TENET TAKES ONE FOR THE TEAM
While I have no question that Saddam Hussien was/is a vicious, murdering, filthy thug who needed to be taken down, I'm also HIGHLY uncomfortable with the way the war on Iraq was presented to me. It played on my sense of justice for what happened September 11, 2001. In other words, the White House LIED to me, grandstanded on the dead bodies of thousands of US Americans, to push their own private agenda.

We were given these reasons for going to War with Iraq at a time we were supposed to be focusing on a War Against terrorism and seeking out Osama bin Laden.

Reason 1: We have to go to war because Saddam is supporting and working with Osama bin Laden, who was/is responsible for the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the deaths of thousands of innocent people on September 11, 2001.
This was false from the start. Saddam Hussein, it is now admitted, did not support or work with Osama bin Laden, who was/is responsible for the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the deaths of thousands of innocent people on September 11, 2001.

Reason 2: We have to go to war because Saddam is creating Biological Weapons of Mass Destruction.
This was false from the start. Saddam Hussein, it is now admitted, did not have BWMD according to any and all evidence. The case for BWMD was based entirely on junk science and hearsay.

Reason 2a: We have to go to war because Saddam is attempting to create a nuclear arsenal, the evidence of which is his thwarted attempt to buy "yellow cake" uranium.
This was false from the start. The CIA knew it and claimed that they tried to tell the White House not to use it, but under pressure they backed down and approved of the speech. The question is, who supplied the pressure? No one is saying yet, but today, CIA head director, George Tenet (a holdover from Clinton's term) is taking the heat.

Right now, the War in Iraq (and yes, we ARE still at war) is devolving into a quagmire. And shame on anyone who hoped for that.

Bush, meanwhile, is currently out of the country to let things cool while he expresses a sudden and previously unheard of interest in the welfare of Africa.

Hey Bush! How the hell is the hunt for Osama going, hey? HEY? HEY GODDAMMIT! HOW THE HELL IS THE HUNT FOR OSAMA GOING? You and your father! Sheesh! Can one of you finish what the hell you start?

Read up on

cnn.com
Rumsfeld dismisses concerns over intelligence
Defense chief: Uranium claim small part of evidence for war
Thursday, July 10, 2003 Posted: 1521 GMT (11:21 PM HKT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is rejecting concerns that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was based on faulty intelligence, calling a now-retracted report about Iraqi uranium purchases "one scrap" of a larger picture.

(And I have to say, the above headline is one GREAT headline!)

Blair defends case for Iraq war
British support for war declining, poll shows
Tuesday, July 8, 2003 Posted: 1028 GMT ( 6:28 PM HKT)
LONDON, England -- Prime Minister Tony Blair has staunchly defended his case for going to war with Iraq, rejecting claims that he misled Britain ahead of the conflict.

July 8, 2003

R.I.P.
Even with all the bad in the world, there is far more good (otherwise we wouldn't even exist, would we?). And as writers of the macabre, many of us are really emotional slobs who get too caught up in world events and feel compelled to write down the horrors we read, hear, or witness, whether first hand or on the Media. This keeps those horrors from preying on our minds and growing out of bounds in our imagination. As writers, we enjoy the genre for many reasons, one of which is, in Horror fiction, WE decide who the good ones are and can make good win over evil. As readers, that's one of the many reasons we enjoy Horror fiction. Personally speaking, I also look for that in the world, though such stories are rarely so black and white.

So it is that, with everything else going on in the world, I focused on, and got caught up in, the suspenseful, yet uplifting lives of the conjoined adult twins, Laleh and Ladan Bijani. These Iranian sisters were willing, after living with their condition for 29 years, to undergo a life or death surgery that would separate them so that, for the first time in their lives, "We can look at each other." They also wanted to lead separate lives. One wanted to be a lawyer, and the other, a journalist.

The odds seemed against them yet there was hope. And my interest in the story was buoyed by their positive character and high spirits. The surgery would have taken 4 days, nonstop, with a huge team of highly skilled surgeons working around the clock. I know everyone did their best, but we haven't advanced that far in medicine yet and these two amazing women - amazing for their bravery in facing death to win freedom from their condition - died in the operating room due to complications and blood loss.

Today I find myself, from halfway around the world, saddened by the loss of two total strangers from Iran.

FoxNews
Both Iranian Twins Die During Separation Surgery
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
SINGAPORE — The 29-year-old Iranian twins sisters born joined at the head died Tuesday, shortly after neurosurgeons separated them from each other.

Iranians Cry in Shock Over Death of Twins
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
TEHRAN, Iran — Some pulled off the road upon hearing the news. Many cried out in shock. Others — at work, at restaurants, in their homes — simply wept.

June 16 , 2003

IT'S NOT THAT THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST GOING TO WAR WHEN IT SERVES THEIR INTERESTS, THEY JUST DON'T LIKE IT WHEN THE U.S.A DOES IT.

