Democracy is in grave danger of poor journalism
The [Bush] Administration works closely with a network of rapid response digital Brown Shirts who work to pressure reporters and their editors for undermining support for our troops. ... Bush and Cheney are spreading purposeful confusion while punishing reporters who stand in the way. It is understandably difficult for reporters and journalistic institutions to resist this pressure, which, in the case of individual journalists, threatens their livelihoods, and in the case of the broadcasters can lead to other forms of economic retribution. But resist they must, because without a press able to report "without fear or favor" our democracy will disappear. -- Al Gore, American Constitution Society.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
NEWSPEAK
Iraq is sovereign ... except it can't make decisions on its own [I believe the expression should have been 'Let freedom RING'.]
White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice Monday informed President Bush in a handwritten note of the transfer of authority in Baghdad, prompting Bush to scribble back: 'Let freedom reign'.
The note exchange took place during a meeting of NATO leaders in Istanbul. Ms Rice handed the note to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who passed it along to Bush.
Iraq Gov't must abide by US-made laws
The US led-coalition, facing a Wednesday deadline to hand back power, has put in place major legal revisions that would force Iraqis to get drivers' licenses, obey traffic laws, ban certain people from holding office and place American contractors above the law.
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish politician and member of the disbanded US-picked Governing Council, said he thinks the Americans began pushing the flurry of laws once it became clear the occupation would be cut short. Washington's earlier plans, he said, called for a longer occupation that would have allowed Iraq's constitution to be written under US watch.
But critics say the Coalition Provisional Authority's flurry of laws amounts to meddling in Iraq's basic institutions, something that international law places out of bounds for an occupying power.
Especially irksome for Iraqi leaders is the fact that the occupier's edicts remain in force after the occupation ends -- including laws that curtail the powers of the incoming government.
Prisoner 27075 learns limits of sovereignty
Iyad Akmush Kanum, 23, learnt the limits of sovereignty when US prosecutors refused to uphold an Iraqi judges' order acquitting him of attempted murder of coalition troops.
US prosecutors said that he was being returned to the controversial Abu Ghraib prison because under the Geneva Conventions they were not bound by Iraqi law.
Faisal Estrabadi, an Iraqi lawyer, said yesterday after the refusal to release Mr Kanum: "If the Iraqi courts have acquitted an individual he must be released. Anything else is a violation of sovereignty".
White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice Monday informed President Bush in a handwritten note of the transfer of authority in Baghdad, prompting Bush to scribble back: 'Let freedom reign'.
'Mr. President, Iraq is sovereign. Letter was passed from (U.S. administrator Paul) Bremer at 10:26 a.m. Iraq time -- Condi,'
The note exchange took place during a meeting of NATO leaders in Istanbul. Ms Rice handed the note to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who passed it along to Bush.
Iraq Gov't must abide by US-made laws
The US led-coalition, facing a Wednesday deadline to hand back power, has put in place major legal revisions that would force Iraqis to get drivers' licenses, obey traffic laws, ban certain people from holding office and place American contractors above the law.
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish politician and member of the disbanded US-picked Governing Council, said he thinks the Americans began pushing the flurry of laws once it became clear the occupation would be cut short. Washington's earlier plans, he said, called for a longer occupation that would have allowed Iraq's constitution to be written under US watch.
But critics say the Coalition Provisional Authority's flurry of laws amounts to meddling in Iraq's basic institutions, something that international law places out of bounds for an occupying power.
Especially irksome for Iraqi leaders is the fact that the occupier's edicts remain in force after the occupation ends -- including laws that curtail the powers of the incoming government.
Prisoner 27075 learns limits of sovereignty
Iyad Akmush Kanum, 23, learnt the limits of sovereignty when US prosecutors refused to uphold an Iraqi judges' order acquitting him of attempted murder of coalition troops.
US prosecutors said that he was being returned to the controversial Abu Ghraib prison because under the Geneva Conventions they were not bound by Iraqi law.
Faisal Estrabadi, an Iraqi lawyer, said yesterday after the refusal to release Mr Kanum: "If the Iraqi courts have acquitted an individual he must be released. Anything else is a violation of sovereignty".
