Hot Articles

*Articles updated Wednesday, 11 May 2005 17:00 GMT

U.S. inventing threats to justify nuclear build-up --by Richard Gwyn "As part of this continued drive for supremacy, the U.S. has announced it will not ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and, although no decision to test has yet been made, Washington has ordered the national nuclear laboratories to start research on new atomic weapons. While all this is going on, the U.S. is trying to convince Iran and North Korea to halt their minuscule nuclear programs... It's all madness. But clever, cynical, Machiavellian madness. To justify its own nuclear program, from the anti-missile system to the dismissal of international controls, Washington needs a threat. Iran and North Korea, thus, are doing exactly what Washington wants them to do. And they are doing it because Washington is provoking them into doing it."

CLG Exclusive: Judge who exonerated Cheney is on payroll from Exxon --Research, commentary by Mary Titus, CLG Contributing Writer "Judge Raymond Randolph is with the George Mason University Law and Economics Center - funded by Exxon! George Mason University, Law and Economics Center has received $115,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998. Say Hey! Its good being a judge!"

Secret Service told grenade landed near Bush --U.S. officials are investigating a report that an apparent hand grenade landed about 100 feet from where Dictator Bush was speaking Tuesday in Tblisi, the capital of Georgia, a Secret Service spokesman said. The Secret Service has not yet confirmed whether the object was a real grenade and if so, whether the pin had been pulled, said spokesman Jim Mackin. [Comment to be *absolutely condemned,* by a CLG reader: "Maybe the relief pitcher will..." Shame on that reader!!]

An ethical blank cheque --British and US mythology about the second world war ignores our own crimes and legitimises Anglo-American warmaking --by Richard Drayton "The 'good war' against Hitler has underwritten 60 years of warmaking. It has become an ethical blank cheque for British and US power. We claim the right to bomb, to maim, to imprison without trial on the basis of direct and implicit appeals to the war against fascism... After 1945, we borrowed many fascist methods. Nuremberg only punished a handful of the guilty; most walked free with our help... The Gestapo's torture techniques were borrowed by the French in Algeria, and then disseminated by the Americans to Latin American dictatorships in the 60s and 70s. We see their extension today in the American camps in Cuba and Diego Garcia." [a must read]

Nuclear Option --by David Podvin "Washington’s current simulated death struggle involves the legislative 'nuclear option'. The issue is whether Republicans will change the Senate rules so that George W. Bush can have all of his extremist judicial nominees confirmed, or whether things will stay as they are, in which case Bush must settle for having ninety-six percent of his extremist judicial nominees confirmed... The GOP is sincere about using any means necessary to achieve total dominance of the judiciary... Senate Democrats have already activated the 'betrayal option' by allowing almost two hundred Bush-appointed racist, misogynistic, and homophobic corporate whores onto the federal bench." [a must read]

The Biggest Story of Our Lives --by Jim Lampley "At 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on Election Day, I checked the sportsbook odds in Las Vegas and via the offshore bookmakers to see the odds as of that moment on the Presidential election. John Kerry was a two-to-one favorite. You can look it up... NEVER have exit polls varied by beyond-error margins in a single state, not since 1948 when this kind of polling began. In this past election it happened in ten states, all of them swing states, all of them in Bush's favor. Coincidence? Of course not. Karl Rove isn't capable of conceiving and executing such a grandiose crime? Wake up. They did it. The silence of traditional media on this subject is enough to establish their newfound bankruptcy. The revolution will have to start here."

U.S. troops launch attacks against villages along Euphrates --More than 1,000 U.S. troops supported by fighter jets and helicopter gunships attacked villages Sunday along the Euphrates River, seeking to uproot a persistent insurgency in an area that American intelligence indicated has become a haven for foreign fighters flowing in from Syria. [Oh. The Syrian fighters are 'foreign' to Iraq. And, the US invaders are... endemic to the area?]

The Quagmire --As the Iraq war drags on, it's beginning to look a lot like Vietnam --by Robert Dreyfuss "Iraqi insurgents are stepping up the pace of their attacks, unleashing eleven deadly bombings on April 29th alone. Many of the 150,000 Iraqi police and soldiers hastily trained by U.S. troops have deserted or joined the insurgents. The cost of the war now tops $192 billion, rising by $1 billion a week, and the corpses are piling up: Nearly 1,600 American soldiers and up to 100,000 Iraqi civilians are dead, as well as 177 allied troops and 229 private contractors... Even if the United Nations agreed to step in, there is little or no chance that the administration will internationalize control over Iraq. In the face of a full-scale civil war in Iraq, says a source close to the U.S. military, Bush intends to go it alone. "Our policy is to make Iraq a colony," he says. "We won't let go."

Let the treason trials begin! Memo disputes Bush Iraq claims 06 May 2005 --A highly classified British memo, leaked during Britain's just-concluded election campaign, claims pResident Bush decided by summer 2002 to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and was determined to ensure that U.S. intelligence data supported his policy. The memo, in which British foreign-policy aide Matthew Rycroft summarized a July 23, 2002, meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair with top security advisers, reports on a U.S. visit by Richard Dearlove, then head of Britain's MI-6 intelligence service. The visit took place while the Bush regime was declaring to Americans that no decision had been made to go to war. [i.e., Bush lied - thousands died. And, there is no 'runaway bride' today to serve as a Weapon of Mass Distraction. C'mon, PentaPost, do your job (for once) and *cover this story.* The secret Downing Street memo - SECRET AND STRICTLY PERSONAL - UK EYES ONLY -- David Manning From: Matthew Rycroft Date: 23 July 2002 S 195 /02 --Iraq: Prime Minister's Meeting, 23 JULY]

Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan --Eighty-eight members of Congress have signed a letter authored by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) calling on pResident Bush to answer questions about a secret U.S.-UK agreement to attack Iraq, RAW STORY has learned.

Unraveling Iraq's Secret Militias --Ruthless U.S. tactics are propelling the country toward civil war --by A.K. Gupta "Most disturbing, one militia in particular—the 'Special Police Commandos'—is being used extensively and has been singled out by a U.S. general for conducting death squad strikes known as the 'Salvador option.' The Police Commandos also appear to be a reconstituted Hussein security force operating under the same revived government body, the General Security Directorate, that was formerly tasked with suppressing internal dissent. At the highest levels, White House officials consider the Police Commandos as the leading force against the insurgency."

CIA Plans to Shift Work to Denver --Domestic Division Would Be Moved --The CIA has plans to relocate the headquarters of its domestic division, which is responsible for operations and recruitment in the United States, from the CIA's Langley headquarters to Denver, a move designed to promote innovation [?!?], according to U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials. A U.S. intelligence official said the planned move, confirmed by three other government officials, was being undertaken "for operational reasons." [Is the Bush terror team planning to attack the D.C. area? What on earth is going on at Denver International Airport? Or should we be asking what is going on UNDERGROUND there? Click here for the 'life after Armageddon' murals at DIA -- must-see Webpages]

Pope 'obstructed' sex abuse inquiry --Confidential letter reveals RATzinger ordered bishops to keep allegations secret --Pope Benedict XVI faced claims last night he had 'obstructed justice' after it emerged he issued an order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret. The order was made in a confidential letter, obtained by The Observer, which was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001. [Instead of assuming the papacy, this whackjob should be investigated by detectives Benson and Stabler on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.']

Mega barf alert! Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Lauds New Pope --pResident Bush is looking to Pope Benedict XVI to provide the same kind of moral leadership as the "spectacular" papacy of John Paul II, George W. Bush's brother said Saturday.

Medicare Change Will Limit Access to Claim Hearing --A new federal policy will make it significantly more difficult for Medicare beneficiaries to obtain hearings in person before a judge when the government denies their claims for home care, nursing home services, prescription drugs and other treatments. For years, hearings have been held at more than 140 Social Security offices around the country. In July, the Department of Health and Human Services will take over the responsibility, and department officials said all judges would then be located at just four sites.

Blair blow as secret war doubts revealed · Attorney General's advice on Iraq is leaked · He cast doubts on legality of invasion --The Iraq war was thrust dramatically into the election spotlight last night after long-sought government legal advice, cautioning that the invasion could be illegal, was leaked. The document appears to confirm for the first time that the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, had serious reservations about the legality of the conflict, only to change his mind as British and US troops massed on the border of Iraq ready to invade.

