Friday, April 09, 2004
Part-time job, especially if you’re not the #1
This is Bush's 33rd visit to his ranch since becoming president. He has spent all or part of 233 days on his Texas ranch since taking office, according to a tally by CBS News. Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62524-2004Apr8.html
Condi, Condi, Condi!
Predictably anti-climatic; no drama, old lies remain intact; she asserts that contrary to all evidence, the Bush Administration response was more robust than Clinton’s, that Clinton only sought to “roll back” al-Qaeda while they looked to “eliminate”, that Clark never asked to brief the President, that they had a “structural” problem, etc. The best moment came with her insistence that the August 6 PDB was historical, general re terrorist activity and Ben-Veniste dramatically got her to “remember” the title of the memorandum, “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the U.S.”. Priceless. Jon Stewart on Comedy Central (10AM, 7PM are the repeat showings) captured it perfectly. http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/ds/
Richard Clark summarized it well, that they differed little on the facts, but had radically different interpretations;
For example, he noted Ms. Rice's account that she held 33 meetings of the so-called principals committee, and that none focused on Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization believed responsible for the attacks.
While Ms. Rice insisted that she had not placed terrorism on the back burner, Mr. Clarke differed. "I say that indicates it was not a priority," he said. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/09/politics/09CLAR.html
While questions remain unanswered and some people may surface to dispute her assertions or memory lapses, keep in mind that this commission was OK’d by the Administration as a substitute for a Watergate-style investigation, and it has no authority to hold Bush et al accountable.
The Center for American Progress analyzes it. Samples and link:
CLAIM: "The threat reporting that we received in the Spring and Summer of 2001 was not specific as to...manner of attack."
FACT: ABC News reported, Bush Administration "officials acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials informed President Bush weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks that bin Laden's terrorist network might try to hijack American planes." Dateline NBC reported that on August 6, 2001, the President personally "received a one-and-a-half page briefing advising him that Osama bin Laden was capable of a major strike against the US, and that the plot could include the hijacking of an American airplane." Rice herself actually admitted this herself, saying the Aug. 6 briefing the President received said "terrorists might attempt to hijack a U.S. aircraft." [Sources: ABC News, 5/16/02; NBC, 9/10/02]
CLAIM: There was "nothing about the threat of attack in the U.S." in the Presidential Daily Briefing the President received on August 6th. [responding to Ben Veniste]
FACT: Rice herself confirmed that "the title [of the PDB] was, 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States.'" [Source: Condoleezza Rice, 4/8/04] http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=44918
A much more basic summary from another blogger:
A summary of her testimony follows:
Lie, lie, distortion, half-truth, pander, manipulation, pseudo-intellectual bombast. Dodge, dodge, feint, lie, dodge, avoid, subject change, lie, slander, pretentious generalization, character assassination, bald-faced lie.
Oversimplification, undersimplification, condescension, insult, insult, lie, avoidance of responsibility, avoidance of question about avoiding responsibility, cheap political point, utter, malicious lie.
Grimace, slither, dodge, lie, deliberate misinterpretation of history, nonpartisan character disparagement, narrative designed by public-relations experts to create maximum “connection” with American public. Appearance of professionalism, resoluteness, capableness, preparedness. Major omission of lie to create partial truth. Lie for political convenience. Lie for partisan gain. Lie to protect the economic interests of an incredibly small number of people. Reception of flattery. Dispersal of flattery. Abuse of good will a…. Backhanded dismissal of all criticism. Denial of any responsibility in orchestrating what will almost certainly become the most tragic and bloody war of this generation.
Rinse and repeat. http://www.nealpollack.com/cgi-bin/blog/do.cgi/200404080153/permalink
In sum, like the rest of ‘em, she lies and distorts, and befitting the circumstances, did the usual fine job of not remembering.
