I'm Mad as Hell...

... and I'm Not Going to Take This Anymore!

"How the West was Won" by Hilary Clinton

Falling into the manifest destiny thinking, to which Hilary Clinton is a product of her Republican white upper middle class up-bringing, she declared upon wining the popular vote, but loosing the all-important delegate vote by one,

"I guess this is how the West was won"

In reality, the West was won by driving natives off of the land, and setting up the exploitative system that places economic freedoms above political freedoms. Hilary Clinton is not the person who will change this formula.

Sources:

Oops! Israel Killed more Palestinian Civilians

The number of Palestinian civilians killed by Israel dwarfs the number of civilians killed by Palestinian resistors to the Israeli occupation. Below is an example of many:

3 Palestinian Civilians Killed in Ongoing Israeli Airstrikes

Three Palestinian civilians, including a thirteen-year-old were killed Wednesday when an Israeli missile hit their car. Israel called the attack an “error” and said it was targeting militants. The killings came one day after nineteen Palestinians lost their lives—the highest single-day Palestinian death toll in more than a year.

Of course it's the militants' fault, right? If they weren't resisting the Israeli occupation of their land, which began in 1948, this wouldn't have happened.

Sources:

DemocracyNow headlines for January 17, 2008.

U.S. Bombings in Iraq Increased Fivefold in 2007

The following report updates my blog entry of January 11, 2008 on this topic. According to news headlines from DemocracyNow:

U.S. Bombings in Iraq Increased Fivefold in 2007

New figures from the Pentagon show the U.S. carried out fives times as many aerial bombings in Iraq last year as it did in 2006. According to the Washington Post, U.S. forces dropped more than 1,400 bombs—an average of nearly four a day. The 2006 total was 229 bombs, an average of four per week. The UN estimates at least two hundred civilians were killed in U.S. bombings from April until the end of the year. The figures come as the U.S. continues an extensive bombing campaign over Arab Jabour south of Baghdad. In one of the largest strikes since the 2003 invasion, U.S. warplanes dropped 40,000 pounds of bombs in a ten-minute span one week ago. Military experts are predicting an increase in the bombing, should the U.S. draw down its forces in Iraq. Airstrikes are also at record levels in Afghanistan. NATO bombings topped 3,500 last year, doubling the number for 2006.

Sources:

DemocracyNow Headlines, January 17, 2006.

Ooops! Pakistani Outpost Liquidated?

A Pakistani outpost was recently overrun. Was the outpost of two-dozen troops liquidated, were prisoners taken or did surviving Pakistani troops switch sides?

The Knight report, er..., reports on January 16, 2008

Inside Pakistan today, there were more side effects of the US-directed military offensive against militants in the country's northwestern provinces when two dozen Pakistani troops turned up missing after rocket-armed Islamic militants overran a military outpost near the Afghan boarder.

Army spokesperson Atar Abass claimed that, "About two hundred militants charged they fort from four sides, and hey broke through the forts walls with rockets."

He also claimed that the army killed forty militants.

The annihilation of an army post is considered a landmark event in military terms. The disaster, which Afghanistan is becoming, is further evidenced by the more widely reported US troop surge reported on by Robert Knight:

President Bush is sending 3,200 more US marines to Afghanistan, ostensibly for training the US-led NATO army of occupation there. The Pentagon claims the deployment is a, "one-time extraordinary measure," but knowlegible observers are saying that the move is in anticipation of a spring offensive by militant Islamic nationalists ... 2,200 of those marines... will indeed comprise a combat unit available for sudden operations in Southern Afghanistan and near the boarder with Pakistan.

So goes the forgotten war in Afghanistan.

Sources:

The Knight Report, with Robert Knight, January 16, 2008, on Flashpoints Radio.

Living in a Police State

Thinking people still say things like, "We need to be vigilant in protecting our country from falling into a police state," or statements to that effect. The reality is we are there now, but it's more subtle than the Orwellian 1984 world. It's more like the Aldus Huxley Brave New World.

Just as the 2006 Congressional elections had little effect on the Iraq war, a Democrat President in 2009 will have little effect on extricating us from the devolving police state we find ourselves in. The despotism is bi-partisan, and what's more eerie is that many of the so-called leaders don't even realize they're cogs in the police state machine. Congress votes for the USA PATRIOT Act without reading it. Congress funds a whole new "security industry" via Homeland Security outsourcing contracts; new financial interests help to lock-in elements of the police state. Hillary Clinton is duped into voting for the Iraq war and votes for a resolution to formally classify the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as "terrorists," blundering us into foreign wars. These wars are being used to justify suppression of domestic dissent and increase executive powers (can you say monarchy?).

But some in Congress, including Ron Paul who wrote an essay entitled "Is America a Police State?," do acknowledge the situation. Frighteningly, they seem powerless to reverse the rising police state tide.

Yes it's subtle, as Ron Paul notes:

The principal tool for sustaining a police state, even the most militant, is always economic control and punishment by denying disobedient citizens such things as jobs or places to live, and by levying fines and imprisonment. Peaceful control through these efforts can be achieved without storm troopers on our street corners.

He continues,

Terror and fear are used to achieve complacency and obedience, especially when citizens are deluded into believing they are still a free people. The changes, they are assured, will be minimal, short-lived, and necessary, such as those that occur in times of a declared war.

Dick Cheney, and others, aren't even saying "they'll be short-lived" anymore. They're now making statements to mold public expectations to accept perpetual war. The Office of the President now claims special war powers, which history shows will not be given up by the next President, regardless of political party.

