Friday, August 20, 2004
Sudan: Familiar Realities
The players change, but the dynamics sound terribly familiar. The UN is unable to muster more than an inadequate number of “peacekeepers”. But, China, which has resisted Security Council actions to pressure the Sudanese government, has 4000 troops there, protecting their pipelines.
Energy Crisis: Oil AND Natural Gas The “crisis” continues to brew:
Is natural gas becoming the new oil?
At a time when the nation is chafing at its persistent dependence on foreign oil, it is becoming clear that the United States may be headed for the same situation with natural gas.
Demand is growing far faster than supply from domestic sources or from friendly neighbors like Canada. Soon, probably within the next decade, the United States will become a significant importer of gas from regions like North Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union and the Caribbean, transported in liquefied form by giant tanker ships.
Faced with that prospect, policy makers and industry executives are pondering whether that means natural gas will become another vulnerable front in American diplomacy and energy security, posing the same quandaries and threats that crude oil does now. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/business/20gas.html
What’s Happening, Iraq???: U.S. Medical staff and Abuse
The medical community is calling for an investigation into the role of US medical staff in the prisoner abuse that took place in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, according to two new journal articles and appeals from physicians' groups...[t]he US military medical system "failed to protect detainees' human rights, sometimes collaborated with interrogators or abusive guards, and failed to properly report injuries or deaths caused by beatings," writes Steven Miles, a physician at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, US, in The Lancet. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996304
The Pentagon denies, but promises a review.
Kerry Swift Boat Issue
The Times’ lengthy article adds little to what’s already known. But, what matters, of course, is not the truth, but perception, whether or not the repetitive lie will loosen support for Kerry or backfire on Bush.
A series of interviews and a review of documents show a web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove. Records show that the group received the bulk of its initial financing from two men with ties to the president and his family - one a longtime political associate of Mr. Rove's, the other a trustee of the foundation for Mr. Bush's father's presidential library. A Texas publicist who once helped prepare Mr. Bush's father for his debate when he was running for vice president provided them with strategic advice. And the group's television commercial was produced by the same team that made the devastating ad mocking Michael S. Dukakis in an oversized tank helmet when he and Mr. Bush's father faced off in the 1988 presidential election.
The strategy the veterans devised would ultimately paint John Kerry the war hero as John Kerry the "baby killer" and the fabricator of the events that resulted in his war medals. But on close examination, the accounts of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth' prove to be riddled with inconsistencies. In many cases, material offered as proof by these veterans is undercut by official Navy records and the men's own statements.
Several of those now declaring Mr. Kerry "unfit" had lavished praise on him, some as recently as last year. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/politics/campaign/20swift.html
Dumbed-Down America…Still
A survey provides the usual sorry results, that more than half of Americans -- 54 percent – STILL believe Iraq had WMDs. The same poll also finds that roughly half believe Iraq was either closely linked to al-Qaida before the war -- or was directly involved in 9/11.
Oy vey.
http://news.bostonherald.com/international/view.bg?articleid=40727
But Saddam would have had WMD… by 2008
Since he had none, all the CIA and their boss, the Bush Administration, can do is scare us with ‘What If?- if we had not invaded. Saddam supposedly would have developed an arsenal. Not likely. With sanctions, inspectors, planes- spy planes, bombers monitoring or blasting his every move, he would have been lucky to have just survived.
From the LA Times:
Having failed to find banned weapons in Iraq, the CIA is preparing a final report on its search that will speculate on what the deposed regime's capabilities might have looked like years from now if left unchecked, according to congressional and intelligence officials.The CIA plans for the report, due next month, to project as far as 2008 what Iraq might have achieved in its illegal weapons programs if the United States had not invaded the country last year, the officials said.The new direction of the inquiry is seen by some officials as an attempt to obscure the fact that no banned weapons — or even evidence of active programs — have been found, and instead emphasize theories that Iraq may have been planning to revive its programs. The change in focus has angered some intelligence officials and at least one key Democrat in Congress and has brought charges of political motivation. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-na-wmd20aug20,1,1076498,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Pro-Bush Movie They have their own! An apparently pathetic effort that claims Kerry never went to law school, etc. From Joe Conason:
The next salvo in the cinematic campaign war of 2004 is "The Big Picture," a documentary film attacking John Kerry sponsored by David Bossie's Citizens United, the right-wing group that unsuccessfully sued to stop national advertising of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11." But Bossie's latest project could create legal problems for him and his organization -- in part because Lionel Chetwynd, the award-winning director, is working not only on the documentary but also on two shorter films to be screened at the Republican National Convention.
The director's simultaneous involvement in both the convention films and the Bossie documentary raises eyebrows among campaign finance experts, because Citizens United is a tax-exempt foundation legally restricted from "coordinating" its "independent" political broadcasts or messages with the Bush-Cheney campaign or the Republican National Committee. If Chetwynd, Bossie, or anyone else working on "The Big Picture" discussed that project with RNC officials or the Bush-Cheney reelection committee, they could be violating the law.
"This kind of common vendor arrangement would raise serious questions about whether the law's coordination restrictions are being complied with," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a nonpartisan organization that advocates stronger enforcement of the campaign finance laws. "That is a factual question that has to be determined by the appropriate enforcement authorities." http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/08/20/chetwynd_bossie/print.html
Polls: CBS has Kerry up 1%, i.e. still very tied.
