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Books about the Iraq War
August 31, 2003
Keeping Score
Someone is keeping a scorecard of Bush's evil-doings.
August 30, 2003
WHAT BUSH HATH WROUGHT
THESE images of the carnage and destruction brought on by the hideous desires of our President George Bush are truly the culmination of evil on this planet. (Please do not let young or squeamish people look over your shoulder when you view this site.) HERE are the instruments of Bush's desires.
Deja Vu
From Ananova: Israel 'would bomb Iran nuclear plant'
Israel has made plans to bomb an Iranian nuclear power plant if it begins producing weapons grade material, it was reported today. Military commanders have mapped out a route Israeli fighter jets would take to destroy the Bushehr reactor on the Persian Gulf, officials told the Washington Times. Russia has been helping Iran to build its first nuclear plant for eight years in a deal worth about £500 million to Moscow. Both countries say it is purely for civilian purposes.
But the US claims Iran could use the technology to build a nuclear bomb, and President George Bush is expected raise the issue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at next month's Camp David summit. Russia said this week it would stop building the plant if the UN nuclear watchdog presents "concrete evidence" that Tehran is secretly developing banned weapons. Iran has tested 600-mile-range ballistic missiles that can reach Israel and carry nuclear, biological or chemical warheads. In 1981, Israel bombed the Iraqi Osiraq nuclear-power plant, near Baghdad, in an operation that drew widespread international criticism. Story filed: 15:52 Friday 29th August 2003
August 29, 2003
84 for Larice; Plus: No, YOU'RE Recalled!
For my youngest son, who loves lists: 84 things Bush has done since 'becoming' president. THIS comic by Ruben Bolling is hilarious. It spoofs the Terminator and the recall election.
Friday Fun
Paul McCartney is dead.How Things are MadeMarsCalifornia Recall CartoonsListen to recordings from the turn of the (last) century
Tell Me Something I Don't Know
Michael Tomasky says Republicans are Total Incompetents at running the country. Snippet: When voters recognize that one party knows how to get things done and the other party does not, they tend to gravitate toward the former even if they don't particularly agree with everything it stands for. Lots of people have voted Republican in the last few elections, and certainly in 2000, because even though they weren't nearly as right wing as the zealots now in power, they felt that the Republicans would do a better job of looking after their money and leaving the world a safer place for their kids. Voters surely can see that the Grand Incompetence Party is doing neither of those things. The Democrats just need to drill it into them. If Bush wins reelection, which seems unlikely at this point (as it did before 9-11, so you just never know...), there will probably be a mass exodus out of the country. Look out Canada, Australia and New Zealand! "Although it may not be true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."--John Stuart Mill
Does Arnie Qualify?
Molly Ivins, in her 8/26/03 column, talks about what it takes to be a governor and how well Arnie qualifies. Snippet: This sort of "Oh, hell, anybody can run the country, you don't have to know anything" attitude is beyond ludicrous. I'm sorry, but Jesse Ventura, whom I thoroughly enjoy as a personality, was a disaster as governor of Minnesota. A few elementary basics, like understanding the school aid formula, having some idea how to set fair insurance rates, what home health care providers need and a few hundred other subjects are a minimum requirement. Sure, you can surround some attractive political personality with top-notch aides, experts, advisers and bureaucrats, and many a dim bulb in executive office has been pulled through by just such a team. But it helps, honest, if you have a leader who has knowledge, understanding and vision. I grant you, they're in short supply, but "Hasta la vista, baby" doesn't sound that good when people's lives are on the line.
I realize Gray Davis was supposed to be Mr. Experience, Mr. Detail -- and didn't he make a fine mess out of things? Yes, he did. He panicked during the energy crisis (brought about by Wilson), groveled at the feet of Southern California Edison (which wrote the electricity de-reg bill in California), begged for power to keep lights on and overpaid billions for it. Too true. But use your noggin, is that really an argument in favor of putting somebody who knows nothing in charge?
As far as I know, Mr. Schwarzenegger is as qualified as any other citizen to run for public office. So why doesn't he start with the school board or the country commissioner's office and learn something about what is involved first?
Fixing the Votes for Bush
Head of voting machine manufacturer promises Republicans to help Bush win reelection (obviously by rigging the machines).
The Clash Asked, We Answer
Clearly agreeing with Left is Right, Atrios explains why we should pack our bags and leave Iraq now, holding the door open for the U.N. on our way out.
OUCH!
I can't See What Bush is Doing
From yesterday's Mercury News: Bush eases Clean Air Act for industries
By Seth Borenstein and Paul Rogers, Knight Ridder, Mercury News
WASHINGTON - In one of the broadest changes to air-pollution regulations since the Clean Air Act was first approved in 1970, the Bush administration Wednesday eased smog rules affecting more than 500 older power plants and some 20,000 aging factories and oil refineries.
Until now, under the rules known as ``new source review,'' industrial plants could not make major changes unless they also installed modern air-pollution controls such as new scrubbers in their smokestacks. But Wednesday's rules -- which set up a showdown with California and many New England states -- would allow operators of industrial facilities to make significant equipment upgrades without having to install costly new pollution-control equipment. The reforms have been sought by the oil and energy industries, along with manufacturing companies, who argued that the Clean Air Act is too inflexible and acts as a disincentive for industries to modernize their plants.
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and the California Air Resources Board said Wednesday that they planned to file a lawsuit to try to block the new regulations. California's clean-air laws generally are the strictest in the nation. The clash underscores a growing trend in which the White House has altered environmental rules, and California, the nation's largest state, has dug in its heels. This is bad news for those of us who breathe. As the American Lung Association points out: The American Lung Association strongly opposes the rule issued today by the Environmental Protection Agency that will roll back key provisions of the Clean Air Act, called New Source Review. The Environmental Protection Agency’s decision is the latest in a series of steps that undermine large parts of the most effective environmental law in the United States.
