Arabic For Dummies
January 13, 2008 | Filed Under Humor, political | Leave a Comment
Gotta’ give him props for doing his part to learn the language and culture. 
the media is supposed to act as a check on Government
January 12, 2008 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
What if the media actually worked to keep corporations from tainting the political process rather than acting as an accomplish to the corruption that has infiltrated Washington? The media could easily act as the “good guys”, but instead they’ve been purchased by billionaires with agendas and now we face the real possibility of a fascist American government.
Lost in Translation
January 12, 2008 | Filed Under Humor, political, religion | Leave a Comment
Hinduism – Culture & Society
I’m not sure what the significance of this artwork is, maybe someone out there can explain.
Osama Bin Laden Vanished Into The Darkness
January 11, 2008 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Over the last few years, Osama Bin Laden has received very little airtime or attention from the President. Coincidentally, he does manage to rear his ugly head a few days before Election day and September 11th, it’s like clockwork. Now, more and more reports are getting out that suggest Osama Bin Laden is dead.
Fox News originally reported Osama Bin Laden dead in 2001, of “natural causes” although it was believed he was wounded in combat at some point. A couple of days ago, French Intelligence let slip that Osama Bin Laden has been dead for several years but hasn’t been revealed to the public. That would be particularly scandalous because we’ve seen a number of Osama Bin Laden tapes surface, some of which have been dubbed ‘fake’.
Now, the latest message to go viral on the Internet is a tribal document that reveals the death of Osama Bin Laden.
From ‘Welfare State‘
Translation of Funeral Article in Egyptian Paper:
al-Wafd, Wednesday, December 26, 2001 Vol 15 No 4633
News of Bin Laden’s Death
and Funeral 10 days agoIslamabad -
A prominent official in the Afghan Taleban movement announced yesterday the death of Osama bin Laden, the chief of al-Qa’da organization, stating that binLaden suffered serious complications in the lungs and died a natural and quiet death. The official, who asked to remain anonymous, stated to The Observer of Pakistan that he had himself attended the funeral of bin Laden and saw his face prior to burial in Tora Bora 10 days ago. He mentioned that 30 of al-Qa’da fighters attended the burial as well as members of his family and some friends from the Taleban. In the farewell ceremony to his final rest guns were fired in the air. The official stated that it is difficult to pinpoint the burial location of bin Laden because according to the Wahhabi tradition no mark is left by the grave. He stressed that it is unlikely that the American forces would ever uncover any traces of bin Laden.
Finally, remember the Bhutto Assassination that ‘rocked’ the world? Well, videos of her proclaiming Osama Bin Laden dead went viral as well. All indicators seem to suggest that Osama Bin Laden is and has been dead for some time now, he may have even been dead before we went to war with Iraq. Perhaps that’s the largest scandal that has gone unnoticed.
Bhutto says Osama Bin Laden is Dead
If Osama Bin Laden has been dead since December of 2001, a lot of what President Bush has fed the media and the world was disinformation. Our intelligence agency no doubt has the answer to this puzzling question, the question is why hasn’t the information been revealed to the public. Moreover, if it was intentionally withheld from the public for “national security reasons”, what exactly are we trying to protect? A false war? Lies leading to Iraq? Torture that has resulted as part of the propaganda campaign that made “Islamo-fascism” a popular word amongst “conservatives”?
Turn Down the Noise says Rudy Giuliani
January 11, 2008 | Filed Under deception, Elections, media, TV Ads | Leave a Comment
Rudy Giuliani’s campaign seems intent on releasing highly controversial video ads. I don’t think they see it that way, though. They probably think these ads are clever, they don’t see them as insulting anyone’s intelligence. The campaign needs to badly clear itself of the 9/11 responses to all questions that Rudy Giuliani engaged in throughout his primary campaign.
Rudy Giuliani would like you to forget his exploitation of 9/11 and just have faith in government. That’s right, just trust him, I dare you!
Times Change, Sexism – Flashback
January 11, 2008 | Filed Under Humor, political | Leave a Comment
Countrywide Controversy – CEO Scandal
January 11, 2008 | Filed Under News, scandals | Leave a Comment
Well, suffice to say that it got my attention. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Mozilo has two pensions that his severance agreement gives him the right to receive as a lump sum upon his departure. Those pensions were worth $24 million as of December 2006, the last time the company was required to report their value.
There is more. The Times reports Mozilo would receive continuing health benefits for life for himself and his spouse, three years of life and financial planning benefits, and “tax-gross-up payments” to compensate him for any penalties he’d have to pay for receiving payments the IRS might consider excessive.
