Must read - Librarians Speak Out for First Time After Being Gagged by Patriot Act
http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0530-06.htm"Our clients were gagged by the government at a time when Congress needed to hear their voices the most," said Ann Beeson, ACLU Associate Legal Director. "This administration has repeatedly shown that it will hide behind the cloak of national security to silence its critics and cover up embarrassing facts. Every time the government invokes national security in defense of secrecy -- as they've done most recently with NSA wiretapping -- the American public should remember these four librarians.""The four librarians, members of a Connecticut consortium called the Library Connection, sought help from the ACLU after the FBI demanded patron records through a National Security Letter. This controversial Patriot Act tool allows the government to demand, without court approval, records of people who are not suspected of any wrongdoing. Anyone who receives such a demand is gagged from disclosing the mere existence of the request."A few thoughts:I was one who was following the Patriot Act "debates". I remember vividly those senators and congressmen who scoffed at the notion that the Act would ever be used to access library records of ordinary citizens.Man, we are fed such a bunch of balony on a daily basis.Thank goodness for Democracy Now!. Thank goodness for FAIR. Thank goodness for the ACLU.- Vox
"If it wasn't on the news, it didn't happen."
Marines Held in the Slaying of Iraqi Manhttp://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-marines28may28,0,2689.story?coll=la-home-headlines"In the Hamandiya incident, an Iraqi was allegedly taken from his home and shot to death, officials said.Troops may have planted an AK-47 and shovel near the body, Marines said, to make it appear that the man was an insurgent placing an improvised explosive device to detonate beneath a military vehicle.The Marines were brought back from Iraq for the investigation."I don't mean to come off as being to hard or unfair on our soldiers who are fighting under pressures and conditions that I couldn't imagine.But my broader point is this: You cannot rely on the mainstream media to give you information that accurately depicts the reality of what is going on in the world. As our access to alternative forms of information (mainly web-based) grow, the consolidation and politicization of the corporate-controlled mainstream press will also grow. "If it isn't in the news, then it didn't happen". It is a means of SOCIAL-CONTROL and PROPAGANDA. Don't believe the hype. Dig deeper.- Vox
Countless My Lai Massacres in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/053006Z.shtml"...while the media spotlight shines squarely on the Haditha massacre, countless atrocities continue daily, conveniently out of the awareness of the general public. Torture did not stop simply because the media finally decided, albeit in horribly belated fashion, to cover the story, and the daily slaughter of Iraqi civilians by US forces and US-backed Iraqi "security" forces had not stopped either."The only instances when US soldiers have committed atrocities: Haditha, Abu Graib and My lai (Vietnam)The only instances when we've been mislead about atrocities committed by US soldiers: Haditha, Abu Graib, Pat Tillman (in Afghanistan) and My Lai (Vietnam).Isolated incidents? Ah, the ever broadening definition of the "insurgent".- Vox
George W. Bush and Kenneth Lay
U.S. traffic accident sparks Afghan riot
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060529/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan"KABUL, Afghanistan - A deadly traffic accident Monday involving U.S. troops sparked the worst rioting in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban regime, with hundreds of protesters looting shops and shouting "Death to America!""In case you haven't noticed, we're doing a bang-up job in both Iraq and Afghanistan.- Vox
The Marines and a 'massacre' in Iraq
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2199287,00.html#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=WorldThis cannot be ignored."As Iman tells it, US marines burst into her house 15 minutes after the bomb destroyed the Humvee, apparently looking for insurgents. They shouted at her father. Then a grenade was thrown into her grandparents’ room. She saw her mother hit by shrapnel. Her aunt grabbed a baby and ran from the house.
Soldiers opened fire inside the living room, where most of the family were gathered. Her uncle Rashid came downstairs, saw what was happening, then fled outside, where he was pursued by Marines and shot.
“Everybody who was in the house was killed by the Americans except my brother Abdul-Rahman and me,” Iman said. “We were too scared to move and tried to hide under a pillow. I was hit by shrapnel in my leg. For two hours we didn’t dare to move. My family didn’t die immediately. We could hear them groaning.”Who's to blame? War is hell and all of that, but aren't we supposed to be "better" than this? After all, isn't that supposedly the reason why we're there? This is what Saddams Iraq looked like. Bring the troops home now.- Vox
I'm really getting tired of this crap...
