Rumsfeld should let Majeed al-Rawi stay at his place for a while

Insurgents in Fallujah hid a bomb in front of Majeed al-Rawi's house a few days ago, intending to use it against U.S. or Iraqi troops. Majeed al-Rawi had one option after this happened: move out of his home.

"If I report it to the Americans, I will be killed by the men who put it there, and if I don't, my family will be killed either by the explosion or the Americans,"said al-Rawi, a car dealer. "This is not a way to live; this is a way to hate life."

Come on Rumsfeld! It's your fault (and your cohorts) this is happening. Don't you think al-Rawi could maybe stay with you for a while? You know, until the whole thing clears up. I mean, you got off so easily...al-Rawi didn't. He didn't have a choice. Well, unless he wants to die, then could probably stay at his house.

The U.S. 'War on Terror' worsens terrorists and creates anti-USA feeings around the world, as it has for many many decades!

The number of shootings, bombings and bombs found and defused has doubled in Fallujah since last winter, to about four or five a day, U.S. officers say. There have been about half a dozen car bombings in recent weeks.

U.S. and Iraqi troops have nowhere near the manpower needed to take up the slack, said Lt. Col. James Teeples, the senior adviser to the Iraqi Army unit responsible for much of the city. Hmm, kind of like in Afghanistan too.

"We just don't have the manpower to maintain surveillance on the entire city," Teeples said.

It's because you shouldn't be surveying the city at all, you shouldn't be there period. The reason this started in the first place is because of the twisted U.S. foreign policy for the past several decades.


If people would do research themselves, maybe read a history book or two (not the one's you get in school, then maybe more people would realize there is a consistent history of U.S. hegemonic and imperial ambitions throughout the past years.

Full article via StarTribune.com

The almost end of a 6 year nightmare for the world

Many good things happened yesterday. Nancy Pelosi will be the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Keith Ellison (D-MN), will become the first Muslim to serve in Congress. And with With Claire McCaskill’s (D) Senate victory in Missouri, a record number of women (16) will now serve in the U.S. Senate.

Many people and politicians alike, around the world, saw the way voters took to the polls on Tuesday as a rejection to Bush Inc's corrupt and murderous ways. There is no doubt that many American's made it clear that we will not stand by and have our freedoms and others' freedoms violated around the world.

A French teacher said it was about time U.S. voters figured out what much of the rest of the world already knew. Well said.

More than 200 Socialist members of the European Parliament hailed the American election results as "the beginning of the end of a six-year nightmare for the world."Only two more years.

But we should not become too joyous as of yet, for we now must decapitate the monster, and finish the job.

What will come next? Will America continue down it's distraught and always failed path in foreign policy? Can we expect more corruption? Most likely. More leaders playing off of the American publics' fear? We hope not.

It is our job as citizens to keep the power balanced, to question everything done by our government, and to make the government fear US.

"People Should Not Be Afraid Of Their Governments. Governments Should Be Afraid Of Their People."

Bush tells terrorists: ‘Do Not Be Joyful’ over election results

President Bush, befor ethe elections said that if opponents of his Iraq policy were victorious, “the terrorists win and America loses.”

Terrorists say, "But, but... you said we win!" Sorry terrorists, we have a pseudo-dictatorship going on here. And remember terrorists, if it wasn't for Bush, many of you newly formed terror cells would not have jobs.

Via Think Progress

Six states raise minimum wage! A good start.

Six states approvedraising the minimum wage, joining 18 other states in setting a wage higher than the ridiculously low federal mark of $5.15 an hour.

In my state, Ohio, voters raised the wage to $6.85 an hour, Montana to $6.15 or the federal wage, whichever is higher, and Missouri to $6.50. Arizona voters raised the minimum wage to $6.75.

CNN also projects that Nevada voters will approve a mandatory minimum wage constitutional amendment that would set the wage at $6.15 if the employer does not provide health benefits. Blah.

A good start for most states. But they are still too low for anyone to live off of, even on the slimmest of budgets. There's a book, which I read, called Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

The author, Barbara Ehrenreich, sets out to find how anyone could make ends meet on $7 an hour, she left behind her middle class life as a journalist except for $1000 in start-up funds, a car and her laptop computer to try to sustain herself as a low-skilled worker for a month at a time. In 1999 and 2000, Ehrenreich worked as a waitress , a cleaning woman, a nursing home aide, and in a Wal-Mart employee.

End result? Her income barely covered her month's expenses in only one instance, when she worked seven days a week at two jobs (one of which provided free meals) during the off-season in a vacation town.