This discussion isn't limited to radical right or left thinkers, like Ron Paul. It's in the main stream media, as evidenced in part by the PBS Frontline show entitled Cheney's Law. Yet the public stands frozen like a deer in headlights, unable to change the situation; this is another sign that we're in the grip of a police state. If this was a functioning democracy, or republic as some like to remind us, then we could change the situation. Maybe we still can.

It would be a big mistake to think all will be well when Cheney leaves. Cheney is a master of bureaucracy and social engineering, so you can be sure that he has set up turf wars, economic interests and other natural forces, to protect the police state apparatus he has helped put in place. We just gave the example of the unwillingness of the Office of the President to relinquish power once it has been gained. We've noted that there is a huge and growing "security industry," funded by the unknowing Congressional cogs in the police state machine.

Dennis Kucinich has alerted us to a provision in a recent Defense Department funding authorization bill that would give the President powers to use the US military to control domestic dissent. I stumbled across the Army's "C4ISR," which stands for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The talk now is turning this capacity toward "Homeland Security." They take George Bush seriously, as evidenced in the following justification for directing C4ISR:

President George Bush declared war on global terrorism with a goal of eradicating it from the face of the Earth. In declaring that objective, the president launched the nation on a two-front campaign—overseas and at home.

The principle of not using the US Military for domestic policing, embodied in the Posse Comitatus Act, is eroding like the founding father's principle of not having a standing army has eroded.

I could go on and on, but will leave you with one more tid bit, the definition of a "domestic terrorism."

USA PATRIOT Act, Section 802. DEFINITION OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM.

5) the term `domestic terrorism' means activities that--

(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;

(B) appear to be intended--

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and

(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

Note the uses of "and" or "or." If the word "and" followed Section (A), then we'd know that the acts must be "dangerous to human life," not just intended to "influence" the government by intimidation, like might be the case with a mass street demonstration.

That said, a mass street demonstration could be interpreted as being, "dangerous to human life" if the protest became violent, even if government plants prompted the violence, as has been documented in the past.

So, have you ever participated in an action to influence the government by the intimidation implied by popular discontent? Maybe, by this definition, you have conducted an act of domestic terrorism. This law is intended to chill our right to dissent against a growing police state, and most of the mindless cogs in Congress don't even realize what they have done.

Sources:

Nerdfigher Project: Remake of Hank Green's Explanation

There's a saying about "death by a hundred cuts".... I don't think it was written about video editing, but... it could have been.

The video below is a video animation of Hank Green's Project for Awesome: Explanation and Humane Society. He and his brother John were spending 2007 communicating only by YouTube videos, and Hank came up with this idea of promoting charities. You have to watch the video to see the charities I'm promoting. Comment PLEASE, and tell your friends.


Nerdfighter Project for Awrsome: Human Tennis Ball

If you haven't seen Hank Green's original, here's the link.

Spread the word. Thank You.

Pure Propaganda: Air Strikes a Success

The record, logic and the physics are clear. Increased areal bombing increases civilian deaths, regardless of increased accuracy of the weapons.

In Vietnam, the US drew down troops, increased bombing and civilian deaths increased. For over a year now, in addition to troop increases in Iraq, the US has significantly increased air attacks. A resulting increase in civilian deaths has been documented by many sources.

The Associated Press reports, "Commanders tout success of Iraq strikes." [1] This is a clear propaganda piece, and unfortunately, the AP is serving as the stenographer.

We know, and AP editors know, that my opening statements are true. That's why they throw the following bone to the unwashed masses:

Despite the massive size of the air strikes, Donnelly said that to the military's knowledge, no civilians were killed. That could not immediately be independently confirmed. He added that the targeting of three targets was called off because unmanned surveillance planes showed civilians in those areas.

As a government official, I know what the phrase "to the military's knowledge" means. It means, "we know that this policy of increased use of areal bombing increases civilian deaths, but in this particular case, we don't have detailed data, so... maybe civilians didn't die."

There's an implication that the military will get back to us later when they have more "knowledge." But how many of us will ever hear about their improved knowledge on this particular case? I follow this Iraq war fairly closely, and can almost guarantee I will NOT ever hear what happened to civilians in this case, even if the military gains the "knowledge".

But I have enough knowledge to see through the propaganda. It's a pathetic embarrassment to be American in the face of this Orwellian state of affairs. So I write a stupid blog entry, and go to work. I should do better than that.

Here's the contact for the Associated Press. Refer to the article sourced below. Ask them to find out, and report back to you, how many civilians died in this particular set of air strikes.

See Update: "U.S. Areal Bombings in Iraq Increased Fivefold in 2007"

The Date in 2003
Bush tells [former] Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar he plans to go to war two days before he tells Secretary of State Powell. This fact is revealed to the public April 18, 2004 [2].

Sources:

1. Associated Press, Commanders tout success of Iraq strikes, BRADLEY BROOKS, January 11, 2008.

2. Mother Jones, Chronicle of a War Foretold, Tim Dickinson and Jonathan Stein, Sept - Oct 2006.

Photo: This photo happens to be of Lebanon, but it's counter propaganda value is justified. We need an image in our mind of what "bomb" or "explosion" means.

Epson Stylus CX4200 Requires All Colors to be Replaced?

Editor's note: This is a very popular issue, and blog post. I've updated it to read more easily. Please comment below on why you're searching this topic. Thanks

I think I might have discovered why I was given a "free" Epson StylusCX4200 when buying a laptop. This article applies to more than just the CX4200.

Let me give you the bottom line:

1) As designed, you have to buy ALL colors when replacing cartridges, even if you've only been printing in black.

2) There are work-around options described below....

