The Mechanism of Global Warming

Global Warming

This illustrates how the sunlight comes into Earth. Earth converts the sunlight into infrared wavelength light. It is the infrared wavelength that adds heat to Earth to make it habital. The protective layer of atmosphere known as Ozone protects us from harmful rays of sunlight. The layers of Greenhouse Gases helps keep Earth warm to support life. Currently, the Greenhouse Gases are out of balance increasing the temperature that leads to melting of Earth's Ice Caps and Ice Fields. The Ice of Earth is vital to support life.

Converting Gaseous Carbon to Living Carbon

Algal Bloom off Norway

At one time Earth's seas were teeming with life, marine life; fish, marine mammals and microscopic life suchas this algal bloom. The photosynthesis that supports these 'primary producers' uses carbon dioxide from the air. The way 'living carbon' returns to the sea is for existing marine life, in particular Marine Mammals, to feed on algal blooms like this along with the smaller creatures suchas krill that also feed off the algae. My moving the gaseous carbon from the troposphere back to the oceans in the way of living carbon suchas fish and marine mammals we will return Earth's carbon balance back to equilibrium.

The Casualities of Iraq are as Horrible as I imagined them, only more so!

"I'm this great picture of the Army."

I am sorry. I didn't send you nor did I ever want to send you.

Earthquake Spawns Tsunamis

The Earth’s solid surface floats on a layer of softer rock as a collection of interlocking, movable puzzle pieces called tectonic plates. At 7:58 a.m. (local time), on December 26, 2004, beneath the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra, Indonesia, pent-up energy from the compressional forces of one tectonic plate grinding under another found a weak spot in the overlying rock. The rock was thrust upward, and the Earth shook as a 9.0 magnitude earthquake sent its vibrations out into the ocean. Tsunamis spread out in all directions; the massive waves washed over islands and crashed against coastlines in Sri Lanka, Southern India, and even the east coast of Africa. Tens of thousands of people were killed; millions are homeless.

The image above shows how the tectonic puzzle pieces fit together around Indonesia. The epicenter of the recent quake is marked with a red star in the image. It is located just to the east of the Sunda Trench, where the India Plate begins to get subducted beneath (forced under) the Burma Plate. The blue arrows along the plate boundary show the direction of subduction.
As the India Plate slides beneath the Burma Plate, it meets pockets of resistance, which causes compressional forces to build up. Weakened overlying rock gets forced upward. Based on the location of aftershocks (red shaded circles on the image), the United States Geological Survey reports that approximately 1,200 kilometers of the plate boundary probably slipped as a result of the quake. The initial rupture was likely more than 100 kilometers wide, and probably produced an average vertical displacement along the fault plane (the slope along which the two plates meet) of 15 meters.

When the bottom of the ocean is deformed by this type of “megathrust” quake, the upward force acts like a fist rising up from underwater. Water rolls down off the sides of the “fist,” creating massive waves that can travel as fast as an airplane. The waves can move across the ocean and barely disturb the surface, but when they reach shallow coastal water, the earthquake’s energy thrusts them tens of meters into the air. The tsunami created by this earthquake reached India and Sri Lanka in about four hours. The wave eventually reached Africa, the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii, and the west coast of North and South America.

For more information about this earthquake and plate tectonics, visit the Website of the USGS.

The 'Wobble' is worse due to the diminished mass of the Polar Ice Fields and Ice Caps. The Earth is losing it's balance easily.

A Flattened Village in Indonesia
Asia Quake Gives Globe a Jolt
AFP

Dec. 28, 2004 — The gigantic Asian sea quake, the most dramatic seismic shock in more than 40 years, made the earth wobble on its axis and permanently changed the geology of the surrounding area, scientists said Tuesday.

It was like "flicking a top," said Paul Tapponnier, head of the tectonics laboratory at the Institut de Physique du Globe, France's leading center for Earth sciences.

Tapponnier said the quake deep beneath the Pacific Ocean lasted a "colossal" 200 seconds, building up huge amounts of energy in the sea that drove towering waves onto beaches throughout southern Asia.

"That earthquake has changed the map," U.S. Geological Survey expert Ken Hudnut told AFP in Los Angeles.

The quake, which had an epicenter magnitude of 9.0, struck 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of Sumatra.

One of the four biggest in the last century, it sent gigantic tsunami waves crashing around the Indian Ocean, causing 55,000 deaths and leaving thousands of other people missing.

Hudnut said seismic modeling suggested the quake may have moved small islands by as much as 20 meters (66 feet), and the northwestern tip of the Indonesian territory of Sumatra may also have shifted to the southwest by around 36 meters (118 feet).

"That is a lot of slip," he said.

The energy released as the two sides of the geological fault line deep beneath the sea slipped against one another would have made the Earth wobble on its axis, Hudnut said.

Tapponnier said the quake caused a 15- to 20-meter slippage of the earth's surface along a front extending for 100 kilometers (62 miles).

He said there may also have been vertical movements that possibly pushed the island of Siberut, 100 kilometers west of Sumatra, one or two meters higher, although it would be impossible to check this scientifically because of guerrilla activity in the area.

Tapponnier said it was also possible that some regions of Sumatra south of the equator have been completely swallowed up.

He said it was not rare for earthquakes to alter geological features. "Earthquakes are the architects of landscapes," he said. "All the mountains that we see today have been modeled by earthquakes."

Tapponnier said the massive 1960 earthquake off the coast of Chile shifted the local landscape by 20 meters. A quake in Alaska in 1964 pushed islands higher and sank oyster beds 12 meters (39 feet) beneath the surface.

And a 6.3 magnitude temblor off the coast of Guadeloupe last month moved the ocean floor several tens of centimeters, he added.

In Asia, "we are dealing with a quake 1,000 times more powerful" than the one off Guadaloupe, a shock powerful enough to make the earth wobble on its axis, Tapponnier said.

Hudnut agreed the earth had slightly wobbled "due to the massive amount of energy exerted and the sudden shift in mass."

But minor oscillations as the earth spins like a top are well known to astronomers. The principal causes of the slight irregular motion, known as nutation, are the Sun and Moon as they continually change location relative to one another.

Another U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist agreed that the Earth would have received a "little jog" from the quake and that the islands off Sumatra would have been shifted.

However, Stuart Sipkin, of the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Col., said it was more likely that the islands had risen higher out of the sea than they had moved laterally.

"In this case, the Indian plate dived below the Burma plate, causing uplift, so most of the motion to the islands would have been vertical, not horizontal," he said.

One type of 'Earth Wobble' is called the Chandler Wobble.

Depleted Uranium

Why Has Our Military Refused to Show This Training Video To Our Troops Now Serving In Iraq?

US ARMY TRAINING VIDEO:

Depleted Uranium Hazard Awareness

Between October and December 1995, the U.S. Army's Depleted Uranium (DU) Project completed a series of training videos and manuals about depleted uranium munitions. This training regimen was developed as the result of recommendations made in the January 1993 General Accounting Office (GAO) report, "Army Not Adequately Prepared to Deal with Depleted Uranium Contamination."

The training materials were intended to instruct servicemen and women about the use and hazards of depleted uranium munitions. In addition, the training regimen included instructions for soldiers who repair and recover vehicles contaminated by depleted uranium.

Throughout 1996, these videos sat on a shelf, while U.S. soldiers continued to use and work with depleted uranium munitions. In June 1997, Bernard Rostker, The Department of Defense (DoD) principle spokesperson for their investigation of Gulf War hazardous exposures, stated that the depleted uranium safety training program would begin to be shared by a limited number of servicemen and women in July 1997.

STILL TODAY the vast majority of servicemen and women in the U.S. military, and likely in the armed forces of other countries which are developing or have obtained depleted uranium munitions, are unaware of the use and dangers of depleted uranium munitions, or of the protective clothing and procedures which can minimize or prevent serious short-term exposures.

The issue of Depleted Uranium has been an issue since Gulf War I. (Click on link below.)

Introduction:

I first heard about the military using depleted uranium for bullets from the Native Americans for a Clean Environment (NACE) in Gore, Oklahoma. Kerr Magee was operating a factory there, and in a liquid waste spill a young man, about twenty-one years old, was sprayed with the mixture and died. Many members of the public were also exposed, and were taken to the University in Oklahoma City for medical examination and feces analysis. It seems that the liquid waste contained primarily uranium and other heavy metals.