BIG BROTHER
FBI snoops suspects' computers using Trojan horse:
The FBI has confirmed the existence of its latest Internet-eavesdropping, controversy-raising snooping device exotically code-named 'Magic Lantern'.
Magic Lantern is software that, once installed on the suspect's computer, will record every keystroke typed. The gathered keystrokes will then be analyzed by the FBI to extract passwords. The harvested passwords will be used by the FBI to access the suspect's email messages and other encrypted documents, or to gain access to other computers contacted by the suspect via the Internet.
The FBI has confirmed the existence of its latest Internet-eavesdropping, controversy-raising snooping device exotically code-named 'Magic Lantern'.
Magic Lantern is software that, once installed on the suspect's computer, will record every keystroke typed. The gathered keystrokes will then be analyzed by the FBI to extract passwords. The harvested passwords will be used by the FBI to access the suspect's email messages and other encrypted documents, or to gain access to other computers contacted by the suspect via the Internet.
WATCH THE SKIES
'UFO' is spotted in skies over Ireland
TWO men working high up a radio mast in Co Monaghan believe they have spied a top-secret inter-planetary craft flying toward Belfast.
Miles Johnston, of the Irish UFO Research Centre, and Dublin-based rigger Terry Malone claim the delta-winged craft traversed the sky at ultrasonic speed, taking just a few seconds to reach the horizon.
"I am convinced it was a man-made advanced space craft - we had a good long look at it in a clear blue sky," Mr Johnston said.
Mr Malone confirmed the object was "absolutely enormous".
"It was huge, high, and travelling at some speed," he said. "I've seen B52s going over and you can hear them buzzing, but there was not a sound from this thing. And it was gone in an instant."
TWO men working high up a radio mast in Co Monaghan believe they have spied a top-secret inter-planetary craft flying toward Belfast.
Miles Johnston, of the Irish UFO Research Centre, and Dublin-based rigger Terry Malone claim the delta-winged craft traversed the sky at ultrasonic speed, taking just a few seconds to reach the horizon.
"I am convinced it was a man-made advanced space craft - we had a good long look at it in a clear blue sky," Mr Johnston said.
Mr Malone confirmed the object was "absolutely enormous".
"It was huge, high, and travelling at some speed," he said. "I've seen B52s going over and you can hear them buzzing, but there was not a sound from this thing. And it was gone in an instant."
PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
Carlyle Group buys into world's third-largest cinema chain
A team of buyout firms sealed a deal to snap up Loews Cineplex Entertainment for $1.46 billion.
Canadian buyout firm Onex Corp., which owns Loews with Oaktree Capital Management, said yesterday that it would sell the world's third-largest movie theater chain to a company formed by Bain Capital, the Carlyle Group and Spectrum Equity Investors.
A source familiar with the deal said Bain and Carlyle will have equal stakes of 38 per cent each, while Spectrum will have around 20 per cent, with existing management owning the rest.
Michael Connelly, a managing director of the Carlyle Group's telecommunications and media group said "We look forward to working with management and employees of the company to create new opportunities".
The assets being acquired by Bain, Carlyle and Spectrum include Loews' U.S. operations, Grupo Cinemex in Mexico and its 50 per cent interests in Megabox Cineplex of Korea and Yelmo Cineplex of Spain.
Loews, based in New York, boasts more than 2800 screens in some 280 movie houses throughout the world.
[Would this have anything to do with the Bush cartel, which has close connections with Carlyle, being unable to suppress screenings of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11? The film looks at the alleged 'murky relationship' between Bush senior, controversial defence investment firm the Carlyle GroupLink...]
A team of buyout firms sealed a deal to snap up Loews Cineplex Entertainment for $1.46 billion.
Canadian buyout firm Onex Corp., which owns Loews with Oaktree Capital Management, said yesterday that it would sell the world's third-largest movie theater chain to a company formed by Bain Capital, the Carlyle Group and Spectrum Equity Investors.
A source familiar with the deal said Bain and Carlyle will have equal stakes of 38 per cent each, while Spectrum will have around 20 per cent, with existing management owning the rest.
Michael Connelly, a managing director of the Carlyle Group's telecommunications and media group said "We look forward to working with management and employees of the company to create new opportunities".