Bush aiming to remake Iraq as a free-market paradise --By William O'Rourke "When Paul Bremer, fresh from Kissinger Associates, first arrived in Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority made a lot of changes other than just disbanding what was left of the Iraqi army. He annulled all of Saddam Hussein's rules and regulations overseeing the Iraq economy, except one: He kept Saddam's laws banning labor unions... What the Bush administration is doing domestically -- trying to privatize Social Security, continuing tax favors for corporations, changing bankruptcy laws to favor business over individuals, applying free-market ideology wherever possible -- has been done with impunity in Iraq. Wars might be hell, but they have their up side for business. Bechtel and Halliburton might be impeded in the way they do business here in the States, but in Iraq, anything goes. One of the first edicts Bremer signed gave immunity from Iraqi laws to U.S. contractors and other Western firms doing business in Iraq." [a must read]

Bush Authorizes Use of Quarantine Powers in Cases of Bird Flu 2 April 2005 --Dictator Bush signed an executive order on Friday authorizing the government to impose a quarantine to deal with any outbreak of avian influenza now found in Southeast Asia.

Bush Order Allows Isolation of Those with Bird Flu 1 April 2005 --Dictator Bush issued a directive on Friday allowing authorities to detain or isolate any passenger suspected of having avian flu when arriving in the United States aboard an international flight. The Bush order added pandemic influenza to the list of diseases for which quarantine is authorized. Under the directive, the Health and Human Services Department is given legal authority to detain or isolate any passenger suspected of having the avian flu.

"Against the Americans, shall we dance?" Banned by the Feds! (2004) Banned by the Norwegian government, this music video calls for direct action against the President. (ifilm.com) "Protesting U.S. foreign policy, the Norwegian rap group Gatas Parlament ['the parliament of the streets'] created this video entitled 'Kill Him Now.' Under pressure from the U.S., this was banned by the Norwegian government who claim that the video advocates direct violent action against President [sic] Bush, rather than peaceful protest. Consequently, it's become a major free speech issue in Norway. Check out the translated version, with English subtitles, before it's censored here also." Note: IFILM (and CLG) are merely reporting news here; we're not endorsing the message in this video.

The Ultimate War Crime: Breaking the Agricultural Cycle --For the record: "U.S. declares Iraqis can not save their own seeds" --edited by Iman Khaduri "... Pay Monsanto, or starve.' The American Administrator of the Iraqi CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) government, Paul Bremer, updated Iraq's intellectual property law to 'meet current internationally-recognized standards of protection'. The updated law makes saving seeds for next year's harvest, practiced by 97% of Iraqi farmers in 2002, and is the standard farming practice for thousands of years across human civilizations, to be now illegal. Instead, farmers will have to obtain a yearly license for genetically modified (GM) seeds from American corporations."

Dumb show --by Charlie Brooker "On November 2, the entire civilised world will be praying, praying Bush loses. And Sod's law dictates he'll probably win, thereby disproving the existence of God once and for all. The world will endure four more years of idiocy, arrogance and unwarranted bloodshed, with no benevolent deity to watch over and save us. John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley Jr - where are you now that we need you?"

Iraqis Blame U.S. for Massacre of Children --Families of the 35 children who died in a string of bombings in Baghdad blamed American troops for the tragedy, accusing them of attracting insurgents to a ceremony where the attacks occurred. By Friday, tents had sprung up in the el-Amel neighborhood in Baghdad to accommodate mourners who gathered to share their grief from the Thursday attack. In the carnage, several explosions ripped into a crowd gathered to celebrate the inauguration of a new, much needed sewage plant. Residents said that before the start of the celebration, U.S. soldiers called upon the children through loudspeakers to join the crowd, promising them sweets. There were an unusually large number around because the long school holidays were nearing an end. "I blame the Americans for this tragedy. They wanted to make human shields out of our children. They should have kept the children away from danger," said Abdel-Hadi al-Badri, a cleric a the al-Mubashroun al-Ashra mosque, breaking down in tears during Friday prayers. Al-Badri's son lost his right leg in the explosion after he ignored his father's warnings to stay away from the U.S. troops. "The Americans are the first terrorists and the people who carried out the attack are the second terrorists," he added. [Is it conceivable that the U.S. military 'brought out' a mass of children (by offering candy) so that if insurgents struck... children would be killed?]

Experts: It's Alfred E. Neuman vs. Sen. Kerry --by Lauren Beckham Falcone "Comedian Tony V, who, at 10:15 p.m. was 'still as confused as when they started,' admitted he liked the president[sic]'s down-to-earth demeanor. George Bush sounds like someone you want to talk to,' he said. 'I read somewhere people choose a president they'd like to have a beer with. Me, I'd rather choose a president and go out with people I like. I feel bad. He reminds me of Fredo in 'The Godfather.' I can hear him saying: 'I'm smart. I know things. I'm not stupid.' ...'I can't get it out of my head,' he said. 'George W. looked like Alfred E. Neuman. And Kerry looks like he was born with a suit on.'"

Diebold Rep Now Runs Elections --An influential employee of voting machine maker Diebold Election Systems left the company recently to take a job as elections manager for a California county.

Pulling Back the Curtain: What a Top Reporter in Baghdad Really Thinks About the War --Wall Street Journal correspondent Farnaz Fassihi confirms that she penned a scathing letter that calls the war in Iraq an outright "disaster." She also reveals that reporters in Baghdad are working under "virtual house arrest." --by Greg Mitchell "And what of America's 'hope for a quick exit'? Fassihi noted that 'cops are being murdered by the dozens every day, over 700 to date, and the insurgents are infiltrating their ranks. The problem is so serious that the U.S. military has allocated $6 million dollars to buy out 30,000 cops they just trained to get rid of them quietly.... Who did this war exactly benefit? Was it worth it? Are we safer because Saddam is holed up and Al Qaeda is running around in Iraq? I heard an educated Iraqi say today that if Saddam Hussein were allowed to run for elections he would get the majority of the vote...'"

Halliburton's fortunes doubled with W-ar --Halliburton Co., the company Vice pResident Dick Cheney headed for five years, vaulted into the top 100 defense contractors when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, according to a new analysis by a public interest group. Halliburton "was not even on the list" until 2003 when it won $4.3 billion in defense contracts, including a no-bid contract for oil services in Iraq, according to the Center for Public Integrity in Washington.

Insider Blows Whistle on Irregularities at E-Voting Machine Company --Hart Intercivic and ES&S Up to No Good --by David Allen "I have come into possession of a pair of letters written by a former Hart-Intercivic technician to the Secretaries of State for Ohio and Texas. These letters detail a 'long history of concealing problems' and a willingness to ignore potentially serious problems 'largely for the sake of corporate profit'. ...The tech worked for H-I for over two years and left voluntarily because of what he believed to be 'criminal fraud, extreme negligence, and a distinct and troubling pattern of failure to uphold the public trust both in violations of the spirit of its contracts [and] also in concealing problems in an industry which so crucially represents the public interest.'"

Politics and sleaze envelop Orlando --As the presidential campaign approaches its showdown, the Republicans in the state run by George Bush's brother are up to their tricks again. ...The firefighters are also subject to a criminal investigation, the chief allegation - for which no evidence has been produced - being that they colluded with City Hall to set up an illegal slush fund for political campaigning. What makes the troubles facing the two men [Ezzie Thomas and Steve Clelland] particularly sinister is that they are declared Kerry supporters, with the power to bring in hundreds if not thousands of votes for the Democratic Party. The investigations are being conducted by the state police, known as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which reports directly to Governor Jeb Bush, brother of Dictator George Bush.

Still Seeking a Fair Florida Vote --by Jimmy Carter "The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely, even as many other nations are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair... It was obvious that in 2000 these basic [voting] standards were not met in Florida, and there are disturbing signs that once again, as we prepare for a presidential election, some of the state's leading officials hold strong political biases that prevent necessary reforms."

Voters rejected because of paper weight --Disenfranchised by old technology --by Nick Farrell "A ginger group claims that the state of Ohio has rejected thousands of voter registrations because they are on the wrong paper. Citizens for Legitimate Government, here, said that an old law requires all voter registration forms to be on cards that are 80lb stock paper. This is a hangover from the days when such forms had to be kept for a long time... The Citizens for Legitimate Government claims that the local boards have been snowed under with requests and can't process the voter application forms in time. The result is that they will not be able to vote. The group is calling on people who cannot vote on time to drop Ken a line to explain the problem. He has a web-page here."

