PBS Frontline's 'News War' exposes Bush’s media manipulation

In a great new 4-part series titled News War, PBS Frontline examines the battle between the White House & the national media and how they both fight to set the national agenda. In the first part that aired on Tuesday, Lowell Bergman investigates the Plame affair and breaks down how the Bush administration manipulated the media, which, in turn, manipulated and exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. Clip below...

The entire 'News War - Part 1' can be streamed here

Sign the petition for Congress to guarantee permanent funding for PBS and NPR!

Via Crooks & Liars

At least $10 billlion wasted due to private war companies

"About $10 billion has been squandered by the U.S. government on Iraq reconstruction aid because of contractor overcharges and unsupported expenses, and federal investigators warned Thursday that significantly more taxpayer money is at risk."

Federal Investigators, "Urged the Pentagon to reconsider its growing reliance on outside contractors in wars and reconstruction efforts. Layers of subcontractors, poor documentation and lack of strong contract management are rampant and promote waste even after the GAO first warned of problems 15 years ago."

See more about War Profiteering

Of the $10 billion in overpriced contracts or undocumented costs, more than $2.7 billion were charged by Halliburton Co., the oil-field services company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Noting that auditors still have $300 billion of Iraq spending to review, Waxman said the total amount of waste, fraud and abuse "could be astronomical." Read [AP]

IOM Report: 1 million Iraqis may flee in 2007

Due to the non-stop USA violence-fest and insecurity in Iraq, as many as 1 million Iraqis could flee their homes this year alone.

"The numbers of people that are being displaced are increasing every day," said Jemini Pandaya, spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration. "The security situation is not improving. It's not changing." Read [Yahoo News]

UNICEF study: Britain, U.S. Worst Places for Children (Seriously.)

A Unicef study found there was no consistent relationship between a country's wealth, as measured in gross domestic product per capita, and a child's quality of life. The Czech Republic, for example, achieved a higher ranking than economically wealthier France, which was mired in the bottom third along with Britain and the United States.

Children's happiness was rated highest in northern Europe, with the Netherlands (with weed being legal? Wow!), Sweden and Denmark leading the list (hey and all those just mentioned have minimal to no involvement in war). Canada received a 12th overall ranking in the study...

http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications

U.S. House tells Bush 'No More Troops'

From Yahoo News: "The Democratic-controlled House issued a symbolic rejection of President Bush's decision to deploy more troops to Iraq on Friday, opening an epic confrontation between Congress and commander in chief over an unpopular war that has taken the lives of more than 3,100 U.S. troops."

The vote on the nonbinding measure was 246-182, and within minutes, Democrats said their next move would be to challenge Bush's request for $93 billion in new funds for the Pentagon.

Apparently, "Bush made no comment on the developments in the House, and his spokesman said the president was too busy to watch the proceedings on television."

BUT, the the Pentagon added another 1,000 troops to the surge, despite House disapproval.

Why not ban certain video games? Clue: Start using the age ratings!

Ban violent games? It's not the games people play that motivate them to kill, kill, kill. The problem the parents AND/OR the environment the child is subjected to throughout life, or the early stages at the very least.

It's not difficult to keep young children away from violent games, they're labeled as violent. SO if you think your kids may become violent, don't let them play it. IT's not sensible to ban a game entirely that others could enjoy, while not committing violence. Plus, action games can improve your vision!

More from Technophile Monkey

N. Korea agrees to ditch nukes, Bolton wins Asshole of the Year

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the lead American official at the talks, said the United States will give an unspecified amount of energy assistance to North Korea in exchange for North Korea freezing its production of plutonium.

Everything seems to be going great. Right? Until.... John Bolton (militant fuckhead imperialistic piece of shit) makes these remarks, calling the whole thing "a very bad deal."

From CNN: It makes the Bush administration "look very weak, at a time in Iraq and dealing with Iran that it needs to look strong," Bolton told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Monday.