The assets being acquired by Bain, Carlyle and Spectrum include Loews' U.S. operations, Grupo Cinemex in Mexico and its 50 per cent interests in Megabox Cineplex of Korea and Yelmo Cineplex of Spain.
Loews, based in New York, boasts more than 2800 screens in some 280 movie houses throughout the world.
[Would this have anything to do with the Bush cartel, which has close connections with Carlyle, being unable to suppress screenings of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11? The film looks at the alleged 'murky relationship' between Bush senior, controversial defence investment firm the Carlyle GroupLink...]
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
High court slams Bush on terror suspects
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the war on terrorism does not give the government a "blank check" to hold a U.S. citizen and foreign-born terror suspects in legal limbo, a forceful denunciation of Bush administration tactics since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Ruling in two cases, the high court refused to endorse a central claim of the White House: that the government has authority to seize and detain terrorism suspects and indefinitely deny access to courts or lawyers while interrogating them.
A state of war "is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in the most significant case of the day, a ruling that gives American-born detainee Yaser Esam Hamdi the right to fight his detention in a federal court. Separately, the court said that nearly 600 men from 42 countries held at a Navy prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, can use American courts to contest their treatment.
Pentagon names tribunal for Hicks trial
The Pentagon has named the officers who will decide the fate of David Hicks and two other Guantanamo prisoners charged by the United States in the first US military tribunals since World War II.
Earlier this month, Hicks, a convert to Islam accused of joining Al Qaeda, was charged with three counts: conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy.
Human rights groups have condemned the trial process established for the commissions, saying the rules favour the prosecution, undercut the defence and do not permit independent judicial review.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the war on terrorism does not give the government a "blank check" to hold a U.S. citizen and foreign-born terror suspects in legal limbo, a forceful denunciation of Bush administration tactics since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Ruling in two cases, the high court refused to endorse a central claim of the White House: that the government has authority to seize and detain terrorism suspects and indefinitely deny access to courts or lawyers while interrogating them.
A state of war "is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in the most significant case of the day, a ruling that gives American-born detainee Yaser Esam Hamdi the right to fight his detention in a federal court. Separately, the court said that nearly 600 men from 42 countries held at a Navy prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, can use American courts to contest their treatment.
Pentagon names tribunal for Hicks trial
The Pentagon has named the officers who will decide the fate of David Hicks and two other Guantanamo prisoners charged by the United States in the first US military tribunals since World War II.
Earlier this month, Hicks, a convert to Islam accused of joining Al Qaeda, was charged with three counts: conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy.
Human rights groups have condemned the trial process established for the commissions, saying the rules favour the prosecution, undercut the defence and do not permit independent judicial review.
FRESH MEAT
US readies for draft
Despite denials that the U.S. plans to re-institute the draft, the Pentagon has stepped up preparations for a new Selective Service System that could allow for a full-blown draft by next year.
The Selective Service System insists it "remains prepared to manage a draft if and when the President and the Congress so direct. This responsibility has been ongoing since 1980 and is nothing new".
But savvy draft-watchers, including author, radio personality and attorney retired Col. Ron Ray, USMCR, dispute the “is not getting ready” phrase, suggesting that there is, indeed, evidence indicating a new, heightened urgency within the agency, which these days is independent and no longer falls under the aegis of the Department of Defense. Ray himself had served as a Pentagon official during the Reagan administration.
[Helping the agency to reach its goals and objectives is a little known provision of the No Child Left Behind Act that requires schools to provide contact information for every student – or risk losing federal aid dollars.]
Army plans involuntary call-up of thousands
Despite denials that the U.S. plans to re-institute the draft, the Pentagon has stepped up preparations for a new Selective Service System that could allow for a full-blown draft by next year.
The Selective Service System insists it "remains prepared to manage a draft if and when the President and the Congress so direct. This responsibility has been ongoing since 1980 and is nothing new".
But savvy draft-watchers, including author, radio personality and attorney retired Col. Ron Ray, USMCR, dispute the “is not getting ready” phrase, suggesting that there is, indeed, evidence indicating a new, heightened urgency within the agency, which these days is independent and no longer falls under the aegis of the Department of Defense. Ray himself had served as a Pentagon official during the Reagan administration.