The American Lung Association has already joined with other organizations concerned about air quality in this country in taking legal action to challenge previous EPA decisions that roll back provisions of the Clean Air Act. We will take legal action to challenge this decision also.
Under the existing provisions of the Clean Air Act, industry must clean up its pollution if changes are made to any facility that increases emissions. By establishing a new loophole that says a company doesn’t have to clean up as long as it doesn’t spend too much—regardless of how much additional pollution it spews—EPA is granting a license to pollute. This is unacceptable.
EPA is throwing in the towel to industry just as its own enforcement of the existing rules has proven successful in the courts, as evidenced by the decision this month to require Ohio Edison to clean up its plants for violating the same rules EPA would now relax. EPA should not retreat in the face of such victory. Instead, the Administration has based its rollbacks on what the General Accounting Office itself reported days ago were mere “anecdotes” from the polluters complaining that the effect of the existing law was too harsh. EPA policy should be based on protecting public health, not bolstering industry profits.
Reams of scientific studies have shown conclusively that air pollution, such as the pollution these industries produce, causes increased asthma attacks, emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and increased risk of death. A study conducted three years ago estimated that tens of thousands of Americans are dying prematurely each year because of our failure to clean up these facilities. Emerging research is linking pollution to lung cancer, birth defects, strokes, and heart attacks. We have more than enough evidence to require industry to clean up the existing plants today.
What is lacking is the commitment of this Administration to clean air and the health of Americans. Obviously Bush is raising the levels of pollution in order to make sure our smog-irritated eyes can't see how his administration continues to rape, pillage, plunder, assault, degrade, starve and kill all of us who are not members of the upper 1% income bracket.
Scarcity
Rosa Maria Pegueros has a few things to explain regarding Bush's support of the decline of education (among other things). Snippet: The plain fact of the matter is that our schools, universities, and other public institutions are going to hell while Bush finds new ways to cancel his cronies’ fiscal contributions to public life. Senator Walter Mondale lost the 1980 election, in part, because he told the American people that he was not going to sugarcoat it; he would raise taxes. Reagan won, crippled the American social system by destroying legal aid, emptying the mental institutions, spending us into a blinding deficit by spending a fortune on weapons of mass destruction and the development of Star Wars weapons. Bush I followed in his wake declaring that we should read his lips: No New Taxes. Eventually, he had to break his promise but it took the president who defeated him, Bill Clinton, to bring the budget under control. I can’t imagine who will be able to bring Bush II’s deficits under control.
August 28, 2003
Left is Right is Faster?
The "Cost of Iraq War" counter is no longer on the side bar. One reader suggested that it was causing the page to load slowly. Let us know if the page still loads too slowly or if you notice that it loads more quickly now. We thank you.
Deadly SUV's
THIS wouldn't happen in a Prius. Baby found dead after left in daycare SUV for eight hours
DALLAS (AP) — A toddler was left in a sweltering sport utility vehicle for eight hours after a daycare worker picked him up in the morning but never took him out of the back seat, police said. The boy was found dead after a frantic search.
The driver found the 8-month-old boy's body between the SUV's back seat and its rear door after he received a phone call Wednesday afternoon. The driver flagged down a passing patrol car and told an officer that a child in the back of the Chevrolet Suburban wasn't breathing. Say what you might about my comment, but, as Bill Maher points out, SUV's are so high that no one could've seen the baby anyway. What a tragic story about a stupid vehicle that stupid people stupidly buy.
$$$ Cheney $$$
From the Washington Post (snippet): Halliburton's Deals Greater Than Thought
By Michael Dobbs, Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 28, 2003; Page A01
Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Cheney, has won contracts worth more than $1.7 billion under Operation Iraqi Freedom and stands to make hundreds of millions more dollars under a no-bid contract awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to newly available documents.
The size and scope of the government contracts awarded to Halliburton in connection with the war in Iraq are significantly greater than was previously disclosed and demonstrate the U.S. military's increasing reliance on for-profit corporations to run its logistical operations. Independent experts estimate that as much as one-third of the monthly $3.9 billion cost of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq is going to independent contractors. Hello out there, did anyone happen to see the phrase "Vice President Cheney" in this? He's still receiving major compensation from Halliburton. Repeat: HE'S STILL RECEIVING MAJOR COMPENSATION FROM HALLIBURTON. This is, like, illegal, no?
What More Can One Say?
12-year-old begins medical school.
How Successful Would Be the U.N. in Iraq?
Tariq Ali on Counterpunch dissects the consequences of the UN assuming the US/British occupation of Iraq. Snippet:The bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad shocked the West, but as Jamie Tarabay of the Associated Press reported in a dispatch from the Iraqi capital last week, there is a deep ambivalence towards the UN among ordinary Iraqis. This is an understatement.
In fact, the UN is seen as one of Washington's more ruthless enforcers. It supervised the sanctions that, according to UNICEF figures, were directly responsible for the deaths of half a million Iraqi children and a horrific rise in the mortality rate. Two senior UN officials, Denis Halliday and Hans von Sponeck, resigned in protest against these policies, explaining that the UN had failed in its duties to the people of Iraq.
Simultaneously the US and Britain, with UN approval, rained hundreds of tonnes of bombs and thousands of missiles on Iraq from 1992 onwards and, in 1999, US officials calmly informed The Wall Street Journal that they had run out of targets. By 2001, the bombardment of Iraq had lasted longer than the US invasion of Vietnam. That's why the UN is not viewed sympathetically by many Iraqis. The recent Security Council decision to retrospectively sanction the occupation, a direct breach of the UN charter, has only added to the anger.
