42
POPSPowell spills it about Bush / Iraq Al-Qaeda, Powell asserted, was only 10% of the problem in Iraq and Nouri al-Maliki, its prime minister, lacked the political will to establish an effective government. After a promising start to the surge at the beginning of the year, 453 unidentified corpses were found on the streets of Baghdad last month, 41% more than the 321 bodies found in January, according to unofficial Iraqi health ministry statistics.
30
POPSDouble Standards What do you call it when just over 3 thousand people were killed in the September 11 attack on the US? – An atrocity. What do you call it when nearly 5 million people were killed in the Vietnam war? – A mistake. What do you call it when very rich people exploit poor people? – Greed and selfishness. What do you call it when very rich countries exploit poor countries? – Globalization. What do you call it when someone carrying a gun enters your house and steals your valuable possessions? – An armed robbery. What do you call it when a multinational corporation supported by armed forces enters your country and steals your valuable possessions? – Free trade. What do you call someone who steals from the rich and gives to the poor? – Robin Hood. What do you call someone who steals from the poor and gives to the rich? – The US government.
22
POPSOnly 1 thing can slow military-industrial complex Excellent B-1 Bomber example: politically engineered. While voting is essential, it is not enough. “Unless we see our vote as part of a commitment to involve ourselves consistently and unrelentingly in the political process , our vote is wasted. This is because the forces that have led us to this economic, military, and political precipice exert such awesome power over...Washington that no single candidate or group of legislators, whatever their intentions, can possibly go up against them unless armed with an irrepressible public mandate.”
20
POPSBest Documentary EVER: Never shown in USA !!! Amnesty International has publicly confirmed that a fear of violence directed at their staff forced the organisation to withdraw 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' from their recent film festival in Vancouver, Canada. In an article in the Guardian newspaper (http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,12716,1090788,00.html), an Amnesty spokesman said the organisation had been forced to pull the film after staff at their Venezuelan office expressed fears for their safety if the film was screened. Prior to this, Amnesty has received a series of representations alleging that the film had distorted key events. These representations were rejected. The film was only pulled after the safety fears were raised. The Guardian confirmed that the campaign to halt screenings of the film is connected to opponents of the Venezuelan government.
19
POPSSaddam Hussein Is Sentenced to Death International legal experts and human rights observers have questioned the impartiality of the trial court, which was created to try top leaders of the ousted government during the 15-month period of formal American occupation following the invasion in the spring of 2003. "We saw this trial, along with the others, as an opportunity to bring justice to those Iraqis who had suffered horribly under Baath Party rule," Richard Dicker, director of the international justice program at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Sunday. "Unfortunately, we believe the serious shortcomings in the fairness of the proceedings undermined the legitimacy and credibility of the trial."
17
POPSUS No.1 BoogieMan? A bantam Cock? Worth WAR?
"The right has decided it is at war with Iran, so a routine visit by Iran's ceremonial president to the UN GA has generated sparks. The foremost cheerleader for such a view in Congress is Sen Lieberman, who recently pressed Gen. Petraeus on the desirability of bombing Iran in order to forestall weapons smuggling into Iraq from that country. American hawks are beating the war drums loudly because they are increasingly frustrated with the course of events. They are unsatisfied with the lack of enthusiasm among the EU and UN for impeding Tehran's nuclear energy research program. While the Bush administration insists that the program aims at producing a bomb, the Iranian state maintains that it is for peaceful energy purposes. It wants tighter sanctions on Iran at the UN but is unlikely to get them in the short term because of Russian and Chinese reluctance. They may attempt to create a "coalition of the willing" of Iran boycotters outside the UN framework."
16
POPSGI's in Iraq no longer True Believers From the article: Safstrom, for example, comes from a thoroughly military family. His mother and father have served in the armed forces, as have his three sisters, one brother and several uncles. One week after the Sept. 11 attacks, he walked into a recruiter's office and joined the army. "You guys want to start a fight in my backyard, I got something for you," he recalls thinking at the time. But in Safstrom's view, the American presence is futile. "If we stayed here for 5, even 10 more years, the day we leave here these guys will go crazy," he said. "It would go straight into a civil war. That's how it feels, like we're putting a Band-Aid on this country until we leave here.
16
POPSWhat Is Neo-Conservatism? Temporary alliances with other countries or movements whose own ideologies or practices may be morally reprehensible can be defended if they are used to fight a greater evil. The ends justifies the means. That's where our ways part. Neocons believe mankind is inherently evil, (how sad) whereas I choose to believe the opposite. We all create our own realities, I guess. Some may claim Neocons are a "Leftist movement", (*LOL*) because of their Trotskyite roots, but they evolved and grew increasingly and vehemently anti-communist during the 1960's. I think it is safe to say, they are right wing today. What do you call an ex-Leftist Jew?