Ohio rejects 1000s of voter registration applications due to paper weight. --by 'Thistime' "When voter registration applications were maintained for years and used to verify signatures for petitions a requirement that the cards be on 80 lb. stock paper was adopted in Ohio, that law remains on the books. Since the applications are now scanned for preservation, there is no current need to continue that requirement... In the final days before the registration deadline Ken Blackwell, [Republican] Ohio Secretary of State, has ordered the local election boards to send out new applications to applicants who have submitted registrations on the wrong paper... The local boards have been bombarded with applications and will be unable to comply with Blackwell's order before the deadline to register to vote for this November's election."
Call Coupmeister Ken:
[From Kenny's website] "If you have any questions on this directive, please call my Elections Division at 614-466-2585."
[Oh, we will, Kenny... We will.]
Sincerely,
J. Kenneth Blackwell
For more information, contact Carlo LoParo at 614-752-8110.
Email Coupmeister Ken:
guide@sos.state.oh.us

Ohio Secretary of State breaks federal law: 1971 Federal Voting Rights Act (posted by kos) Sec. 1971. - Voting rights... (2) No person acting under color of law shall - ...(B) deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election.

[Proof of Coup 2000!] When five voted for millions --by Robyn E. Blumner "One of the darkest hours in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court was Dec. 12, 2000, at 10 p.m., when the five-member conservative majority handed the presidency to George W. Bush over his rival Al Gore... Reporter David Margolick headed a writing team that spoke with a number of former Supreme Court clerks who were there when the Bush case came before the court... Margolick reports that Justice Antonin Scalia was so anxious to shut the recount down that he pressured his colleagues to do so even before the Gore legal team had a chance to respond. That didn't happen, but consideration of the matter was moved up to the next morning. On the 9th, a stay was issued. According to Margolick, the court's more conservative members, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justices Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy, quickly started 'sending around memos to their colleagues, each of them offering a different rationale for ruling in Bush's favor.' They were 'auditioning arguments,' Margolick wrote. During the first go-round, Margolick reports, an O'Connor clerk told fellow clerks that 'O'Connor was determined to overturn the Florida decision and was merely looking for grounds.' This was a court unhinged from the law, operating in a purely political guise, bereft of legitimacy."

CLG Web Exclusive: Fear of Flying A Duval County Woman Says Nerves Ended W's National Guard Service in Texas --by Susan Cooper Eastman "Janet Linke has been thinking about George W. Bush a lot lately. Thirty-two years ago, her late husband Jan Peter Linke served briefly in the Texas Air National Guard's 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. ...Linke claims she knows a part of the story that nobody has mentioned. According to Linke, a Jacksonville resident and artist, Bush's flying career was permanently disabled by a crippling fear of flying. ...Shortly after her husband joined the Texas unit, Linke says, the couple discussed Bush's service with Killian at a social event. Contrary to some news reports that suggest Killian admired Bush, Linke says the officer didn't have much use for the young Lieutenant. He mentioned that Bush appeared to have a drinking problem, she recalls, but he was most offended by another incapacity: his fear of flying. According to Linke, Killian said Bush was grounded in his fourth year of flying after he became incapable of flying or properly landing a plane. 'He was mucking up bad, Killian told us,' Linke says. 'He just became afraid to fly.'"

Crude dudes --'U.S. oil companies just happened to have billions of dollars they wanted to invest in undeveloped oil reserves' --by Linda McQuaig "There's something almost obscene about a map that was studied by senior Bush administration officials and a select group of oil company executives meeting in secret in the spring of 2001. It doesn't show the kind of detail normally shown on maps — cities, towns, regions. Rather its detail is all about Iraq's oil. ...It was one of the documents studied by the ultra-secretive task force on energy, headed by U.S. Vice-President [sic] Dick Cheney, and it was only released under court order after a long legal battle waged by the public interest group Judicial Watch."

FBI's Anti- [Pro]Terror 'October Plan' --Convinced that al Bush-duh is still determined to disrupt the U.S. fall elections by an attack on the homeland, FBI officials here are preparing a massive counter-offensive of interrogations, surveillance and possible detentions they hope will disrupt the terrorist plans, reports CBS News. FBI field offices and Homeland Security agencies will be advised of "extraordinary measures" that will go into place "beginning the first week of October through the elections." Specifically, the plan calls for "aggressive - even obvious - surveillance" techniques to be used on a short list of people suspected of being terrorist sympathizers, but who have not committed a crime. [Holy Kafka, Batman!!]

Secret papers show Blair was warned of Iraq chaos --Tony Blair was warned a year before invading Iraq that a stable post-war government would be impossible without keeping large numbers of troops there for "many years", secret government papers reveal. The documents, seen by The Telegraph, show more clearly than ever the grave reservations expressed by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, over the consequences of a second Gulf war and how prescient his Foreign Office officials were in predicting the ensuing chaos.

'Devastating' Secret Papers Reveal Pre-W-ar Iraq Warnings --The Government came under renewed fire tonight after claims that Prime Minister Tony Blair was warned before the war in Iraq of the scale of the task that would face British and other occupation troops after Saddam Hussein was toppled. Papers marked "Secret and Personal" detailing warnings from the Foreign Office to the premier were leaked to The Daily Telegraph.

Press Reports on U.S. Casualties: About 17,000 Short, UPI Says --Nearly 17,000 service members medically evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan are absent from public Pentagon casualty reports commonly cited by newspapers, according to military data reviewed by United Press International.

U.S. Weapons Inspector: Iraq Had No WMD --Drafts of a report from the top U.S. inspector in Iraq conclude there were no weapons stockpiles, but say there are signs the fallen Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had dormant programs he hoped to revive at a later time, according to people familiar with the findings.

CLG Exclusive: "MG's most controversial article yet" Wheredy Go, II: As Nightfall Comes --by Michael Gilson-De Lemos, international Libertarian (This essay is a follow-up to Wheredy Go?, written March 21, 2001.) "Perhaps most emblematic: Ignored in much of the US Press is that Vatican officials--and the Vatican, for obvious reasons, enjoys first-rate military and diplomatic intelligence-- now say even the ailing Pope has become convinced it’s some sort of inside job--and refused any vocal overt support of the US. Considering that this is the Papacy that considered saying Hitler was a notable leader constituted a ringing condemnation, this is quite something... At this late date, at every major nexus of action, something is not right, disturbing questions leap to the fore--and things are missing."

The service question --A review of Dictator Bush's Guard years raises issues about the time he served --A review of the regulations governing Bush's Guard service during the Vietnam War shows that the White House used an inappropriate--and less stringent--Air Force standard in determining that he had fulfilled his duty. Because Bush signed a six-year "military service obligation," he was required to attend at least 44 inactive-duty training drills each fiscal year beginning July 1. But Bush's own records show that he fell short of that requirement, attending only 36 drills in the 1972-73 period, and only 12 in the 1973-74 period. The White House has said that Bush's service should be calculated using 12-month periods beginning on his induction date in May 1968. Using this time frame, however, Bush still fails the Air Force obligation standard.

U.S. refuses to rule out Iran attack --The United States is determined to stop Iran getting atomic weapons, and has signalled Washington will not rule out an attack if peaceful diplomacy failed to achieve this.

U.S. withholds blast data --The South Korean government used its own seismic monitors and air reconnaissance to detect the two explosions that occurred last week near North Korea's border with China, government officials said. The United States provided no information to South Korea on the blasts in Kimhyeongjik county, Yanggang province, they said.

Colin Powell in four-letter neo-con 'crazies' row --A furious row has broken out over claims in a new book by BBC broadcaster James Naughtie that US Secretary of State Colin Powell described neo-conservatives in the Bush regime as 'fucking crazies' during the build-up to war in Iraq. Powell's extraordinary outburst is alleged to have taken place during a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. The 'crazies' are said to be Vice-President [sic] Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz.

North Korea cloud 'not nuke blast' --A large cloud that appeared over North Korea in satellite images several days ago was not the result of a nuclear explosion, according to a U.S. official. South Korea's Yonhap news agency is reporting a huge explosion shook North Korea's northernmost province on Thursday producing a mushroom cloud over two miles (4 km) wide. The U.S. official said the cloud could be the result of a forest fire. [ROFL, if it wasn't so pathetic... You see, it *can't* be a nuclear blast, or the Bush pea-brains and nutballs will have to explain why we invaded Iraq but the *real* threat was North Korea! OK, discussion over. Karl Rove wants us talking about the Laci Peterson trial this week.]