Given the slashing of 10,900 jobs at Countrywide this year, and the 81% decline in Countrywide stock over the last year, it is likely Mozilo’s severage package will prove more controversial than his previous stock sales.
Media Ethics and the 2008 U.S. Elections
January 10, 2008 | Filed Under Elections | 2 Comments
Frank Luntz is doing his best to try and influence the elections.
He led his special “focus group” that he uses on Fox to talk about candidates and help steer public opinion. I think it is a bad habit for our media to start engaging in telling citizens how they should vote. The victor of tonights debate according to Frank Luntz and his “focus group” was Fred Thompson. As his segment was cutting out, he made sure that the audience ‘collectively’ aided him in slandering one candidate in particular. I’ll give you one guess as to the name of that candidate that got smeared by Fox News.
Fox News “Focus Group” — insult to the intelligence of American voters
The bias is disturbing, but this shameless attempt to manipulate American voters is a serious problem. The power of journalism and the media is corrupting our American politics and negatively impacting government. How long can we let them get away with this kind of behavior? Anyone have ideas on how we can expose this problem and/or stop these puppet masters from further tainting the public discourse?
Does America Need a Lesson On Democracy?
January 10, 2008 | Filed Under deception, Elections, media, Media Bias | 3 Comments
Ron Paul takes on Fox News
During tonight’s Republican Debate Ron Paul got slammed by the moderator with a nasty question but he held his own.
After the debate was over, Frank Luntz, the resident Fox News “expert” was spoon-feeding Florida natives with the “winner” Fred Thompson and “loser” Ron Paul. I’ve never seen a media network so intent on sabotaging a political candidate. This should outrage all Americans, conservatives included. Fox News thinks you are a bunch of idiots, and the way the debate played out… they showed that they have no respect for your intelligence.
Blackwater Continues To Make Headlines
January 10, 2008 | Filed Under War | 1 Comment
When Blackwater Is In the News, It’s Always Bad
If corporate headquarters over at Blackwater had half a brain, they’d try and clean up Blackwater’s act from here on out. More of Blackwater’s Iraq atrocities are coming to light and they aren’t sitting very well with Americans. One afternoon, in the “Green Zone” that is typically flooded with Iraqi civilians, drivers and U.S. military personnel, the knuckleheads at Blackwater decided to release a nerve agent (e.g. via the Chemical Weapons — “WMDs” that made former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein so dangerous) in the area.
Suddenly, on that May day in 2005, the copter dropped CS gas, a riot-control substance the American military in Iraq can use only under the strictest conditions and with the approval of top military commanders. An armored vehicle on the ground also released the gas, temporarily blinding drivers, passers-by and at least 10 American soldiers operating the checkpoint.
“This was decidedly uncool and very, very dangerous,” Capt. Kincy Clark of the Army, the senior officer at the scene, wrote later that day. “It’s not a good thing to cause soldiers who are standing guard against car bombs, snipers and suicide bombers to cover their faces, choke, cough and otherwise degrade our awareness.”
The use of nerve gas in a highly reckless manner versus an enemy during a skirmish or surge of sorts is one thing. But using it on or near civilians and U.S. military personnel? No, No, NO. These guys need to be reigned in, has Blackwater even left Iraq after their government demanded they leave? My guess is no.
None of the American soldiers exposed to the chemical, which is similar to tear gas, required medical attention, and it is not clear if any Iraqis did. Still, the previously undisclosed incident has raised significant new questions about the role of private security contractors in Iraq, and whether they operate under the same rules of engagement and international treaty obligations that the American military observes.
“You run into this issue time and again with Blackwater, where the rules that apply to the U.S. military don’t seem to apply to Blackwater,” said Scott L. Silliman, the executive director of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security at the Duke University School of Law.
Sure, Blackwater has a good reason for its actions? There must be a good excuse or defense, right? Anne Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for Blackwater, said the CS gas had been released by mistake.
“Blackwater teams in the air and on the ground were preparing a secure route near a checkpoint to provide passage for a motorcade,” Ms. Tyrrell said in an e-mail message. “It seems a CS gas canister was mistaken for a smoke canister and released near an intersection and checkpoint.”
She said that the episode was reported to the United States Embassy in Baghdad, and that the embassy’s chief security officer and the Department of Defense conducted a full investigation. The troops exposed to the gas also said they reported it to their superiors. But military officials in Washington and Baghdad said they could not confirm that an investigation had been conducted. Officials at the State Department, which contracted with Blackwater to provide diplomatic security, also could not confirm that an investigation had taken place.
Read the full story: “2005 Use of Gas by Blackwater Leave Questions“