[Helping the agency to reach its goals and objectives is a little known provision of the No Child Left Behind Act that requires schools to provide contact information for every student – or risk losing federal aid dollars.]
Army plans involuntary call-up of thousands
NEW WORLD ORDER
Senior intel officer: Al Qaeda will attack US to ensure Bush win
A senior US intelligence official is about to publish a bitter condemnation of America's counter-terrorism policy, arguing that the West is losing the war against Al Qaeda and that an 'avaricious, premeditated, unprovoked' war in Iraq has played into Osama bin Laden's hands.
This senior intelligence official, who anonymously penned "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror", also says that 'Osama bin Laden may attack the US before the November election to ensure the re-election of President George Bush.'
James Bamford, the author of two respected books on American intelligence (The Puzzle Palace and Body of Secrets, both about the National Security Agency), has written a new book called "Pretext for War".
His book -- described as a "damning portrait" of the intelligence community painting a "scathing picture" of neoconservatives in the Bush administration -- suggests that the CIA caved to pressure from administration hard-liners. Bamford quotes a CIA case officer who says a senior agency officer called a meeting and said, "You know what – if Bush wants to go to war, it's your job to give him a reason to do so".
According to Bamford, the basic blueprint for the administration's Middle East policy had been drawn up in the mid-1990s by Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, and David Wurmser, three neoconservatives who would be named to influential positions in the Bush administration.
A senior US intelligence official is about to publish a bitter condemnation of America's counter-terrorism policy, arguing that the West is losing the war against Al Qaeda and that an 'avaricious, premeditated, unprovoked' war in Iraq has played into Osama bin Laden's hands.
This senior intelligence official, who anonymously penned "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror", also says that 'Osama bin Laden may attack the US before the November election to ensure the re-election of President George Bush.'
James Bamford, the author of two respected books on American intelligence (The Puzzle Palace and Body of Secrets, both about the National Security Agency), has written a new book called "Pretext for War".
His book -- described as a "damning portrait" of the intelligence community painting a "scathing picture" of neoconservatives in the Bush administration -- suggests that the CIA caved to pressure from administration hard-liners. Bamford quotes a CIA case officer who says a senior agency officer called a meeting and said, "You know what – if Bush wants to go to war, it's your job to give him a reason to do so".
According to Bamford, the basic blueprint for the administration's Middle East policy had been drawn up in the mid-1990s by Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, and David Wurmser, three neoconservatives who would be named to influential positions in the Bush administration.
PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
Who is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi?
Al Zarqawi is often described as an "Osama associate", the bogeyman, allegedly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in several countries. In other reports, often emanating from the same sources, it is stated that he has no links to Al Qaeda and operates quite independently. He is often presented as an individual who is challenging the leadership of bin Laden.
His name crops up on numerous occasions in press reports and official statements. Since early 2004, he is in the news almost on a daily basis.
Osama belongs to the powerful bin Laden family, which historically had business ties to the Bushes and prominent members of the Texas oil establishment. Bin Laden was recruited by the CIA during the Soviet-Afghan war and fought as a Mujahideen. In other words, there is a longstanding documented history of bin Laden-CIA and bin Laden-Bush family links, which are an obvious source of embarrassment to the US government.
In contrast to bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi has no family history. He comes from an impoverished Palestinian family in Jordan. His parents are dead. He emerges out of the blue.
He is described by CNN as "a lone wolf" who is said to act quite independently of the Al Qaeda network. Yet surprisingly, this lone wolf is present in several countries, in Iraq, which is now his base, but also in Western Europe. He is also suspected of preparing a terrorist attack on American soil.
He seems to be in several places at the same time. He is described as "the chief U.S. enemy", "a master of disguise and bogus identification papers". We are led to believe that this "lone wolf" manages to outwit the most astute US intelligence operatives.
US denies reports al-Zarqawi captured
There are conflicting reports that one of Washington's most wanted men has been captured in Iraq. Al-Arabiya television reported Monday that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is in custody, but the head of the U.S. military in Iraq denied the reports.