Probably like you, I tried to print a black document, and the ink-out light remained on, even tho I changed the black ink. Then I discovered this question posed to Epson:

Will the Epson printer still work if one of the ink cartridges is empty or missing? ("no").
FAQ answer to the question.

You'll love this one too:

Q: Why is the Epson color ink cartridge out of color ink if printing has been in black only previously?

A: The Epson printer uses small amounts of ink from each ink cartridge when printing, even if printing only in black. This is done to clear the print head (avoid clogging).

Work-Around Options:

OPTION 1: You can buy cartridge "refill kits" BUT, need a little device to re-set a micro-chip in each cartridge (even if you fill the cartridge, the micro-chip will tell the printer the cartridge is empty if the chip isn't reset):

Refilling cartridges offers the greatest economy possible for the user, as long as it is done correctly.

Original cartridges from Epson printers have a small memory chip that works as a counter. As the printer uses the cartridge, it updates that small memory. When the cartridge is empty, that circuit knows there is no more ink. Simply putting more ink in the cartridge does not enable it for use, since its chip will still indicate that the cartridge is empty.

Here is a link to learn about this resetter hardware. It costs about $20. Check to be sure it works for your particular type of epson. I cannot vouch for it, but if you plan to re-fill your cartridges, this might be the way to go.

OPTION 2: From a commet (Thanks!). Try SSC utility... free download, but is limited to PCs (not macs). It allows you to fool the epson into thinking the ink levels never go down. Wait until the ink really starts fading and then replace the cartridge with this sweet little program. It also allows resets for ink pad problems when the printer decides to stop printing all together because the cleaning pad page count has reached the predetermined number.

Good Luck, and again, please offer any advice you think helpful as a comment!

Preview of Human Tennis Ball Nerdfighter Project

You'll not find a better tennis ball animation on YouTube than the one in the following Nerdfighter Power Project for Awesome. For a taste of what's to come on January 12, 2008, take a look at the following preview.

It's an unauthorized remake of the original Project for Awesome: Explanation and Humane Societies by Hank, brother of John (no, that's not a biblical allusion).

Human Tennis Ball Project for Awesome Preview

Busy with Tball and Earth

Been busy with video editing, and learning, over the New Years holiday. The two fellows below have been dominating my time.
As has one of these.

Earth and the Human Tennis Ball

The Military's Domestic use of "Future Force"

The war at home. In a report on the role of the Army's "Future Force" enabled by C4SI (command, control, and computers, communications, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), we find a section on domestic deployment of this force.

Finding 1-1. Homeland security is an important extension of the Army’s historical role of providing military support to civilian authorities. The Army will be called on to assist the lead federal agency, the Department of Homeland Security, in meeting a wide range of demands for consequence management and recovery of public order and critical services.

Finding 1-2. The Army National Guard, given its historical mission and flexibility, geographic dispersion, dual-mission capabilities, and frequent association with local agencies, is the key Army asset to meet homeland security demands and can be augmented as necessary with special capabilities from the Army Reserve and the active Army.

Finding 1-3. There are many similarities between military operations involving allied or coalition forces and operations involving civilian emergency responders.

SOURCE: National Research Council of The National Acadamies (2003), pp. 24, 29, and 31.

It's worth noting that the panel that convened to write the report (below) in which this 2003 report is cited, met in 2003. Consequently, a lot has probably transpired since then.

Sources:

Army Science and Technology for Homeland Security: Report 2 -- C4ISR (2004)
Board on Army Science and Technology (BAST)

Hello Reykjavik, Welcome 2008

To honor a return visitor to my site, and because my transit through Iceland in September was far too brief, I thought I'd pause and smell the tundra.


First, I confess to knowing very little about Iceland, except that it's the "green" place, whereas, Greenland is the white, icy place. OK, I also know that President Reagan had nuclear weapons negotiations with the USSR in Reykjavik.

Well... I also know that it has lots of geothermal activity. I could see steam rising from the foothills and mountains as we flew out of the airport.


For those who revel in wide open spaces, Iceland seems to have much to offer. This picture of a farm in Laxa Valley gives some perspective to that.


Of course, the thermal spas, blue lagoon being the most famous, have an allure, which had me hoping we would have a longer stop-over on our way to Amsterdam. Maybe next time.





Now, I'm not sure if these "waterfalls of the Gods" are thermal spa water, or cold water (they have both in Iceland... that much I do know). Another opportunity for my Icelandic visitor to inform us.



I know these photos don't do it justice. And surely there are many more things about the history and culture that deserve mention, but alas, I have my Human Tennis Ball project awaiting me. Perhaps the visitors from Keykjavik can add a comment and some links that will help us better appreciate Iceland.

With that, I'll leave you with a sketch of the two funny guys who hope to have their fifteen minutes of fame some day. Tball hast to go lay down some video for a Nerdfighter Power Project for Awesome.

Earth and the Human Tennis Ball

Happy New Year 2008

Support Edwards in Iowa Caucus

A Zogby poll shows John Edward tied with Barack Obama at 26 percent gaining on Hillary Clinton who is at 30 percent. This is confirmed by a CNN poll and a new Strategic Vision poll, released Friday, showing Edwards at 28 percent.

"Edwards had a good day by virtue especially of increasing support among independent voters," Zogby said.

Edwards led narrowly among independents over Clinton and Obama, I believe, because Edwards is NOT from the corporate wing of the Democratic party.

According to a Politico essay, other signs of hope boost Edwards' chances in Iowa:

Edwards also comes into the Jan. 3 caucuses with particular advantages... Edwards’ campaign boasts the most deeply rooted rural operation, allowing it to possibly win small precincts across the state that could prove crucial in the final tally.