70 in TWU may get 2G for job they didn't do1st sentence:"The Transit Authority is on track to pay thousands of dollars to a group of transit workers - for doing nothing, the Daily News has learned."The outrage!! Those damn hourly-waged, uppitty union workers are trying to make my life miserable!!But wait...as you read further into the story:"The unexpected payday,...stems from an arbitrator's ruling that the TA be penalized for violating its contract with Transport Workers Union Local 100 (emphasis added by Vox).""The contract, signed years ago, mandated certain tasks be done by the agency's unionized workforce (emphasis added by Vox). But the TA hired a private company to build subway switching equipment that TWU members had been building for decades, the arbitrator ruled."Wait a sec. This whole situation was caused BECAUSE THE TRANSIT AUTHORITY VIOLATED THE CONTRACT!Point is, recognize that there has been an effort by the politically-controlled corporate media to bias people's opinion against the union by constantly portraying them negatively. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE.What's next? "TWU responsible for Global Warming", or "TWU-Al Queda connection proven: Osama bin Laden seen cleaning the 4 train". You get the idea.- Vox
Where de plane, Boss??
(a little Tattoo from Fantasy Island reference)Now that the Justice Department has "officially" released the 9/11 Pentagon footage, I have to ask: WHERE'S THE PLANE???"The Justice Department has handed over tapes showing American Airlines Flight 77 striking the building outside Washington..." (emphasis added by Vox)
Yeah, right. Let the brainwashing begin.Pay close attention to the video. I say pay close attention because if you don't, you surely won't see a Boeing 757 slamming into the Pentagon. But if you DO pay close attention...YOU STILL WON'T SEE A BOEING 757 SLAM INTO THE PENTAGON!!According to Judicial Watch, who sued to have the tapes released, "Finally, we hope that this video will put to rest the conspiracy theories involving American Airlines Flight 77."Sorry, but this video does just the opposite.But I have another question: Where is the other security camera footage?"Sources said in 2002 that the FBI confiscated a hotel security camera video that showed the attack on the Pentagon. It's not known if that tape is being released."..."The video requested by Judicial Watch was taken from security cameras at the Pentagon, the Sheraton National Hotel, the Nexcomm/Citgo gas station, and Virginia Department of Transportation traffic cameras."The most protected and secure building on the country, perhaps the world, and this is all they've got?- Vox
Porter Goss abruptly resigns as CIA chief
Another one for you non-believers...
Artificial rain washes dust from Chinese capitalhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060505/sc_nm/weather_china_rain_dc"BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese technicians have artificially generated heavy rainfall to wash a layer of sand and dust off Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.""The Beijing Weather Modification Office responded Thursday with a major cloud seeding operation.""Although the science of weather seeding is controversial and some doubt its effectiveness, China often seeds clouds in an effort to end droughts in the arid north."Keep this in mind the next time someone floats the idea that some major storm might possibly have been gov't made or influenced, and you laugh them off. Who's the more foolish: the one with vision to see the world around them for what it is or the one who cannot even grasp what is right in front of their eyes?- Vox
Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondents' dinner
I didn't know Stephen Colbert spoke at the dinner. But after hearing him speak, I can see why it hasn't really been covered. Funny stuff. True to his humor. Jon Stewart would be proud.Se it here.- Vox
Moussaoui,...said: "America, you lost. ... I won."
No, Mr. Moussaoui, WE WON.We won, because this jury could have easily bent to the pressure and the lust for blood. But they didn't.Hopefully, this is just a small step towards us getting our national soul back.- Vox
Operation Northwoods and 9/11
For those of you who still hold onto the pollyanna-ish idea that your gov't would NEVER plot against you, the American Citizen, please read.http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12072.htm"The contemplation of terrorist attacks on U.S. citizens by the CIA is a matter of public record. The previously classified "Operation Northwoods" document reveals that in 1962, the CIA seriously considered the possibility of carrying out terrorist attacks against US citizens, in order to blame it on Cuba. The plans were never implemented, but were given approval signatures by all the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The plan included several options, including killing Cuban defectors or U.S. soldiers, sinking ships, and staging simulations of planes being shot down. All this was done to blame on Castro as a pretext for launching a war against Cuba." (from intro on InformationClearingHouse.com)