Report: Mushroom Cloud Seen After N.Korea Explosion --A mushroom cloud up to 2.5 miles in diameter was seen after an explosion in a remote area of North Korea near the border with China, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, quoting sources in Beijing.

Bush Book Alleges Past Drug Use By Dictator Bush --Peter Gethers, vice president of Random House and Kitty Kelley's editor, said the publisher's chief counsel and Kelley's own lawyer went over the book "with a fine-toothed comb." Gethers confirmed the accuracy of a report in London's the Mail on Sunday, which said the book contains, among other things, allegations of past drug use by Dictator Bush.

Bush fell short on duty at Guard --Records show pledges unmet --In February, when the White House made public hundreds of pages of Dictator Bush's military records, White House officials repeatedly insisted that the records prove that Bush fulfilled his military commitment in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. But Bush fell well short of meeting his military obligation, a Globe reexamination of the records shows... Bush didn't meet the commitments, or face the punishment, the records show. The 1973 document has been overlooked in news media accounts. The 1968 document has received scant notice. [*See, also, The Boston Globe's "Bush's National Guard record."]

Cheney: Kerry Victory Would Bring Terrorist Attack on U.S. Cheney Warns Against Vote for Kerry --Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney on Tuesday warned Americans about voting for Democratic Sen. John Kerry, saying that if the nation makes the wrong choice on Election Day it faces the threat of another terrorist attack. [Is the Bush dictatorship planning *another* terrorist attack, so that they cannot 'vacate' the White House in January, 2005, regardless of the outcome of the election?

Gee, can they get any more blatant? Ridge: Terrorists Hope to Disrupt Election --'Terrorists' [Bush regime freelancers] still hope to disrupt the U.S. democratic process even though the presidential nominating conventions and other high-profile gatherings this summer went off without incident, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Tuesday. Threat reporting over the last several months has been "consistent, general and credible" and indicated the al-CIA-duh network is trying to push ahead with its plans, Ridge said.

U.S. death toll in Iraq passes 1,000 --As U.S. forces again battled insurgents loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, U.S. military deaths in Bush's W-ar on Iraq passed 1,000 on Tuesday, according to an Associated Press tally.

US puppet dictatorship in Iraq spreads its wings: Aljazeera outraged by Iraq ban extension --Aljazeera has reacted with shock and outrage at the interim Iraqi government's [US puppet dictatorship's] indefinite extension of a ban on the network's coverage operations in the war-torn country.

Graham book: Inquiry into 9/11, Saudi ties blocked --Two of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers had a support network in the United States that included agents of the Saudi government, and the Bush dictatorship and FBI blocked a congressional investigation into that relationship, Sen. Bob Graham wrote in a book to be released Tuesday. The discovery of the financial backing of the two hijackers ''would draw a direct line between the terrorists and the government of Saudi Arabia, and trigger an attempted coverup by the Bush administration,'' the Florida Democrat wrote.

Holy September Surprise, Batman! Bin Laden could be arrested at any time, says US official --US Coordinator on counter-terrorism Ambassador J Cofer Black expected on Friday that Osama [Bush] Bin Laden and his collaborators could be arrested at any time and said, "Everything is in place and a little bit is needed to localise these people and catch them." [Yes, everything is in place... the Repugnant Nazi Carnival needs a post-convention 'boost'... time for Bush bin Laden's 'capture' to be announced.]

U.S. Near Seizing bin Laden, Official Says --The United States and its allies have moved closer to capturing Osama [Bush] bin Laden in the last two months, a top U.S. counterterrorism official said in a television interview broadcast Saturday.

Edwards' Plane Grounded at WB/Scranton Airport --Senator John Edwards' plane left at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport just before 5:00 p.m. Wednesday. It had been grounded because of a runway problem. Airport officials said an Air Force C-17 was taxiing on the runway when it made a turn and ripped up a chunk of the runway. It happened just before 3:00 p.m. [Note to Karl Rove and the GOP: we will assume any mysterious 'acts of God' and/or 'lightening strikes' that once-again-just-so-happen to kill key Democrats (as in Mel Carnahan and Paul Wellstone) are your acts of terrorism and we *will not accept* the outcome of your (second) coup d'etat.]

Half of New Yorkers Believe US Leaders Had Foreknowledge of Impending 9-11 Attacks and "Consciously Failed" to Act; 66% Call For New Probe of Unanswered Questions by Congress or New York’s Attorney General, New Zogby International Poll Reveals --On the eve of a Republican National Convention invoking 9/11 symbols, sound bytes and imagery, half (49.3%) of New York City residents and 41% of New York citizens overall say that some of our leaders "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act," according to the poll conducted by Zogby International.

U.S. Prepares for Possible Flu Outbreak --The United States may have to close schools, restrict travel and ration scarce medications if a powerful new flu strain [created by the 18 now-dead microbiologists?] spurs a worldwide outbreak, according to federal plans for the next pandemic, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. Depending on where a pandemic begins and how virulent it seems, the first protections probably will include travel restrictions, schools closures, restrictions on public gatherings and even quarantines to limit the spread of infection, Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [sic], said. "Good, old-fashioned isolation and quarantine [!!!] have a special role to play in any pandemic," she said. [Holy convenience, Batman!! School closings? People *vote* in schools, on Election Day. Looks like we're going to have to update Michael Rectenwald's ongoing tally of 'election events' which will trigger the 'Grand Refusal.' The Revolution Will Be Webcast! --updated August 25, 2004. Also, see: Will Bush play the bioterror card? (January 22, 2004) by Lori Price]

Shut Up and Take Your Drugs --by Mary Starrett "President [sic] George W. Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health is pushing for nationwide screening based on a similar program created while he was governor of Texas... The Bush administration, long tied in an unholy, generational alliance with the pharmaceutical companies, hopes to pattern this massive effort to get more Americans on drugs after the Texas Medical Algorithm Project (TMAP) in effect since 1995... What will happen under this national push to gain more market share for the drug companies? As with TMAP, people refusing drugs for what are diagnosed as a wide array of 'disorders' can expect not only to be forced to take powerful and extremely dangerous neuroleptics, but also to receive shock treatment."

CLG Exclusive: Striking Prisoners In New York Gulag Being 'Unduly Punished' [Letter to CLG reader from Albor Ruiz] "...This is the email address of Bobby Khan, the guy from the Coney Island Aveny Project I mention in my column: ahsanullah@hotmail.com. Because of his involvement with the situation of the people imprisoned in the Queens Detention Center, he is the person who can tell you how you can help with this outrage. By the way, I just found out that the striking prisoners are being unduly punished..." --Albor Ruiz [*See: 200 locked away & under the radar (August 18, 2004) --by Albor Ruiz "There is a little gulag in New York City... Its name is the Wackenhut Detention Center, and more than 200 human beings - men and women - languish ignored within its walls. Yet most New Yorkers have never heard about it... Shameful as it is, the misfortune of these immigrants and their families is just one more opportunity for big profits for Wackenhut, the private corporation running the jail under contract with the federal government."]

Senators Ask Where $8.8 Bln in Iraq Funds Went --At least $8.8 billion in Iraqi funds that was given to Iraqi ministries by the former U.S.-led authority there cannot be accounted for, according to a draft U.S. audit set for release soon.

Doctors a Part of Iraq Abuse --Doctors working for the U.S. military in Iraq collaborated with interrogators in the abuse of detainees at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, profoundly breaching medical ethics and human rights, a bioethicist charges in The Lancet medical journal. In a scathing analysis of the behavior of military doctors, nurses and medics, University of Minnesota professor Steven Miles calls for a reform of military medicine and an official investigation into the role played by physicians and other medical staff in the torture scandal. He cites evidence that doctors or medics falsified death certificates to cover up homicides, hid evidence of beatings and revived a prisoner so he could be further tortured. No reports of abuses were initiated by medical personnel until the official investigation into Abu Ghraib began, he found.