Politico continues to point out that this is buttressed in

Polling by The Washington Post [which has] found that Edwards has the most support among those voters who participated in the 2004 Democratic caucuses, no small advantage for an election that measures a high turnout at 120,000 participants statewide.

Another advantage identified by Politico...

When Democrats were asked in the poll what mattered to them in deciding their vote, 32 percent said ideology, 30 percent chose charisma and 21 percent selected experience.

Clinton has campaigned on her experience, and if the election turns on ideology and charisma, it would seem to favor Obama and Edwards.

You Can Help Edwards Peak in Iowa on Jan. 3

1. Boost the Buzz with an e-mail to Iowa Media Outlets:

Contact the Des Moines Register to ... er, register your support of Edwards. There's nothing like a public outpouring to turn the heads of editors. Here's what I said:

Edwards is gaining ground. I support Edward because he's talking about "deep change," not superficial, corporate-sponsored "change."

Our Nation is faltering. We need a break from the status quo.

Thanks

2. Pledge Your Support:

Women of Steel Pledge - CLICK to sign a pledge of support. United Steel Workers pledge page allows you to do as little as state your support, or more.

3. Contact the Edwards Campaign for More Ways to Help:

Iowa Edwards Campaign:
515-288-0766

4. Let the Iowa Democratic Party Know you Support Edwards:

They're likely to pass you on to the Edwards Campaign, BUT, calls coming into the Democratic Party will add to buzz that adds to the momentum for Edwards.

Iowa Democratic Party:
515-244-7292

Get Engaged via Edwards' Web Page:

Here's the Link to his Iowa page... the main page, and contribution page, are easy to find. Every $250 dollars is matched with public funds because Edwards has gone the public funding route.

Sources:

Reuters, "Clinton leads in Iowa but Edwards gains," John Whitesides, December 31, 2007.

The Dark World of Bush

The predictable event of Benazir Bhutto's assassination is a foreshadowing of the dark world into which we will continue to descend if we follow the logic of Bush. By the CIA's account, that logic has created more extremists around the globe.

That logic takes the form of "the end justifies the means," "shoot first ask questions later," on an individual scale, and "preemptive war" on an international scale. Bush's logic has brought us the horrific notion that "enhanced interrogation [AKA torture] is acceptable... if the US does it," when those of us who have an understanding of the context know that "interrogation" is a cover for using torture as a psychological weapon... another aspect of Bush's logic.

Bush's logic, and the world it brings, means "more secrecy," "training of thousands of people in the dark para military arts," people who will some day use that training for private ends. The logic includes "narrowing of civil liberties is necessary in a time of war," like privacy, the right to associate without fear of reprisal... the list is too long in this category. Bush's logic envisions perpetual war of which authors like Orwell wrote years ago... and it's not just Bush. He seems to be the current face of a long lineage.

In writing about a time in the 1960s, when the US started down this dark path, author H.E. Livingston wrote:

When one powerful group thinks that the end justifies the means, and flagrantly breaks the law, when we turn our backs on the very democratic institutions and traditions we most value, when violence and murder become political tools, then we enter a nightmare world in which we are all at risk. Once descended into the underworld of darkness, it is impossible to emerge unscathed.

Bhutto's assassination is a chilling harbinger. The political assassinations of the 1960s and 9/11 showed that the USA is not immune to chaos, foreign or domestic. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party leadership is infected with the Bush logic. The courts are steeped in the Bush logic. The corporate media boosts its ratings, and profits, by playing on the macabre and thrills associated with Bush's dark logic.

On top of this, the USA is potentially about to descend into deep economic troubles, which will heighten the sense of desperation and the hunt for scapegoats; it's hard for a debtor nation to pay its debts when the tax base is dissolving due to the permanent outsourcing of jobs, the offshore tax havens of so-called "US corporations," and demographic trends of an aging nation. Aside from external forces, only the people of the US can steer us away from the horrors that will unfold if we keep following the dark logic of violence, secrecy, and other Machiavellian ways.

Hurray! Cluster Bombs are OK

Whew! Thanks to Israel, we now know that the indescriminant use of cluster bombs, at the very end of a military confrontation that is being negotiated to end soon, is perfectly OK! ... and people wonder why some Palestinians are driven to acts of violence.

DemocracyNow! reports:

Israel Rules It Was OK To Use Cluster Bombs in Lebanon:

An Israeli military prosecutor has concluded that Israel’s use of cluster bombs during the 2006 Lebanon war was justified and did not violate any standards of international law. Lebanese officials accused the Israeli army of covering up war crimes. The United Nations and human rights groups say Israel dropped about 4 million cluster bomblets during the 34-day war.

More than 30 people have been killed by cluster bomb and land mine explosions in Lebanon since the 2006 summer war.

Some of us know that it's not OK. The military prosecutor fox has just said it's "OK" to eat the chickens in the hen house. Now ain't that Orwellian.

If that's hard to understand, a quick read of the following links on this subject will help clarify things.

Haaretz Article exposes Israeli Military.

US Prohibitions on Israeli Use of Cluster Bombs.

Lebanon Damage: Israel's Indiscriminant use of cluster munitions.

Judge Marilyn L. Huff and Kevin Cooper

LA Times article on appeal ruling in Kevin Cooper's case:

In a Flashpoints radio program, December 21, 2007, judge in Kevin Cooper's trial was challenged as being "reactionary." In response, I did a little google digging and didn't come up with too much about Huff. Below are notes on what I found with associated links.

Huff Takes Time to Testify in Favor of Bush Nominee

Marilyn L. Huff testified in favor of Judge Benitez's nomination by George H. Bush despite strong opposition by Democrats and a "not qualified" finding by the ABA.