Despite her assertions, Administration documents/statements make clear that they de-emphasized/prioritized counter-terrorism, opposed creation of the commission, delayed it, refused to provide documents including the text of Condi’s statement she was to deliver on 9/11 which admittedly was going to (again) ignore terrorism
Perspective on Condi:
One recognizes her from this evaluation of her first book, printed in the American Historical Review. Draw your own conclusions from Joseph Kalvoda’s notes as to her methodology in her work The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army, 1948-1983: Uncertain Allegiance.
Rice's selection of sources raises questions, since he frequently does not sift facts from propaganda and valid information from disinformation or misinformation. He passes judgments and expresses opinions without adequate knowledge of facts. It does not add to his credibility when he uses a source written by Josef Hodic; Rice fails to notice that this "former military scientist" (p. 99) was a communist agent who returned to Czechoslovakia several years ago.
....Rice's generalizations reflect his lack of knowledge about history and the nationality problem in Czechoslovakia. For example....Rice's discussion of the "Czechoslovak Legion" that was "born during the chaotic period preceding the fall of the Russian empire" (pp. 44-46) is ridiculous. (It was "born" on September 28, 1914.) He is clearly ignorant of the history of the military unit as well as of the geography of the area on which it fought. http://vulgo.org/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=1102
What’s Happening, Iraq:
This morning brought reports of an attack on a convoy with 9 dead, but the U.S. is getting even more murky as to casualty figures. Fighting is widespread, contrary to Administration assertions. The ultimate fear is being realized- the Sunnis and Shia are joining together. Some reports:
The Iraqi uprising against the American-led occupation intensified Wednesday and spread to new parts of the country, with United States forces increasing their efforts to put down Sunni and Shiite combatants.
Pentagon officials in Washington signaled that they would probably delay bringing home as many as 25,000 troops as scheduled and probably move reinforcements to the south… http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/international/middleeast/08SHIA.html
When the United States invaded Iraq a year ago, one of its chief concerns was preventing a civil war between Shiite Muslims, who make up a majority in the country, and Sunni Muslims, who held all the power under Saddam Hussein.
Now the fear is that the growing uprising against the occupation is forging a new and previously unheard of level of cooperation between the two groups — and the common cause is killing Americans.
"We have orders from our leader to fight as one and to help the Sunnis," said Nimaa Fakir, a 27-year-old teacher and foot soldier in the Mahdi Army, a Shiite militia. "We want to increase the fighting, increase the killing and drive the Americans out. To do this, we must combine forces."
This new Shiite-Sunni partnership was flourishing in Baghdad on Thursday. Convoys of pickup trucks with signature black Shiite flags flapping from their bumpers hauled sacks of grain, flour, sugar and rice into Sunni mosques. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/09/international/middleeast/09SHIA.html?hp
For example, thousands of Iraqis - from both the Sunni and Shia communities - marched 60km from Baghdad to Falluja to bring food and medical supplies to the besieged citizens there.
The marchers - carrying colourful flags and banners reading, "Sons of the great Falluja, we are with you on the road of jihad and victory" - arrived at the marine roadblock at the western entrance to the city earlier today. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1188454,00.html
Complications:
(1) Kidnappings.
The three civilians were snatched by a group called the Mujahideen Brigades and Arab al-Jazeera TV showed them being held at knife-point. Also, two Arab Israelis were also kidnapped, but seven abducted South Korean missionaries were released. And, South Korea, the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Spain and Kazakhstan are reconsidering their roles.
(2) Syria
The UPI reported several border clashes between U.S and Syrian soldiers, resulting in a few injuries.
"Beirut's daily As-Safir quoted U.S. political and military sources in Washington as saying Tuesday that Syrian troops fired at a U.S. helicopter in one of the border incidents, causing the casualties. Beirut's daily As-Safir quoted U.S. political and military sources in Washington as saying Tuesday that Syrian troops fired at a U.S. helicopter in one of the border incidents, causing the casualties.
The State Department summoned the Syrian ambassador in Washington, Imad Mustafa, to complain about the incidents.
