Sunday, July 24, 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005
Society is destroyed from the inside
SOCIETY IS DESTROYED FROM THE INSIDE
We tend to think that the threats to our society or to ourselves are outside of us. We fear that some enemy will destroy us. But a society is destroyed from the inside, not from an attack by outsiders. We may imagine the enemy coming with spears and machine guns to kill us, massacre us. In reality, the only thing that can destroy us is within ourselves. If we have too much arrogance, we will destroy our gentleness. And if we destroy gentleness, then we destroy the possibility of being awake, and then we cannot use our intuitive openness to extend ourselves in situations properly. Instead we generate tremendous aggression.
From: SHAMBHALA: THE SACRED PATH OF THE WARRIOR, By Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shambhala Publications
We tend to think that the threats to our society or to ourselves are outside of us. We fear that some enemy will destroy us. But a society is destroyed from the inside, not from an attack by outsiders. We may imagine the enemy coming with spears and machine guns to kill us, massacre us. In reality, the only thing that can destroy us is within ourselves. If we have too much arrogance, we will destroy our gentleness. And if we destroy gentleness, then we destroy the possibility of being awake, and then we cannot use our intuitive openness to extend ourselves in situations properly. Instead we generate tremendous aggression.
From: SHAMBHALA: THE SACRED PATH OF THE WARRIOR, By Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shambhala Publications
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Nagarjuna
If something exists in dependence on something else, But that thing upon which it depends must also depend on it, Then which one of these exists on dependence of which?
--Nagarjuna, Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way
--Nagarjuna, Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
The Sounds of Hope
The Sounds of Hope
by Cindy SheehanCindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan, KIA in Iraq 04/04/04
Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
The torrential rains of a mother's weeping will never be done.
They call him a hero, you should be glad he's one, but,Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries?
They say he must be brave because his boy died for another mans lies.
The only thing he allows himself are long, deep sighs.
Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries?
Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave?
They say he died so the flag will continue to wave,
But I believe he died because they had oil to save.
Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave?
Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep?
The leaders want to keep you numb so the pain won't be so deep,
But if we the people let them continue, another mother will weep.
Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep?
~ A Nation Rocked To Sleep/For CaseyBy Carly SheehanCopyrighted 2004
The sounds my daughter wrote about in her inspired poem, so poignantly and amazingly a few weeks after her brother, my son, was killed in Iraq, have been repeated over and over again too many times since the criminal invasion/occupation of Iraq began in March of 2003.
The saddest thing about the obscene sounds of violence is that they never should have been heard in the first place. From Maine to California, and from Baghdad to Falluja, these dirges were unnecessary. In my travels, and from hundreds of emails, phone calls, and cards and letters, I am discovering that people who formerly supported the invasion of Iraq are withdrawing their support. I even believe that many of our fellow citizens who still support the ignominy of Iraq are doing so because they are clinging to the deceptions so desperately, because they want the deceptions to so be the truth. It will be painful to come to terms with supporting the lies of this administration. It will be painful to know that wholesale killing of innocent people occurred because you and so many others believed the betrayals, but acknowledging the mistake is the first step to correcting it. And believe me, acknowledging the mistake is not as painful as hearing those devastating sounds.
Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) has realized that he had been duped into supporting the invasion. I have spoken to him about his change of heart, and he is so sad that his wholehearted support of the administration helped cause so many good people to hear those gut wrenching sounds of grief. But he is going forward to do what he can to end this occupation as soon as possible. He has co-sponsored a bi-partisan bill (HRJ 55) with other Congressional leaders like Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Ron Paul (R-TX) to force our administration into a troop withdrawal beginning October 1, 2006. The bill is a good first step to ensuring that families here in America and all over the world do not have to suffer needless death in war. However, I would like the withdrawal to begin tomorrow, because I don't even want to try and imagine the sounds Casey heard before he died. I don't want to imagine the sound of the bullet strong enough to pierce the Kevlar coating on his helmet to rip through his skull. I don’t want to know the sounds of a mother in Iraq wailing for her entire family. These sounds need to stop immediately. It is time to bring our troops home.
