Tens of thousands march in Washington protesting war

The protest sponsored by United for Peace and Justice was held today in D.C. at the National Mall. There were tens of thousands of people there including Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and Jane Fonda.

"The rally on the Mall unfolded peacefully, although about 300 protesters tried to rush the Capitol, running up the grassy lawn to the front of the building. Police on motorcycles tried to stop them, scuffling with some and barricading entrances." (AP) More pictures

Video via AMERICABlog

Tell U.S. military to dismiss subpoena of journalist Sarah Olson

"Sarah Olson is a journalist who published an exclusive interview with Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, the highest-ranking member of the military to refuse to deploy to Iraq. Now, the Army wants Olson to be their witness in the lieutenant’s upcoming court martial. The Army is trying to turn speaking to the press into a crime — and wants to have a reporter participate in the prosecution of political speech."

"By summoning this reporter to testify against her source the Bush administration is once again admonishing dissenters (and the press who cover them) to shut up and sing, a very un-American thing to do." (GNN)

"Journalists should not be asked to participate in the prosecution of political speech," Olson said. "Dragging a journalist into court like this ... really damages the barrier between press and government. When speech is the crime, the journalist really can be the investigative arm, the eyes and ears of the government." (SF Gate)

Stand up for a free press — send letters to Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. Take action now — the military trial starts February 5.

Sir! No Sir! - GI war resistance in 1960's

Sir! No Sir! is a movie revealing the untold story of the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam.

Directed by David Zeiger, this is the story of one of the most vibrant and widespread upheavals of the 1960s – one that had a profound impact on American society, yet has been virtually obliterated from the collective memory of that time. This hidden history combines fast-paced archival footage with thoughtful interviews, “perfectly timed with new doubts about the Iraq War” (Variety).

McCain has sleepy time during State O' Union

I would have too, if I was watching it. Read...

Iran getting great deals at Pentagon 'yard sales' ; China too

Really now, is this a surprise? No. Not to me at least, just read up on the history of U.S. foreign relations/policy and you will see what I mean.

From GNN: "Wouldn’t it occur to someone not to sell F-14 Tomcat parts because the only country that uses those planes is Iran?"

Military gear bound for Iran, China traced to Pentagon [The Chron]
Iran gets army gear in Pentagon deal [AP]

Diebold voting machine key copied from photo on their website

In what has to be one of the stupidest moves ever made by any company in the history of the universe: Diebold lets people make their very own copy of the 'get into any voting machine' key. Just watch video below (or read more)

Critics of Bush's Iran policy being censored. Surprise!

According to The New York Times, "Two former government Mideast experts accused the White House on Monday of abusing secrecy rules to block the publication of an article they had written for the Op-Ed page of The New York Times that criticized Bush administration policy toward Iran."

Now isn't this surprising!? No. This shit happens all the time.

Via Impolitical (a blog I highly recommend by the way!)

Pentagon at it again - seeks to intimidate and taunt Iran

Remember the Pentagon's war games off the coast of Iran months back! Well, apparently that wasn't enough to try an make Iran attack us.

Well, According to the Associated Press, "The Pentagon is considering a buildup of Navy forces in the Persian Gulf as a show of force against Iran, a senior defense official said Tuesday."

Basically this is what the U.S. has done throughout history in a variety of situations, it's part of the imperial grand strategy of the United States. From Vietnam, to Saddam, to bin Laden, Cuba and so on. Taunting. It's essentially a game of chess, and the lives of people in any of these countries does not matter to the leaders who play.

Well that's not a very safe thing to do now is it? But what do I know, I'm just some libertarian asshole right? Image Credit: [Triniman's Blog]

Surprise! Bush will soon seek $100 Billion more for war.

SCREW YOURSELF BUSH!

Full article via Yahoo News

Tony Snow: "they're fighting the bad guys"

Tony Snow, who are you to tell the American people who the "bad guys" are? Why aren't you [aka the Bush administration] the bad guys?

You invaded their country and you wonder why they might be a littl angry. Take a long hard look at the history of U.S. foreign policy. then ask why you might be despised.

You, Tony Snow , are a gigantic jackass [aka "I am the Bush administration's bitch and I think it's pretty sweet."]. Please, spare your propaganda for your own followers.

More at AMERICAblog

U.K. to stop using Bush phrase “War On Terror”

It seems someone must have heard one of my pleas to stop calling Bush's failed and unjust actions the "War on Terror", now we just need to stop pretending like there's a "War on Terror."

The Foreign Office in Britain has told Cabinet ministers to cease using the phrase 'War on Terror' and other terms that may anger British Muslims. How about stop using it because it's a fucking joke. It's a fraudulent disaster. A con.

"...officials believe that militants use a sense of war and crisis and a 'clash of civilisations' to recruit supporters, and thus the use of terms such as 'war', 'war on terror' or 'battle' can be counter-productive." Read the full article at The Observer.

Also read: There Is No War On Terror and The Fallacy of the War on Terror

The U.S. government has and is a major supporter of state-backed terrorism, favoring preemptive aggression over mediation in the world court, and avoiding accountability by excluding itself from the globally accepted definition of terrorism.

Conspiracy to Defraud the United Staes?

Elizabeth de la Vega was an Assistant US Attorney up until 2004, half way into Bush's reign. She recently published a book titled "United States vs. George W. Bush, et al.". In this book, you can read De la Vega lay out her mock indictment of George W. for consiracy to defraud the United States. In an interview on Democracy Now! radio, she starts her explaination of her book with 9/11:

"But the case really starts with the actions of the administration right after 9/11 and proceeds with how they used the fear that was engendered by 9/11, and they actually aggravated that fear. And then they started off, as we all recall, with sort of generally false assertions that had no basis in fact, such as that Iraq was a grave and gathering danger, when at the time the National Intelligence Estimate said no such thing."