Opening Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee
Judicial Nominations Hearing
February 25, 2004

The ABA reviews nominees in three areas: competence, integrity and judicial temperament. In Judge Benitez’s case, based on interviews with 23 judges and 44 attorneys, more than 10 members of the ABA committee concluded that, based on his temperament, he is not qualified to serve a lifetime appointment on the federal bench.

Chief Judge Marilyn Huff of the Southern District of California who has come today to speak in favor of Judge Benitez’s confirmation. [Benitez was also in the Southern Dist. Court]

More

Huff receives poor evaluations by attorneys:

According to nine attorney evaluations, provided by The Robing Room, Marilyn Huff's average evaluation score was 3.5 of 10 as of the date of this blog. Here are comments provided with five of the evaluations:

1. Weak on evidence. Tendency to let everything in rather than make hard (and correct) decisions. Has the intellectual capacity to make the right call, but appears too lazy to do so. Appears to decide early which attorneys/parties she likes and exhibits clear bias. Makes up her mind before all the evidence is in. Makes inappropriate comments to jury regarding their verdicts. She is the worst judge in this district by far. 2.8 of 10

2. Would not let me present closing argument on all of my causes of action. I felt like a slave to the courtroom timing device. Evenhanded Judge but not up to speed on the nuances of Civil RICO. 4.3 of 10

3. This Judge lacks even the most basic understanding of the law. What's worse, she is so afraid to reveal her own ineptitude, that she feigns knowledge and almost always gets it wrong. Should be removed from the bench. 1.2 of 10

4. The absolute worst judge on this otherwise good bench! 1.2 of 10

5. As soon as prosecutors began reporting judges for giving downward departures, she became a government hack. The only objection she understands is :"403, 403!" She is snippy, snippy, snippy. 2.9 of 10

Full set of scores: Of nine evaluations, she received an average score of 3.5 of 10.

More

CIA and Cocaine:

Judge Huff presided over the famous case of Rick Ross, sentenced to life for cocaine sales, which had a CIA connection. Below is a blurb:

Rick Ross, 36, was arrested again on March 2, 1994 and convicted of attempting to buy 100 kilograms of cocaine from Blandon in a federally run sting operation. During the sentencing hearing, Ross' attorney Alan Fenster charged that Blandon was working for the CIA and that Ross was "a victim of the most outrageous government misconduct known to man." Sentencing had been set for September 13, but U.S. District Judge Marilyn L. Huff delayed sentencing so that she could study the allegations raised by the Mercury News series and receive a report from the CIA. On November 19, Huff denied Fenster's motion that his client's conviction should be set aside and sentenced Ross to life in prison. "The conduct of Ross [and two other accomplices] ... is not excused by any tenuous ties to the CIA," Huff said before the sentencing (Amanda Covarrubias, "Dealer Alleging CIA Drug Link Gets Life Term," Washington Post, November 21, 1996, p. A18; "Crack dealer who alleged CIA involvement gets life term," Chicago Tribune, November 21, 1996, s. 1, p. 10).
More

Finally, Judge Huff might have used Yahoo Edgar to search for SEC information on the following cases before her:

GEN PROBE INC 11/9/2004
PURE BIOSCIENCE 2001

Merry Christmas 2007

Out to Sled

2008 Republican Presidential Candidates

We hear today that the Concord Monitor, in New Hampshire, printed an "anti-endorsement" of Mitt Romney on Sunday, December 23. The paper writes:

When New Hampshire partisans are asked to defend the state's first-in-the-nation primary, we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world, we'll know it... Mitt Romney is such a candidate. New Hampshire Republicans and independents must vote no.

OUCH! This is consistent with the observations of the observations of Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson who spoke openly about Romney's flip-flopping [2]. Anderson said,

Mitt’s a great friend. We worked together very closely on the Olympics. We got to know each other very well.... And I must say that I am very surprised that somebody like Mitt Romney, who I always felt had such great integrity and was so reasonable, would have caved into his handlers and flip-flopped on so many issues that he used to say he felt so strongly about, things like choice. His coming out against stem cell research was just absolutely incredible to me.

Rocky Anderson also mentions Romney's comment about doubling the size of Guantanamo.

... you can see very clearly what’s happening—it’s so transparent—that a year before the presidential race, all of a sudden he’s got these new positions on these issues.

The Concord Monitor apparently sees through Romney too.

So, do Republicans turn to Mike Huckabee, or as I call him, "Yuckabee"? Romney got a lot of attention for his Mormon faith, including questions about it's cultish side (Jesus & Lucifer are brothers, planet Kolob, polygamy, etc.) But, Huckabee has effectively said his religion will dictate his policies:

Mike Huckabee: Faith doesn’t just influence me; it really defines me. I don’t have to wake up every day wondering what do I need to believe.

Let us never sacrifice our principles for anybody’s politics, not now, not ever.

I believe life begins at conception.

We believe in some things. We stand by those things. We live or die by those things.

I’m Mike Huckabee, and I approve this message.

The word "YIKES!" comes to mind, and I haven't even gotten into Huckabee's equating homosexuality with pedophilia and necrophilia in a 1998 entitled Kids Killing Kids [3]. This in addition to saying he doesn't believe in evolution. Apparently Huckabee was a baptist pastor. When investigative reporter David Corn tried to gain access to Huckabee's sermons, his efforts were blocked. Corn writes more about Yuck Yuck Yuckabee in a Mother Jones article [4].

OKaaayee. Maybe, John McCain will make a comeback from the political dead. Perhaps I'll have to eat my words on pronouncing John McCain's candidacy dead.