Local people had found this factory to be very polluting. When I visited the town to see what was happening and to decide whether or not I could help, they showed me rust marks scattered over the surface of their automobiles where the toxic corrosive spray released from the factory routinely had impacted on the paint. People complained of burning throats and eyes, some with even more serious complaints, but little systematic information which would show that the factory was the source of their problem.

This is an article about a visit to Iraq on March 11, 2003; just before the unilateral invasion by the USA.

Winston-Salem Journal

Tue, March 11, 2003

Iraq isn't a threat, minister says after mission Nation is 'beaten down to a pulp,' pastor says; clergy flew in as guests of Christian fellowship

By John Railey
JOURNAL REPORTER

The Rev. John Mendez says he's haunted by what he saw on a peace mission to Iraq last week.

He saw the burn marks left where more than 400 people died in a Baghdad bomb shelter in the Gulf War in 1991.

He saw people weakened by the U.N. economic sanctions that have continued since the war.

"It ain't what we think," said Mendez, the pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church. "We have beaten that country down to a pulp. It isn't a threat to anybody."

Mendez flew to Baghdad with eight other clergy as guests of the Middle East Council of Churches, a fellowship of Christians in the predominantly Muslim Middle East. His group was made up mostly of black ministers from Washington and New York who have corresponded with friends in the Middle East. A Muslim cleric from the United States was also part of the delegation.

This is the personal webpage to Rev. Mendez trip to Iraq.

Reverend John Mendez of Emmanuel Baptist Church recently visited Iraq.

He's a nice man.

Baghdad, Iraq BEFORE George's Invasion, but, AFTER Gulf War ONE

Reverend John Mendez of Emmanuel Baptist Church recently visited Iraq.

Thank you for sharing your pictures with us!

Read the Winston Salem Journal Article

Winston-Salem Journal
Tue, March 11, 2003Iraq isn't a threat, minister says after mission Nation is 'beaten down to a pulp,' pastor says; clergy flew in as guests of Christian fellowshipBy John RaileyJOURNAL REPORTERThe Rev. John Mendez says he's haunted by what he saw on a peace mission to Iraq last week.He saw the burn marks left where more than 400 people died in a Baghdad bomb shelter in the Gulf War in 1991. He saw people weakened by the U.N. economic sanctions that have continued since the war."It ain't what we think," said Mendez, the pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church. "We have beaten that country down to a pulp. It isn't a threat to anybody."Mendez flew to Baghdad with eight other clergy as guests of the Middle East Council of Churches, a fellowship of Christians in the predominantly Muslim Middle East. His group was made up mostly of black ministers from Washington and New York who have corresponded with friends in the Middle East. A Muslim cleric from the United States was also part of the delegation.Most Iraqis welcomed his group, Mendez said."One little kid, though, he was shining my shoes, when he discovered I was an American. "He said, 'George Bush,' and spit on the ground. He was 8 years old," Mendez said.He said he tried to talk to the child, but got nowhere. "These kids tomorrow will remember what we did to them today," Mendez said.The group didn't see Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during its week there, Mendez said, but it did meet with other officials with the Iraqi government. The group gave those officials their position paper, which asks Iraq to embrace peace by disarming. Mendez said he can't say whether the country is disarming its chemical and biological weapons."That's why we're so adamant about the U.N. doing its work without interference or intervention,'' he said. "Let the U.N. tell us whether or not they're disarming."The Bush administration has repeatedly expressed skepticism about Iraq's promises that it is disarming. While Mendez and the rest of his group were in Iraq, President Bush edged the United States closer to war. Bush said Thursday night that the United States will drive Saddam from power if it comes to war in Iraq - with or without support from Germany, France and other United Nations allies opposed to the use of force.The U.N. Security Council may vote this week on a U.S.-sponsored resolution authorizing war against Iraq.Mendez said he's not holding out much hope that the group of ministers, which also met with U.S. officials before traveling to Iraq, would help prevent a war.But he said he and the others accomplished one goal of their trip: "To build relationships and let them know we're not all warmongers." He said he plans to keep in touch with Iraqi friends he made. Mendez said that Iraqis he met believed that attacks would begin last week, and they feared for the safety of his group. The Iraqis said little about Saddam, he said, perhaps out of fear or perhaps because they are tired of talking about it. But Mendez said that one point was clear: The majority of Iraqis don't want war.There have already been U.S. bombings in no-fly zones in Iraq. U.S. officials have released few details about casualties, but Mendez said Iraqi reports indicated that six people were killed in bombings while he was there."When the sirens go off, people don't even respond anymore," Mendez said. "They just resolve within themselves that what's going to be is going to be."• John Railey can be reached at 727-7288 or at jrailey@wsjournal.com

Neocon Christmas Carol - AKA "Help Lynn Pay Her Back Taxes"

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

There is one thing the Cheney understand and that is priviledge.

A Revolutionary Christmas Story
By LYNNE CHENEY

Published: December 21, 2004
Washington

AS 1776 was drawing to a close, Elkanah Watson, a young man in Massachusetts, expressed what many Americans feared about their war for independence. "We looked upon the contest as near its close," he wrote, "and considered ourselves a vanquished people."

The priviledge to live their lives at the expense of others whether it is in the private sector or the public sector.

Lynn Cheney has taken an adventure in being a historian. It is a pathetic attempt to begin the indoctrination of Neocons to bring their children up to enjoy the 'heritage' of war rather than peace.

There was good reason for pessimism. The British had driven Gen. George Washington and his men out of New York and across New Jersey. In early December, with the British on their heels, the Americans had commandeered every boat they could find to escape across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. They were starving, sick and cold. The artist Charles Willson Peale, watching the landing from the Pennsylvania shore, described a soldier dressed "in an old dirty blanket jacket, his beard long and his face so full of sores that he could not clean it." So disfigured was the man, Peale wrote, that at first he did not recognize him as his brother James.
The Cheney's came to serve the USA with a $3 million debt in income tax, developed a lawsuit by the stockholders of Halliburton after Dickey cooked the books and invaded a sovereign nation to relieve them of their liability with Halliburton.

She cares little price others have to pay in order for she and her spouse to conduct their lives of indulgence into power and money.

In these desperate circumstances, George Washington made a stunning decision: to go back across the Delaware and launch a surprise attack on the Hessian mercenaries occupying Trenton. On Christmas night, he led 2,400 men, many of them with their feet wrapped in rags because they had no shoes, to a crossing point nine miles upstream from Trenton. As freezing temperatures turned rain to sleet and snow, they began to cross the river.

NOW.

In order to survive the Cheney Scandal, Halliburton wants to dump KBR.

I suggest Lynn and Dick encourage their chronies to 'deed' their found fortune in the Iraqi desert to the Iraqi government as a holiday surprise.

Perhaps then the people of Iraq and not the people of Halliburton will have jobs.

The task was harder than any of them had imagined. Men had to break through ice to get into the boats and then fend off chunks of floating ice once they were in the river. Getting cannons across - each weighed nearly a ton - was especially difficult. Downstream, two other groups that Washington had ordered to cross the Delaware failed in their mission. But Washington and his men persevered, until finally, at 4 o'clock in the morning, they were across and ready to march to Trenton.

Then.

The troops can come home to leave the Iraqis to find a way to live together rather than oppose each other.

They had planned to approach Trenton before dawn, but the difficulty of the crossing had delayed them, and it was daylight when they encountered the first Hessians. Still, the surprise worked, and in two hours, with few losses of their own, they captured nearly 900 of the enemy. "This is a glorious day for our country," Washington declared.

His men were exhausted after the battle, and many of them, their enlistments expired, decided to go home. But many others stayed with Washington as he decided to keep fighting. When he learned that thousands of British and Hessian troops were heading toward Trenton from Princeton, a pretty college town to the north, he deployed his troops along the south side of Assunpink Creek. He also sent a force to the north side of the creek to slow down the advancing enemy. Near evening on Jan. 2, 1777, when these delaying forces had done all they could, they ran for a narrow bridge that crossed the creek - and saw Washington waiting there for them. "I pressed against the shoulder of the general's horse and in contact with the boot of the general," a private remembered years later. "The horse stood as firm as the rider."

Gen. Charles Cornwallis, the British commander, decided he could wait to attack the Americans. "We've got the old fox safe now," he is supposed to have said of Washington. "We'll go over and bag him in the morning." But Washington had other plans. He knew that Cornwallis had brought most of his troops with him, which meant that there would be far fewer of the enemy at Princeton. That night, with men and officers enjoined to silence and cannon wheels muffled with rags, Washington led the main body of his army on a march around Cornwallis's troops toward Princeton. It was dawn before Cornwallis realized they were gone.

