Friday, May 06, 2005
Paving Paradise
Steward of the land, my ass. Bush now plans to destroy our national forests. This is what happens when you appoint an ex-logging-lobbyist to oversee the Dept. of Forestry:
"The last 58.5 million acres of untouched national forests, which President Clinton had set aside for protection, were opened to possible logging, mining and other commercial uses by the Bush administration on Thursday.
New rules from the U.S. Forest Service cover some of the most pristine federal land in 38 states and Puerto Rico. Ninety-seven percent of it is in 12 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming."
Bush sells out again to logging and mining industries (and he is also planning to allow oil drilling along the gulf coast, according to recent news stories). In one of the debates last election cycle, Bush called himself "a good steward of the land." More like a good stooge for industry and special interests.
New Rule Opens National Forest to Roads - Yahoo! News
"The last 58.5 million acres of untouched national forests, which President Clinton had set aside for protection, were opened to possible logging, mining and other commercial uses by the Bush administration on Thursday.
New rules from the U.S. Forest Service cover some of the most pristine federal land in 38 states and Puerto Rico. Ninety-seven percent of it is in 12 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming."
Bush sells out again to logging and mining industries (and he is also planning to allow oil drilling along the gulf coast, according to recent news stories). In one of the debates last election cycle, Bush called himself "a good steward of the land." More like a good stooge for industry and special interests.
New Rule Opens National Forest to Roads - Yahoo! News
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Check Cheney's Bank Account
ABC News: U.S. Can't Account for $100M Spent in Iraq
"U.S. civilian authorities in Iraq cannot properly account for nearly $100 million that was supposed to have been spent on reconstruction projects in south-central Iraq, government investigators said Wednesday.
There are indications of fraud in the use of the $96.6 million, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. A separate investigation of possible wrongdoing continues."
"U.S. civilian authorities in Iraq cannot properly account for nearly $100 million that was supposed to have been spent on reconstruction projects in south-central Iraq, government investigators said Wednesday.
There are indications of fraud in the use of the $96.6 million, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. A separate investigation of possible wrongdoing continues."
Proof Bush Fixed The Facts
While violence in Iraq surges (over 200 killed since the new government was installed last week), it's amazing that this story has been completely overlooked in the media's rush to cover run-away brides and the ongoing Michael Jackson case.
The British equivalent of our CIA director, Richard Dearlove, has come forward to tell all he knows about the lead-up to the war in Iraq, and his first-hand account is pretty startling:
"In emotionless English, Dearlove tells Blair and the others that President Bush has decided to remove Saddam Hussein by launching a war that is to be "justified by the conjunction of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction." Period. What about the intelligence? Dearlove adds matter-of-factly, "The intelligence and facts are being fixed around the policy."
At this point, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw confirms that Bush has decided on war, but notes that stitching together justification would be a challenge, since "the case was thin." Straw noted that Saddam was not threatening his neighbors and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran.
In the following months, "the case" would be buttressed by a well-honed U.S.-U.K. intelligence-turned-propaganda-machine.
Politicization is far too mild a word for what happened. The intelligence was not simply mistaken; it was manufactured, with the president of the United States awarding foreman George Tenet the Medal of Freedom for his role in helping supervise the deceit. The British documents make clear that this was not a mere case of "leaning forward" in analyzing the intelligence, but rather mass deception—an order of magnitude more serious. No other conclusion is now possible.
Small wonder, then, to learn from CIA insiders like former case officer Lindsay Moran that Tenet's malleable managers told their minions, "Let's face it. The president wants us to go to war, and our job is to give him a reason to do it."
The conclusion: As we all now know, there were no weapons of mass destruction, only mass deception on the part of our leaders.
TomPaine.com - Proof Bush Fixed The Facts
The British equivalent of our CIA director, Richard Dearlove, has come forward to tell all he knows about the lead-up to the war in Iraq, and his first-hand account is pretty startling:
"In emotionless English, Dearlove tells Blair and the others that President Bush has decided to remove Saddam Hussein by launching a war that is to be "justified by the conjunction of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction." Period. What about the intelligence? Dearlove adds matter-of-factly, "The intelligence and facts are being fixed around the policy."