Ah! But many are proclaiming Adolf Giuliani as the heir apparent to the throne. But you wanna talk about baggage? All Giuliani has in his favor is a false impression of leadership in the immediate wake of 9/11. But facts are inconvenient things, and there are plenty of facts that have led the people of NYC give Giuliani the thumbs down: Faulty first-responder radios that had been known since the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, his insistence that the emergency command center be located in... the World Trade Center (a known target), his advancement of the inexperienced Bernard Kerik to from driver to police commissioner over seasoned veterans, Guiliani's persistent lobbying for his nomination of Kerik to be Secretary of Homeland Security... Kerik has been exposed as a fraud who, among other things, had an apartment in Manhattan paid for by shady characters and had sexual liaisons in an apartment near ground zero that was intended to be a rest center for people working on the pile. Republicans would be ill advised to nominate Adolf Giuliani.

I'm sure I've missed someone, but the Ron Paul crowd must be salivating at the self-destruction of the other contenders. Oh yea, Fred Thompson is still in the game... I saw his cherry-picked Iraq war propaganda photos, exploiting the troops/pawns, to the tinkling sound of Christmas music on YouTube. Thompson's little YouTube piece, designed to pull on people's heart strings, is a sad commentary on the State of the Union.

Sources:

1. Associated Press, Paper gives 'anti-endorsement' to Romney, Glen Johnson, December 24, 2007.

2. DemocracyNow! Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson Slams His Friend Mitt Romney for “Flip-Flopping” on Abortion, Stem Cell Research, Torture in Attempt to Win GOP Presidential Nomination, June 25, 2007.

3. DemocracyNow!, Mike Huckabee Equates Environmentalism with Pornography, December 20, 2007.

4. Mother Jones, Huckabee Hides His Full Gospel? David Corn and Jonathan Stein, December 10, 2007.

Photo Credit, Romney Warning, Bob McCarthy, BobMcCarthy.com. Alignment & Design, Inc. specializing in BIG sound systems (like stadiums, symphony halls).

Edwards Leads Poll in Iowa

According to MSN,

In an InsiderAdvantage poll in Iowa, Edwards leads among (977) likely voters 30-26-24 over Clinton and Obama. Edwards is also the clear second choice winner, 42-29-28 over Clinton and Obama.

More...

Senator Mikulski on Media Ownership Consolidation

Senator Mikulski's response to my letter opposing FCC rules to allow greater consolidation of media ownership:

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to media consolidation. It's good to hear from you.

I share your concerns about media consolidation and changes to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that would allow for greater consolidation of media ownership. I want to make sure that competition, localism and diversity of media ownership is preserved. I also want to make sure that the free exchange of ideas, on which our nation is based, continues unabated.

You can be sure that I will be watching this process very closely. I also want you to know that your views on media consolidation will be very helpful to me should the Senate consider any legislation related to media ownership rules in the future.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. If I can be of any assistance to you in the future, please feel free to let me know.

Sincerely,
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator

P.S. If I can be of further assistance in the future, please visit my website at http://mikulski.senate.gov or call my Washington D.C. office at 202-224-4654.

Join the Nerdfighters

Based on the principle of a worker's revolution, though they might not have thought of it in those terms, ... uh, that's what they're promoting. yea....

Well, assuming Bush's Total Information Awareness Blah, Blah, Blah doesn't subvert John and Hank's efforts, the Nerdfighter movement could, ahem, subvert Bush's plans. Call it a counter revolution, or a finger in Bush's eye.

Nerdfighters Project for Awsome

Who is General Petraeus?

AMY GOODMAN: Tell us who David Petraeus is. Arun, you’re the first person to mention General Petraeus on our show years ago.

ARUN GUPTA: Yeah. What we were talking about two-and-a-half years ago was Petraeus’s role in helping to set up the Special Police Commandos. In 2004, 2005, he was given the mission to train all Iraq military and police forces. And, in fact, in July 2004, Newsweek had this cover of him, saying that Petraeus was going to train Iraqis to take over the fight. Now, the reality is, is that was, of course, a failure, because three years later he was back with an escalation of US forces.

Now, one of the key things that Petraeus did was they decided—him and his command decided—that they were going to create this paramilitary force, the Special Police Commandos. They armed them. They funded them. They trained them. And they also issued the usual denials: “Oh, we’re not giving them any weapons. This is an Iraqi initiative.” And so, now he’s saying the same thing with the Sunni militias.

So, anyway, the Special Police Commandos quickly morphed into Shiite death squads that were used against the Sunni insurgency and against Sunnis, in general, throughout Iraq. And this played a key role in terms of stoking and fomenting the civil war, because you had these death squads wearing government uniforms, being armed and trained by the US, going around killing Sunnis randomly. It generally alienated the Sunni Arab population from the government and drove them into the arms of the resistance.

Now what Petraeus is doing is he’s funding and arming these Sunni militias. And there are reports that have stated clearly with these militias saying, like, “Yes, we’re getting weapons from the US government.” And part of it is, is that they do want to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is another Sunni-based group. It’s an Iraqi-based group. But their main purpose is they want this money and weapons and aid to fight the Shiite militias.

So here we have them, like in 2004, setting up these Shiite militias, and now he’s setting up these Sunni militias to fight these Shiite militias. And what it portends is just an absolute disaster for Iraq. And, of course, it will also be used as justification: “Well, we can’t leave because a bloodbath will result.” But we’re not looking at the fact that it’s the US that’s creating this bloodbath.

Sources:

DemocracyNow, A Look At How Petraeus Helped Arm Warring Sunni and Shia Militias in Iraq, September, 12 2007.

