might give us a glimpse of what is going on --- what is always going on: The big boys get the bucks and for the sake of show a few crumbs are cast out to the peasants.

We all knew that, anyway...I think?

But here, in the 2nd edition of my Political Action News, there are good details and insights into it all., IMHO.

Of course I WILL try to refrain (maybe) from posting my own web writing (if I can) ...but I guess it's no different than putting words here in these clips.

Plus I figure my 'deep involvement' in the markets offers perhaps a unique insider

Clip Source: www.americancitizenstogether.org

Who is Getting the "Economic Stimulus" from the Government?

The answer of who is getting the OVERWHELMING MOST AMOUNT OF CASH
of 'economic stimulus' from the government is: USA Banks, stock market investors, bond salesmen, corporations, some small businesses, home mortgage lenders, etc. getting tax breaks and cheap big bank loans for themselves (cheap rates not passed on to average consumer who's still paying credit card fees).

You didn't think most of it was going to the average American, did you? Or to the poor, unemployed, or senior citizens. These folks are getting almost nothing. The middle class is getting a token amount to make it look good.