The U.S. sources also said the Pentagon decided to place Lebanon and Syria under the U.S. Central Command led by Gen. John Abuzaid which is responsible for the Middle East region.
http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/04070000aaa02b2b.upi&Sys=siteia&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20News
Shifting Political Climate:
(1) Joan Vennochi, the Globe: What started as rhetoric from the left is becoming more and more the conversation of mainstream America. People want to support the troops, who are after all, the sons and daughters of our neighbors. They do not want American soldiers to die in Iraq on the altar of a president's bankrupt foreign policy.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/04/08/firm_stand_on_the_war_rattles_bush
(2) Voices: Republican Senators-- Richard Lugar frets about civil war and Chuck Hagel seems to feel that the Administration set itself up for failure. Conservative talk show hosts are sounding off, some (Joe Scarborough, George Will) just calling the number of troops insufficient, others like chronic liar (see Al Franken’s book) Bill O’Reilly saying “I’m not buying this ‘Iraqis are on the American side’ right now.”
Catch-Up- Had skipped this gem- the apparently not uncommon practice of “time shaving”. Employers alter the time cards of low-wage employees so they lose some hours…and wages.
Experts on compensation say that the illegal doctoring of hourly employees' time records is far more prevalent than most Americans believe. The practice, commonly called shaving time, is easily done and hard to detect — a simple matter of computer keystrokes — and has spurred a growing number of lawsuits and settlements against a wide range of businesses.
Workers have sued Family Dollar and Pep Boys, the auto parts and repair chain, accusing managers of deleting hours. A jury found that Taco Bell managers in Oregon had routinely erased workers' time. More than a dozen former Wal-Mart employees said in interviews and depositions that managers had altered time records to shortchange employees. The Department of Labor recently reached two back-pay settlements with Kinko's photocopy centers, totaling $56,600, after finding that managers in Ithaca, N.Y., and Hyannis, Mass., had erased time for 13 employees. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/04/national/04WAGE.html
-R
This is Bush's 33rd visit to his ranch since becoming president. He has spent all or part of 233 days on his Texas ranch since taking office, according to a tally by CBS News. Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62524-2004Apr8.html
Condi, Condi, Condi!
Predictably anti-climatic; no drama, old lies remain intact; she asserts that contrary to all evidence, the Bush Administration response was more robust than Clinton’s, that Clinton only sought to “roll back” al-Qaeda while they looked to “eliminate”, that Clark never asked to brief the President, that they had a “structural” problem, etc. The best moment came with her insistence that the August 6 PDB was historical, general re terrorist activity and Ben-Veniste dramatically got her to “remember” the title of the memorandum, “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the U.S.”. Priceless. Jon Stewart on Comedy Central (10AM, 7PM are the repeat showings) captured it perfectly. http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/ds/
Richard Clark summarized it well, that they differed little on the facts, but had radically different interpretations;
For example, he noted Ms. Rice's account that she held 33 meetings of the so-called principals committee, and that none focused on Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization believed responsible for the attacks.
While Ms. Rice insisted that she had not placed terrorism on the back burner, Mr. Clarke differed. "I say that indicates it was not a priority," he said. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/09/politics/09CLAR.html
While questions remain unanswered and some people may surface to dispute her assertions or memory lapses, keep in mind that this commission was OK’d by the Administration as a substitute for a Watergate-style investigation, and it has no authority to hold Bush et al accountable.
The Center for American Progress analyzes it. Samples and link:
CLAIM: "The threat reporting that we received in the Spring and Summer of 2001 was not specific as to...manner of attack."