All this poses the question of whether the UN today is anything more than a cleaning-up operation for the American Empire?
Call the Internet Plumber... Backblog is Backed Up
Backblog (which does the comments on each post) has been down for a few days now. I'll give it a little longer to fix its problems, then switch to Enetation if things don't improve. Please feel free to leave a comment either on the sidebar or by sending me e-mail. Thanks! UPDATE: Now the Comments are working but the Message center on the sidebar is kaput. Drat!
August 27, 2003
The People
We all are constantly discussing how this war is going to hopefully ruin Bush's chances at reelection, how all the lies and deceit about Iraq by the Bush Administration are impeachable offenses, and how we are losing our boys daily and need to bring them home. Well, we are forgetting one very important issue in all this: the people of Iraq. We have done to them a horrible injustice, literally killed tens of thousands of them and destroyed their way of life, which, though not ideal (by Western standards), was theirs and their choosing. We owe these people anything and everything. Shame on us for not even discussing this, much less forcing our government to do what is right.
$11,000,000,000,000
NDOL summarizes the new federal deficit numbers: DLC | New Dem Daily | August 27, 2003
New Deficit Numbers: Really Bad, and Getting Much Worse
The Congressional Budget Office released new budget estimates yesterday, and the news is not good. Adjusting its "baseline" to actual spending and revenue trends, CBO said the federal budget deficit would grow to a new world-record $480 billion next year. Worse yet, the number-crunchers estimated that cumulative budget deficits over the next 10 years would reach $5.8 trillion. Recall that CBO was estimating 10-year budget surpluses of more than five-and-a-half trillion dollars when George W. Bush took office, and you get an idea of the breathtaking deterioration of the country's fiscal condition in less than three years. So, between the original surplus estimate and the latest deficit estimate, we are talking about a difference of roughly $11 TRILLION. Now, what could our nation do with an additional $11 Trillion? Gee, there's education, poverty, health, jobs, security, foreign aid, NASA, U.N., NATO, WHO, income taxes, just to name a few. And just maybe they would finally fill that nasty pothole down the street.
August 26, 2003
"Kills" = "Made Good"
left i sounds a bit perturbed about the media's inconsistent headlines regarding Israel's murder (plus 26 wounded) today in Gaza. ( left i is good at siphoning the sewage from the media; I recommend that you make it a daily read.)
Newest Reader of LEFT IS RIGHT: Dennis Kucinich
Kucinich must have finally read this blog. LEFT IS RIGHT has been saying this from the get-go: WASHINGTON - August 25 - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), leader of the opposition to the war against Iraq in the House, issued the following statement on the ongoing chaos in that country:
"With the death toll on the rise and chaos overtaking Iraq it is time for the US to begin the process of withdrawal from Iraq and allow the United Nations (UN) to take over peacekeeping operations in the country. It is clear now that the United States is bogged down in an ongoing guerrilla war with almost daily casualties. The situation is one that the Administration did not plan for and is not adequately prepared to handle. Assertions by the President, and his Administration, that the war is over and that our mission was accomplished, like their claims about Iraq's 'vast stockpiles' of WMD's, are false and misleading. While this Administration was quick to send troops into harm's way, they have no exit strategy for removing US troops from the country.
"It is time for the United Nations to be brought in. Negotiations for an exit must begin now. The UN must take over management, accounting and distribution to the Iraqi people of Iraq's oil profits. There must be no privatization of the Iraqi oil industry. The UN must handle the awarding of all contracts for the rebuilding of Iraq so that there can be no more sweetheart contracts for companies like Halliburton. Additionally, a transition from UN control to self- determined governing structure by and for the Iraqi people must be planned.
"It was wrong to go into Iraq. It is wrong to stay in Iraq. Let's support our troops by bringing them home."
Braun Picks Up Much-Needed Support
NOW endorses Braun: NOW/PAC Endorses Carol Moseley Braun for President
Statement of NOW/PAC Chair Kim Gandy
August 26, 2003
Today, Women's Equality Day, the National Organization for Women's Political Action Committee is proud to announce our endorsement of former Ambassador and Senator Carol Moseley Braun for President of the United States. I'm pleased that the National Women's Political Caucus also is announcing their endorsement this morning.
With our endorsement comes access to NOW's hundreds of thousands of contributing members and over 500 chapters across the country—and the support of thousands of volunteer activists who are dedicated to supporting feminist candidates with their contributions and volunteer time.
To receive NOW/PAC's endorsement, a candidate must demonstrate an uncompromising commitment to the entire range of women's rights issues. After considering the positions and past records of all the candidates lined up to challenge George W. Bush, one candidate stood above the rest for her lifetime commitment to feminist ideals and her 25-year record fighting for the rights of women at the local, state, national and international levels. We are particularly excited when out of a field of strong progressive candidates, the strongest feminist candidate is also a woman.
Bush on Bushes (and Other Things in Nature)
Mother Jones gives some startling facts and figures about Bush's assault on our environment. Here are a few snippets: Tons of additional air pollutants permitted to be released by 2020 under Bush's "Clear Skies" plan:
42 million
Estimated number of premature deaths that will result:
100,000
Estimated amount that Clear Skies-related health problems will cost taxpayers, per year:
$115 billion
Number of members of the 63-person energy advisory team Bush convened early in his administration who did not have ties to corporate energy interests:
1
Amount that energy team members gave to Republican candidates in the 2000 election:
$8 million
Percentage of Superfund cleanup costs paid for by corporate polluters in 1996:
82
Percentage that will be paid for by taxpayers under Bush's 2004 budget:
79
Bush Parachute has Growing Holes
From The Guardian: Growing opposition to Bush re-election
Julian Borger in Washington
Monday August 25, 2003
The Guardian
For the first time, more Americans say they would oppose President George Bush's re-election in 2004 than support a second term, according to a poll published yesterday that showed mounting pessimism over the US military presence in Iraq. As attacks on coalition forces continue to inflict casualties, a Newsweek poll found that the human and economic costs of occupation were eroding the president's support at an accelerating rate.