NYPD to Shadow 56 Protesters Believed Most Dangerous WABC --details on the incredible lengths the NYPD is taking to keep the most 'radical' protesters expected at the Repugnant Nazi Carnival under control --Police are now tracking 56 potentially 'dangerous' people. While international terrorism remains a concern, this operation's focus is primarily on anarchists, and how they plan to disrupt the convention. This week the NYPD began instructing officers on intelligence on this threat. [Shadow *this.*]

Bear Rejects Busch! (WA) A Bear in the woods refused to be Bush-whacked, drinking an off-brand beer over Busch beer. When state Fish and Wildlife agents recently found a black bear passed out on the lawn of Baker Lake Resort, there were some clues scattered nearby dozens of empty cans of Rainier Beer. The bear apparently got into campers' coolers and used his claws and teeth to puncture the cans. "He drank the Rainier and wouldn't drink the Busch beer," said Lisa Broxson, bookkeeper at the campground and cabins resort east of Mount Baker. Fish and Wildlife enforcement Sgt. Bill Heinck said the bear did try one can of Busch, but ignored the rest. "He didn't like that (Busch) and consumed, as near as we can tell, about 36 cans of Rainier." [He's smarter than the average bear!]

Truthout, steal this story! Journalist killed in Fallujah --An Iraqi freelance journalist working for Germany's ZDF television has been killed in the flashpoint city of Fallujah, the network said today. Mahmud Hamid Abbas, 32, had gone to the city on Sunday to film when he was killed "in unexplained circumstances", it said. The media watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) said the journalist was killed as he was leaving his native Fallujah for Baghdad. "When he phoned the ZDF office in Baghdad to say he was coming he mentioned he had just filmed a house destroyed by US warplanes," RSF said, quoting ZDF's Iraq correspondent. "About 25 minutes later, he rang again to say he had seen a second attack. During the call, he suddenly said he and others with him were being fired at.

Only true believers need apply --Neurotic control lies at the heart of the Republican campaign --by Sidney Blumenthal "Bush is campaigning at events billed as Ask President [sic] Bush. Only supporters are allowed in. ...At his rallies Bush is a pseudo-populist. But these controlled environments reflect his deeper view of the presidency as sovereign, preempting democracy. Floundering in the polls, without a strategy for Iraq, unwilling to say the name of Bin Laden, he is secure in the knowledge that the cheering multitudes have been selected." [A must read]

FL Eyewitness Death Count Close to 400 Now --by Michael Edward (Rumor Mill News Agents Forum, 8-17-4) "...[L]et me spell out the body counts that 6 of us (all retired military and/or law enforcement) went out to confirm today in different areas. These are confirmed bodies in the trucks, restaurant refers, or refer vans, and they are NOT 'missing persons' or animals: Charlotte Harbor areas - 58 dead as of 5pm today; Fort Myers & the barrier islands - 21 deaths as of 3pm today; Punta Gorda - 275+ deaths and escalating each hour; Desoto County - 36 deaths, expected to increase... The current CONFIRMED body count in our 3 county area on the west coast of Florida is near 400 as I write this... Considering most of the trained and experienced personnel and modern equipment from the Florida National Guard are now in the Middle East, JEB THE BUSH dared to send us antiquated equipment that broke down on I-75 driven by untrained personnel who have no idea what to do... There is no Florida National Guard... all the necessary equipment we need is sitting in Iraq or Kuwait right now."

Destruction of the Imam Ali Shrine: Part of the Bushcon Plan for Total War --by Kurt Nimmo "As Juan Cole, an Iraq expert at the University of Michigan, notes, the 'Waco-style' Najaf attack, especially if 'Sayyid' (a putative descendant of the Prophet Muhammad) Muqtada is killed, will most assuredly result in 'a long-term low-intensity guerrilla war, similar to what Sunni radicals and Arab nationalists have done in the Sunni heartland for the past 16 months.' Logically, we would conclude such an attack is diametrically opposed to what the US wants in Iraq—until we consider the capper of the neocon philosophy is to provoke Islam into a generalized conflagration and thus provide an excuse to invade and occupy the Middle East in the name of Greater Israel and Big Oil (with plentiful benefits, as noted above, going to the so-called military-industrial complex, or the death merchants so heavily invested in by the neocon camarilla in the Pentagon, the White House, and neocon criminal organizations such as PNAC and the American Enterprise Institute)." [a must read]

Round two for Kabul's trial of year --Kabul's trial of the year has resumed. Former US soldier Jonathan K Idema and two other Americans, Edward Caraballo and Brent Bennett, are facing charges including hostage-taking, torture, illegally entering Afghanistan and running a private jail... Mr Idema claimed at the first hearing three weeks ago then that he was in Afghanistan on a secret anti-terrorist mission approved at the highest levels of the Pentagon - claims the US military denies. "We were in contact directly by fax and e-mail and phone with [Defence Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld's office," Mr Idema said when journalists asked him to name names, "and with the deputy secretary of defence for intelligence." Mr Idema's lawyer in America, John Tiffany, says he is assembling a "slew of evidence" which proves his client was working for the US government. He says it includes e-mails, photographs and video, but says he does not want to reveal any details for now.

US Offensive In Najaf 'Genocide': Law Experts --As Arabs called for an immediate halt to sweeping US offensives in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf, law experts underlined that such offensives, under the pretext of confronting Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, are classified as "genocide", according to the recognized rules of international law.

US atrocity in Najaf (WSWS) "The US assault on Najaf is a war crime. The spectacle of the world’s foremost imperialist power unleashing its overwhelmingly superior military might against poorly armed opponents of foreign occupation recalls the most notorious crimes of the twentieth century, including the fascist bombardment of Guernica in Spain, Mussolini’s rape of Ethiopia, and the Nazi blitzkrieg against Germany’s European neighbors in World War II. The US military, in the name of Washington’s puppet government under Iyad Allawi, is carrying out the slaughter of supporters of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr who have taken up arms against the attempt to turn Iraq into a de-facto American colony."

Bush Wants to Be Your Shrink --Now Bush wants to test every American for mental illness--including you! And guess who will create the tests? --by Jordanne Graham "Next month, President [sic] Bush plans to unveil a broad new mental health plan called the 'New Freedom Initiative.' ...The New Freedom Initiative proposes to screen every American, including you, for mental illness. To this end, the president [sic] established a New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, to study the nation’s mental health delivery service and make a report. It’s interesting to note that many on the staff appointed to the Commission have served on the advisory boards of some of the nation’s largest drug companies... Eli Lilly manufactures olanzapine. This is one of the drugs recommended in the New Freedom plan. Lilly has numerous ties to the Bush administration according to the British Medical Journal... Eighty-two percent of Lilly's $1.6 million in political contributions in 2000 went to Bush and the Republican Party." [A must read and must act!! Contact your your congressional representatives !!]

Pentagon says 43% of Halliburton's Iraq expenses are not verifiable --Halliburton cannot justify why it billed the Pentagon for $1.8 billion of work in Iraq and Kuwait, the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing a new Pentagon report. Pentagon accountants said they are uncertain as to why Halliburton's KBR unit billed the Pentagon $1.8 billion for the expenses, which represent 43 percent of the $4.18 billion the company billed the Pentagon for logistics work in the Middle East, the Journal said.

Venezuela Floridated --Will The Gang That Fixed Florida Fix the Vote in Caracas this Sunday? --by Greg Palast "OUR President [sic] has decided that THEIR president has to go... Justice offered up to $67 million of our taxpayer money to ChoicePoint in a no-bid deal for computer profiles with private information on every citizen of half a dozen nations. The choice of citizens to spy on caught my eye. While the September 11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and the Arab Emirates, ChoicePoint's menu offered records on Venezuelans, Brazilians, Nicaraguans, Mexicans and Argentines. How odd."

Absentee ballot mailed to voters includes obsolete instructions --About 22,000 Palm Beach County voters received absentee ballots this week with outdated instructions telling them their signatures must be witnessed or their votes won't count. A Florida law that took effect July 1 eliminates the requirement that a witness sign an absentee voter's ballot. Elections Supervisor Theresa LePore [Le-GOP-Whore] said she and other elections employees didn't notice [?!? OMG] that a paragraph of instructions on the return envelope for the ballot included a sentence stating that "failure to sign this certificate and have my signature property (sic) witnessed will invalidate my ballot."

Top Massachusetts Bush donor contributed to Nader --Hopkinton computer tycoon Richard Egan, the Bush campaign's finance chairman in John Kerry's home state, has personally contributed the maximum amount allowed by law -- $2,000 -- to Nader's presidential campaign. Egan's son John and daughter in law have each also "maxed out," bringing the family's total to $6,000. Bush backers are hoping Nader will siphon enough votes from Kerry to tip the election to Dictator Bush.