The US intelligence apparatus has created it own terrorist organizations. And at the same time, it creates its own terrorist warnings concerning the terrorist organizations which it has itself created. In turn, it has developed a cohesive multibillion dollar counterterrorism program 'to go after' these terrorist organizations. -- by Michel Chossudovsky
Al Zarqawi is often described as an "Osama associate", the bogeyman, allegedly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in several countries. In other reports, often emanating from the same sources, it is stated that he has no links to Al Qaeda and operates quite independently. He is often presented as an individual who is challenging the leadership of bin Laden.
His name crops up on numerous occasions in press reports and official statements. Since early 2004, he is in the news almost on a daily basis.
Osama belongs to the powerful bin Laden family, which historically had business ties to the Bushes and prominent members of the Texas oil establishment. Bin Laden was recruited by the CIA during the Soviet-Afghan war and fought as a Mujahideen. In other words, there is a longstanding documented history of bin Laden-CIA and bin Laden-Bush family links, which are an obvious source of embarrassment to the US government.
In contrast to bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi has no family history. He comes from an impoverished Palestinian family in Jordan. His parents are dead. He emerges out of the blue.
He is described by CNN as "a lone wolf" who is said to act quite independently of the Al Qaeda network. Yet surprisingly, this lone wolf is present in several countries, in Iraq, which is now his base, but also in Western Europe. He is also suspected of preparing a terrorist attack on American soil.
He seems to be in several places at the same time. He is described as "the chief U.S. enemy", "a master of disguise and bogus identification papers". We are led to believe that this "lone wolf" manages to outwit the most astute US intelligence operatives.
US denies reports al-Zarqawi captured
There are conflicting reports that one of Washington's most wanted men has been captured in Iraq. Al-Arabiya television reported Monday that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is in custody, but the head of the U.S. military in Iraq denied the reports.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
MIND CONTROL
Watching TV 'blocks sleep hormone in children'
Exposure to television can influence melatonin levels in children and possibly contribute to the premature onset of puberty, according to a study by scientists from the University of Florence.
The study found a 30 per cent increase in levels of the sleep-regulating hormone in children who had abstained from watching television for a week, the Rome daily La Repubblica reported yesterday.
Exposure to television can influence melatonin levels in children and possibly contribute to the premature onset of puberty, according to a study by scientists from the University of Florence.
The study found a 30 per cent increase in levels of the sleep-regulating hormone in children who had abstained from watching television for a week, the Rome daily La Repubblica reported yesterday.
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
Court rules against Bush in case about terror suspects
The US Supreme Court has ruled that prisoners seized as potential terrorists and held for more than two years at a US military prison camp in Cuba may challenge their captivity in American courts - a defeat for President George W Bush in one of the first major high court cases arising from the September 11 attacks.
The US Supreme Court has ruled that prisoners seized as potential terrorists and held for more than two years at a US military prison camp in Cuba may challenge their captivity in American courts - a defeat for President George W Bush in one of the first major high court cases arising from the September 11 attacks.
NO PAIN, NO GAIN
What the 'torture memos' reveal
Aug. 1, 2002 saw the most infamous of the "torture papers," DOJ/OLC chief Bybee's memorandum to Gonzales entitled: "Standards of Conduct for Interrogations, under the Convention Against Torture and the U.S. Anti-Torture Act (18 U.S. 2340-2340A)." This memorandum was reportedly drafted by the DOJ for the CIA, and sent directly to the White House without consultation with either the State Department, or the Joint Chiefs and Joint Staff legal experts. It is an extremely detailed, 50-page memorandum, giving the most lenient interpretation conceivable, of the anti-torture treaty and laws. The memo states at the outset:
When the White House officially released this memo (it already having been leaked), DOJ attorneys suddenly disavowed it, telling reporters that it would be "repudiated" and "replaced." But the official who signed it, Jay Bybee, is now a Federal appellate judge, sitting on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Washington Post reported on June 24, that sometime in December, two Navy interrogators heard military intelligence personnel talking about using techniques which they considered "repulsive and potentially illegal". Their concerns were brought to DOD General Counsel Haynes by Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora. Haynes apparently ignored Mora's appeals until Mora threatened to put them in writing.