13 nations denounced for web censorship

Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam have all censored the web in some way.

Reporters Without Borders (RWB) claims these nations are the worst culprits for systematic online censorship, and they were targeted in the group's 24-hour online protest. No one should ever be prevented from posting news online or writing a blog," said the Paris-based group, and I agree.

In an annual report, the group said 61 people worldwide, 52 in China, are in prison for posting what the countries claimed was "subversive" content.

RWB obtained a copy of the verdict in the case of Jiang Lijun, sentenced to 4 years in prison in Nov. 2003 for his online pro-democracy articles in China. RWB said that Yahoo! had helped Chinese police identify him. 200 people have already recorded a message for the founder of Yahoo!, deploring the fact that his company helps the Chinese authorities track down cyber-dissidents.

Nepal, Maldives and Libya have been removed from Reporters Without Borders' annual list of Internet enemies. But there's an addition to the list, Egypt, where it said "many bloggers were harassed and imprisoned this year." What do you think?

Via Newsvine

Terrorist acts being carried out in Virginia against possible Democratic voters

Arlington, Virginia resident Tim Daly received a personalized phone call on his answering machine yesterday from an individual claiming to be from the "Virginia Elections Commission." The caller stated that "we've determined you are registered in New York to vote. Therefore, you will not be allowed to cast your vote on Tuesday." The caller then warned, "if you do show up, you will be charged criminally." That would instill fear into anyone's mind.

State elections in Virginia are supervised by the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) and there is no "Virginia Elections Commission." Democratic Party officials has said the GOP hopes to avoid being charged criminally by misidentifying the SBE, however, legal advisers to the Democratic Party have stated that it is a crime to impersonate a state official.

This is also a terrorist activity. Webster's says, 'terrorism' is "the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion." So we can all agree and without doubt confirm that what happened to Daly in Virginia was an act of terrorism. Period.

Daly has been registered to vote in Virginia since 1998 when he moved from New York.

The GOP has obviously gained access to records of voters who moved to Virginia since at least 1998 and are attempting to intimidate them by claiming they are still registered to vote in their previous states of residence.

There are reports of other similar attempts to suppress the vote in Virginia but only Daly has filed a sworn affidavit, and volunteered to appear in court as a witness. The FBI has also launched a probe, who knows if that will solve anything. Via Huffington Post.

New HBO Documentary, Hacking Democracy, available on Google Video

This new HBO documentary, Hacking Democracy, exposes the vulnerability of electronic voting machines. The film follows investigative journalist Bev Harris as she investigates the security and accuracy of electronic voting systems.

The Nov. 2 New York Times review says:
"Rigged voting in Louisiana? Say it ain't so. But it's not shocked-shocked you feel watching this; it's genuine shock. As the drama proceeds, adducing more evidence for the unreliability of the voting machines than can possibly be explored here, you might also feel flattened. Computers count around 80 percent of votes in America. The marketing director for Diebold, Mark Radke, who defends both the company and its chief executive (a major Republican fund-raiser who once promised in a letter to "deliver the electoral votes of Ohio" to President Bush), talks in maddening doublespeak and wears the arched-eyebrow expression of a silent-movie fiend. His Nixon-era nondenial denials turn the stomach."

Check it out:

87% of international terrorism cases brought by the FBI rejected by Federal prosecutors

Federal prosecutors have rejected 87% of the international terrorism cases brought by the FBI during the first nine months of fiscal year 2006, a Syracuse University analysis concluded. And the number of rejections has been generally increasing since 2001.

Of course, the Justice Department said the findings are an "astonishing misunderstanding" of the inner workings of the federal criminal justice system.

"This report contains inaccurate figures, relies on a faulty assumption that every referral from an investigative agency should result in a criminal prosecution and ignores the reality of how the war on terrorism is being conducted," said Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.

Hmmm, is it just me, or is 87% a ridiculously high percentage? I was thinking more like 12% would be acceptable. Hell, even a 60% rejection rate would be acceptable with this administration. But Eighty-Seven Percent. Come on.

Because of the 'new mission' since 9/11, Roehrkasse said, cases rejected for prosecution don't necessarily close investigations. Oh! Kind of like this guy who was tortured but never charged, now I understand! In other words, they scare people and intimidate them, if they can't find a valid reason to detain them.

Hoax cases that were dismissed may have been included in the government data, too, he said. Yes, I am sure there were many people who entertaind themselves by being investigated by the feds.

Roehrkasse said the department's rejection rate stands at 67%, not 87%. He added the department has prosecuted 36 international terrorism defendants, nearly double the number reported in the analysis.