Bush Zones Go National --by Jim Hightower "...[I]n May of last year, the Homeland Security Department waded butt-deep into the murky waters of political suppression, issuing a terrorist advisory to local law enforcement agencies. It urged all police officials to keep a hawk-eyed watch on any homelanders who [Warning: Do not read the rest of this sentence if it will shock you to learn that there are people like this in your country!] have 'expressed dislike of attitudes and decisions of the US government.' MEMO TO TOM RIDGE, SECRETARY OF HSD: Sir, that's everyone. All 280 million of us, minus George Bush, you and the handful of others actually making the decisions. You've just branded every red-blooded American a terrorist. Maybe you should stick to playing with your color codes."

Iraq war a 'gift' to Osama: CIA analyst --The US invasion of Iraq was a "tremendous gift" to Osama bin Laden and a major setback in the struggle against al-Qaeda, according to a CIA terrorism expert who has written a scathing account of the conduct of the US "war on terror".

Bush Warns Americans They Are 'Still Not Safe' [from him] --Dictator Bush warned Americans on Saturday last weekend's terrorism alert was another sign the country was still not safe but said he was taking steps to prevent [foment] future attacks.

Miracles and Wonders --by Alan Cabal "Before this new "Pico cell," it was nigh on impossible to make a call from a passenger aircraft in flight. Connection is impossible at altitudes over 8000 feet or speeds in excess of 230 mph. Yet despite this, passengers Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick and Edward Felt all managed to place calls from Flight 93 on the morning of September 11... And last but not least, every suburban homeowner will want the miraculous PentaGrass. Whatever that lawn at the Pentagon is made out of, it sure is amazing stuff—it resists and repels fire, explosion, skid marks, aircraft debris, jet fuel, luggage and body parts." [A must read]

Dayton: FAA, NORAD hid 9/11 failures --Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., charged Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) have covered up "catastrophic failures" that left the nation vulnerable during the Sept. 11 hijackings.

Senator Dayton: NORAD Lied About 9/11 --Mark Dayton has become the first U.S. senator to challenge the establishment consensus that "The 9/11 Commission Report" settles the open questions of Sept. 11, 2001. In hearings last Friday, Sen. Dayton (D-MN) raised an obvious point: if the timeline of air defense response as promoted in the Kean Commission's best-selling book is correct, then the timeline presented repeatedly by NORAD during the last two years was completely wrong.

How They Could Steal the Election This Time --by Ronnie Dugger "On November 2 millions of Americans will cast their votes for President in computerized voting systems that can be rigged by corporate or local-election insiders. Some 98 million citizens, five out of every six of the roughly 115 million who will go to the polls, will consign their votes into computers that unidentified computer programmers, working in the main for four private corporations and the officials of 10,500 election jurisdictions, could program to invisibly falsify the outcomes. The result could be the failure of an American presidential election and its collapse into suspicions, accusations and a civic fury that will make Florida 2000 seem like a family spat in the kitchen." ['Civic Fury?' No, revolution.]

Bush's Nazi-style concentration camp: Medical Experiments in Guantanamo Bay --Frenchmen Say Guantanamo Detention Was Like Hell --Two Frenchmen described as hell Friday their more than two years of detention in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, their lawyer said after meeting them for the first time. Mourad Benchellali and Nizar Sassi had concerns "about the interrogation techniques and medical experiments" at Guantanamo, Jacques Debray said outside the headquarters of the DST domestic intelligence service where the two men were being questioned. A letter from Sassi said "bizarre" medicines had been given to inmates at night and that one caused some prisoners to break out in spots, Debray told reporters. [Which, if any, US corporations are ordering such experiments?]

Audit: Spending Records on Hundreds of Millions of Iraqi Dollars MIA --U.S. authorities in Baghdad spent hundreds of millions of Iraqi dollars without keeping good enough records to show whether they got some services and products they paid for, government investigators said. Officials of the former Coalition Provisional Authority did not have records to justify the $24.7 million cost for replacing Iraq's currency, according to the report from the authority's inspector general. The report also said the authority paid nearly $200,000 for 15 police trucks without knowing if the trucks were delivered. [Check Bremer's garage.]

The Case Against George W. Bush --The son of the fortieth president of the United States takes a hard look at the son of the forty-first and does not like what he sees --by Ron Reagan "Does anyone really favor an administration that so shamelessly lies? One that so tenaciously clings to secrecy, not to protect the American people, but to protect itself? That so willfully misrepresents its true aims and so knowingly misleads the people from whom it derives its power? I simply cannot think so. And to come to the same conclusion does not make you guilty of swallowing some liberal critique of the Bush presidency [sic], because that's not what this is. This is the critique of a person who thinks that lying at the top levels of his government is abhorrent."

Unhappy Workers Should Take Prozac --Bush Campaigner --A campaign worker for Dictator Bush said on Thursday American workers unhappy with low-quality jobs should find new ones -- or pop a Prozac to make themselves feel better. "Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac? [like Bush, himself?]" said Susan Sheybani, an assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt. [Kerry should mention this in his speech tonight. Bush's underemployment, unemployment solution: Take Prozac.]

Bush Using Drugs to Control Depression, Erratic Behavior --Dictator George W. Bush is taking powerful anti-depressant drugs to control his erratic behavior, depression and paranoia, Capitol Hill Blue has learned. The prescription drugs, administered by Col. Richard J. Tubb, the White House physician, can impair Bush's mental faculties [What mental faculties?] and decrease both his physical capabilities and his ability to respond to a crisis, regime aides admit privately.

Chelsea co-op behind 12 foot fence: Republican National Convention Security Procedures (No RNC listserve) "The city will be building a 12 foot fence around the perimeter of the co-op... Any deliveries will be forbidden, whether that be UPS or pizza. There will be 'sharpshooters' (snipers) on the roof."

Pressure mounts to do something about Iran (The Age) The White House is being pulled this way and that on dealing with Tehran, writes Robin Wright. "The Bush Administration is under mounting pressure to do something about Iran, and end the drift that has characterised US policy for more than three years... Increasingly alarmed over Iran's failure to come clean on its arms programs, a Senate resolution, similar to the House resolution passed on May 6, calling for punitive action, mainly through broad, new UN sanctions, is expected to win overwhelming support in Congress. In an even more dramatic move, Republican Senator Sam Brownback plans to introduce an Iran liberation act in the northern autumn, modelled on the Iraq Liberation Act that mandated regime change in Baghdad and provided more than $90 million to the Iraqi opposition."

CLG Exclusive: Ohio Voter Purge --by Steven Monroe "I noticed that one of the most critical counties in President [sic] Bush's re-[s]election efforts in Ohio, Hamilton County (Cincinnati), had a dramatic decrease in the voter rolls. It went from over 585,000 in 2000 to 519,048 today."

The Arabian Candidate --by Paul Krugman "Mr. Bush's 'war on terror' has, however, played with eerie perfection into Osama bin Laden's hands - while Mr. Bush's supporters, impressed by his tough talk, see him as America's champion against the evildoers. ...[W]hen Tom Ridge offered a specifics-free warning about a terrorist attack timed to 'disrupt our democratic process,' many people thought he was implying that Al Qaeda wants George Bush to lose. In reality, all infidels probably look alike to the terrorists, but if they do have a preference, nothing in Mr. Bush's record would make them unhappy at the prospect of four more years."

Halliburton Subpoenaed by Grand Jury --A U.S. grand jury issued a subpoena to Halliburton Co. seeking information about its Cayman Islands unit's work in Iran, where it is illegal for U.S. companies to operate, Halliburton said on Monday. U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat, said the probe into possible sanctions violations should address the role of the Republican vice pResident.

'Butler report on WMDs was altered to protect Blair' --Inquiry watered down contrast between case for war and actual intelligence --Last week’s damning report into British intelligence failures ahead of the Iraq war was amended at the last minute to make it less critical of Prime Minister Tony Blair, a report said late on Saturday.

No 10 admits Hutton cover-up --Downing Street admitted yesterday that MI6 embarked on an unprecedented cover-up after it withdrew intelligence supporting the Government's dossier on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction because it was unreliable. In an astonishing admission after the disclosure of the cover-up in yesterday's Independent, Tony Blair's official spokesman said MI6 decided not to tell the Hutton inquiry - set up to investigate the death of the government scientist David Kelly - that crucial intelligence on Saddam's chemical and biological weapons was unsound. The security services, he said, felt it was "too sensitive'' to be made public.