The first encounter of the two armies on farmland outside Princeton did not go well for the Americans. Many were killed, and the dazed survivors retreated, but Washington rallied his troops with the bravery for which he was becoming legendary and led them to within 30 yards of the British line. Once the two sides started firing, it seemed impossible that he would survive, but when the smoke cleared, there he was, straight and tall astride his white horse. With a great shout, the Americans began to advance. The British fell back and then ran. "Bring up the troops," Washington called to an aide. "The day is our own."

Twice in 10 days Washington and his ragtag army had defeated the greatest military power in the world, and their victories lifted the spirits of patriots everywhere. True, the years ahead would be hard - Christmas 1777 would find Washington and his men at Valley Forge. But because of the 10-day campaign that began on Christmas 1776, Americans could now think of winning their war for independence. They could imagine that their great struggle would have a glorious end.

Going for a Halliburton
By David Teather
04-10-04

It must have seemed like a terrific stroke of luck: Dick Cheney, the man who for the past five years had been the CEO of Halliburton, became the vice-president in 2000. The oil services and engineering company was given a direct line to the White House.

But Halliburton's relationship with the Bush administration is beginning to prove more problematic than it is worth. The company admitted that it was considering selling Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), the division carrying out billions of dollars worth of work for the US government in Iraq, in a desperate attempt to get out of the spotlight. It is considering a sale, spin-off or a separate listing for the business on the stock exchange
. http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cnn44338.htm
Lynne Cheney, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of "When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots."

The Authority

Scientist: 'No question' on global warming

By CHARLES J. HANLEY
AP Special Correspondent
12/15/2004

Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra K. Pachauri smiles at an interview during the 10th International Convention on Climate Change in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday Dec. 14, 2004. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- The world's chief climate scientist on Tuesday disputed the U.S. government contention that cutbacks in carbon dioxide emissions are not yet warranted to check global warming.

Experts readied a report, meanwhile, saying 2004 will be one of the warmest years on record.

"The science says you've got to reduce emissions," Rajendra K. Pachauri told The Associated Press in an interview midway through a two-week international climate conference.

The Kyoto Protocol, the international accord requiring cuts in carbon dioxide, "is driven by the need to reduce emissions, and on that there is no question," said Pachauri, chairman of a U.N.-sponsored network of climatologists.

Scientists largely blame the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere for the rising temperatures of the past century.

The 10 warmest years globally, since records were first kept in the 19th century, have all occurred since 1990, the top three since 1998. Specialists here this week will issue a report saying 2004 ranks as the fourth- or fifth-warmest year recorded.

Conference delegates from dozens of nations are fine-tuning the workings of the Kyoto pact, which takes effect Feb. 16. It sets targets for 30 industrial nations -- excluding the nonparticipating United States and Australia -- to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases, most importantly carbon dioxide, a byproduct of coal, oil and gasoline use.

The United States is a member of the umbrella U.N. treaty on climate change, and it signed that treaty's Kyoto Protocol in 1997. But President Bush renounced the Kyoto agreement in 2001, saying emission reductions would hurt the U.S. economy.

Before leaving for the annual climate-treaty talks, U.S. negotiator Harlan Watson told reporters in Washington that the United States -- the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide -- would eventually stop the growth in its emissions "as the science justifies."

After arriving here, he said the Kyoto Protocol's approach was "not based on science."

Asked about Watson's statements, Pachauri was emphatic.

"The science says you've got to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The science says you've got to stabilize concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," he said. "What may be subject to uncertainty and subject to debate is who is to reduce how much."

As chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Indian scientist oversees the work of hundreds of specialists who regularly assess the latest research on climate change and its likely effects.

In its last major report, in 2001, the panel projected that global temperatures in the 21st century would increase by 3 to 10 degrees, depending on many factors, including how quickly and deeply gas emissions were cut back.

Warming is predicted to cause greater extremes in temperature and disrupt global climate, possibly drying out farmlands, stirring up fiercer storms and raising ocean levels, among other impacts, the panel said.

One of the world's leading climate institutes, the British government's Hadley Center, issued a report at the conference Tuesday on work done to narrow the uncertainties, by running many dozens more model scenarios through its supercomputers.

It said temperatures would most likely rise by an additional 5 degrees by later this century if the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere doubles from its pre-industrial levels -- a probable scenario if emissions are not controlled.

Pachauri said the evidence of change is everywhere -- in the doubling of extreme weather events recorded by the World Meteorological Organization, in the melting of glaciers worldwide, and in the one-degree global temperature rise of the past century.

"The evidence is so strong, the observations so strong, it's very difficult to close your eyes to it," he said. "I was born in the mountains in India. I've seen the kinds of changes that have taken place with snow cover, with the seasons, with the extent of warming, precipitation patterns, the impact on forests."

Delegations at the conference are searching for ways to bring the United States into the Kyoto process and acceptance of mandatory reductions in gases. Besides the economic argument, Bush complained that some poor but rapidly industrializing nations, such as China and India, were not obligated by Kyoto's short-term targets.

Pachauri said he was heartened by the actions of individual U.S. states, particularly in the U.S. Northeast, to impose carbon-dioxide reductions on power plants, for example.

"I think the next round of action will only come from an acceptance of the science," he said.

The Neocon's Faux Theocracy

December 23, 2004
OP-ED COLUMNIST

Christmas Eve of Destruction
By MAUREEN DOWD

In Iraq, as Yogi Berra would say, the future ain't what it used to be.

Now that the election's over, our leaders think it's safe to experiment with a little candor.
President Bush has finally acknowledged that the Iraqis can't hack it as far as securing their own country, which means, of course, that America has no exit strategy for its troops, who will soon number 150,000.

News organizations led with the story, even though the president was only saying something that everybody has known to be true for a year. The White House's policy on Iraq has gone from a total charade to a limited modified hangout. Mr. Bush is conceding the obvious, that the Iraqi security forces aren't perfect, so he doesn't have to concede the truth: that Iraq is now so dire no one knows how or when we can get out.

If this fiasco ever made sense to anybody, it doesn't any more.

John McCain, who lent his considerable credibility to Mr. Bush during the campaign and vouched for the president and his war, now concedes that he has no confidence in Donald Rumsfeld.
And Rummy admitted yesterday that his feelings got hurt when people accused him of being insensitive to the fact that he arrogantly sent his troops into a sinkhole of carnage - a vicious, persistent insurgency - without the proper armor, equipment, backup or preparation.

The subdued defense chief further admitted that despite all the American kids who gave their lives in Mosul on the cusp of Christmas, battling an enemy they can't see in a war fought over weapons that didn't exist, we're not heading toward the democratic halcyon Mr. Bush promised.
"I think looking for a peaceful Iraq after the elections would be a mistake," Mr. Rumsfeld said.
His disgraceful admission that his condolence letters to the families of soldiers killed in Iraq were signed by machine - "I have directed that in the future I sign each letter," he said in a Strangelovian statement - is redolent of the myopia that has led to the dystopia.

The Bushies are betting a lot on the January election, even though a Shiite-dominated government will further alienate the Sunnis - and even though Iraq may be run by an Iranian-influenced ayatollah. That would mean that Iraq would have a leadership legitimized by us to hate us.

International election observers say it's too dangerous to actually come in and monitor the vote in person; they're going to "assess" the vote from the safety of Amman, Jordan. Isn't that like refereeing a football game while sitting in a downtown bar?

The administration hopes that once the Iraqis understand they have their own government, that will be a turning point and they will realize their country is worth fighting for. But this is the latest in a long list of turning points that turn out to be cul-de-sacs.

From the capture of Saddam to the departure of Paul Bremer and the assault on Falluja, there have been many false horizons for peace.

The U.S. military can't even protect our troops when they're eating lunch in a supposedly secure space - even after the Mosul base commanders had been warned of a "Beirut-style" attack three weeks before - because the Iraqi security forces and support staff have been infiltrated by insurgency spies.

Each milestone, each thing that is supposed to enable us to get some traction and change the basic dynamic in Iraq, comes and goes without the security getting any better. The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that a major U.S. contractor, Contrack International Inc., had dropped out of the multibillion-dollar effort to rebuild Iraq, "raising new worries about the country's growing violence and its effect on reconstruction."