Still not at my really high and lenient rejection rate 60%.

Susan Long, one of the report's authors, said the data used in the review were obtained from the Justice Department's Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. "The information comes from their files," Long said.

Via USA Today

Military recruiters misleading students to get them to enlist

What a surprise! A recent ABC News undercover investigation shows Army recruiters telling students that the war in Iraq was over, trying to get them to enlist. Students were equipped with hidden video cameras before visiting 10 Army recruitment offices in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

"We're not at war. War ended a long time ago," said one recruiter. Recruiters told students there would be little chance they'd to go Iraq, if they enlisted. Col. Robert Manning, who is in charge of U.S. Army recruiting for the entire Northeast, said that new recruits were likely to go to Iraq.

Even Manning tries to brush off this disgusting display by sick recruiters preying on students to advance their own place. "It's hard to believe some of things they are telling prospective applicants," Manning said. "I still believe that this is the exception more than the norm. … I've visited many stations myself, and I know that we have many wonderful Americans serving in uniform as recruiters."

Bullshit. You have no idea. Manning, please tell us which one of those recruiters wouldn't want to look good in front of you to maintain their rank and keep their job? Many "wonderful Americans serving in uniform"? Oh! You mean pawns of your war games to successfully execute the Bush admin. agenda, backdrops for Republican propaganda, and people who get paid 10 times less than what private contractors in Iraq get paid. Watch the video

Saddam’s guilty verdict 4 days early, but why?

Just before the 'not really' verdict was announced, Saddam said to "pardon and do not take revenge on the invading nations and their people." (MSNBC)

Then, the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal announced yesterday that Saddam Hussein has been found guilty and is sentenced to death. But it didn’t release the official verdict. NBC News has the story:

"The full verdict, a document of several hundred pages, explaining how and why today’s judgment was reached was not released. U.S. officials said it should be ready by Thursday. So why issue the verdict today? U.S. court advisors told reporters today it was delayed mainly for technical reasons."

"Technical reasons?" Oh! You mean "just days before the mid-term election"! Of course, because the Bush administration wants to be hailed as a hero, now we understand!

The court was created by the administration-controlled Coalition Provisional Authority and the administration still exercises considerable control over the court. The New York Times reports, "American influence…has been undeniably pervasive, with about 90 percent of the $145 million in annual costs for the court and associated investigations paid for by the United States Justice Department, and lawyers sent by Washington acting as advisers.”

Talking Points Memo via ThinkProgress

Also see Saddam verdict date "rigged" for Bush

Afghanistan, Inc. - Contractors in Afghanistan making big money for bad work

CorpWatch has released a new 31 page investigative report, Afghanistan, Inc., where you’ll get an inside look at a system gone out of control, with little accountability and plenty of opportunity for graft and abuse. It isn’t a story you want to read; it’s a story you must read.

The author of Afghanistan, Inc. is Fariba Nawa, an Afghan-American who returned to her native country to examine the progress of reconstruction, uncovers some examples of where the money has (and hasn’t) gone, how the system of international aid works (and doesn’t), and what it is really like in the villages and cities where outsiders are rebuilding the war-torn countryside.

CorpWatch investigates and exposes corporate violations of human rights, environmental crimes, fraud and corruption around the world. Through its independent media work, CorpWatch fosters global justice, accountability and democratic control of corporations.

Click here to download the complete report. An HTML text version of the report is also available.

Bush Admin. wants to silence the tortured regarding secret CIA prisons and methods

Another step for Big Brother Bush who is trying to block lawyers' access to the 14 detainees.

Bush argues that those tortured in U.S. prison camps cannot disclose such information to their courts or even to their attorneys based on the contrary theory that such disclosure would constitute trading on insider information and compromise U S security interests:

From the Washington Post:

"The Bush administration has told a federal judge that terrorism suspects held in secret CIA prisons should not be allowed to reveal details of the "alternative interrogation methods" that their captors used to get them to talk."

"The government says in new court filings that those interrogation methods are now among the nation's most sensitive national security secrets and that their release -- even to the detainees' own attorneys -- "could reasonably be expected to cause extremely grave damage." Terrorists could use the information to train in counter-interrogation techniques and foil government efforts to elicit information about their methods and plots, according to government documents submitted to U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton on Oct. 26."

Gov't lawyers say detainees held in CIA prison camps have no automatic right to speak to lawyers because the new Military Commissions Act, signed by President Bush last month, stripped them of access to U.S. courts.

Via True Blue Liberal