Arms suppliers scramble into Iraq --When the 15-member United Nations Security Council legitimized the US-imposed dictatorship ['interim government'] in Baghdad in June, the five-page unanimous resolution carried a provision little publicized in the media: the lifting of a 14-year arms embargo on Iraq. The Security Council's decision to end military sanctions on Iraq has triggered a rush by the world's weapons dealers to make a grab for a potentially multimillion-dollar new arms market in the already over-armed Middle East.

Iraqi clerics call on US occupation to end --Sunni clerics have called on US forces to pull out of Iraq and stop "hiding behind the so-called multinational forces" or face a growing resistance movement.

Terrorism and the Election: California is the Target! No postponement, just bedlam at the polls and a low turnout on the west coast is Bush's plan for 'victory' -- by Wayne Madsen "If the pre-election internal tracking polls and public opinion polls show the Kerry-Edwards ticket leading in key battleground states, the Bush team will begin to implement their plan to announce an imminent terrorist alert for the West Coast for November 2 sometime during the mid afternoon Pacific Standard Time. At 2:00 PST, the polls in Kentucky and Indiana will be one hour from closing (5:00 PM EST – the polls close in Indiana and Kentucky at 6:00 PM EST)."

CLG's strategy in case of postponed elections: The Ballot, The Bullet, and the Grand Refusal --by Michael Rectenwald, CLG Founder and Chair "...[A] postponed election, or the playing the fear factor for low voter turnout, are acts of terrorism in themselves. We are already being attacked. This warning is yet another in a series of attacks on our rights, on our democratic system, on our freedom, and on our self-determination."

The Bush terror team is trying to acclimate public to idea of 'postponing' elections (i.e., the Bush regime must be so far down in their internal polling that even Diebold can't save them). Principle Reichwing media whore, Michael Isikoff, has the 'exclusive.' Exclusive: Election Day Worries --American counter-terrorism officials, citing what they call "alarming" intelligence about a possible Qaeda [Bush-duh] strike inside the United States this fall, are reviewing a proposal that could allow for the postponement of the November presidential election in the event of such an attack, NEWSWEEK has learned. Sources tell NEWSWEEK, [Homeland Security Secretary Tom] Ridge's department last week asked the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to analyze what legal steps would be needed to permit the postponement of the election were an attack to take place.

Bush Regime working out Procedures for postponing November Election --by Webster Griffin Tarpley "The Bush regime is now working out procedures for postponing the coming November general election. This is totally unprecedented -- even in 1864, in the midst of the Civil War, the Lincoln vs. McClellan presidential contest took place according to the schedule established by the Constitution and relevant statutes. This represents further planning for a cold coup designed to perpetuate the power of the current gaggle of discredited neocon ideologues and their Wall Street backers. In a shamelessly partisan move, Homeland Secretary Ridge today announced that al Qaeda has advanced its preparation for a terror attack in the US designed to disrupt the Democratic process. One wonders how Ridge is able to know so much about the specific intent of the terror attack he says is coming, in particular the part about the intent to disrupt the election."

9/11 film places real issues in spotlight --by Linda McQuaig "Then there's the unforgettable footage of Bush, after being informed that a second plane has hit the World Trade Center, sitting in a Florida classroom for seven minutes while schoolchildren read a story about a pet goat. Stuck in that classroom, with cameras on him but no one to advise him what to do, Bush is lost, confused, and utterly useless to the nation. Should warplanes be sent up? Should buildings be evacuated? Will the little goat find a happy home? ...Which raises the question: Why did the networks never show this footage? It's been available for years on the Internet, and it's at least as interesting as the footage of Saddam Hussein's mouth being examined after his capture — which the networks never tire of running. If the pet goat footage had been widely shown like the Saddam-mouth footage — or the career-ending footage of Howard Dean screaming after losing a Democratic primary — Bush would have had a lot more trouble presenting himself as a tough guy defending the United States from terrorists. He would have forever been the guy who listened to a pet goat story while America burned — behaviour that's at least as un-presidential as screaming exuberantly in the face of defeat in the primaries." [a must read]

Their George and Ours --by Barbara Ehrenreich "The bulk of the declaration [Declaration of Independence] is devoted to a list of charges against George III, several of which bear an eerie relevance to our own time. George III is accused, for example, of 'depriving us in many cases of the benefits of Trial by Jury.' ...But it is the final sentence of the declaration that deserves the closest study: 'And for the support of this Declaration . . . we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.' Today, those who believe that the war on terror requires the sacrifice of our liberties like to argue that 'the Constitution is not a suicide pact.' In a sense, however, the Declaration of Independence was precisely that. By signing Jefferson's text, the signers of the declaration were putting their lives on the line... If the rebel American militias were beaten on the battlefield, their ringleaders could expect to be hanged as traitors." [We will not tolerate a *second* coup d'etat, in November.]

Congressman suggests Bush hiding bin Laden --'They are trying to decide what day they should bring him out' --In a speech to business leaders in India, Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., gave credence to a rumor that the U.S. has captured Osama bin Laden and for political reasons is waiting for the right moment to reveal it, according to the Indo-Asian News Service. "There are already rumours circulating that Osama bin Laden is being held somewhere already and it's only that they are trying to decide what day they should bring him out," McDermott told Confederation of Indian Industry representatives at a luncheon in New Delhi on Thursday.

Hussein Could Call CIA in His Defence --Evidence offered by a top CIA man could confirm the testimony given by Saddam Hussein at the opening of his trial in Baghdad Thursday that he knew of the Halabja massacre only from the newspapers. A report prepared by the top CIA official handling the matter says Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the massacre, and indicates that it was the work of Iranians. Further, the Scott inquiry on the role of the British government has gathered evidence that following the massacre the United States in fact armed Saddam Hussein to counter the Iranians chemicals for chemicals. [US officials (terrorists) need to be tried for their war crimes and for being accessories to murder.]

Pentagon perverts declare wedding party a 'significant intelligence target' -- U.S.: Iraq wedding attack was legitimate --The U.S. military said Wednesday an initial investigation of an air attack near the Syrian border last month hit a legitimate military target, despite claims by Iraqi survivors and police who said it was a wedding party.

The resistance campaign is Iraq's real war of liberation --The sham of this week's handover will do nothing to end the uprising --by Seumas Milne "The new ruler of Iraq is in real life the incoming US ambassador, John Negroponte, who oversaw the US contra terror campaign against Nicaragua in the 1980s and will now exercise ultimate power from his 3,000-strong fortified embassy inside Saddam Hussein's former palace compounds. In all meaningful senses, the occupation will continue... The anti-occupation guerrillas are routinely damned as terrorists, Ba'athist remnants, Islamist fanatics or mindless insurgents without a political programme... But it has become ever clearer that they are in fact a classic resistance movement with widespread support waging an increasingly successful guerrilla war against the occupying armies. Their tactics are overwhelmingly in line with those of resistance campaigns throughout modern history, targeting both the occupiers themselves and the local police and military working for them."

'The liberation of Baghdad is not far away' --by Alix de la Grange "On the eve of the so-called transfer of sovereignty to the new Iraqi caretaker government on June 30, former Saddam Hussein generals turned members of the elite of the Iraqi resistance movement have abandoned their clandestine positions for a while to explain their version of events and talk about their plans. According to these Ba'ath officials, 'the big battle' in Iraq is yet to take place. 'The Americans have prepared the war, we have prepared the post-war. And the transfer of power on June 30 will not change anything regarding our objectives. This new provisional government appointed by the Americans has no legitimacy in our eyes. They are nothing but puppets.' ... 'We are aware that the kidnapping of foreign nationals blemishes our image, but try to understand the situation. We are forced to control the identity of people circulating in our territory. If we have proof that they are humanitarians or journalists we release them. If they are spies, mercenaries or collaborators we execute them. On this matter, let's be clear, we are not responsible for the death of Nick Berg, the American who was beheaded.' ...'What American troops cannot do today, NATO troops won't be able to do later on. Everyone must know: Western troops will be regarded by Iraqis as occupiers. This is something that George W Bush and his faithful ally Tony Blair will do well to think about. If they have won a battle, they have not won the war yet. The great battle is still to begin. The liberation of Baghdad is not far away." [a must read]

'They were feeding the Americans' --The Taliban have claimed responsibility for kidnapping 12 Afghan truck drivers taking supplies to United States-led occupation bases in southern Afghanistan, a man claiming to be a spokesperson for the ousted militia said on Wednesday. "We claim responsbility for destroying four trucks, and kidnapping the drivers," Abdul Latif Hakimi told reporters, without elaborating on the condition of the hostages. "They were transporting foodstuffs for the Americans, they were feeding the Americans," he added.