Wexler Wants Hearings

It may be too late to convict Dick Cheney in the U.S. Senate, but it's not too late for a small group of U.S. House members to start impeachment proceedings. The historical record needs to reflect formal steps taken to hold Dick Cheney accountable.

Add your vote soon to create momentum. CLICK to go to Wexler Wants Hearings.COM.

Below... a revealing 27-second slip-of-the-tongue by Dick Cheney.

Dick Chenye's "US Countries"

Write the FCC and Congress on Media Ownership

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman, Kevin Martin, is on the cusp of ramming new regulations through a Bush-majority commission. The rules woudl allow corporate media to consolidate even more than the 1996 Telecommunications Act. By adding newspapers to the cross-ownership mix, Bush's FCC would allow a single corporation in a particular city gain more dominance by owning the main newspaper, broadcast TV, radio and possibly the cable/internet network. That's too much consolidated power.

The vote could occur very soon.

Write the FCC, it's easy. You can simply send the canned letter, or write an original letter. Here's what I wrote:

In a democracy, the voice of the majority can choose non-economic values over "market efficiency." That voice is saying we want an FCC rule that reverses the trend of media ownership consolidation among a small number of powerful corporations.

This fundamental policy should not be dictated by whoever happens to be in the White House in disregard to the voice of a majority of the people.

While your at it, Write Congress and tell them to pass the Media Ownership Act of 2007.

Sources:

Stop Big Media

The End of the World

Classic funny Flash media animation:

The End of the World

Gates says Iran seeks to cause chaos

So does the U.S. government. The Bush M.O. is management by chaos.

The world is being taken over by a segment of the corporate elite by using the The Shock Doctrine.

Sources:

Associated Press, Gates says Iran seeks to cause chaos, LOLITA C. BALDOR, December 8, 2007.

Trust the Government

Associated Press writer PAMELA HESS reports that at least one of the CIA torture tapes showed the interrogations of Abu Zubaydah, a detainee taken by the CIA in 2002. She continues to report that,

Zubaydah, under harsh questioning, told CIA interrogators about alleged 9/11 accomplice Ramzi Binalshibh.

Then she reports that,

The two men's confessions also led to the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, whom the U.S. government said was the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

We're supposed to believe the U.S. government?

Sources:

Associated Press, Democrats want probe of tape, Pamela Hess, December 7, 2007 (A day that will live in infamy).

Who is Responsible for Subprime Mess?

First, I should say that some entities have broken laws. Their blame is beyond question. However, the entities on which I'm focusing are those that didn't technically break any laws. They still bear responsibility.

The case, in a nutshell, is that corporations are amoral profit-seeking machines, so it is expected that they will push the legal and ethical limits. As a consequence, you can't blame a dog for acting like a dog, and the same goes with Wall Street and loan originating corporations. Yet, if someone is bitten by a dog, the dog still shares in the blame, even if provoked.

Wall Street's blame is greater than the loan originators. By Wall Street I mean hedge funds, major banks, investment firms, bond raters and other enablers that kept moving bad investment bubble expanding. They helped create the bubble market, in part
by financing the local mortgage lenders. Wall Street should have known better. They were making wind fall profits, many knowing that investors in mortgage backed bonds were going to be left holding the bag. Some were stupid, but when you have your hands on major investments that can rock the nation's economy, being dumb isn't an excuse.

The loan originators were just operating day to day responding to the market created by Wall Street. Their reasoning, "The balloon is still expanding, I'll go originate another loan until I can't do so any more." Although many loan originators used unethical practices, so do car sales men.

The buyers share some of the blame, yet they are clearly price takers, many being forced to operate in a failing market. That is, if your job moved, and you had to move and buy a house, you were forced to do so, while Wall Street operators were profiting handsomely at your expense. When buyers wondered how they could afford the loans, the loan brokers reassured them. They were telling buyers, "this is just the way the market works now. It's been like this in California for decades. The rest of the Nation is just catching up. It's true that some buyers were speculating and flipping real estate, and they deserve more blame than typical buyers. Buyers were duped and forced to deal with a failing market.

And who let the market failure occur and perpetuate? The regulators. They are experts and should have known better than to let profit-seeking machines run amok with so much at stake. Even part-time hobbyists like me could see the disaster coming. Unfortunately, they profess knowledge, but were themselves duped by their own belief that the market is self-correcting. They're partly right. But they failed to consider that the self-correction could be like a plane self-correcting into the ground.

Now the bailouts come, and guess who will pay for it? Not the Wall Street insiders who were spending their bonuses last year on upgrading their Manhattan real estate from a $3 million dollar flat to a bigger flat with a better view. Not the regulators, one of whom named Greenspan has just written his memoirs and re-written history. Not the loan originators. The industry pawns have already paid once by being laid off, and are likely to be paying again, with the rest of us, in direct bail outs of "too big to fail" firms, like Citigroup, and paying in the form of not having government programs that widely benefit the common people (expansion and maintenance of national parks and museums, financial aid for college, improved health care, etc.)

That's the gist of it. But for those who are interested, there's more.

Robert Kuttner points out a contradiction about "free markets" in explaining why regulators should not have allowed this unfolding disaster to happen:

There were regulations on the books that the federal reserve refused to enforce because the Fed claims to believe in free markets, except when they go nuts, then the Fed bails them out.

In other words, the markets are free when the inside crowd is vacuuming in profits from the commoners, but when the self-correction comes, the market is no longer free, and the inside-crowd gets bailed out... by the commoners.

Economist Paul Krugman, who specializes in global financial stability and crises, recently wrote a column for the New York Times entitled, "Innovating Our Way to Financial Crisis."