FACT: ABC News reported, Bush Administration "officials acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials informed President Bush weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks that bin Laden's terrorist network might try to hijack American planes." Dateline NBC reported that on August 6, 2001, the President personally "received a one-and-a-half page briefing advising him that Osama bin Laden was capable of a major strike against the US, and that the plot could include the hijacking of an American airplane." Rice herself actually admitted this herself, saying the Aug. 6 briefing the President received said "terrorists might attempt to hijack a U.S. aircraft." [Sources: ABC News, 5/16/02; NBC, 9/10/02]
CLAIM: There was "nothing about the threat of attack in the U.S." in the Presidential Daily Briefing the President received on August 6th. [responding to Ben Veniste]
FACT: Rice herself confirmed that "the title [of the PDB] was, 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States.'" [Source: Condoleezza Rice, 4/8/04] http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=44918
A much more basic summary from another blogger:
A summary of her testimony follows:
Lie, lie, distortion, half-truth, pander, manipulation, pseudo-intellectual bombast. Dodge, dodge, feint, lie, dodge, avoid, subject change, lie, slander, pretentious generalization, character assassination, bald-faced lie.
Oversimplification, undersimplification, condescension, insult, insult, lie, avoidance of responsibility, avoidance of question about avoiding responsibility, cheap political point, utter, malicious lie.
Grimace, slither, dodge, lie, deliberate misinterpretation of history, nonpartisan character disparagement, narrative designed by public-relations experts to create maximum “connection” with American public. Appearance of professionalism, resoluteness, capableness, preparedness. Major omission of lie to create partial truth. Lie for political convenience. Lie for partisan gain. Lie to protect the economic interests of an incredibly small number of people. Reception of flattery. Dispersal of flattery. Abuse of good will a…. Backhanded dismissal of all criticism. Denial of any responsibility in orchestrating what will almost certainly become the most tragic and bloody war of this generation.
Rinse and repeat. http://www.nealpollack.com/cgi-bin/blog/do.cgi/200404080153/permalink
In sum, like the rest of ‘em, she lies and distorts, and befitting the circumstances, did the usual fine job of not remembering.
Despite her assertions, Administration documents/statements make clear that they de-emphasized/prioritized counter-terrorism, opposed creation of the commission, delayed it, refused to provide documents including the text of Condi’s statement she was to deliver on 9/11 which admittedly was going to (again) ignore terrorism
Perspective on Condi:
One recognizes her from this evaluation of her first book, printed in the American Historical Review. Draw your own conclusions from Joseph Kalvoda’s notes as to her methodology in her work The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army, 1948-1983: Uncertain Allegiance.
Rice's selection of sources raises questions, since he frequently does not sift facts from propaganda and valid information from disinformation or misinformation. He passes judgments and expresses opinions without adequate knowledge of facts. It does not add to his credibility when he uses a source written by Josef Hodic; Rice fails to notice that this "former military scientist" (p. 99) was a communist agent who returned to Czechoslovakia several years ago.
....Rice's generalizations reflect his lack of knowledge about history and the nationality problem in Czechoslovakia. For example....Rice's discussion of the "Czechoslovak Legion" that was "born during the chaotic period preceding the fall of the Russian empire" (pp. 44-46) is ridiculous. (It was "born" on September 28, 1914.) He is clearly ignorant of the history of the military unit as well as of the geography of the area on which it fought. http://vulgo.org/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=1102
What’s Happening, Iraq:
This morning brought reports of an attack on a convoy with 9 dead, but the U.S. is getting even more murky as to casualty figures. Fighting is widespread, contrary to Administration assertions. The ultimate fear is being realized- the Sunnis and Shia are joining together. Some reports:
The Iraqi uprising against the American-led occupation intensified Wednesday and spread to new parts of the country, with United States forces increasing their efforts to put down Sunni and Shiite combatants.
Pentagon officials in Washington signaled that they would probably delay bringing home as many as 25,000 troops as scheduled and probably move reinforcements to the south… http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/international/middleeast/08SHIA.html
When the United States invaded Iraq a year ago, one of its chief concerns was preventing a civil war between Shiite Muslims, who make up a majority in the country, and Sunni Muslims, who held all the power under Saddam Hussein.
