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POPSMoral Depravity in the Highest Places
After 7 1/2 years of George W. Bush, much of the media and political establishment — which have never shown much interest in holding Bush to account — now appear anxious to simply move on. They seem determined to leave unexamined the full cruelty and mendacity of the Bush administration, with its unlawful wars and blatant violations of the Geneva Conventions. Moving on is a great idea - once there’s been some accountability, with a full public recognition of wrongdoing, and a commitment to bring about change. Otherwise, nothing will have been learned. The comments of Yoo, who authored top-level internal memos justifying torture and virtually unlimited presidential power, suggest a moral depravity in very high places. That depravity led to the horrific abuses at Abu Ghraib and at other U.S. prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and “black sites” around the world. The dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, Lawrence Velvel, argues that Bush and top administration offi
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POPSSeeds of Current Propaganda found in Reagan Era Enduring Skills Beyond these individuals, the manipulative techniques that were refined in the 1980s — especially the skill of exaggerating foreign threats — have proved durable, bringing large segments of the American population into line behind the Iraq War in 2002-03. Only now — with more than 4,100 U.S. soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead — are many of these Americans realizing that were manipulated by clever propaganda, that their perceptions had been managed. For instance, the New York Times recently pried loose some 8,000 pages of Pentagon documents revealing how the Bush administration had manipulated the public debate on the Iraq War by planting friendly retired military officers on TV news shows. Retired Green Beret Robert S. Bevelacqua, a former analyst on Murdoch’s Fox News, said the Pentagon treated the retired military officers as puppets: “It was them saying, ‘we need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you.’” [NYT, April 20,
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POPSFor sale: one used country - cheap The US news media didn't think this post 9/11 "mercy" flight for Bush's personal friends was worth investigating. ============================== How deep the connection goes "September 13, 2001 - Thousands of Americans were dead. They have been killed in a terrorist operation largely run by Saudis. Nonetheless the two men (Bush and Prince Bandar Of Saudi Arabia) each lit up a Cohiba cigar (on the Truman balcony of the White House)... Few Americans realized that these two dynasties had a history dating back more than twenty years. Not just business partners and personal friends, the Bushes and the Saudis had pulled off elaborate covert operations and gone to war together... They had been involved in the Iran-contra scandal, in secret U.S. aid in the Afghanistan War that gave birth of Osama bin Laden." From: House of Bush, House of Saud: The secret relationship between the world's most powerful dynasties by Craig Unger. Page 15
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POPSObscene Military Budget is much biger than Reported Legally see the article for the cuts behind the figures here: Now, imagine that, due to a little more Pentagon/Bush administration wizardry, even this black budget estimate is undoubtedly a low-ball figure. One reason is simple enough: The proposed $541 billion Pentagon 2009 budget doesn't even include money for actual wars. George W. Bush's wars are all paid for by "supplemental" bills like the $162 billion one Congress will soon pass -- so the Department of Defense's $34 billion black budget skips "war-related funding." This means that even the overall figure for that budget remains darker than we might imagine (as in "black hole"). The Pentagon not only produces stealth planes, it is, in budgetary terms, a stealth operation. If honestly accounted, the actual Pentagon yearly budget, including all the "military-related" funds salted away elsewhere, is probably now more than $1 trillion a year.
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POPSDemocrats Have Legalized Bush's Crimes Beyond the breathtaking scope of this new authority, the Bush administration also snuck in a clause that granted forward-looking immunity from lawsuits to communications service providers that assisted the spying. That removed one of the few safeguards against Bush's warrantless wiretaps: the concern among service providers that they might be sued by customers for handing over constitutionally protected information without a warrant. In short, the "Protect America Act" made warrantless surveillance legally cost free for a collaborating service provider, tilting the scales even further in favor of the government's spying powers.
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POPSEveryone Caves in to the Fascists (almost) WTF is going down? The USA...Even The Miracle Man Obama is comfortable with the corporations being given immunity....The very definition of fascism...reminiscent of the Nazis defending Krupp and other German industries. "MURRIKA UBER ALLES!!!!"
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POPSEndless Funding for Endless Wars On and on and on and on it goes....Why don't we just take the babies from their moms when they're born and be done with it...give 2/3 of all you earn to the Pentagon...