Sixty-nine per cent of those asked were concerned that the US would be bogged down for many years in Iraq with little to show for it in improved security for Americans; 49% said they were very concerned. At the same time Mr Bush's approval rating dropped to 53%, down 18% since April, and his lowest rating since before the September 11 attacks turned him from the victor of a disputed election presiding over a worsening economy into a wartime leader.
But the most jarring statistic for the White House looked forward to the 2004 election. Some 49% of Americans questioned in yesterday's poll said they did not want him re-elected, against only 44% prepared to give him a second term. The corresponding figures in April were 52% backing re-election with 38% opposed. We can only hope that this trend continues unabated and that the Ultra Right doesn't pull another stunt like 9-11, tax cuts, or another invasion.
August 25, 2003
Mark Twain on War
Courtesy Third World Traveler: Mark Twain, observing the United States at the turn of the century, its wars in Cuba and the Philippines, described in The Mysterious Stranger the process by which wars that are at first seen as unnecessary by the mass of the people become converted into "just" wars:
The loud little handful will shout for war. The pulpit will warily and cautiously protest at first.... The great mass of the nation will rub its sleepy eyes, and will try to make out why there should be a war, and they will say earnestly and indignantly: "It is unjust and dishonorable and there is no need for war."
Then the few will shout even louder.... Before long you will see a curious thing: anti-war speakers will be stoned from the platform, and free speech will be strangled by hordes of furious men who still agree with the speakers but dare not admit it...
Next, the statesmen will invent cheap lies...and each man will be glad of these lies and will study them because they soothe his conscience; and thus he will bye and bye convince himself that the war is just and he will thank God for a better sleep he enjoys by his self-deception.
Check out Arianna's new TV ad for her candidacy.
August 24, 2003
Kristen, Mindy, Patty and Lorie
Read this compelling article on four 9-11 widows who have literally taken on Washington in their quest to discover the truth behind the Bush Administration's involvement in the 9-11 tragedy.
Friday Fun - Late Again
I'm not sure why the Blogger future post function isn't working for me, but here is the fun stuff that I had planned on posting last Friday: Army Hand SignalsDigital Retouching (Check out 2 women on 2nd row.) Toe Wrestling Champions
Teddy at It's Still The Economy, Stupid gives his opinion on what it will take to jumpstart the economy: Here's what we should look for in a real economic recovery. First, consumers need to have fixed their overspending ways from the previous boom. In every recession in the 20th century, consumers have cut their ratio of debt to disposable personal income. This gave them a reservoir of money to increase spending when the Fed reduced interest rates. In this recession, consumer's debt to disposable income actually increased, so the wherewithal of consumers to abruptly increase spending is much smaller, if any. Even a fixation on monthly payments rather than debt levels can't camouflage that even monthly debt service is higher now than before the recession.
Secondly, businesses need to increase profits, and do so through increasing sales. Increasing profits by cutting costs is not stimulating the economy any more than consumers cutting spending would stimulate the economy. Sales growth in this quarter's earnings reports continues to be anemic and as I referred to earlier is much worse after the weaker dollar had been factored out.
Thirdly, the increase in sales and profits leads to higher employment. There has never been a recovery where total employment didn't surpass it's previous peak. Today, we're not even close. More than 2.5 million jobs need to be created to get to the level of February 2001, and at the rate they've been created over the past year, mathematically that will never happen. Even generating jobs at the rate of a strong economy, we would need ten months just to get back where were nearly three years ago.
Finally, the increase in employment leads to even more consumption growth. Again, we're not even close. Growth in personal consumption expenditures, year-over-year, has improved to 2.8%, but this is still below the 3% level for most of 2002, and nowhere near the improvement from 1991 to 1993, when consumption growth climbed from negative territory to over 4% a year. Is it just me, or are too may opinionated "experts" on economics missing some of the obvious points? We've hardly begun to see the effects of Bush's economic stimulus, aka tax cuts, on the public's financial situation. Interest rates are in the blocks and will soon be making a dash upward in response to the Fed's need to borrow. The consequences will be the usual economic-choking kind: business contraction due to higher borrowing costs, death blow to the real estate (higher mortgage rates) and new car markets, higher cost for credit (credit cards, personal loans, student loans, SBA loans, etc.). And then the ultimate effect will be (after bankrupcies, defaults, layoffs, mergers, increased crime, and so on) the rise of inflation and it's affect on those living on fixed incomes. About the only positive thing will be the interest rate on my CD will go up.
August 21, 2003
Phone Number Lookup on Google
Thanks to Jakeinard for this great Google search tip: Go to Google, and you can use it as a phone book. Type in phonebook:lastname:2 digit state abbreviation. There you go. Simple. For more detail you can type rphonebook for residential and bphonebook for business. Now I know that Buffy the Clown lives in Cloverdale, California!
Candidate Occupations
Reviewing the candidates on the California Recall Ballot reveals some interesting occupations: Air Pollution Scientist
Artist
Business Intelligence Analyst
Prizefighter
Cigarette Retailer
Comedian
Custom Denture Manufacturer
Discrimination Complaint Investigator
District Attorney Inspector
Fathers' Issues Author
Firefighter/Paramedic/Nurse
Gay Rights Attorney
Golf Professional
Marijuana Legalization Attorney
Middleweight Sumo Wrestler
Farmer
Railroad Switchman/Brakeman
Retired Meat Packer
Structural Engineer
Tribal Chairman
Used Car Dealer I'm thinking of going for either the Prizefighter, the Sumo Wrestler or the Used Car Salesman, because who is going to win an argument against any of them?