Aug. 1, 2002 saw the most infamous of the "torture papers," DOJ/OLC chief Bybee's memorandum to Gonzales entitled: "Standards of Conduct for Interrogations, under the Convention Against Torture and the U.S. Anti-Torture Act (18 U.S. 2340-2340A)." This memorandum was reportedly drafted by the DOJ for the CIA, and sent directly to the White House without consultation with either the State Department, or the Joint Chiefs and Joint Staff legal experts. It is an extremely detailed, 50-page memorandum, giving the most lenient interpretation conceivable, of the anti-torture treaty and laws. The memo states at the outset:
We conclude below that Section 2340A proscribes acts inflicting, and that are specifically intended to inflict, severe pain or suffering, whether mental or physical.
Those acts must be of an extreme nature to rise to the level of torture within the meaning of Section 2340A and the Convention.
We further conclude that certain acts may be cruel, inhuman, or degrading, but still not produce pain and suffering of the requisite intensity to fall within Section 2340A's proscription against torture.
We conclude that for an act to constitute torture as defined in Section 2340, it must inflict pain that is difficult to endure.
Physical pain amounting to torture must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of body function, or even death.
For purely mental pain or suffering to amount to torture under Section 2340, it must result in significant psychological harm of significant duration, e.g., lasting for months or even years....[...]
We conclude that, under current circumstances, necessity or self-defense may justify interrogation methods that might violate Section 2340A.
When the White House officially released this memo (it already having been leaked), DOJ attorneys suddenly disavowed it, telling reporters that it would be "repudiated" and "replaced." But the official who signed it, Jay Bybee, is now a Federal appellate judge, sitting on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Washington Post reported on June 24, that sometime in December, two Navy interrogators heard military intelligence personnel talking about using techniques which they considered "repulsive and potentially illegal". Their concerns were brought to DOD General Counsel Haynes by Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora. Haynes apparently ignored Mora's appeals until Mora threatened to put them in writing.
NAKED EMPEROR
Angry White House reprimands Irish interviewer for 'dissing' Bush
THE White House has lodged a complaint with the Irish Embassy in Washington over RTE journalist Carole Coleman's interview with US President George Bush.
The White House told Ms Coleman that she interrupted the president unnecessarily and was disrespectful. She also received a call from the White House in which she was admonished for her tone.
On several occasions during the 15-minute interview, Bush asked Coleman not to interrupt him.
It has also emerged that presidential staff suggested to Ms Coleman as she went into the interview that she ask him a question on the outfit that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern wore to the G8 summit.
Pampered Bush meets a real reporter
Coleman asked tough questions about the mounting death toll in Iraq, the failure of US planning, and European opposition to the invasion and occupation.
And when the president offered the sort of empty and listless "answers" that satisfy the White House press corps -- at one point, he mumbled, "My job is to do my job" -- she tried to get him focused by asking precise follow-up questions.
See the interview, and decide if Coleman "overstepped the bounds of politeness".
[The chief executive who gleefully declares that he does not read newspapers cannot begin to grasp the notion that journalists might have an important role to play in a democracy.]
THE White House has lodged a complaint with the Irish Embassy in Washington over RTE journalist Carole Coleman's interview with US President George Bush.
The White House told Ms Coleman that she interrupted the president unnecessarily and was disrespectful. She also received a call from the White House in which she was admonished for her tone.
On several occasions during the 15-minute interview, Bush asked Coleman not to interrupt him.
It has also emerged that presidential staff suggested to Ms Coleman as she went into the interview that she ask him a question on the outfit that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern wore to the G8 summit.
Pampered Bush meets a real reporter
Coleman asked tough questions about the mounting death toll in Iraq, the failure of US planning, and European opposition to the invasion and occupation.
And when the president offered the sort of empty and listless "answers" that satisfy the White House press corps -- at one point, he mumbled, "My job is to do my job" -- she tried to get him focused by asking precise follow-up questions.
See the interview, and decide if Coleman "overstepped the bounds of politeness".
[The chief executive who gleefully declares that he does not read newspapers cannot begin to grasp the notion that journalists might have an important role to play in a democracy.]