15
POPSomg!!!! — Navy Cracks Kids' High-Tech Online Code Actual slide from an actual US Navy presentation on why recruitment rates are at record lows amongst the youngest generation and how deciphering their mysterious alien language could help. im in ur navy, draftin ur kidz!
15
POPSAbu Ghraib whistleblower's ordeal
His wife had no idea that Mr Darby had handed in those photos, but when he was named, she had to flee to her sister's house which was then vandalised with graffiti. Many in his home town called him a traitor. "I knew that some people wouldn't agree with what I did," he says. "You have some people who don't view it as right and wrong. They view it as: I put American soldiers in prison over Iraqis." That animosity in his home town has meant that he still cannot return there. After Donald Rumsfeld blew his cover, he was bundled out of Iraq very quickly and lived under armed protection for the first six months. He has since left the army but did testify at the trials of some of those accused of abuse and torture. It is Charles Graner he is most afraid of. "Seeing Graner across the courtroom was the only one that was difficult during the trial," he says. "He had a stone-cold stare of hatred the entire time - he wouldn't take his eyes off me the whole time he sat there.
15
POPSShabby, Cheap US Politician "Have Blood on their Hands" not Iran "The claims that Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust and has called for the destruction of Israel are false. He has called for regime change, which is something American politicians do every time they find a country whose policies they disagree with. Regime change is a change of government, not genocide. As for the Holocaust, he said it raised two questions: Why put people in prison who question details of the official version, which is what several European countries do. Why should the Palestinians be made to pay for it? Both are good questions. "How American politicians can call Iran a dangerous country and claim that it poses a threat to the U.S. is a mystery. On second thought, it is not a mystery. It just tells you that the politicians think you and I are so stupid that we will fall for the exact same parade of lies and exaggerations that was used to justify the war against Iraq. "Think for yourself. Iran has no nuclear weapons, and its military is designed for defence. It has
14
POPSYa'alon: Israel Must 'Consider Killing Ahmadinejad' "It is a misconception to think that the Arab-Israeli conflict is the most important in the Middle-East. The Shi'ite-Sunni schism is much bigger, the Persian-Arab divide is bigger, the struggle between national regimes and jihadism is much bigger," he was quoted as saying. "And I can't imagine the U.S. will want to share power in the Middle East with a nuclear-armed Iran." "I was chief of staff during Operation Iraqi Freedom and I was surprised the U.S. decided to go into Iraq instead of Iran," The Herald quoted him as saying. "Unfortunately, the American public didn't have the political stomach to go into Iran." A senior diplomatic official said it was "clear he didn't say this , because no one who aspires to a position of authority could say such a thing. People in positions of power do not threaten to kill others." http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404812179&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
14
POPSAmerican fascism? From a fascinating interview w/ author Chris Hedges (son of a Presbyterian minister and a Harvard Divinity School grad) about his new book, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America. This guy has a sense of perspective most of us don't, based on his experience as a war correspondent for the NYT. Not a religion-basher, but a realist who's incensed both with the manipulation of entire classes of people and the cluelessness of the left when it comes to awareness of the real issues we're grappling with as a society.
13
POPSAsleep At The Power Plant Guards asleep at nuclear power plants. Wow. Doesn't that just make you feel SO safe? :) ...that hasn't affected the company's ability to get hundreds of millions of your tax dollars to protect some of the most sensitive government sites in the nation. That includes a $549 million contract to guard the federal Y-12 complex - a prime target for terrorists because it stores tons of highly-enriched uranium.
13
POPSAnother Casualty of War: 60,000 Military Marriages
(Read the full article) I have seen a lot of military marriages fall apart (due to actions on the part of both partners) and I have seen far too many divorces in my community. Not everyone can handle the stress of (continued) deployment. Honestly, I have a hard time with it, too. And, yes, my husband and I have gone through the turmoil of possible divorce. Though things are going a whole lot better for us now, there is no telling that we may not have to face that struggle again when having to go through yet another deployment. There are so many issues that go on that civilians do not understand and yet, the spouses are expected to go about the everyday as if everything is normal and not complain. Well-meaning people do not really want to hear how we "are doing"...they practice avoidance when spouses wish to be honest. It's even hardest for Reserve/Guard families-they live even farther away from military life. They need YOUR support almost more than active spouses.
12
POPS“Promising Democracy, Imposing Theocracy" Amy Goodman interviews the writers of a stunning report about the "unseen aspects" of the Iraq war: Theocracy and gender-based violence against women. Houzan Mahmoud , International Representative, Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq. She is speaking about gender-based violence in Iraq before the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN today. Yifat Susskind , communications director of MADRE. She is speaking about gender-based violence in Iraq before the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN today. See the introduction below and read the entire transcript of the interview at Democracy Now! website. Don't miss it.