"I'm hoping that the president has not been fully briefed on it and still has time to reject it," he said.

What the hell is wrong with this idiot? Hey, John Bolton, go continue to fuck yourself.

Congress pushing for ISP data retention: Will use porn to try and get bill passed

Geez. Still goin' at it. According to The Register, "The data retention requirements sit within the so-called Safety Act introduced by Representative Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, as part of the "Law and Order Agenda" that he and other Republicans have begun pushing in the House."

A large part of this bill is about labeling requirements for porn sites. Bringing tougher restrictions to online porn, etc. However, THIS is part they'll use to gain a nice chunk o' support from many people. As they'll try keep the mass data retention part of this bill somewhat quiet (ha!). They do this all the time with all types of bills, hiding their agendas under a cover which they believe the masses will support.

The Register says "the Safety Act would require the [Attorney General] to order the retention of, at a minimum, the name and address of every subscriber or user corresponding to an assigned IP address or user identification."

While the ISPs aren't going to have this 'data retention bullshit' (and they'll fight against it) it's still a danger to everyone in this country, just the fact that people support this sort of Big Brother nonsense.

Addicted to War: Why the U.S. Can't Kick Militarism

Addicted to War by Joel Andreas is a compelling comic book showing the history of U.S. foreign policy and its effects on our society. It offers insight into the alternative, the things kids aren't taught in school. Until now. Yes, the book is going to be used in some San Francisco public schools.

Frank Dorrel, Publisher of "Addicted to War": "We're really glad that the San Francisco School District, which is apparently against the war in Iraq, well not apparently, obviously is, has chosen to do this."

According to ABC 7, "Frank Dorrel is now helping to supply the San Francisco Unified School District with 4,000 copies of the book for use in high school social studies and history classes. The books are being donated by a local anti-war activist."

From the 'Addicted to War' site: "With 77, hard-hitting, carefully documented pages, including 161 reference notes, this book reveals why the U.S. has been involved in more wars in recent years than any other country.

Packed with historical photographs and quotes from people in the military, the government, and big buisness, Addicted to War explains who benefits from these military adventures, who pays and who dies.

Addicted to War is being used as a history textbook in hundreds of high schools and colleges."

Paul Gigot says "No one ever claimed a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda"

Today on Fox News, Wall Street Journal editor Paul Gigot claimed, “We didn’t go to war because of al Qaeda links.” What an asshole.

Apparently, Paul Gigot didn't read what the White House resolution authorizing force against Iraq said:

"Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq."

What bothers me is that this guy was on the Fox News show with millions of people watching. Bad Fox News, bad. (watch video here)

Escalation: a 1968 anti-war short film by Disney animator [video]

This was created by Academy Award-winning Disney animator Ward Kimball (1914 –2002). The 1968 film protests then-president Lyndon B. Johnson's escalation of the Vietnam war.

via Boing Boing

Jailing Pot Smokers Costs U.S. Taxpayers $1 Billion a Year. Treating Nearly Half of All Americans as Criminals: Priceless

According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), "Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. This turns into it costing U.S. taxpayers more than $1 billion a year to keep pot heads locked up. That can be turned into 1 out of 8 American drug prisoners are locked up for marijuana.

Paul Armentado (AlterNet) reports that according to the most recent figures available from the FBI, police arrested an estimated 786,545 people on marijuana charges in 2005 -- more than twice the number of Americans arrested just 12 years ago. Among those arrested, about 88 percent -- some 696,074 Americans -- were charged with possession only. The remaining 90,471 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses, even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use. These totals are the highest ever recorded by the FBI, and make up 42.6 percent of all drug arrests in the United States.

Marijuana isn't a harmless substance, and those who argue for a change in the drug's legal status do not claim it to be. However, pot's relative risks to the user and society are arguably fewer than those of alcohol and tobacco, and they do not warrant the expenses associated with targeting, arresting and prosecuting hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.