You'd probably be thinking, over the months, that the French government is comprised of entirely peaceable folks bent only on sitting around the diplomacy table with a glass of Sherry or Cognac and peaceably discussing terms of, well, peace with blinking mad tyrants. You'd be wrong of course, but if you actually swallowed the bullshit from Blaque Jacque Chirac, it's easy to understand WHY you'd think that! A bit of news about the number 1 supplier of small arms to revolutions, rebellions, civil wars, and unstable governments the world over.

French troops attacked in Congo
Saturday, June 14, 2003 Posted: 1253 GMT ( 8:53 PM HKT)

(CNN) -- French troops sent to stop ethnic violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo have opened fire on local militias for the first time after they were attacked, according to a correspondent traveling with the troops.

And to keep things balanced, don't forget to read the CNN fact sheet

Fact sheet: Violence in Congo
Friday, June 13, 2003 Posted: 0602 GMT ( 2:02 PM HKT)

May 16 , 2003

ANGER FROM CANADA: PUPPET NATION OF THE US

According to ABCNews.com, funny things are going on in Canada right now, and it all has to do with the US Attorney General John Ashcroft.

On the US side is the still draconian laws against any form of use, even medically beneficial use, of marijuana. I would go into some detail here about foreign drug lords and the money they have heavily paid off to various US government politicians and the like over the decades, but that was all covered extensively in Jack Herer's THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES*.

What is amazing is that, with absolutely no proof or even credible reason, no validity at all as to why marijuana should be and remain illegal, the drug not only remains illegal in the US, but people like John Ashcroft^ want to keep it illegal and if possible, obliterated from the face of the earth entirely. So now, according to ABC News (and it's important that I say that, because too often, ABCNews covers and reports news that, for all other news agencies, simply doesn't exist ANYWHERE!), John Ashcroft summons Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. According to the ABCNews article, it seems that Jean is in a whole lotta trouble with his own country's legislators because he runs like an obedient lap dog to the US to ask permission to make laws regarding Canada, before floating those ideas at home. And John Ashcroft, for whatever his arcane reasons, doesn't cotton to the idea of marijuana being legal anywhere in the world.

I know this may all seem like a terrible, conspiracy theory rant, but you know I would never yap without backing up my statements. The following links are for your perusal.

Bad Buzz?
US Keeping Close Eye on Canada Pot Proposal
By Rogene Fisher
May 16

(Again, keep in mind that this is the same ABCNews that claimed the US was bombing Iraq - almost every single day - back in February of 2003. Even though no Arab, Middle East, or even Iraqi controlled state newspaper was aware of this! Odd, no?)

Just Say No
Government’s War on Drugs Fails
By John Stossel
July 30 — Have you ever used illegal drugs? The government says a third of Americans have at some point — and about 5 percent use them regularly.

Cauchon brushes off pot concerns
By ALLISON DUNFIELD
Globe and Mail Update
Tuesday, May. 13, 2003

Liberal caucus haggles over marijuana bill
Reforms postponed but Chrétien vows to forge ahead
Janice Tibbetts, with files from Elizabeth Thompson, The Gazette
CanWest News Service, with files from The Gazette
Thursday, May 15, 2003

The site, DrugFreeAmerica.org, which pretends to want to help kids break free from the dangers of drugs and have a drug free lifestyle, goes to great pains and lengths to never mention that all forms of alcoholic beverage as well as cigarettes are also drugs and just as harmful, if not more so (depending on the comparison) as illegal drugs. No wonder alcohol abuse is the number one drug problem among teenagers in America. But the US government fully supports such legal drugs. So happily remember that the next time some drunk smears the bodies of the one's you love across a few hundred yards of asphalt!

And in the interests of full disclosure, while I fully support the legalization of Marijuana, I don't use it. I don't smoke tobacco; I drink very little and on rare occasions; and it is all because of no other reason than those pursuits are one BIG FREAKING WASTE OF TIME. And time IS life. And I only have so much time to live. So I'm not about to waste it staring drunk and cross-eyed at some damn worthless episode of Ricki Lake while drooling down my chin.

^who staunchly defends far more dangerous drugs such as cigarette tobacco with "secret toxic ingredients" and potentially lethal drugs from US drug companies that no longer have to be held accountable for the toxicity of their drugs, even regarding the possible deaths and maiming of infants.

HATE AND VIOLENCE HIDE THEIR COWARDLY HEADS

For those who look at Afghanistan and Iraq and ask if the US is going too far to track down terrorists. Today's news

FBI to Probe Saudi Terror Attack
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
FoxNews

Bush vows to hunt Riyadh killers
Officials suspect al Qaeda behind attacks
Tuesday, May 13, 2003 Posted: 1741 GMT ( 1:41 AM HKT)

Saudi bomb outrages world
Tuesday, May 13, 2003 Posted: 1922 GMT ( 3:22 AM HKT)

Bush condemns Saudi bombings
White House welcomes Saudi statement
Tuesday, May 13, 2003 Posted: 2009 GMT ( 4:09 AM HKT)

And for something lighter:

IMO all politicians are corrupt, petty, thieving, childish fools. But in Texas they are also hilarious! The following links for your perusal.