12
POPSGen. David Petraeus beats megastar Angeline Jolie.... People in the *real* world know who is truly important. No disrespect to Ms. Jolie, but her influence is minimal when it comes to life & death issues. This is also true of Crews, Baldwin, Franken, Hayden, etc..... Celebrities are useless when it comes to getting things accomplished. Nice article that gives credit where credit is due.
11
POPSThe World That Awaits This is a sobering moment in American history. You'll begin with a good deal of popular support, but mandates must be replenished. I suggest you think of the Oval Office as a classroom, and explain to the American people what we need to accomplish and what it will require. Some 21st-century version of the fireside chat is called for. My reading of things is that the American people are ready to be leveled with. Once the campaign is over, let the leveling begin. FROM: Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations
11
POPS6 US Sergeants: Ain't No Surge This situation is made more complex by the questionable loyalties and Janus-faced role of the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army, which have been trained and armed at United States taxpayers’ expense. Reports that a majority of Iraqi Army commanders are now reliable partners can be considered only misleading rhetoric. The truth is that battalion commanders, even if well meaning, have little to no influence over the thousands of obstinate men under them, in an incoherent chain of command, who are really loyal only to their militias. Sunnis, who have been underrepresented in the new Iraqi armed forces, now find themselves forming militias, sometimes with our tacit support. We arm them to aid in our fight against Al Qaeda. However, while creating proxies is essential in winning a counterinsurgency, it requires that the proxies are loyal to the center that we claim to support. The Iraqi government finds itself working at cross purposes with us on this issue because it is justifiably fe
11
POPSIf Convicts Can Serve, Why Not Gay People? There are already gays serving, some "openly, but discreetly". There are far more who are totally forced to live a lie. Many "straight" soldiers know and don't care. With all the problems this country is having hiring recruits to fight the endless war on terror, it's way past time to get rid of the rules that bar openly gay Americans from serving in our Armed Services. When you are having to lift restrictions on weight, criminal and education history in order to increase your ranks, what is wrong with expanding the pool of candidates to homosexuals? Of course, with so many Americans being against the Iraq war, this probably won't make a whole lot of difference if it passes.
11
POPSSix Blackwater Guards 'May' Be Charged in Iraq Massacre Immunity and impunity have gone hand in hand. Representative Jim McDermott. "The private contracting thing is the most erosive thing that this administration has done. You look at all the things that are being run by private contractors, you simply cannot be handing money to a private contractor who is not under the law of that country or the law of this country and can do anything they want. They're really -- they're rogue outfits." Blackwater and at least 300 other companies have been hired by the US government for privatized armed services in Iraq to the tune of about $6 billion in taxpayer money..
10
POPSIraq: Another Dirty Secret - South African Mercenaries, former White Apartheid era Veterans
More: The root of that distrust dates to the mid-1990s, when thousands of white officers left South Africa's security agencies during the transition from apartheid to majority black rule. Unemployed soldiers and police joined private security companies that got embroiled in African wars from Angola to Sierra Leone. A wheelchair-bound man who owns an SUV with vanity plates that proclaim "Baghdad," Brink lost a leg and fingers in 2005 to a mine that exploded under his armored vehicle in Baqouba, a hotbed of the Iraqi insurgency. Since returning to South Africa, he has been encouraging wounded colleagues to apply for U.S. worker's compensation under the U.S. Defense Base Act, which applies to all workers, American or foreign, who are subcontracted in war zones by Washington Brink was advising them on how to file for U.S. worker's compensation. I'll buy a farm if I can collect on my claim, said Gouws, 45, But I don't recommend this method of getting a farm to anyone else
10
POPSBush Lies about Veterans' Bill More: The veterans’ bill adds $3.7 billion over Bush’s request for the Veterans Affairs Department’s budget. The increase would ease waiting times to claim VA health benefits and add money to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. Bush urged the public to remember the service of members of the armed forces in wartime on Sunday, Veterans Day. The White House is planning an event Sunday during which the president will honor veterans, spokesman Gordon Johndroe said from Texas, where Bush is spending the weekend at his ranch. That's what Republicans do best. Organize "honor our veterans" events while turning their backs on veterans. Pathetic.
10
POPSThis is Not Our Fight As Bush admitted in his State of the Union address in January, "This is not the fight we entered in Iraq." We could not agree more. This is not the fight Congress authorized, Mr. President. If you want to continue to wage this fight, come to Congress and make your case. Otherwise, bring our troops home.
10
POPSThere Is No Difference Between Gay Limbs and Straight Limbs It is becoming increasingly clear that Americans as a whole are beginning to join the rest of the free world in their belief that Gays should be able to serve openly and honestly in the military. Even Israel, the allegedly most macho army in the world openly welcomes gays to serve openly. I hope the military establishment is finally ready to allow those gay people who wish to serve the country to ability to do so with pride and dignity, and not be looked upon as somehow unworthy of service.
8
Pops
Newest Clips
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Print
Save
Turn on live update