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POPSInsane ex-Ambassador to UN Bolton predicts Bombs “An Obama victory would rule out military action by the Israelis because they would fear the consequences given the approach Obama has taken to foreign policy,” said Mr Bolton, who was Mr Bush’s ambassador to the UN from 2005 to 2006. “With McCain they might still be looking at a delay. Given that time is on Iran’s side, I think the argument for military action is sooner rather than later absent some other development.” The Iran policy of Mr McCain, whom Mr Bolton supports, was “much more realistic than the Bush administration’s stance”.
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POPSPresident Bush Urges Quick Passage of Wiretapping Bill I'm watchin' on CSPAN the debate on this bill in the House of Reps. Supporters of the House version say this will NOT give Telecoms immunity and make the 4th Amendment (right to privacy, search and siezure) virtually shredding another piece of the Constitution, like the Senate version., but if The Preznut supports it, I have my doubts.
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POPSState of Emergency: The US in the Final Six Months of the George W. Bush Administration Despite time constraints, there are clear signs that the president, the vice-president and their neocon collaborators are not finished. The constant saber-rattling toward Iran, with strong support from Israel, should send a chill down the spine of any peace-loving American. Military chiefs who oppose the president are “retired,” as observed most recently with the March dismissals of CENTCOM commander Admiral William Fallon and 6th Fleet commander Vice-Admiral John Stufflebeem. Public opinion counts for nothing. In a March 24 interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz, vice president Dick Cheney responded to a question about the war weariness of Americans with a languid “So?”
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POPSSalt Lakers confront Preznut Bush Anderson helped organize the rally and not only denounced the war in Iraq, but spoke out against further military action. "There is a substantial risk, especially with the complacent citizenry, the president will order an attack against Iran, having continued the case for another illegal, tragic war of aggression against a people who largely stood in sympathy and solidarity with us on 9/11," he said. Some high school students who are not old enough to vote were there, believing their voices can still make a difference. Rose Nelson told us, "No matter how old you are, you can still exercise your First Amendment right, and that's the right to protest, to assemble. We've got to say something because we can."
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POPSEx-White House Aide Rips Bush In Memoir Too bad he didn't write this 5 years ago, like he should have. The book, coming from a man who was a tight-lipped defender of administration aides and policy, is certain to give fuel to critics of the administration, and McClellan has harsh words for many of his past colleagues. He accuses former White House adviser Karl Rove of misleading him about his role in the CIA case. He describes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as being deft at deflecting blame, and he calls Vice President Cheney "the magic man" who steered policy behind the scenes while leaving no fingerprints. McClellan stops short of saying that Bush purposely lied about his reasons for invading Iraq, writing that he and his subordinates were not "employing out-and-out deception" to make their case for war in 2002. But in a chapter titled "Selling the War," he alleges that the administration repeatedly shaded the truth and that Bush "managed the crisis in a way that almost guaranteed that the use of force would be
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POPSMr. Magoo Worse than Bush? I think we're past "victory" and " honor" now. all that's left is tragedy and suffering--for the returning troops and the dead and innocent families who "we" destroyed. 40'000+ US soldiers and Marines diagnosed with PTSD and many more sucides. For what--Bush's Ego and oil. AAAARRRRGH!
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POPSIn the Shadow of the Dragon our self-restraint, our concern for the innocent and less fortunate, our dreams of a more decent future. While the military calls nuclear weapons a deterrent, they are only useful to threaten or to incinerate many thousands of people. The Bush effort to make smaller, 'more useable' weapons could turn conventional conflict into nuclear conflict. Many top leaders from the State Department and our military have agreed that our security and efforts to stop proliferation would be improved by negotiating the elimination of nuclear weapons. But, the dragon has been so engorged under President Bush and his congressional lemmings that it will be an arduous task for the administrations that follow to shrink it down and drive it down into its cave. To do that will require the support of a popular movement and international pressure to offset the influence and lobbying of this lethal industry. The peace movement must learn to tell the truth about every threatening aspect of the nuclear busin
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POPSThe Contrarian Nature of George Bush But recent events have led me to choose one of the movie's lesser characters -- Younger Bear, Little Big Man's nemesis within the Cheyenne tribe. In the course of the movie, Younger Bear becomes a "contrary," a strange phenomenon in Native American plains culture who says and does the opposite of what he actually intends. He rides his horse facing the rear, says "hello" when he means "goodbye," washes in the dirt and dries off in the creek. I came to this conclusion after Bush's recent speech in Israel, where he famously equated Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's willingness to hold talks with Iran with the appeasement of Adolf Hitler prior to World War II. Pretty inflammatory rhetoric anywhere, but in front of the Knesset? Really over the top.
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