Now the fear is that the growing uprising against the occupation is forging a new and previously unheard of level of cooperation between the two groups — and the common cause is killing Americans.
"We have orders from our leader to fight as one and to help the Sunnis," said Nimaa Fakir, a 27-year-old teacher and foot soldier in the Mahdi Army, a Shiite militia. "We want to increase the fighting, increase the killing and drive the Americans out. To do this, we must combine forces."
This new Shiite-Sunni partnership was flourishing in Baghdad on Thursday. Convoys of pickup trucks with signature black Shiite flags flapping from their bumpers hauled sacks of grain, flour, sugar and rice into Sunni mosques. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/09/international/middleeast/09SHIA.html?hp
For example, thousands of Iraqis - from both the Sunni and Shia communities - marched 60km from Baghdad to Falluja to bring food and medical supplies to the besieged citizens there.
The marchers - carrying colourful flags and banners reading, "Sons of the great Falluja, we are with you on the road of jihad and victory" - arrived at the marine roadblock at the western entrance to the city earlier today. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1188454,00.html
Complications:
(1) Kidnappings.
The three civilians were snatched by a group called the Mujahideen Brigades and Arab al-Jazeera TV showed them being held at knife-point. Also, two Arab Israelis were also kidnapped, but seven abducted South Korean missionaries were released. And, South Korea, the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Spain and Kazakhstan are reconsidering their roles.
(2) Syria
The UPI reported several border clashes between U.S and Syrian soldiers, resulting in a few injuries.
"Beirut's daily As-Safir quoted U.S. political and military sources in Washington as saying Tuesday that Syrian troops fired at a U.S. helicopter in one of the border incidents, causing the casualties. Beirut's daily As-Safir quoted U.S. political and military sources in Washington as saying Tuesday that Syrian troops fired at a U.S. helicopter in one of the border incidents, causing the casualties.
The State Department summoned the Syrian ambassador in Washington, Imad Mustafa, to complain about the incidents.
The U.S. sources also said the Pentagon decided to place Lebanon and Syria under the U.S. Central Command led by Gen. John Abuzaid which is responsible for the Middle East region.
http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/04070000aaa02b2b.upi&Sys=siteia&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20News
Shifting Political Climate:
(1) Joan Vennochi, the Globe: What started as rhetoric from the left is becoming more and more the conversation of mainstream America. People want to support the troops, who are after all, the sons and daughters of our neighbors. They do not want American soldiers to die in Iraq on the altar of a president's bankrupt foreign policy.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/04/08/firm_stand_on_the_war_rattles_bush
(2) Voices: Republican Senators-- Richard Lugar frets about civil war and Chuck Hagel seems to feel that the Administration set itself up for failure. Conservative talk show hosts are sounding off, some (Joe Scarborough, George Will) just calling the number of troops insufficient, others like chronic liar (see Al Franken’s book) Bill O’Reilly saying “I’m not buying this ‘Iraqis are on the American side’ right now.”
Catch-Up- Had skipped this gem- the apparently not uncommon practice of “time shaving”. Employers alter the time cards of low-wage employees so they lose some hours…and wages.
Experts on compensation say that the illegal doctoring of hourly employees' time records is far more prevalent than most Americans believe. The practice, commonly called shaving time, is easily done and hard to detect — a simple matter of computer keystrokes — and has spurred a growing number of lawsuits and settlements against a wide range of businesses.
Workers have sued Family Dollar and Pep Boys, the auto parts and repair chain, accusing managers of deleting hours. A jury found that Taco Bell managers in Oregon had routinely erased workers' time. More than a dozen former Wal-Mart employees said in interviews and depositions that managers had altered time records to shortchange employees. The Department of Labor recently reached two back-pay settlements with Kinko's photocopy centers, totaling $56,600, after finding that managers in Ithaca, N.Y., and Hyannis, Mass., had erased time for 13 employees. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/04/national/04WAGE.html
-R