First, Krugman gives us a sense of the magnitude of the crisis:

How bad is it? Well, I’ve never seen financial insiders this spooked — not even during the Asian crisis of 1997-98, when economic dominoes seemed to be falling all around the world.

This time, market players seem truly horrified — because they’ve suddenly realized that they don’t understand the complex financial system they created.

Others, whom I could quote if I was more diligent, have said this crisis is ten times worse than the Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s. We tax payers are still paying for that bailout.

Krugman explains the regulator's blunder:

... the problem was ideological: policy makers, committed to the view that the market is always right, simply ignored the warning signs. We know, in particular, that Alan Greenspan brushed aside warnings from Edward Gramlich, who was a member of the Federal Reserve Board, about a potential subprime crisis.

Krugman continues, indicating that the regulators have still not learned their lesson:

Just a few weeks ago Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary, admitted to Fortune magazine that financial innovation got ahead of regulation — but added, “I don’t think we’d want it the other way around.” Is that your final answer, Mr. Secretary?

I noted that this essay focuses on legal operatives. A potentially valid criticism of this essay is to assume that the whole damn affair wasn't fraught with illegal activity. Some have surely crossed the legal line, particularly in the mortgage lending sector. One is particularly noteworthy.

On the same day that the White House announced that President Bush is nominating California billionaire Roland E. Arnall to be ambassador to the Netherlands, the company he controls said it would set aside $325 million for a possible settlement of allegations of predatory lending tactics.

Arnall's company, Ameriquest Mortgage Co., is being investigated by regulators in 30 states. A $325 million settlement would be one of the largest ever in a predatory lending case.

You can read more in the July 29, 2007 Washington Post.

Another case was the lender "Countrywide." I had a loan with them once. They might have been the one who, upon buying my loan, or maybe it was selling it to another lender, failed to pass along the home owners insurance information. I received a notice from the insurance company that my premium hadn't been paid, and was no longer covered (had the house burned down at that point, I'd have been one seriously fucked individual). It seemed like a scam, because when I went to buy insurance, I had to pay a lot more than before... everything has changed since 9/11, and I think the commoners are paying for it... again.

Everyone interested in this subject should read Inside the Countrywide Lending Spree.

Barowers are being scapegoated. This essay is an attempt to mitigate that misplaced blame. A lot of the innovated lending products were complicated and misrepresented by brokers who bore no risk because they either never owned the mortgage, or they sold it to be bundled with other loans as a mortgage-backed security (bond). This time around, we need to learn the lesson of the S&L scanals. That is, it was three scandals. The first was the Congressional deregulation scandal. The second was the corporate run amok scandal. The third was the Congressional bail out scandal. Lets bail out the duped home buyers, but not the profit reaping inside crowd this time around.

Sources:

This essay was inspired by an interview of Robert Kuttner by Robert McChesney,on the December 2, 2007 episode of the radio show Media Matters. Dr. Kuttner is a founder of the American Prospect Magazine and author of the recent book, "The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity" (Knopf, November 2007), which goes further into these issues.

US Army Admits to Shooting Iraqi Civilians

The Headline:

U.S. soldiers shoot 4 Iraqi civilians, one killed

The punchy opening hook:

U.S. soldiers mistakenly shot four Iraqi civilians, killing one, during operations against al Qaeda militants, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

The Story:

U.S. soldiers had detained a suspected al Qaeda fighter in Tarmiya, 30 km (20 miles) north of Baghdad, on Monday when they were approached by a car that did not obey an order to stop.

The readers eyes roll:

As if this is a rare news story. Doh!

The Google Results: approached car stop fired Iraq

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Security guards fire on Iraqi car

Security guards open fire on car, kill two Iraqis Oakland Tribune ...

U.S. soldiers attempted to warn the occupants of a car carrying a freed Italian journalist before troops opened fire, ...

ABC News: Pregnant Iraqi Woman Shot Near Security Checkpoint

Worldandnation: U.S. troops fire on car, killing 2 civilians (Jan. 2005)

A shooting after nightfall -- Newsday.com
The car rolled to a stop. It was not the first time soldiers in Iraq have fired on vehicles driven by people who were either uncomprehending of the danger ...

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Middle East
In western Baghdad, an Iraqi police officer said an American patrol fired at a group of civilian cars as they approached a bridge, killing two people. ...

What Iraq's checkpoints are like | csmonitor.com

I could go on, but there are over a million links.

The Links: CLICK HERE

The Head Shakes:

*sigh*

Sources:

Reuters, U.S. soldiers shoot 4 Iraqi civilians, one killed, December 4, 2007.

Remember this News Story

According to a reporter with Reuters, The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report says Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and it remains on hold.

Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005.

Will this news story be forgotten by the Corporate media if Bush presses to attack Iran sometime in the future? Not if we hold them accountable.

CLICK to Contact The Media and tell them you'll be watching them in the future if Bush tries to play the mushroom cloud card to justify attacking Iran.

Sources:

Reuters, Report contradicts Bush on Iran nuclear program, Matt Spetalnick, December 3, 2007.

What's Hot

It's always interesting to see what old posts are getting hits. Here are today's stats:

	10	gdaeman.blogspot.com/2007/08/tally-of-failed-mortgage-companies.html
	7	gdaeman.blogspot.com/2007/03/bank-of-america-credit-card-scam-2.html
	5	gdaeman.blogspot.com/2007/03/bank-of-america-privacy-policy-credit.html
	5	gdaeman.blogspot.com/2007/11/subprime-scam.html
	3	gdaeman.blogspot.com/2006/07/ignorance-of-law-is-no-excuse.html