The Bush crowd thought it could get in, get out, scare the Iranians and Syrians, and remove the bulk of our forces within several months.

But now we're in, and it's the allies, contractors and election watchdogs who want out.
Aside from his scintilla of candor, Mr. Bush is still not leveling with us. As he said at his press conference on Monday, "the enemies of freedom" know that "a democratic Iraq will be a decisive blow to their ambitions because free people will never choose to live in tyranny."

They may choose to live in a theocracy, though. Americans did.

E-mail: liberties@nytimes.com

..................................................................................


elisa2005 - 12:36 PM ET December 23, 2004 (#42882 of 42927)
Bush has no American Mandate, produced nearly 1400 Dead AmericanTroops, insoluable debt while CIA, FBI & State Dept. say Bush is losing war.

Stop plagarizing each other and report REALITY instead of trumped up 'realism.'
It never ceases to amaze me how foolish paid journalists are, especially those that get 'the bucks' in their editorialships. And believe me there is not one of you that clearly speaks for me. Not found one yet especially one I can turn my back on long enough not to pander to the Neo-Nazi in power in the Oval Office.

The USA military will continue their foolish pursuit of 'staying the course' in Iraq until they reach the number of 200 thousand troops as prescribed by the wisely retired General Shinseki. Bubba Bush is convinced the good general is right and will wait patiently while Rumsfeld finds more varied and inventive ways to enforce his 'Back Door Draft.' It is the Commander and Chief's belief that when the force is where it should be then all will be under control.

"W"rong. Those estimates by Shinseki were made prior to the invasion in anticipation of securing all the ammo bunkers as well as the towns of Fallujah and Baghdad. Those estimates were made while there still was no organized militias that now dominate the military scene in Iraq. The Iraqis will win. They are determined to rid themselves of 'infidels.'

Oh, there will be an election but that will mean just as much as when sovereignty changed to Iraq's governing council. If there is leadership pleasing to the 'theocratic' Iraq such as al Sadr the elections might mean something but if the government looks like 'The West' when all is said and done it won't mean a darn thing. That 'illusion' of success is what the people of Iraq are counting on as the first set of elections for 100 representatives turned out to be an election of 82 or so as there were pre-appointed candidates from Georgie's Iraq Governing Council that were needed to maintain HIS interests in Iraq.

"Mr. Bush is conceding the obvious, that the Iraqi security forces aren't perfect, so he doesn't have to concede the truth: that Iraq is now so dire no one knows how or when we can get out."

continued...

elisa2005 - 12:38 PM ET December 23, 2004 (#42884 of 42927)

Bush has no American Mandate, produced nearly 1400 Dead AmericanTroops, insoluable debt while CIA, FBI & State Dept. say Bush is losing war.

continued from 42882

Ms. Dowd, were the Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein ever sufficient to keep order in that country? No. They never were. The Iraqi military was out gunned and out missiled in Gulf War I. There were stories that came back from that ? Conflict ? Stating Iraqi forces were dressed in their best 'Sunday Go to Meetin' clothes as they were hauled off the Saturday Night dance floor, handed a gun and told to go protect Saddam. The Iraqi military marched into the 'waiting arms' of the USA with their hands in the air longing for a good meal. Now, did you research that and bring that to your editiorial for perspective? No. I didn't think so. Now, what were you saying then about a NEW IRAQI force is the 'dreamscape' of the propagandist George Walker Bush. IN other words the NEW IRAQI military will forego the prayers five times a day to rigorously train and stand by the nation of their birth to defend it from any and all foreign invaders with life and limb?

Oh, you didn't say Iraq was being invaded from the outside except for the USA Coalition. Oh, I see. Your assertion was that the Iraqi military needed to protect and defend the returning exiles from the rebel force that was the former citizens of Fallujah where Saddam housed his military and intelligence network. Oh. Is that the issue?

Well. You know civil war is civil war, babe and if the majority of the people of Iraq back the rebels there ain't nothing a million soldiers are going to do to stop them. The people of Iraq has already made their investments. There are over 100,000 dead of which are primarily women and children. That is quite an investment into overtaking the government to instill an Iraqi government to their liking. See, if you remember, Maureen, the west has tried this before. The Brits are real comfortable with the idea of 'colonialism' and that is what Iraq is all about. The colonialization of Iraq to benefit USA fiscal policies through whatever benefit the people of this country might derive from ? Taxes ? Of Halliburton, Bechtel and the like.
Carnage, get used to it. That's all there is in Iraq.

McCain? Criticizing Rumsfeld is the same as criticizing Bush as Georgie came out to back Don over and over again. Heck, according to what I am reading he signed the papers on approving torture methods. Why decent on Rumsfeld when it can be proven Rummy was just carrying the Comander and Chief's orders?

FBI email embroils Bush in jail abuse

Correspondents in Washington
December 23, 2004

THE White House says it expects new documented accounts of torture at Guantanamo Bay to be "fully investigated", but has denied claims George W. Bush personally approved the use of abusive methods against detainees at the US prison camp.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story [...]

continued...

elisa2005 - 12:39 PM ET December 23, 2004 (#42886 of 42927)
Bush has no American Mandate, produced nearly 1400 Dead AmericanTroops, insoluable debt while CIA, FBI & State Dept. say Bush is losing war.
continued from 42884

There ya go, "I think looking for a peaceful Iraq after the elections would be a mistake," Mr. Rumsfeld said. That's right. But, because we are not seeing Iraq as a colony we are not conceding we will never be removed from Iraq. Never. Either we get out alive or spend our entire future as a country in conflict with generation after generation of Iraqi, killing until the average citizen is either 'Western Cookie Cutter' or to young to bear children.

Sinkhole is a good word. Black hole is another. Void is even better and less conflict of interest with other words in the journalistic rhelm already in use.

What makes you think anyone is signing letters to the family of dead people if they won't let the press into Dover?

You are probably correct about the Shi'ites as they have one heck of religious leader who fears no one and everyone fears him. Allawi kissed al Sistani's surgical wounds as soon as he arrived to stop the slaughter at Najaf. The man is somebody. The Shi'ites will find good representation. But. What does that do to the rest of the ethnicity in Iraq? Does it bond them together in common good? No. Without adequate representation it places groups like the Sunnis in conflict with those that did well in their representation. Hence, a still greater burgeoning civil war. Except. The Grand Ayatollah is a devoutly peaceful leader who is responsible for keeping many, many of his flock alive under Saddam including the much endangered Cleric al Sadr who is the last of his lineage. I am pleased the Grand Ayatollah has been the 'fortress' of protection for his younger cleric. Al Sadr has a place in Islam as well as Iraq, his heritage demands expression. So, if the Grand Ayatollah al Sistani can achieve 'peace' after the elections it will a remarkable feat that will completely justify the expulsion of the USA Coalition from Iraq. Iraq will then no longer need a huge and strong military as the area nations have little to regard as important to invade as the old regime of death has been removed from the threat to their countries. "Pie in the Sky, Ms. Dowd?" I thought the same thing when I pleaded with the Grand Ayatollah for the lives of the people and militia of Najaf. It came to pass didn't it?

What bothers me about 'journalists' is that none of you are willing to call a Spade a Spade but pander to approval in a way that is supposed to win support among somebody, perhaps the opposition. You see, if journalists reported 'the truth' of the situation you would all sound like Michael Moore, but, then where would Mike be?

The TRUTH, Ms. Dowd, is that the USA is looking at the 'Grand Scheme' of a pathetic man that never was successful in his life until he was able to corral the Evangelical Christians into believing the Second Coming was coming and He would bring it to him.

In the case of Iraq, most definitely there is a theocracy. In the case of the USA? A Theocracy? I guess. It seems more a dictatorship with the real will of the people diverted to those that serve the financial ends of the ruling class. It is not so much a theocracy, in fact, as it is in faux. If in fact it was a theocracy we won't be pretending there was no such thing as Global Warming and you all would never know who I was.

Relish that thought.

Relish that thought.

Relish that thought.

Let there be no doubt !!

Earth's Enemy - The Neocons

The Neocons, or Neo-Conservatives, is a poltical designation of the Repug(b)lican Party of the United States of America. In the recent year, 2004, it has come to represent a majority of that party in elected officials. The Neocons are repugnant people.