-R
The players change, but the dynamics sound terribly familiar. The UN is unable to muster more than an inadequate number of “peacekeepers”. But, China, which has resisted Security Council actions to pressure the Sudanese government, has 4000 troops there, protecting their pipelines.
Energy Crisis: Oil AND Natural Gas The “crisis” continues to brew:
Is natural gas becoming the new oil?
At a time when the nation is chafing at its persistent dependence on foreign oil, it is becoming clear that the United States may be headed for the same situation with natural gas.
Demand is growing far faster than supply from domestic sources or from friendly neighbors like Canada. Soon, probably within the next decade, the United States will become a significant importer of gas from regions like North Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union and the Caribbean, transported in liquefied form by giant tanker ships.
Faced with that prospect, policy makers and industry executives are pondering whether that means natural gas will become another vulnerable front in American diplomacy and energy security, posing the same quandaries and threats that crude oil does now. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/business/20gas.html
What’s Happening, Iraq???: U.S. Medical staff and Abuse
The medical community is calling for an investigation into the role of US medical staff in the prisoner abuse that took place in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, according to two new journal articles and appeals from physicians' groups...[t]he US military medical system "failed to protect detainees' human rights, sometimes collaborated with interrogators or abusive guards, and failed to properly report injuries or deaths caused by beatings," writes Steven Miles, a physician at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, US, in The Lancet. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996304
The Pentagon denies, but promises a review.
Kerry Swift Boat Issue
The Times’ lengthy article adds little to what’s already known. But, what matters, of course, is not the truth, but perception, whether or not the repetitive lie will loosen support for Kerry or backfire on Bush.
A series of interviews and a review of documents show a web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove. Records show that the group received the bulk of its initial financing from two men with ties to the president and his family - one a longtime political associate of Mr. Rove's, the other a trustee of the foundation for Mr. Bush's father's presidential library. A Texas publicist who once helped prepare Mr. Bush's father for his debate when he was running for vice president provided them with strategic advice. And the group's television commercial was produced by the same team that made the devastating ad mocking Michael S. Dukakis in an oversized tank helmet when he and Mr. Bush's father faced off in the 1988 presidential election.
The strategy the veterans devised would ultimately paint John Kerry the war hero as John Kerry the "baby killer" and the fabricator of the events that resulted in his war medals. But on close examination, the accounts of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth' prove to be riddled with inconsistencies. In many cases, material offered as proof by these veterans is undercut by official Navy records and the men's own statements.
Several of those now declaring Mr. Kerry "unfit" had lavished praise on him, some as recently as last year. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/politics/campaign/20swift.html
Dumbed-Down America…Still
A survey provides the usual sorry results, that more than half of Americans -- 54 percent – STILL believe Iraq had WMDs. The same poll also finds that roughly half believe Iraq was either closely linked to al-Qaida before the war -- or was directly involved in 9/11.
Oy vey.
http://news.bostonherald.com/international/view.bg?articleid=40727
But Saddam would have had WMD… by 2008
Since he had none, all the CIA and their boss, the Bush Administration, can do is scare us with ‘What If?- if we had not invaded. Saddam supposedly would have developed an arsenal. Not likely. With sanctions, inspectors, planes- spy planes, bombers monitoring or blasting his every move, he would have been lucky to have just survived.
From the LA Times:
Having failed to find banned weapons in Iraq, the CIA is preparing a final report on its search that will speculate on what the deposed regime's capabilities might have looked like years from now if left unchecked, according to congressional and intelligence officials.The CIA plans for the report, due next month, to project as far as 2008 what Iraq might have achieved in its illegal weapons programs if the United States had not invaded the country last year, the officials said.The new direction of the inquiry is seen by some officials as an attempt to obscure the fact that no banned weapons — or even evidence of active programs — have been found, and instead emphasize theories that Iraq may have been planning to revive its programs. The change in focus has angered some intelligence officials and at least one key Democrat in Congress and has brought charges of political motivation. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-na-wmd20aug20,1,1076498,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Pro-Bush Movie They have their own! An apparently pathetic effort that claims Kerry never went to law school, etc. From Joe Conason:
The next salvo in the cinematic campaign war of 2004 is "The Big Picture," a documentary film attacking John Kerry sponsored by David Bossie's Citizens United, the right-wing group that unsuccessfully sued to stop national advertising of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11." But Bossie's latest project could create legal problems for him and his organization -- in part because Lionel Chetwynd, the award-winning director, is working not only on the documentary but also on two shorter films to be screened at the Republican National Convention.
The director's simultaneous involvement in both the convention films and the Bossie documentary raises eyebrows among campaign finance experts, because Citizens United is a tax-exempt foundation legally restricted from "coordinating" its "independent" political broadcasts or messages with the Bush-Cheney campaign or the Republican National Committee. If Chetwynd, Bossie, or anyone else working on "The Big Picture" discussed that project with RNC officials or the Bush-Cheney reelection committee, they could be violating the law.
"This kind of common vendor arrangement would raise serious questions about whether the law's coordination restrictions are being complied with," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a nonpartisan organization that advocates stronger enforcement of the campaign finance laws. "That is a factual question that has to be determined by the appropriate enforcement authorities." http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/08/20/chetwynd_bossie/print.html
Polls: CBS has Kerry up 1%, i.e. still very tied.
-R