Bush Kills a German
Today NPR aired this Tragic Love Story from Bagdhad. (Thanks to Conniption for the lead.) UPDATE (8/22-03) Conniption says that the subject of the story has since been found alive.
Recall Ahnold
Be one of the first to join the Recall Arnold Schwarzenegger campaign. Also, does Arnold have the balls to be a good governor? You decide ( warning: this link is not for children or ultra-right christians).
Recall by UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley has put up a very inclusive, extensive and non-partisan web site regarding the California recall election (and the two propositions that will also grace the ballot). It is a one-stop source for all your recall needs.
Another Reason to Back Kucinich: Dean's Fraudulent Candidacy
Daniel Patrick Welch seems to have (to put it mildly) a "problem" with Howard Dean's faux liberal stand on the issues. Read his scathing essay HERE.
McKinney Speaks
Recently former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who was railroaded out of office by the Ultra-right Republican machine after she questioned the Bush Administration on its handling of 9-11 and its ties with Saudi Arabia's funding of terrorism, gave a speech in Brooklyn. She discussed many volatile issues (anthrax/smallpox vaccination of US troops, Dyncorp's intimacy with Bush, Halliburton's no-bid contract for feeding Iraq-deployed troops, California recall, 2000 Florida debacle and decreased health benefits for Vietnam and GWI veterans). The approx. 10-minute video is available in both lo-band and hi-band streaming (you'll need Quicktime). It also looks like she's going to try to regain her seat in Congress or run for the Senate.
August 20, 2003
Car Seats Rescued, Car Lost
HERE is a sadly frustrating story of someone not having enough $ to get their car out of the police garage. Be sure to click their PayPal button and leave a few $ to help out. Another victim of Bush's economy.
Rarity of the Day: Newspaper Ethics
The Sacramento Bee fired a veteran sports writer today for writing his article from TV sources: An apology to our readers
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Wednesday, August 20, 2003
On Aug. 7, a story on the cover of the Sports section about the Giants game at Pacific Bell Park was filed by a Bee reporter who was not at the game. The reporter watched the game on television at a location away from the stadium. He filed his story without telling editors at The Bee his true location, leaving the impression he covered the game from the ballpark. In addition, it was discovered later that the story included quotes from other media outlets that were unattributed and old, made to reporters on a previous occasion before the day of the game. The story violated basic journalistic values and ethics as practiced by The Bee. The reporter involved, Jim Van Vliet, no longer works at the newspaper.
The Bee regrets the situation and apologizes to its readers.
Armando Acuña - Sports editor Okay, now imagine if major publishers like the NY Times, Wash. Post, WSJ, etc. etc., held their news staff to such high standards. Bush might have been booted out of office a year ago!
Hybrid Sales Expected to Increase 10-fold
As an owner of a hybrid car, it's always heartening to see articles like the following from EV World: Hybrid-electric Sales Expected to Increase 10-Fold
JD Power and Associates project annual sales of 872,000 by 2013
Source: Muscat Times [Aug 17, 2003]
MUSCAT — Sales of hybrid electric vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are expected to increase ten-fold around the world in the next five years, according to a study. Leading consumer analysis company JD Power and Associates conducted the Hybrid Vehicle Outlook report, which predicts that 500,000 hybrid vehicles will be sold annually by 2008 and 872,000 units by 2013. By 2013 — only a decade from now — hybrids will account for nearly five per cent of the global new vehicle market. Most of the growth will come from additional models being offered in different market segments such as SUV (Sports Utility Vehicles), which is the biggest segment in the world’s biggest market, the United States of America.
Toyota Prius, launched in 1997, is now the top-selling hybrid vehicle in the world and accounts for 90 per cent of hybrid vehicles on the road. Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, uses an electric motor together with a conventional petrol engine to minimise fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions. A second generation Prius that is bigger, more powerful and fuel-efficient and emits less carbon dioxide than the current model has been launched recently. While some automotive manufacturers have yet to come to grips with hybrid fuel technology, Toyota Prius has successfully overcoming the ultimate challenge — a gruelling rally, which began at Northern Sweden and went up all the way up to Jordan. Consequently, Prius has the title of ‘World’s First Hybrid Rally Car’ to its growing list of accomplishments. Though not designed for rally competitions, Prius’ innovative technology proved itself throughout the demanding rally. Prius’ popularity stems from the fact that it uses Toyota’s Hybrid Technology — alternate sources of energy in addition to fossil fuels — to achieve greater environmental friendliness as well as higher fuel efficiency. Based on this technology, Toyota Prius achieves an amazing fuel efficiency of 28km per litre. No wonder, Toyota ‘was the recipient of the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Awards for development and production of environment friendly cars. In competitive markets around the world, Toyota Prius attracts customers focused on technology and the environment with concerns such as clean air and fuel conservation. In Europe, strong environmental and fuel efficiency benefits couple with substantial government incentives, which made the vehicle attractive. In Japan, its home ground, the range of models available along with the core product benefits boosts sales. Indeed, Prius’ revolutionary technology and numerous awards have made it a ‘hot seller’. Having owned a Prius for 12 months now, I can say that it is truly an exceptional car, containing gas-saving technology that could, if all auto manufacturers allowed it, be incorporated into virtually all gasoline-powered cars in the world, the result of which would be a reduction of gasoline consumption on the order of 40-60%, along with a tremendous reduction in air pollution. Imagine such a world! (Oh, and it's really fun to drive.)
Note from Afar
Read the fascinating letter from one of the exiled Texas legislators. This whole debacle is becoming more unreal by the day.