The leadership in the White House are all Neocons. They practice Christian Humanism ( http://mb-soft.com/believe/txn/chrishum.htm) but are not Chrisitans ( http://www.iclnet.org/ ).

Neocons share a strong identity with the Ku Klux Klan (http://www.kkk.bz/index1.htm) also known as the KKK. Neocons are White Supremists and Segregationists as demonstrated by George Walker Bush's affiliation with Bob Jones University (http://www.bju.edu/), where is appeared with his spouse, his Vice Presidential Candidate, Dick Cheney and Cheney's spouse.

The writings of Bob Jones University significantly indicate hatred and bias to Neocons ( http://dks.thing.net/Bob_Jones_University.html). In the case of the candidacy of George Walker Bush there is significant manipulation of images to achieve the goal to President of the USA (http://www.bushnews.com/jews.htm) as engineered by Karl (Marx) Rove through a concept called "Jesus-baiting." After taking office Reverend Bob Jones wrote a letter to George Walker Bush and in it is stated:

..."God has graciously granted America -- though she doesn't deserve it -- a reprieve from the agenda of paganism. Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ." (http://valleyadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:90376)

To further validate the racism affiliated with Neocons one needs only to reflect on Bush's choices of minority such as Colin Powell and then to realize he was never respected by the power brokers of Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush.

Neocons such as Gale Norton (http://www.doi.gov/welcome.html) have no regard for the natural world except what can be exploited for wealth. She has opened the doors of The Interior Department to business interests with little regard for legislative documents protecting our heritage suchas The Endangered Species Act, The Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Her record of destruction is significant (http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/norton/nortoninx.asp).

The other aspect of any self respecting Neocon is the manipulative hatred of Israel. Bush has an agenda for Israel that includes taking apart some of the finest Jewish Charities this country has to offer. It isn't as though the Ashcroft State Department came with specific warrants so much as fact finding warrants to 'find' something wrong rather than 'proving' something wrong.

Over a period of time Bush's Anti-semitism has taken shape.

First he denied Israel loan guarantees granted and agreed to years ago, however, the administration suggests $20 million in aid will help Palestinian reformers. Supposedly Israel is to forgive the matter of loan guarantees because a portion of the $20 million will be paid to Israel by Palestine for services over the years. That is still penalizing Israel when the loan guarantees were a separate issue to the payment of Palestinian debt.


Administration suggests $20 million in aid will help Palestinian reformers

By Matthew E. Berger

WASHINGTON Nov. 23 (JTA) — The Bush administration is lobbying Congress to approve a plan to give $20 million to the Palestinian Authority ahead of Palestinian presidential elections — or at least, not to oppose the aid.

http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticl [...]

Bush Gives $20 Mln to Palestinians for Israeli Bills

Wed Dec 8, 2004 02:59 PM ET

By Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Wednesday approved $20 million in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority to help pay its Israeli utility bills after key lawmakers objected to plans to use the money for presidential elections in January and to pay Palestinian salaries.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7031979

Mounting Scandal at Aipac Prompts Talk of Lobbying Powerhouse's Demise
Officials Called By Grand Jury

By Ori Nir
December 10, 2004

WASHINGTON — With senior officials at America's top pro-Israel organization facing the specter of federal indictments, staffers at other groups are beginning to waver in their support and are warning that the mounting legal scandal could damage the political credibility of the entire Jewish community.

The doubts were prompted by last week's FBI raid of the offices of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and by news that four of its top officials had been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury. In particular, the doubters said, the decision of a federal prosecutor to turn to a grand jury on a matter involving Aipac was ominous and severely undermined the organization's claim that it was the victim of a few rogue investigators.

..."This is not a fishing expedition," he said. "It's clear to me they have some specific information which is leading them in a specific direction."

http://www.forward.com/main/article.php?ref=nir200412081101

Michael Moore - Always Seeking Justice

December 28, 2004

December 27th, 2004 11:20 pm

Pentagon: Rumsfeld misspoke on Flight 93 crash; Defense secretary's remark to troops fuels conspiracy theories

From Jamie McIntyreCNN Washington

A comment Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made during a Christmas Eve address to U.S. troops in Baghdad has sparked new conspiracy theories about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.



December 27, 2004

Rumsfeld Forgets Sept. 11 Heroes

(Did somebody say "let's roll"?)

"And I think all of us have a sense if we imagine the kind of world we would face if the people who bombed the mess hall in Mosul, or the people who did the bombing in Spain, or the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania and attacked the Pentagon, the people who cut off peoples' heads on television to intimidate, to frighten -- indeed the word "terrorized" is just that. Its purpose is to terrorize, to alter behavior, to make people be something other than that which they want to be." -- Donald Rumsfeld, December, 24th, 2004

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

December 26th, 2004 4:19 pm

Top Iraqi General: Troops Willing to Fight
By Bassem Mroue / Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's top general on Sunday rejected President Bush's criticism that some Iraqi government troops were unwilling to fight insurgents and have deserted the battlefield, saying the president had been misinformed.

I am quite certain Iraq's top general is absolutely correct in his estimation of George Walker Bush the Commander and Chief of the USA military and NOT the Iraqi military. INDEED !!

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=716


December 25th, 2004 6:33 pm

Bush Calls Service Members to Thank Them

By Deb Riechmann / Associated Press

Stationed on the farthest island in Alaska's Aleutians, Coast Guard Fireman Michael Joseph feels like he's living at the end of the earth. But he wasn't too far away to receive a Christmas Eve greeting from President Bush.

http://www.michaelmoore.co/words/index.php?id=704

As a side note to this entry there were plans for the Bushies to meet in Florida. For some reason that has changed.

Michael Moore Link of the Week

Monday, December 20th, 2004

Buy Blue

You may have voted blue... But every day you unknowingly help dump millions of dollars into the conservative war chest. By purchasing products and services from companies that donate heavily to conservatives, we have been defeating our own interests as liberals and progressives.
BuyBlue.org is a concerted effort to lift the veil of corporate patronage so consumers can make informed buying decisions that coincide with their principles.

BUY BLUE

http://buyblue.org/current_campaign.html

In Today's America there is a more powerful act than voting blue, and that's BUYING BLUE!

Michael Moore Today (12.23.04)

December 23rd, 2004 12:34 pm

New Michael Moore project gives drug companies a sick feeling

By Elaine Dutka / Los Angeles Times

America's pharmaceutical industry is putting out an advisory about the latest potential threat to its health: Michael Moore.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=690

Main Page :: Rumsfeld Always on the Defensive

December 20th, 2004 2:14 pm

Deputy Homeland Security Chief to Retire
By Leslie Miller / Associated Press

WASHINGTON - James Loy, the No. 2 official at the Homeland Security Department and former head of the Transportation Security Administration, is retiring, the agency announced Monday.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=648

THE MARCH OF FREEDOMA bigshot in the main Nicaraguan opposition political party runs into problems with the Department of Homeland security. So long as you aren't a Central American leftist, you women will have a "modified patdown" at the airport. And despite budget problems, Big Brother shuttles off to Hawaii. What sort of commission does a travel agent get for booking a $23 million getaway?

http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php

Michael Moore Today (12.22.04)

Ohio: A Crime Against Democracy

http://www.michaelmoore.com/index.php

December 21st, 2004 1:02 pm

Ohio: A Crime Against Democracy

By Stuart Comstock-Gay / Tom Paine

The Bush electors in Ohio have cast their votes, even though the bitterly contested ballots that allegedly gave them standing as electors have not been recounted. When asked, the mainstream media will admit that there were rampant problems with this election. But there's no juicy story for them to cover because they don't believe a recount would change the outcome of the election. Thus, they neglect what's happening in Ohio. Here Comstock-Gay explains why it matters. For the best of TomPaine.com's coverage of the problems with election 2004, click here.

Stuart Comstock-Gay is executive director of the National Voting Rights Institute.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=664

Michael presented this case back in December. Evidently, Jeb Bush hasn't been able to resolve the child's issues yet.