Voting official seeks process for canceling Election Day over terrorism --The government needs to establish guidelines for canceling or rescheduling elections if [Bush's] terrorists strike the United States again, says the chairman of a new federal voting commission. Such guidelines do not currently exist, said DeForest B. Soaries, head of the voting panel. Soaries was appointed to the federal Election Assistance Commission last year by Dictator Bush. Soaries also said he wants to know what federal officials are doing to increase security on Election Day.

The defiance of science --More than 4,000 scientists have signed a petition accusing George Bush of twisting their work to further his political agenda. Andrew Buncombe investigates the war between the White House and the men in white coats. "Critics say that the administration has adopted three strategies to twist facts. The first is to manipulate the membership of advisory committees, stacking them with people who share its views... The second strategy is simply to misrepresent the truth... The final strategy, outlined by Martin McKee and Thomas Novotny in an article in the European Journal of Public Health, is to block funding for controversial issues."

The angry author, a literary storm and 'one dead armadillo' --A slim volume of fiction from the ordinarily mild-mannered minimalist Nicholson Baker, Checkpoint, features two characters who spend much of its 115 pages discussing how to assassinate Dictator George Bush. They don't actually do the deed, or even attempt it, but the book is - according to early snippets - replete with deep-seated anger and elegantly nasty epithets hurled at both the Dictator and his cabinet. Mr Baker's publisher, Alfred Knopf, plans to release the book on 24 August, on the eve of the Republican National Convention in New York. According to the Post's account, its two protagonists, Ben and Jay, talk down and dirty about the Bush regime into a tape recorder during an in-room lunch at a Washington hotel. At one point, Jay calls Mr Bush an "unelected [expletive] drunken OILMAN" who is "squatting" in the White House and "muttering over his prayer book every morning." At another point, he calls Mr Bush "one dead armadillo".

"Go F*** Yourself, Dick Cheney." Now, We Feel Better! (Buzzflash) "Thanks for empowering us Dick! Thanks for telling Neil Cavuto on FOX News that you felt better after you told mild-mannered Vermont Democratic Senator Pat Leahy, 'Go F*** Yourself.' How you liberated us from so many things: From the FCC, which is fining radio personalities who use such words on the air. From the prudish concerns of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who now says it's fine with him for you to use such language. From your right wing religious Salem Witch trial supporters who believe words like the ones you spoke only come from the mouths of Satanic Democrats..."

Fahrenheit 9-11 and the Burning of Bush: A review, by Michael Rectenwald -- "There's no question about it, Michael Moore's new film is an all-out assault on the Bush Regime--from its theft of the White House, to its utter implication and embroilment with the perpetrators of 9-11, its real loyalty to the oil-rich Saudi Royal Family, the Bush-bin Laden nexus in the Carlyle Group, and the complete falsity behind the march to War on Iraq. Most importantly, however, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 chronicles the fates of the victims to this series of atrocities: the victims of 9/11 and their families who demanded but were not (and still are not) able to get answers and thus closure to this event, the US citizens who lost rights and a say in our government, including its elections, the innocent Iraqis dying and being tortured in an unjust war and Occupation, the US soldiers dying and being lied to about the reasons, and the families who lost sons and daughters in Iraq, and without a real shred of justification."

Carlyle Group Embraces Telecom --Deal for Japanese Wireless Firm Follows Other Investments --The Carlyle Group said yesterday it would buy one of Japan's largest wireless data providers, the latest in a flurry of activity by the Washington private equity [and Bush-bin Laden family 'connected'] company's telecommunications and media buyout group.

Carlyle goes to the movies District-based [and Bush-bin Laden family 'connected'] investment firm The Carlyle Group is one of three investors that have agreed to buy Loews Cineplex Entertainment from Onex Corp. and Oaktree Capital Management for $1.46 billion. [Gee, I wonder if they would show Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 911' at the new Carlyle-owned theaters?]

'Bush should have died, not Reagan': Morrissey Manchester music legend Morrissey sparked controversy when he announced Ronald Reagan's death live on stage during a concert - and then declared he wished it was George Bush who had died instead. Thousands of fans at Dublin Castle, in Ireland, cheered when the ex-Smiths frontman made the announcement that the former American president, who had battled with Alzheimer's Disease, had passed away. And an even bigger cheer followed when Morrissey - who is no stranger to controversy - then said he wished it had been the current President [sic], George W Bush, who had died. Fan Tony Murray said: "He commented about the death of Ronald Reagan and when he wished that it was George W instead the crowd went wild."

American fib factory --by Eric Margolis "The White House's Iraq fib factory went into overdrive last week, ballyhooing claims that the new 'caretaker government' the UN had supposedly just installed in Baghdad was 'fully sovereign' and 'totally independent.' We would like to believe American president George Bush. But this latest claim comes from the same truth-deficient people who concocted Iraq's imminent threat to destroy the U.S. with nuclear and germ weapons, Saddam Hussein's vans and drones of death, Saddam's tryst with Osama bin Laden, and a slew of other preposterous whoppers that would have made the Nazis' propagandist, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, blush deep crimson."

Killer, Coward, Con-Man Good Riddance, Gipper ... More Proof Only the Good Die Young --by Greg Palast "Ronald Reagan was a conman. Reagan was a coward. Reagan was a killer. In 1987, I found myself stuck in a crappy little town in Nicaragua named Chaguitillo. The people were kind enough, though hungry, except for one surly young man. His wife had just died of tuberculosis. People don't die of TB if they get some antibiotics. But Ronald Reagan, big hearted guy that he was, had put a lock-down embargo on medicine to Nicaragua because he didn't like the government that the people there had elected. Ronnie grinned and cracked jokes while the young woman's lungs filled up and she stopped breathing."

Wedding party video casts doubt on American version of attack that killed 42 US military commanders came under new pressure yesterday to account for an attack on an Iraqi village that killed more than 40 people when a video emerged showing a wedding party at the scene hours before the raid. Since the attack on the village of Mukaradeeb, near the Syrian border, last Wednesday the US military has insisted it targeted a "suspected foreign fighter safe house". Several witnesses at funerals and in hospital after the attack insisted that the raid came just hours after a wedding celebration and killed dozens of wedding guests and musicians, including women and children.

Video Shows Iraq Wedding Celebration A videotape shows a dozen white pickup trucks speeding through the desert, escorting a bridal car decorated with colorful ribbons. The bride wears a Western-style white bridal dress and veil. The camera captures her stepping out of the car but does not show a close-up. The videotape obtained Sunday by Associated Press Television News captures a wedding party that survivors say was later attacked by U.S. planes early Wednesday, killing up to 45 people. The dead included the cameraman, Yasser Shawkat Abdullah, hired to record the festivities, which ended Tuesday night before the planes struck. "I don't know where Fatima and my mom were. Siham got hit. She died. I saw Zohra's head gone. I lost consciousness,'' said Moza, covering her mouth with the end of her headscarf.

Senate Majority Leader Campaigns Against Daschle In an break with bipartisan traditions in the U.S. Senate, Republican 'Leader' Bill [Nazi] Frist urged voters in South Dakota on Saturday to vote his Democratic counterpart, Tom Daschle, out of office.

When advocates become regulators Dictator has installed more than 100 top officials who were once lobbyists, attorneys or spokespeople for the industries they oversee. [Bush should know all about 'installation', since he himself was installed in the 2000 coup d'etat.] More than 100 high-level officials under Dictator Bush have helped govern industries they once represented as lobbyists, lawyers or company advocates, a Denver Post analysis shows. In at least 20 cases, those former industry advocates have helped their agencies write, shape or push for policy shifts that benefit their former industries. They knew which changes to make because they had pushed for them as industry advocates. The dictator's political appointees are making or overseeing profound changes affecting drug laws, food policies, land use, clean-air regulations and other key issues.

*****

Archived Hot Articles:
Page 1
Page 2

View the Articles of Impeachment, drafted by former U.S. Atty. Gen. Ramsey Clark. Cast your vote for impeachment

Impeachment Resolution Against President George W. Bush --by Francis A. Boyle

Short Term Archives - Recent news items

CLG News Archives - Archived news items

CLG's best quotations regarding the Bush dictatorship