At this point, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw confirms that Bush has decided on war, but notes that stitching together justification would be a challenge, since "the case was thin." Straw noted that Saddam was not threatening his neighbors and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran.
In the following months, "the case" would be buttressed by a well-honed U.S.-U.K. intelligence-turned-propaganda-machine.
Politicization is far too mild a word for what happened. The intelligence was not simply mistaken; it was manufactured, with the president of the United States awarding foreman George Tenet the Medal of Freedom for his role in helping supervise the deceit. The British documents make clear that this was not a mere case of "leaning forward" in analyzing the intelligence, but rather mass deception—an order of magnitude more serious. No other conclusion is now possible.
Small wonder, then, to learn from CIA insiders like former case officer Lindsay Moran that Tenet's malleable managers told their minions, "Let's face it. The president wants us to go to war, and our job is to give him a reason to do it."
The conclusion: As we all now know, there were no weapons of mass destruction, only mass deception on the part of our leaders.
TomPaine.com - Proof Bush Fixed The Facts
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Wednesday Woodchuck Blogging
Yellow Dog Solidarity
Spence, Yellow Dog Pal
A worried whistlepig...
Americans finally waking up...
"The number of Americans who do not believe it was 'worth it' going to war in Iraq continues to grow, now reaching 57% of the public, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. Just 41% say it was worth it.
Asked how things are going for the United States in Iraq, 56 percent said "badly" or "very badly," up from 45 percent in March.
These growing concerns come despite the Iraqi elections, which had seemed to many a positive step forward. There has been a recent upsurge in violence in Iraq."
Hindsight is always better, but most yellow dogs knew this pre-emptive war was not worth it--and that the WMD rationale was bogus--long before we sent our troops to Iraq. And the cost, both in the billions of dollars that are going to Iraq instead of education, healthcare, etc. in the U.S.--and, more importantly, the cost in terms of lives lost--have definitely not been worth it.
New Poll: 57% Now Say Iraq War 'Not Worth It'
Asked how things are going for the United States in Iraq, 56 percent said "badly" or "very badly," up from 45 percent in March.
These growing concerns come despite the Iraqi elections, which had seemed to many a positive step forward. There has been a recent upsurge in violence in Iraq."
Hindsight is always better, but most yellow dogs knew this pre-emptive war was not worth it--and that the WMD rationale was bogus--long before we sent our troops to Iraq. And the cost, both in the billions of dollars that are going to Iraq instead of education, healthcare, etc. in the U.S.--and, more importantly, the cost in terms of lives lost--have definitely not been worth it.
New Poll: 57% Now Say Iraq War 'Not Worth It'
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Have You Seen this Aircraft?
It's an F/A-18 Hornet. There's one down and one still missing, along with the pilot, over there in Eye-Rack.
(Sorry for the interruption.)
Now, back to the important news: Look, the runaway bride had a $250 ice bucket on her gift registry!
Boeing is selling new F/A-18 Hornets to the U.S. Navy for about $40 million apiece (not to mention the value of the pilots), but -- hey, that's a darn nice ice bucket.
Don Williams at the Laurel Theater
Back in February, Don Williams alluded in his News Sentinel column that he had been asked by his editor, Jack McElroy, to write more about local issues and less about national affairs (roughly interpreted as "Hey, cut the Bush-bashing, pal"). I sent Mr. Williams and his editor a little email supporting the value of Don's point of view, and apparently I made it onto Don's bulk email list which he uses occasionally to promote books, writing workshops, etc.
This morning, I received this:
Could be interesting...
Don's "Change in Direction" column, 2/4/05
This morning, I received this:
fyi... at 7 p.m. Thursday at Laurel Theater, I'll be reading and signing copies of my new book, "Heroes, Sheroes and Zeroes--The Best Writings About People" by Don Williams (moi). I'll doubtlessly touch on the humorous and highly exaggerated controversy regarding my column and editors at the NS. Public is invited. Munchies served. $1 donation accepted at the door by the Knoxville Writers Guild. Thanks for your past support.
All my best,
Don
Could be interesting...
Don's "Change in Direction" column, 2/4/05