Lauren Rainey still waiting to hear from GovernorLast Update: 12/6/2004 2:35:31 PMPosted

By: Bruce Mildwurf
Watch this video

(Mobile, Ala.) December 3 - The story of Lauren Rainey, a 13 year old disabled girl from Mobile, Alabama has gone worldwide and it is still gaining momentum. She is tied to an oxygen machine 24 hours a day. With an artificial breathing tube, an enlarged heart, asthma, bone abnormalities and scoliosis, Alabama Medicaid is threatening to drastically reduce her nursing care.

http://www.waveflux.net/archives/000603.php

A Commitment to Wind Power

Island wind-turbine factory project set to create 80 jobs JOHN ROSS

EIGHTY jobs are expected to be created in the new year when work starts again at a wind- turbine manufacturing base in the Western Isles. The Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) network has agreed terms with Camcal, formerly Cambrian Caledonian, to lease the former oil-fabrication yard at Arnish, near Stornoway, as part of a multi-million-pound project to establish an operation producing steel towers and other equipment for the renewables industry.

Wind giant sets course for 10 per cent growth

SPANISH wind power firm Gamesa has said it expects net profit to fall four per cent in 2005 but to turn around after that and grow at more than ten per cent a year. Net profit is expected to come in at £150 million next year, which is lower than this year because no one-off windpark sales are included in the forecast. In 2004, the firm booked £18.22m in one-off profit.

http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=605&id=1375252004

Green power will be hit by rates system, claims electricity industry
JAMES REYNOLDS, ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT

PROPOSED rate changes for electricity-generating companies to be announced by the Executive today amount to a "stealth tax" on householders’ domestic bills, and will unfairly penalise the growing renewables industry north of the Border, according to industry representatives.

Previously, industry sector rates were considered and decided by the Executive under a scheme known as prescription. However, with the introduction of a policy to end this method of taxation, the rates of industries will, from next April, be set by the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA).

http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=605&id=1404132004

Wind farms add to crisis for diving

SHARON WARD

SCOTLAND’S rapid expansion of offshore wind farms and a rejuvenated North Sea oil industry have led to skill shortages, including an urgent demand for commercial divers. With as many as 200 windmills set to appear in Scottish waters to meet increasing energy demands, the provision of divers for maintenance and servicing work will also come directly from the North Sea oil and gas sector, putting pressure on an already depleted diving community.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=1412402004

Important Earth Events

Sustainable Development

Peace Prize winner welcomed to Oslo

Wangari Maathai of Kenya arrived in Oslo this week to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. She's a controversial winner, but she was warmly welcomed by the Nobel Committee and a host of dignitaries.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai was welcomed to Oslo by the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Geir Lundestad, on Wednesday.

Maathai, who won the prize for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace," has a busy schedule while in Oslo. On Thursday she met reporters and criticized the US' war against terror.

She noted that Kenya has experienced several terrorist attacks, "so we know what terror means." She claimed, however, that today's war against terrorism was unfortunate because innocent victims were dying. She said she sought better ways of solving conflicts.

Maathai, a government minister in Kenya, also said she regretted making earlier remarks that offended some of Kenya's native peoples. She's been criticized for an alleged lack of sensitivity to Kenya's aborigines.

Maathai faced a series of meetings and appearances before she was to be formally awarded the Nobel Peace Prize during a traditional 1pm ceremony at City Hall.

The ceremony will be followed by an interview on CNN and then she'll be hailed by another traditional event, a torchlight parade through downtown Oslo that ends in front of the Grand Hotel, where the Peace Prize winner traditionally stays.

The Nobel banquet will also be held at the Grand Hotel Friday night. On Saturday afternoon, Maathai will be the guest of honor at a Peace Prize Performance conducted by Oslo schools, and then she'll also be the guest of honor at the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert.

The concert, at the Oslo Spektrum arena, is being hosted this year by American talk show host Oprah Winfrey and actor Tom Cruise. Performers will include Tony Bennet, Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli, Patti LaBelle, Sondre Lerch and Cyndi Lauper.

The Risks were known to Halliburton and it's Employees.

(This post was made while Jim Morrison is playing with the Doors, 'Babe Light My Fire.' The unedited version.)

We don't belong in Iraq. We never did. We are there to bail Dick Cheney out of trouble with his stockholders.

The stockholders are responsible for their own greed. Not the American people. The Iraqi people never asked for 'Freedom and Democracy' the exiles like Chaibi did.

Halliburton's Sacrifice - A Relief for Richard Cheney, Vice President of the USA

New York Sun Staff EditorialDecember 22, 2004

News that among those killed in the attack at Mosul, Iraq, yesterday were seven Halliburton workers prompted us to recall some of the political criticism leveled at the company during the presidential campaign. "Halliburton got billions in no bid contracts in Iraq. Dick Cheney got $2 million. What did we get? A $200 billion bill for Iraq. Lost jobs. Rising health care costs.

.....................

It is easy to see how bad Vice President Cheney feels regarding his former employees.

Posted on Wed, Dec. 22, 2004

Cheney hunts ducks in Lowcountry
Associated Press

WALTERBORO, S.C. - Vice President Dick Cheney made a special trip to South Carolina to hunt ducks in the ACE Basin with a group of elected officials from the state, Colleton County authorities say.

Cheney arrived in a military helicopter at the Pon Pon Plantation Monday night and left before lunch Tuesday, said sheriff's Maj. Steve Bazzle.

"It wasn't a state visit," Bazzle said. "He just came in to do a little bit of duck hunting and left."
The vice president was joined by Republicans Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Jim DeMint, on the brief but secretive trip, though spokesmen for the officials declined to confirm or deny the reports.

Because Cheney has a heart condition, a Colleton County EMS ambulance was on the property throughout his visit.

Pon Pon is a large, private estate in the ACE Basin owned by George Dean Johnson. It sits adjacent to the Hope Plantation, which belongs to media mogul Ted Turner. Johnson is an entrepreneur and former state legislator.

Despite the secrecy, local residents said they couldn't help but notice the large volume of cars with tinted windows driving back and forth on Bear Island Road, a dirt path that leads to the plantation.

Bazzle, who said authorities prepared for about a week before the visit, said he's glad it went off without a hitch. "Nothing happened and I'm happy," he said.
---
Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.charleston.net

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/10472769.htm

...................................................................

From the Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, New York on December 22, 2004

Letter: Think peace, and bring troops home from Iraq

In this spiritual time of the year, and after the religious showing in the November election, it would seem appropriate to actively seek peace in the horrible war against Iraq.

While large corporations such as Halliburton and Bechtel rake in billions of our hard-earned tax dollars from everybody's paychecks, U.S. soldiers and the people of Iraq are dying. Where is the death toll noted in our media of the women and children of Iraq? Where is the consideration of what we are doing to our younger generation?

The vice president's company should be there for peace, not for spending our money in the black hole of war. After all, as the head of Halliburton, Dick Cheney became the head of President Bush's committee to find a vice president. And look whom he chose.

So, while looking out at our beautiful snow-covered fields, and while thinking of the true meaning of this season, we should think of peace. If the American people want peace, it will happen. Bring our young people home now.

LEIF E. WINTER

HALLSTEAD, PA.

http://www.pressconnects.com/today/opinion/stories/op122204s137490.shtml

The Truth About Iraq - The Reason we are there that no one else will tell you.

The Editorial that Spawned the Definition and Ridicule

War on the Cheap
By BOB HERBERT
Published: December 20, 2004

Greg Rund was a freshman at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in 1999 when two students shot and killed a teacher, a dozen of their fellow students and themselves. Mr. Rund survived that horror, but he wasn't able to survive the war in Iraq. The 21-year-old Marine lance corporal was killed on Dec. 11 in Falluja.

The people who were so anxious to launch the war in Iraq are a lot less enthusiastic about properly supporting the troops who are actually fighting, suffering and dying in it. Corporal Rund was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. Because of severe military personnel shortages, large numbers of troops are serving multiple tours in the war zone, and many are having their military enlistments involuntarily extended.

Troops approaching the end of their tours in Iraq are frequently dealt the emotional body blow of unexpected orders blocking their departure for home. "I've never seen so many grown men cry," said Paul Rieckhoff, a former infantry platoon leader who founded Operation Truth, an advocacy group for soldiers and veterans.

"Soldiers will do whatever you ask them to do," said Mr. Rieckhoff. "But when you tell them the finish line is here, and then you keep moving it back every time they get five meters away from it, it starts to really wear on them. It affects morale."

We don't have enough troops because we are fighting the war on the cheap. The Bush administration has refused to substantially expand the volunteer military and there is no public support for a draft. So the same troops head in and out of Iraq, and then back in again, as if through a revolving door. That naturally heightens their chances of being killed or wounded.
A reckoning is coming. The Army National Guard revealed last Thursday that it had missed its recruiting goals for the past two months by 30 percent. Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, who heads the National Guard Bureau, said: "We're in a more difficult recruiting environment, period. There's no question that when you have a sustained ground combat operation going that the Guard's participating in, that makes recruiting more difficult."