The sound I do want to hear is the sound of a Nation Waking Up. I will rejoice to hear the sounds of the collective Mea Culpa and the beating of breasts. I want to hear the deafening clicks as the steady stream of news-o-tainment is turned off, propaganda that is turning us into zombies who are numb to the truth. I want to hear the sound of our children getting off planes and boats from Iraq to the joyful squealing of their children and the deep sighs of relief from their spouses, parents, and other loved ones. I want to hear our citizenry lifting up their voices in chorus and singing, "We will never let this happen again."
Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan, KIA 04/04/04 She is co-founder of "Gold Star Families for Peace."
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/851
by Cindy SheehanCindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan, KIA in Iraq 04/04/04
Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
The torrential rains of a mother's weeping will never be done.
They call him a hero, you should be glad he's one, but,Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?
Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries?
They say he must be brave because his boy died for another mans lies.
The only thing he allows himself are long, deep sighs.
Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries?
Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave?
They say he died so the flag will continue to wave,
But I believe he died because they had oil to save.
Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave?
Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep?
The leaders want to keep you numb so the pain won't be so deep,
But if we the people let them continue, another mother will weep.
Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep?
~ A Nation Rocked To Sleep/For CaseyBy Carly SheehanCopyrighted 2004
The sounds my daughter wrote about in her inspired poem, so poignantly and amazingly a few weeks after her brother, my son, was killed in Iraq, have been repeated over and over again too many times since the criminal invasion/occupation of Iraq began in March of 2003.
The saddest thing about the obscene sounds of violence is that they never should have been heard in the first place. From Maine to California, and from Baghdad to Falluja, these dirges were unnecessary. In my travels, and from hundreds of emails, phone calls, and cards and letters, I am discovering that people who formerly supported the invasion of Iraq are withdrawing their support. I even believe that many of our fellow citizens who still support the ignominy of Iraq are doing so because they are clinging to the deceptions so desperately, because they want the deceptions to so be the truth. It will be painful to come to terms with supporting the lies of this administration. It will be painful to know that wholesale killing of innocent people occurred because you and so many others believed the betrayals, but acknowledging the mistake is the first step to correcting it. And believe me, acknowledging the mistake is not as painful as hearing those devastating sounds.
Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) has realized that he had been duped into supporting the invasion. I have spoken to him about his change of heart, and he is so sad that his wholehearted support of the administration helped cause so many good people to hear those gut wrenching sounds of grief. But he is going forward to do what he can to end this occupation as soon as possible. He has co-sponsored a bi-partisan bill (HRJ 55) with other Congressional leaders like Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Ron Paul (R-TX) to force our administration into a troop withdrawal beginning October 1, 2006. The bill is a good first step to ensuring that families here in America and all over the world do not have to suffer needless death in war. However, I would like the withdrawal to begin tomorrow, because I don't even want to try and imagine the sounds Casey heard before he died. I don't want to imagine the sound of the bullet strong enough to pierce the Kevlar coating on his helmet to rip through his skull. I don’t want to know the sounds of a mother in Iraq wailing for her entire family. These sounds need to stop immediately. It is time to bring our troops home.
The sound I do want to hear is the sound of a Nation Waking Up. I will rejoice to hear the sounds of the collective Mea Culpa and the beating of breasts. I want to hear the deafening clicks as the steady stream of news-o-tainment is turned off, propaganda that is turning us into zombies who are numb to the truth. I want to hear the sound of our children getting off planes and boats from Iraq to the joyful squealing of their children and the deep sighs of relief from their spouses, parents, and other loved ones. I want to hear our citizenry lifting up their voices in chorus and singing, "We will never let this happen again."
Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan, KIA 04/04/04 She is co-founder of "Gold Star Families for Peace."
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/851
Monday, July 18, 2005
HEAR TAPE OF JULY 23, 2002, DOWNING STREET MEETING…
. . or an amazing 9-minute recreation thereof that uses the exact words of the "Downing Street Memo."