"They have always taught and trained you to believe it to be your patriotic duty to go to war and to have yourselves slaughtered at their command. But in all the history of the world you, the people, have never had a voice in declaring war, and strange as it certainly appears, no war by any nation in any age has ever been declared by the people."-- Eugene Debs, Socialist candidate for president, June 16, 1918. The speech led to Debs's being stripped of his citizenship and sent to jail for 10 years. Sent by Jason.
Kucinich on Blitzer on the California debacle (courtesy radio.weblogs.com). URL Source: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0308/10/le.00.html
BLITZER: I want to talk about your campaign, but briefly, I'd like to get your assessment of what's happening in California, because, as you know, political trends that often start in California spread around the country, including Ohio, among other places.
What is your read on this recall? Do you hope that Governor Davis is going to be recalled?
KUCINICH: Well, I do not support the recall. I think the recall is destructive. It is going to cost California heavily. It is going to cost them not only in their bond rating but in the distraction from the major concerns which Californians have.
I mean, look at it this way. California got into economic trouble, among other reasons, because of the Bush-Enron corruption, which resulted in energy prices going through the roof. So Gray Davis, in effect, is paying for George Bush's sins.
We need to have some stability in all governments, and I think that we also need to know what the truth is about how California got into this situation in which it is. And I don't think that anyone can lay that squarely in Gray Davis's lap.
BLITZER: Well, when you say corruption, Bush-Cheney corruption, are you accusing the president and the vice president of the United States of being corrupt, in terms of the problems that Enron had?
KUCINICH: Absolutely I am. There's no question that this administration was in bed with Ken Lay. They've covered up all the meetings that deal with energy policy.
They allowed Enron, to in effect, run the energy policy of this country, to be able to grow and grow, to capture wholesale markets, to put the country in a position -- and California particularly -- where the cost of electricity went up by a factor of four and five. California hard to borrow money to pay the electric bill. California still remains in trouble because of Enron.
You know what? We never had a chance to talk about Enron in the last election because the administration knew it was in trouble, they shifted the discussion to war. And now we find out there was no basis to go to war.
The "List"
If you are curious about the current list of candidates for the California recall election, you can get the details at California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's web site. Also, Yahoo provides all the latest news regarding the election. You can find additional news and opinions HERE, HERE and HERE. Finally, for a listing of eclectic and humorous recall sites go HERE. (Thanks, Will.)
August 5, 2003
Left is Right on Vacation
Left is Right is going on a well-deserved vacation. Here is just one location where you might find us:  New Zealand
When we return in 2 weeks the following will hopefully have happened: - Bush fires Cheney & entire staff, then resigns in sudden disgust with himself after bump on head returns full cerebral circulation - California spends $1 on lottery ticket and wins $50 million jackpot, saving 1,000 teachers' jobs - Bush's replacement withdraws all troops from Iraq as U.N. assumes full control - California Supreme Court rules recall election is unconstitutional; Davis resigns anyway to become host of new reality TV show - Kobe files for divorce from slut wife and decides to donate next 3 years' salary to womens' shelters as penance for infidelity - U.S. Congress invalidates all tax cuts passed since January, 2001 - CIA subcontracts search for bin Laden to an L.A. PI agency, which finds and captures him in 48 hours - SciFi Channel renews Farscape for 5 seasons - Bush's replacement slashes military budget by 30%, moving funds to healthcare, education and low-income housing - U.S. Supreme Court reverses 2000 election decision and Gore moves into White House, replacing Bush's replacement
HERE'S SOME FUN STUFF TO KEEP YOU BUSY WHILE WE'RE GONE:Most Neglected SiteLongbow (game) Honey, THIS is what I'd like for my birthday. CalTrans Bloopers (Mistakes in Signage) Space Station Blogger (fascinating writing and photos by Ed Lu, currently orbiting Earth)
New Mosh Pit in Sacramento?
Jack Grisham, lead singer of legendary punk group T.S.O.L. is throwing his hat into the California Governor race. Snippet: "I can't afford heath insurance, so I figure if I'm governor, at least they have a good health insurance plan," Grisham joked. The charming singer made light of his first interview as a politician, but insisted his campaign is entirely serious.
"For years I was always, 'F--- the government. F--- the government. F--- the government.' I was always bitching and not doing a thing about it," he explained. "And the other day I said, 'Now I am.' I just got tired of seeing people hurt, that was the biggest thing. I got three sisters who are teachers, two brothers who are police officers, a bunch of friends who are labor workers, dock workers. I work with undocumented alien immigrants all the time and I got tired seeing what they go through and no one caring. And they put this new budget out and the first thing they slash is health care and the first thing they start screwing is the people."
Grisham, who works labor jobs when not touring, will make heath-care reform the center of his platform. Recently, the singer himself was denied health care because his income was just more than the qualifying limit. "I said to the lady, 'So if I quit my job and left my wife and kids, you could fix my back?' " Grisham said. "And she said, 'Yes.' "
Arianna Huffington Will Announce Candidacy Wednesday Morning
Arianna Huffington will announce tomorrow (8/6/03) at 10:30 a.m. her intentions to run for Governor of California.
Conspiracy Fodder?
They're calling it "pneumonia", but it's definitely something more serious. From ABC News: Mysterious Illness - U.S. Teams in Iraq Investigate Mystery 'Pneumonia-Like' Illness - Aug. 4
U.S. military officials are investigating an outbreak of a mysterious "pneumonia-like" illness that has claimed the lives of two American soldiers in Iraq.