Just a few days earlier, the chief of the Army Reserve, Lt. Gen. James Helmly, told The Dallas Morning News that recruiting was in a "precipitous decline" that, if not reversed, could lead to renewed discussions about reinstatement of the draft.

The Bush administration, which has asked so much of the armed forces, has established a pattern of dealing in bad faith with its men and women in uniform. The callousness of its treatment of the troops was, of course, never more clear than in Donald Rumsfeld's high-handed response to a soldier's question about the shortages of battle armor in Iraq.

As the war in Iraq goes more and more poorly, the misery index of the men and women serving there gets higher and higher. More than 1,300 have been killed. Many thousands are coming home with agonizing wounds. Scott Shane of The Times reported last week that according to veterans' advocates and military doctors, the already hard-pressed system of health care for veterans "is facing a potential deluge of tens of thousands of soldiers returning from Iraq with serious mental health problems brought on by the stress and carnage of war."

Through the end of September, nearly 900 troops had been evacuated from Iraq by the Army for psychiatric reasons, included attempts or threatened attempts at suicide. Dr. Stephen C. Joseph, an assistant secretary of defense for health affairs from 1994 to 1997, said, "I have a very strong sense that the mental health consequences are going to be the medical story of this war."

When the war in Afghanistan as well as Iraq is considered, some experts believe that the number of American troops needing mental health treatment could exceed 100,000.

From the earliest planning stages until now, the war in Iraq has been a tragic exercise in official incompetence. The original rationale for the war was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The estimates of required troop strength were wrong. The war hawks' guesses about the response of the Iraqi people were wrong. The cost estimates were wrong, and on and on.
Nevertheless the troops have fought valiantly, and the price paid by many has been horrific. They all deserve better than the bad faith and shoddy treatment they are receiving from the highest officials of their government.

"From the earliest planning stages until now, the war in Iraq has been a tragic exercise in official incompetence. The original rationale for the war was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The estimates of required troop strength were wrong. The war hawks' guesses about the response of the Iraqi people were wrong. The cost estimates were wrong, and on and on."

MY REPLY

With all due respect, Mr. Herbert, I am tired of playing around with the 'DENIAL' this country is experiencing regarding this entire episode of USA ?History? or should I say TRAVESTY.

Iraq is about Halliburton. It is about Cheney's Liability to those stockholders.

That is ALL it is about, Mr. Herbert.

Plain and simple.

There were no weapons of mass destruction before we invaded that country. THAT was made plainly obvious by the United Nations Security Council's Inspectors. They found nothing. They tested everything including the dust at the site where Colin Powell TESTIFIED there were WMD production.

There was NOTHING, Mr. Herbert.

NOTHING. Your Judith Miller fell into the habit of promoting the propaganda of the Bush White House to secure an invasion. She never looked outside her undisclosed sources in The White House to VALIDATE 'The Truth.' ( http://www.fair.org/extra/0411/stenographers.html)

The media has allowed the brainwashing of this country rather than coming down on the Bush White House like a ton of bricks unrelenting to 'The Truth' and the best interest of the USA and Iraq. Iraq has support from every area nation including Saudi Arabia. If the USA were to step out of the situation the surrounding nations would intervene with assistance.

WHY has the media allowed brainwashing of the people of this country? Why did you become such a willing part of the propaganda? What did we ever do to all of you?

You have allowed a dictator for self profit, namely Bush, to seduce of you into to thinking he was actually in pursuit of someone that attacked this country. Many of you believe there is virtue in Bush's continued occupation of Iraq while Halliburton secures profits to bail Cheney out of obligation to it's stockholders. Who's side are you on? Bin Laden and his al Qaeda Network has won while you distracted everyone with the terror of Iraq's War. Iraq, a country that was never a threat to the USA. Ever.

Osama bin Laden has won his fiscal attack on the USA. Bush fell right into the pattern of spend and pursue the enemy actually thinking as delusional as the American Press that all would be okay if you could all just 'get on top of it.' Just as the press believes they can turn the country around to prevent further descent from the people who know 'The Truth.' It was easy for Bush, who has failed at every job he's had including serving in the Air National Guard to continue to fail.

In Afghanistan, "Kabul is Afghanistan" as the rest of the country is still dominated by Opium Warlords. And yesterday Iceland, a coalition member, had three of their Peacekeepers attacked.

Iceland, Mr. Herbert? Iceland?

Do you understand the word, bizarre? The country of Iceland is now moving 'nationalism' to the forefront? Are you all the complete idiots for playing Iceland out to be this 'tough and committed' country of the coalition? What difference does it make if Iceland sends there entire country to Afghanistan? This is a joke, Mr. Herbert. A completely and desperately stupid Bush joke on this country.

Iceland? Regardless of the demonstration of 'force' Iceland is showing with their parade of tanks I don't think the people there are in favor of battle. I was in Iceland. I was handed a lapel pin in Icelandic stating "Do you want to bomb Iraq?" It was a demonstration pin in protest of the aggression of the USA.

Iceland is a poor country. All the countries in the USA Coalition have been poor countries until they enlisted for the money dangled in front of their noses. They are incapable of protecting themselves from the violence. That wasn't made clear in Spain the day before their national elections?

Leave Iceland alone. Al Qaeda could destroy that country in one day. Do you understand me? One day. There is a poorly armed USA military base there with nothing but Jumbo C5 Cargo planes. Iceland is a depot and lay over station. There are elements of the Missile Defense Shield there. And now Iceland is being targeted by al Qaeda in Kabul. What does Bush think he is doing?

The Icelandic National Museum is postage size compared to ANY museum in NYC. It is about the size of the third floor of The Whitney.

Mr. Herbert, do you understand this is going nowhere. The New York Times 'article' regarding Iceland is hideous.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/20/international/europe/20reykjavik.html).

Lance Corporal Greg Rund has now joined a majority of the dead in Iraq. A majority in rank of the dead in Iraq. There are more Lance Corporals that die than any other rank.

If I may.

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A trained military policeman/woman normally employed as a member of a Service Police Unit. Trained to think and act independently and to take control in emergencies. Used to shift work and to accepting responsibility. Used to exercising self-discipline and to maintaining high standards of integrity and loyalty.

A Military Policeman or woman is a trained soldier who, apart from military skills, will have received instruction in First Aid, be trained in arrest and restraint techniques and be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.

Throughout his/her service he/she will continually gain experience in conducting and managing crime enquiries and may also have experience in a specialized field such as Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.

A Lance Corporal/Corporal is a trained soldier who has specialist knowledge of the duties and procedures of basic police work. He/she will have basic computer keyboard skills and will have received instruction in First Aid, be trained in arrest and restraint techniques and will be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.

He/she will normally be employed as an individual acting on his/her own initiative or as a member of a small team. He/she will be capable of independent thought and action and will have a high degree of self discipline and confidence. He/she will gain experience in dealing with other people at all levels. He/she will be used to making an objective assessment of a confused situation, arriving at a quick decision and taking effective action to restore a situation to normal.

He/she will be able to carry out basic investigations entailing the interviewing of witnesses and suspected persons, recording of statements and the compilation of related reports.

Selected NCOs will receive specialist training in Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.

He/she will be used to shift work, involving long periods of relative inaction during which time they have to remain alert and be capable of acting decisively should a crisis occur.

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On May 1, 2003, Walker Bush declared the fighting over in Iraq. He declared a victory while standing on a floating landing field. He wasn't standing on Iraqi soil with tens of thousands rejoicing Iraqi citizens applauding his victory. He declared the fighting over so he could continue to conduct a war against the Iraq people while Dick Cheney was bailed out of his indebtedness to the stockholders of Halliburton. He declared the war over so he could send in National Guardsmen to fight a political war of fear and hatred.

The Grand and Wonderful United States of America is fighting against the people of Iraq who have wanted us out of their country since we got there with Military Police, Mr. Herbert.

There are 380 tonnes of explosives disappeared out of the Iraqi desert. The United Nations Security Council is going nuts trying to realize where the 'once contained and secured' stuff is and our troops are being blown up by it. Our National Guard Military Police are being blown up by the SAME stuff that was already secured in the Iraqi desert.