Texas House paralyzed by Democratic walkout
Redistricting at issue
Tuesday, May 13, 2003 Posted: 2057 GMT ( 4:57 AM HKT)

Texas Rangers hunting Democratic lawmakers
'It is a disgrace to run and hide'
Tuesday, May 13, 2003 Posted: 0226 GMT (10:26 AM HKT)

Texas Troopers Find House Democrats in Oklahoma
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Associated Press

May 8 , 2003

THE SMELL OF COLLUSION GROWS WORSE

This from Rueters and Forbes Magazine. Forbes.com

Lawmaker says Halliburton's role expanded in Iraq
Reuters, 05.07.03, 12:02 PM ET

May 6 , 2003

DOES FREE PRESS GET YOU OFFICIALLY MURDERED IN ISRAEL?

In the past few weeks, Israeli troops have fired a single shot, with total and willful accuracy, killing reporters who were filming them, at a distance too far to interfere with their activities. Witnesses have come forward to say both men were targeted by Israeli soldiers, and in fact, both were shot in standard sniper mode of a single quick shot to the neck (although exact placement of the shot, at this time, is sketchy. Some reports say that one of the journalists was shot in the head). Israeli soldiers have also admitted that the latest reporter, a British citizen, was even waving a white flag in front of his camera before he was shot.

Now I grant you that when reporters go into hostile areas, they run the risk of getting killed, even by friendly fire. They know that as well and it's a risk they take in the name of "Free Press". Believe me, cameramen never gain fame or fortune for what they do. Can you think of a single famous war correspondent cameraman? Exactly. So what is going on here, anyway?

The Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ.org, a non profit, non partisan group, claims that, for years now, Israeli soldiers have specifically targeted reporters, especially those with cameras, with deadly force.

Check out the following news links.

Israeli troops kill British cameraman
By Saud Abu Ramadan
From the International Desk
Published 5/2/2003 7:18 PM

British cameraman killed in Gaza
Saturday, May 3, 2003 Posted: 1710 GMT ( 1:10 AM HKT)

Sunday, 4 May, 2003, 04:02 GMT 05:02 UK
Killing prompts new war crime call
The killing of reporters in war zones should be made a new war crime after the death of a British cameraman in Gaza, campaigners say.

UK cameraman shot dead in Israel
Press Association
Saturday May 3, 2003 11:08 PM

The International Press Institute,
has an article which reports this long standing issue of Israeli soldiers firing upon journalists. The report is long and in-depth and covers the plight, in some cases, of soldiers who, in the heat of the battle, cannot tell - or be expected to tell - the difference between an approaching or fleeing reporter or attacker.

AND ON AN UNRELATED (and more upbeat) NOTE:

You tell me: ain't this a non-issue?

He ain't cheating on his wife, lying to her or doing anything behind her back. And what he IS doing is not only legal, but no one in his family or among his friends seems to have a problem with it. So how can it be immoral? And if he is taking care of home, hearth, and the hearts who love him, how can he not be virtuous? Yet some uber nosy pinch-brains are calling on William Bennet for his gambling. Which, for him, seems to be less of a destructive addiction than a relaxing hobby.

To stop all of the harping, Bill says he is going to give up gambling (I Bet he WON'T! HA!). But really, what's the big deal if he likes to Play Games for Money? Did he stomp all over gambling as a vice in his BOOK OF VIRTUES? Am I to believe that these people who are slamming him have NEVER played the lottery?

May 1 , 2003

REVOKE 'EM ALL!
Horror fans may remember actor Andras Jones, as Rick, the chop-socky big brother of Alice Johnson (Lisa Wilcox) in the film A NIGHTMARE ON ELMSTREET 4: The Dream Warriors. Andras has been in everything from SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIME-BOWL-A-RAMA (1988) to THE ATTIC EXPEDITIONS (2001). Acting takes a back seat for Andras, who focuses mainly on his rock band, THE PREVIOUS. But he also has time to make political statements and he recently sent me news of a crooked voting scheme that is starting to burst from its own anonymity. Andras supplied the following links. Thanks dude!

Georgia's Last Minute 2002 Election Machine Fix
Thursday, 13 February 2003, 10:41 pm
Article: Bev Harris

Hagel’s ethics filings pose disclosure issue
By Alexander Bolton

Published on Thursday, March 6, 2003 by CommonDreams.org
Now Your Vote Is The Property Of A Private Corporation
by Thom Hartmann

Black Box Voting
Ballot Tampering ini the 21st Century

Hacking democracy?

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