NEW WORLD ORDER
Divide and conquer means death to democracy
'When, through the process of law, the common people lose their homes, they will become more docile and more easily governed through the strong arm of government applied by a central power of wealth under leading financiers. These truths are well known among our principal men who are now engaged in forming imperialism to govern the world. By dividing the voter through the political party system, we can get them to expend their energies in fighting for questions of no importance." -- From the American Banker's Association Digest (1924 edition).
'When, through the process of law, the common people lose their homes, they will become more docile and more easily governed through the strong arm of government applied by a central power of wealth under leading financiers. These truths are well known among our principal men who are now engaged in forming imperialism to govern the world. By dividing the voter through the political party system, we can get them to expend their energies in fighting for questions of no importance." -- From the American Banker's Association Digest (1924 edition).
Monday, June 28, 2004
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Democracy needs to be re-constructed after Bush
“The current incumbents may do severe, perhaps irreparable, damage if given another hold on power-a very slim hold, but one they will use to achieve very ugly and dangerous ends. In a very powerful state, small differences may translate into very substantial effects on the victims, at home and abroad. It is no favor to those who are suffering, and may face much worse ahead, to overlook these facts. Keeping the Bush circle out means holding one's nose and voting for some Democrat, but that's not the end of the story. The basic culture and institutions of a democratic society have to be constructed, in part reconstructed, and defeat of an extremely dangerous clique in the presidential race is only one very small component of that.” -- Noam Chomsky
["The danger of the Chomsky approach is that it isolates Bush from the history of US imperialism, viewing Bush's policies as something exclusive to the current administration. The real failure I contend, lies with the Left." -- William Bowles]
“The current incumbents may do severe, perhaps irreparable, damage if given another hold on power-a very slim hold, but one they will use to achieve very ugly and dangerous ends. In a very powerful state, small differences may translate into very substantial effects on the victims, at home and abroad. It is no favor to those who are suffering, and may face much worse ahead, to overlook these facts. Keeping the Bush circle out means holding one's nose and voting for some Democrat, but that's not the end of the story. The basic culture and institutions of a democratic society have to be constructed, in part reconstructed, and defeat of an extremely dangerous clique in the presidential race is only one very small component of that.” -- Noam Chomsky
["The danger of the Chomsky approach is that it isolates Bush from the history of US imperialism, viewing Bush's policies as something exclusive to the current administration. The real failure I contend, lies with the Left." -- William Bowles]
TRUE COLOURS
'Fuck you, world'
Cheney to Senator regarding Halliburton: 'Go fuck yourself' ... thus ignoring 'family values'
In the US Senate, Vice President, and former chief of Halliburton Corp., Dick Cheney told Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, to 'go fuck yourself'.
Cheney -- who has steered numerous no-bid no-competition government contracts for the War on Terror and the War on Iraq to Halliburton -- exhibited his arrogance publicly after Leahy spoke to Cheney about Halliburton's sole-source contracts in Iraq, which are all under investigation for fraud by the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice.
Ironically Cheney's obscenities aimed at Senator Leahy came on the day the Senate passed a law called the 'Defense of Decency Act'.
YOUR PAPERS, PLEASE
New laws allow suspects to be DNA tested
South Australian Premiere Mike Rann boasts that South Australia's forensic DNA database had grown by more than 11,000 this year compared with less than 500 last year.
Appearing on ABC TV's 7 o'clock bulletin, Mr Rann said that whereas the database formerly contained genetic identity profiles only of convicted criminals, new laws have made it possible now to include those who had been charged and those suspected of crime.
[The last time I saw Mr Rann he was dressed in a shin-length black leather overcoat and looked more like the State's Gruppen Fuhrer]
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
'We will not enforce the R rating for Fahrenheit 9/11' -- A Michigan cinema flouts the law so that younger patrons can see what their alien masters have been up to.
The view from America: responses to Fahrenheit 9/11
'We just came back from the cinema in Hollywood where the reception was fantastic! I even got my Republican father a ticket to see the movie in Orange County. Needless to say after he saw the movie he now plans to vote against the Bush. He has voted Republican since Nixon.' -- R.S.