In the Lancet there was a study done of the number of dead Iraqis. The number was 100,000. Of those 100,000 they were primarily women and children. Women and children is what are soldiers are killing in Iraq. Sounds strangely odd, as if we were in a jungle in Vietnam somewhere.

Oh, I said the dirty word, Vietnam. At the height of the killing of USA soldiers in Vietnam the body count was an average of 32 per day. Tell me we haven't reached that much recently.

What's the point to you editorial, Mr. Herbert?

That you are concerned we are racking up causalities because there are too few troops? It's a little late for that isn't it? The Mercury News the other day had an article stating three agencies of the USA government has reported the 'insurgency' (also known as REBELLION) was growing. I mean like, NO CLUE. So you are hearing there is going to be a draft? Why? We won't get anywhere.

The USA under Bush is defeated. Al Qaeda has forced this country into poverty status on a global basis and having done so has won their fiscal battle against the USA. The Iraqi Rebellion has cast doubt on the 'legitimacy' of the INTEGRITY of this country and the greed of the Neocons finally justify their philosophy of War Mongering at any Cost. The Neocons profit personally from their actions within the government.

As for the Iraqi people? They don't want us there. We have insulted their 'INTEGRITY' all too much while they suffer with radiation sickness from USA dirty bomb. The bombs dropped in Iraq have tips laced with radiation. The ground over there is contaminated. The waters of the Tigris is undrinkable but the people have no infrastructure to protect them so they drink the water anyway in order to survive. When one realizes the sickness the Tigris causes, the casualties of the Iraqi rebels with the invasion of Fallujah only pales to the Iraqi peoples real troubles.

The USA is in profound denial. And we are all still thinking it could only happen in post WWI Germany.

Believe it or not, the war in Iraq isn't the worse problem this country faces; Global Warming and Climate Change is.

The media in this country has become pathetic.

I feel sorry for all of you. You are allowing your emperor to send you to jail while you can't even find enough anger to expound the truth to the American people.

As the days go by and 'The True' of the situation becomes less and less blurred, I am finding no solice in reading newsprint that does nothing but panders to an administration in hope of them becoming enlightened while reporting the war as if matter-of-factly appropriate as if the country is really committed to it.

So, you'll excuse me if I don't find a great deal of enthusiasm for newsprint as I did. I think you have all become a bunch of pathetic puppets willing to work with the system, pandering for a survival rather than reeling against the insanity and incompetency of this situation. The American Press have become nothing more than sniveling comfort seekers.

An Introduction to what will be daily posts.

This site will chronicle human activity including reflections of history that have lead to current activity. Hence, not to perpetuate where it demises Earth. There will be comments later after the 'theme' and definition of this blog takes shape.

This is doing some 'catch-up' which will include a volume of other information and opinion before it settles down to JUST a daily entry.

Today in History - December 20, 2004

In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was completed as ownership of the territory was formally transferred from France to the United States during ceremonies in New Orleans.

In 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.

In 1864, Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Ga., as Union Gen. William T. Sherman continued his "March to the Sea."

In 1868 Samuel Harvey was born Firestone, an American industrialist, born in Columbiana County, Ohio. At the age of 27, he became president of the Firestone Rubber Company in Chicago, with which he remained associated for four years. Then in 1900, with 17 workers, he formed the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. He was company president, 1903-32, and board chairman, 1932-35. At the instigation of Firestone the rubber-growing potential of the Philippines and of South America was assessed, and much American capital was invested to develop the rubber industry in those countries. In 1926 Firestone leased 404,686 ha (1 million acres) in Liberia. In the next decade, he established rubber plants on 24,281 hectares (60,000 acres) there. As president (1916-18) of the Rubber Association of America, he directed the conversion of the rubber industry for wartime production during World War I.

The Firestone Library

http://firestone.princeton.edu/

That is where the Map Room is.

In 1879, Thomas A. Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light at Menlo Park, N.J.

In 1922, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed. It remained such until the refusal of the USSR to intervene in Eastern Europe when popular pressure for political transformations there gained steam in 1989. Largely for this reason, reform movements were able to oust Communist governments all across the Soviet bloc. In the most dramatic change, the Berlin Wall was torn down and Communist East Germany merged with West Germany, forming a united Federal Republic of Germany. Unwilling to expend resources on sustaining old structures in the area, and increasingly distracted by domestic developments, the Soviet Union agreed to withdraw its troops from Eastern Europe and to dissolve COMECON and the Warsaw Pact, two cornerstones of its postwar foreign policy.

These revolutionary changes were soon echoed inside the USSR. Events might conceivably have taken a different turn in the short term had Gorbachev been willing either to use military force to contain the swelling discontent or, alternatively, to resign from the CPSU and attempt to take charge of the democratic movement. Doing neither, he was caught in a pincer between conservative and liberal factions and points of view.

The beneficiaries of the growing disarray in Gorbachev’s administration were the union republics, hollow shells for much of their existence but now suddenly able to challenge Moscow. Their governments newly elected in 1990, the republics profited from long-suppressed nationalism,...

...the republics profited from long-suppressed nationalism,...

...the republics profited from long-suppressed nationalism,..

from hopes they would be more adept than the center in reforming the economy, and from a belief that only they stood in the way of complete chaos. One by one, the republic parliaments adopted resolutions affirming their sovereignty and the primacy of their laws over Soviet legislation. In several cases, notably in Lithuania and Georgia, the republic went so far as to assert its complete independence from the Soviet Union.

In 1925, and still kicking, Mahathir bin Mohamad was born, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003. Mahathir was born in Alur Setar, capital of the northwestern state of Kedah. He was educated in Alur Setar, and in 1947 entered the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore.
Active in politics since 1945, Mahathir was a member of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) from its creation in 1946. After graduating from medical school, Mahathir entered government medical service as a practitioner on Langkaw Island (Pulau Langkawi). He was first elected to parliament in 1965 but lost his seat in the 1969 elections. Following the 1969 elections, riots took place in Kuala Lumpur, leading to the discrediting of the leadership of Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. Mahathir became one of Tunku's few publicly outspoken critics within the ranks of the UMNO. Mahathir's book The Malay Dilemma (1969) was soon banned inside Malaysia.

In 1945, the Office of Price Administration announced the end of tire rationing, effective Jan. 1, 1946.

In 1963, the Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays.

In 1968, author John Steinbeck died in New York at age 66.

In 1989, the United States launched Operation "Just Cause," sending troops into Panama to topple the government of General Manuel Noriega.

Today in History - December 21, 2004

In 1620, The first group of colonists disembark from the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts where they established Plymouth Colony. The official Web site of Plimoth Plantation offers resources related to Pilgrims, Plymouth Colony, and the Wampanoag Native American people.
http://www.plimoth.org/

In 1804, Benjamine Disraeli was born, a british writer and prime minister.

In 1879, Joseph Stalin a Soviet Leader was born.

In 1898, scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium.

In 1913, The New York World newspaper prints the first modern crossword puzzle in the United States.

In 1937, Jane Fonda was born, an American motion-picture actor, political activist, and writer and producer of exercise books and videos. Daughter of motion-picture actor Henry Fonda, she was born in New York City. She attended Vassar College but did not graduate. After studying with acting teacher Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in the late 1950s, Fonda was named most promising actress of the season by the New York Drama Critics' Circle for her Broadway debut in There Was a Little Girl (1960) and was praised by critics for her early motion-picture work in A Walk on the Wild Side (1962) and Sunday in New York (1964). After moving to France in the mid-1960s, she met and married French film director Roger Vadim. Later she starred in Vadim's erotic motion picture Barbarella (1968).

In 1940, Frank Zappa was born, American composer and rock musician, recognized as a master of a wide variety of musical styles. Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His family moved often throughout his childhood. During his teenage years, his musical development was shaped by two divergent musical influences: 20th-century classical music (especially the works of French composer Edgard Varèse) and 1950s rhythm and blues. At the age of 14, Zappa joined a band as a drummer. When he was 18 years old, he began playing the guitar instead. In 1959 he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked at a variety of jobs while writing music and playing in bands.

In 1954, Chris Evert, an American Tennis Star was born.

In 1956, The U.S. Supreme Court rules that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional.

In 1968, Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard.

In 1978, police in Des Plaines, Ill., arrested John W. Gacy Jr. and began unearthing the remains of 33 men and boys that Gacy was later convicted of murdering.

In 1988, 270 people were killed when a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pam Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, sending wreckage crashing to the ground.