The illness is officially being called pneumonia, and the Army has recorded about 100 cases labeled as such throughout Iraq since March 1. Of the 100 cases, 15 were serious enough to warrant the patients being hooked up to ventilators and evacuated from the region. According to a release by the U.S. Army surgeon general, two of the 15 cases categorized as "serious" have died, 10 have recovered and three remain hospitalized. The cases of the mysterious illness were geographically dispersed across Iraq and came from different units. The Defense Department has activated two medical teams to investigate the causes of the serious cases among soldiers deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Concerns over the sickness have increased with the deaths and U.S. officials acknowledge it is unusual for healthy young males to die as a result of pneumonia, ABCNEWS' Claire Shipman reported on Good Morning America today. One of the U.S. soldiers who died was 20-year-old Spc. Joshua Neusche of Montreal, Mo., who fell ill near Baghdad in late June. He was taken to the Landstuhl military base in Germany for special treatment, but he died on July 12. The other soldier, whose name has not been released, died about a month before Neusche. Speaking on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America today, Neusche's father, Mark Neusche, said he hoped the U.S. Army's investigation would help his son's comrades still stationed in Iraq. "We want to know why," said Neusche. "A perfectly healthy 20-year-old does not drop in a matter of hours from pneumonia and fall into a coma and never come out of it. That's our main question. We need to find out why so we can help other soldiers."
Looking for a Cause
The Pentagon says the possibility that a biological weapon was used was investigated and is not the case, nor was an infectious agent common to all the cases identified. The Pentagon has also ruled out SARS and Legionnaire's disease. But while the Army has determined that the two deaths were caused by a bacterium, the origin of the other 13 serious cases remains a mystery. "The doctor had told us that he'd gotten into some kind of toxin, that it had caused the pneumonia and it was eating into his muscle structure starting with his liver and kidneys," said Neusche. But according to Col. Robert DeFraites, the surgeon general's senior preventative-medicine physician, the list of possible causes of pneumonia is "very long" and there may be different explanations for every case. The wildest explanation I've heard so far is that some of these soldiers were transporting biological agents into Iraq to plant them for "discovery" as proof that Hussein had WMD, and were consequently exposed to the deadly agents. The National Gulf War Resource Center is up in arms and begging Bush to take this matter seriously.
August 4, 2003
"Who Care I Illegal?"
Here's your Republican compassionate poetry reading of the day. (Thanks to Hamster for the lead.) UPDATE: THE CACHED PAGE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE ON GOOGLE. BUT READ THE HAMSTER'S DESCRIPTION ANYWAY (Thanks, Tom Rossen for the heads up on the link change). And HERE's an anti-Bush ad that appeared this weekend in several major newspapers.
REASONS FOR SUPPORTING DENNIS KUCINICH
"Bring 'Em On"=46 Dead; That's a Fine Job, Mr. Bush. How do you sleep at night?
The site tracking the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count has just added two new casualty tracking totals and one new # of days reference: Total since "Bring Them On" Day (7/2): 46
Total since the death of Saddam's sons (7/22): 18
Numbers of days since last fatality: 3
Look, A New WMD Fall Guy!
Not to be outdone by the US or Great Britain, the UN has submitted its own candidate for WMD info blame: Rolf Ekeus. Snippet: In the wake of the first Iraq war it was UNSCOM chief Ekeus, exuding disinterested integrity as only a Swede can, who insisted that Saddam Hussein was surely pressing forward with the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. It was Ekeus who played a pivotal role in justifying the continued imposition of sanctions, on the grounds that these sanctions were essential as a means of applying pressure to the tyrant in Baghdad.
One Year Ago
Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, made the following prediction exactly one year ago: And whoever is installed in Baghdad by victorious U.S. troops, it is certain that a long and likely bloody occupation would follow. The price would be high; Iraqis know better than we do how their government has systematically denied them civil and political rights. But they hold us responsible for stripping them of economic and social rights -- the right to sufficient food, clean water, education, medical care -- that together form the other side of the human rights equation. Economic sanctions have devastated Iraqi society -- and among other effects, the sanctions have made the U.S. responsible for the immiseration of most of the entire Iraqi population. After twelve years, those in Washington who believe that Iraqis accept the popular inside-the-Beltway mantra that "sanctions aren't responsible, Saddam Hussein is responsible" for hunger and deprivation in Iraq, are engaged in wishful thinking. The notion that everyone in Iraq will welcome as "liberators" those whom most Iraqis hold responsible for 12 years of crippling sanctions is simply naive. Basing a military strategy on such wishful speculation becomes very dangerous -- in particular for U.S. troops themselves. (emphasis mine)
The untold Iraqi Toll
The info about the Iraqi war that Bush doesn't want you to know: The unreported cost of war: at least 827 American wounded
Julian Borger, Washington Monday August 4, 2003 The Guardian
US military casualties from the occupation of Iraq have been more than twice the number most Americans have been led to believe because of an extraordinarily high number of accidents, suicides and other non-combat deaths in the ranks that have gone largely unreported in the media. Since May 1, when President George Bush declared the end of major combat operations, 52 American soldiers have been killed by hostile fire, according to Pentagon figures quoted in almost all the war coverage. But the total number of US deaths from all causes is much higher: 112. The other unreported cost of the war for the US is the number of American wounded, 827 since Operation Iraqi Freedom began.
Unofficial figures are in the thousands. About half have been injured since the president's triumphant appearance on board the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln at the beginning of May. Many of the wounded have lost limbs. The figures are politically sensitive. The number of American combat deaths since the start of the war is 166 - 19 more than the death toll in the first Gulf war. The passing of that benchmark last month erased the perception, popular at the time Baghdad fell, that the US had scored an easy victory.
According to a Gallup poll, 63% of Americans still think Iraq was worth going to war over, but a quarter want the troops out now, and another third want a withdrawal if the casualty figures continue to mount. In fact, the total death toll this time is 248 - including accidents and suicides - and as the number of non-combat deaths and serious injuries becomes more widely known, the erosion of public confidence is likely to continue, posing a threat to Mr Bush's prospects of re-election, which at the beginning of May had seemed a foregone conclusion. Military observers say it is unusual, even in a "low-intensity" guerrilla war such as the situation seen in Iraq, for non-combat deaths to outnumber combat casualties.