WHITE SUPREMACISTS
Ashcroft downplays terrorist! It's OK, he's not a swarthy Muslim
FBI agents discovered a weapons cache containing fully automatic machine guns, remote-controlled explosive devices disguised as briefcases, 60 pipe bombs and a chemical weapon -- a cyanide bomb -- big enough to kill everyone in a 30,000-square-foot building.
Strangely, though, the attorney general didn't call a press conference to announce the discovery of the weapons cache, or the arrest of William Krar, its owner. He didn't even issue a press release. This was, to say the least, out of character.
Recently, Jose 'dirty bomber' Padilla didn't have any bomb-making material or even a plausible way to acquire such material, yet Mr. Ashcroft put him on front pages around the world.
This time a William Krar was caught with an actual chemical bomb, yet Mr. Ashcroft acted as if nothing had happened. Incidentally, if Mr. Ashcroft's intention was to keep the case low-profile, the media have been highly cooperative. To this day, the Noonday conspiracy has received little national coverage.
In this case, it sounds over the top to accuse Mr. Ashcroft of trying to bury news about terrorists who don't fit his preferred story line. Yet it's hard to believe that Mr Krar wouldn't have become a household name if he had been a Muslim, or even a leftist.
[Was Mr. Ashcroft, who once gave an interview with Southern Partisan magazine in which he praised 'Southern patriots' like Jefferson Davis, reluctant to publicize the case of a terrorist who happened to be a white supremacist?]
FBI agents discovered a weapons cache containing fully automatic machine guns, remote-controlled explosive devices disguised as briefcases, 60 pipe bombs and a chemical weapon -- a cyanide bomb -- big enough to kill everyone in a 30,000-square-foot building.
Strangely, though, the attorney general didn't call a press conference to announce the discovery of the weapons cache, or the arrest of William Krar, its owner. He didn't even issue a press release. This was, to say the least, out of character.
Recently, Jose 'dirty bomber' Padilla didn't have any bomb-making material or even a plausible way to acquire such material, yet Mr. Ashcroft put him on front pages around the world.
This time a William Krar was caught with an actual chemical bomb, yet Mr. Ashcroft acted as if nothing had happened. Incidentally, if Mr. Ashcroft's intention was to keep the case low-profile, the media have been highly cooperative. To this day, the Noonday conspiracy has received little national coverage.
In this case, it sounds over the top to accuse Mr. Ashcroft of trying to bury news about terrorists who don't fit his preferred story line. Yet it's hard to believe that Mr Krar wouldn't have become a household name if he had been a Muslim, or even a leftist.
[Was Mr. Ashcroft, who once gave an interview with Southern Partisan magazine in which he praised 'Southern patriots' like Jefferson Davis, reluctant to publicize the case of a terrorist who happened to be a white supremacist?]
PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
Report claiming 'war on terrorism' success now found to be a crock
The State Department said on Thursday its April 29 report that the number of international "terrorist" attacks and resulting deaths fell last year was wrong and both figures had in fact risen.
The admission dented the claim by some U.S. officials that the report provided evidence that Washington was winning the "war on terrorism," whose success is critical to President Bush's reelection strategy.
When the report was released, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said it provided "clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight" while State Department coordinator for counterterrorism Cofer Black hailed its "good news."
Secretary of State Colin Powell denied claims the numbers were manipulated for political benefit.
In reviewing the data, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center found preliminary indications that there was a sharp increase over the previous year in incidents and resulting deaths.
[If you missed this item, it is possibly because former president Reagan's "Weekend at Ronnie's" endless funerary rites were hogging the news-o-taiment shows.]
The State Department said on Thursday its April 29 report that the number of international "terrorist" attacks and resulting deaths fell last year was wrong and both figures had in fact risen.
The admission dented the claim by some U.S. officials that the report provided evidence that Washington was winning the "war on terrorism," whose success is critical to President Bush's reelection strategy.
When the report was released, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said it provided "clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight" while State Department coordinator for counterterrorism Cofer Black hailed its "good news."
Secretary of State Colin Powell denied claims the numbers were manipulated for political benefit.
In reviewing the data, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center found preliminary indications that there was a sharp increase over the previous year in incidents and resulting deaths.
[If you missed this item, it is possibly because former president Reagan's "Weekend at Ronnie's" endless funerary rites were hogging the news-o-taiment shows.]
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