Will they also have trading cards?
The American Action Market starts trading in October. What is it? Here's the intro from their site: Analysts often use prices from various markets as indicators of potential events. The use of orange futures contract prices by analysts of the Florida weather is a classic example. The Pentagon briefly attempted to apply this technique to terrorism, assassination, and war. The American Action Market (AAM) refines this approach by trading futures contracts that deal with the two most important questions facing the world today: (1) What will the U.S. government do next? (2) What is informing the U.S. government's current behavior? Some of the contracts traded on AAM will be based on objective data and observable events, as on a horse track, e.g.:
- the next White House lie to break into the news
- the next country the White House will threaten, and when
- the next foreign leader to move from the CIA payroll to White House "most wanted" list
- the lifespan of various DARPA projects, such as Total Information Awareness and Babylon
- the first White House staffer to resign in disgrace, and when.
Other AAM contracts will more closely resemble stocks on the market; they will be based on possibilities and scenarios that may or may not be verifiable, but that may be progressively revealed over time (e.g. via journalistic sleuth-work, public statements by concerned politicians, or Congressional hearings):
- how and at what stage the White House officially decided to use the attacks of September 11, 2001 as a reason for invading Iraq
- whether Rumsfeld was the first, the morning of September 12, 2001, to decree that the attacks were the "Pearl Harbor" needed for attacking Iraq, or whether the idea came first from others
- to what degree neo-conservatives Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Abrams and other students of Leo Strauss (who taught that it was necessary for elites to lie to the public) relie on Strauss's teachings in their daily decisions
- whether the invasion of Afghanistan had been planned from the start as a stepping-stone to an attack on Iraq, or whether the decision to attack Iraq was made only once the troops were massed nearby
- whether or not the President was conscious of overt lying in his various pre-war speeches, or whether the decisions to lie were taken by others, with the President thinking himself to be truthful
- whether or not the expulsion of U.S. and British oil companies from Iraq between 1972 and 1975 was an important long-term factor in the 2003 war on Iraq, and in what way
- whether or not Iraq's 2001 switch to the euro as its trading currency, and Iran's and Venezuela's contemplation of similar steps, was a factor in U.S. decisions leading to the 2003 war on Iraq Sounds like fun. Signups begin September 1.
Dean's the One?
Daily KOS examines the inexplicable success of the Howard Dean campaign and why recent attacks by Lieberman and Kerry will ony strengthen Dean in preparation for the Rove machine. Snippet: I have been saying for over a year that the math looks good for Democrats. I have been saying the issues look good. I said before the war it wouldn't be a campaign winner, and I think I called it correctly. The economy is in shambles. This president has the worst job record of any since Hoover, with millions of jobs lost. People will want an alternative to Bush. Not just disaffected Democrats. Or out-of-work independents. But people from across the political spectrum. And it starts with that grassroots and netroots army of his.
But for now, we're still waging a primary battle. Dean fans may profess outrage that Lieberman and Kerry have trained their guns on Dean. Don't be. While I would prefer a clean primary, it ain't gonna happen. And if Dean can't handle Lieberman's inept charges or Kerry's more pointed criticisms, then he has no business facing the Rove machine. At this point, a little dirt won't harm the party's chances in 2004. As a Kucinich supporter, I wish Dennis was in Dean's shoes (financially and support wise). But first and foremost as a Democrat, if Dean's recent success is what it will take to wipe Bush off the political face of this planet, then Dean will get my support if he wins the primary.
Snapster
Subscription-based Netsurfer Digest leads us to someone who is trying to counter the RIAA's current efforts at suing music downloaders: Robert X. Cringely can usually be counted on for a good read, and his July 24 effort ranks among his best. As we noted last issue, the RIAA is going after individual music downloaders, and Cringely remarks that the music labels, "fat, rich, and having everything to lose," are trying mightily to bend culture to their will. His answer: a $2-million startup that he calls Son of Napster, or Snapster. Cleverly, Snapster rests on a solid foundation of US copyright law. Snapster investors are owners of the company, which purchases one retail copy of every music CD on the market. The company owns these CDs, therefore the investors do, too. and under fair use provisions, the investors are thus permitted to make back-up copies of all or part of that content. With a business model of charging five cents per back-up and selling shares, Snapster seems like a valid proposition. If it takes off, RIAA will go absolutely rabid. Of course, some argue that they already have. Since the original piece, Cringeley has written a followup tweaking his plan and documenting reader reaction. The two-part explanation by Mr. Cringely can be found here: PART I and PART II.
Buy Uranium Here
Saddam, whether or not he tried to buy uranium from Niger, could have just bought it online HERE.
August 1, 2003
FRIDAY FUN
80's ENDINGS (better on broadband; requires Quicktime) Bad InstructionsWMD Animated CartoonBack by Popular Demand: Forklift Safety. (Note: not good viewing for the little 'uns.) (You may need to paste the following into your browser's address field: http://www.sunpoint.net/~uliina/video/staplerfahrer_klaus.wmv )
Well the weight of the world is FALLING
And on my back I've been CRAWLING
The state of affairs is APPALLING
And the 6 o'clock news keeps CALLING
Well I've been trying to see the world through their eyes
Where black is white and day is night
Left is Right
Left is Right
Left is Right, For me
Well negotiations keep STALLING
The United Nations keeps CALLING
The Skeletons you're HAULING
Won't hold when you're FALLING
Put your head in the sand and you'll never know
What's waiting for you in the depths below (below)
Don't believe everything that you read
Take what you want and keep what you need
TWISTED NIXON
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CHICK HEARN, THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE MEMORIES.
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