This remarkable audio production conveys far more clearly than the written word what went on behind closed doors that day three years ago. The cast and credits for this production, are as follows.
Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee John Scarlett -- Anonymous
Sir Richard Dearlove, the Chief of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) – John Rafter Lee
Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, Chief of Defence Staff – Demian Martell
Then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon – Ed Asner
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw -- Anonymous
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith – Larry Pressman
Sir David Manning, a foreign policy advisor – Brian O'Connor
Prime Minister Tony Blair – Demian Martell
Narrator – Mimi Kennedy
Recording Engineered By Michael Jay
LINK TO AUDIO AVAILABLE FOR USE ON RADIO:http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/recreation.m3u
Take it and air it!
LINK TO TRANSCRIPT:http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/drama2.pdf
CONTACT FOR INTERVIEWS:http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/478
This remarkable audio production conveys far more clearly than the written word what went on behind closed doors that day three years ago. The cast and credits for this production, are as follows.
Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee John Scarlett -- Anonymous
Sir Richard Dearlove, the Chief of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) – John Rafter Lee
Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, Chief of Defence Staff – Demian Martell
Then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon – Ed Asner
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw -- Anonymous
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith – Larry Pressman
Sir David Manning, a foreign policy advisor – Brian O'Connor
Prime Minister Tony Blair – Demian Martell
Narrator – Mimi Kennedy
Recording Engineered By Michael Jay
LINK TO AUDIO AVAILABLE FOR USE ON RADIO:http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/recreation.m3u
Take it and air it!
LINK TO TRANSCRIPT:http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/downloads/drama2.pdf
CONTACT FOR INTERVIEWS:http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/478
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Einstein says
"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the
Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
~ Albert Einstein
Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
~ Albert Einstein
Friday, July 15, 2005
Probability of 7/7 Drill and Attack Coinciding
Probability of 7/7 Drill and Attack Coinciding
Infowars.com July 13, 2005
Comment:This is absolutely mind boggling. The chances for these two events taking place at the same time, let alone in the same locations are astronomical (numbers so big we had to look up how to say them). And these estimates are within a very conservative five year mean. In other words, most statistical analysis that is designed to create the impression of a similarly incredible improbability is usually framed within a greater amount of time: 50 years since England began experiencing bombings, 130 years since the Tube first opened, etc. We don't need to frame these results in that way because the chance is so low that these events would ever occur simultaneously without some sort of intervention that one might go so far as to call it impossible.
Probability of 7/7 Drill and Attack Coinciding LU Stations: 274
RELATED:
Explosions In London
Probability of one attack by hour (5yr mean): One chance in 9,474,920
Open Hours per Day: 19
Probability of 3 station terror hit (5yr mean): One chance in 850,602,500,906,920,000,000
Open Days a Year: 364
Mean Sample frequent (yrs) 5 Probability of one attack by hour (10yr mean): One chance in 18,949,840
Mean Sample frequent (yrs) 10 Probability of 3 station terror hit (10yr mean):One chance in 6,804,820,007,255,360,000,000Same Time 3 LU Stations: 274
Probability of drill on 1 stations per hour:One chance in 817,342
Open Hours per Day: 19
Probability of drill on 3 stations per hour:One chance in 546,023,643,432,766,000
Open Days a Year: 157 Same Time 3 PROBABILITY OF DRILL AND TERROR ATTACK COINCIDING BY CHANCE (10yr mean):One chance in 3,715,592,613,265,750,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000Estimate of Grains of sand in the whole world:7,500,000,000,000,000,000(http://www.miamisci.org/tripod/whysand.html)
In context: If I go to a beach, or a desert, or under the sea and pick a single grain of sand. What chance is there of you going to the same part of the world by chance and picking up the same grain? You are trillions of times more likely to do this that the London drill coinciding with this attack at that hour I wonder why the media aren't reporting the drill??
Infowars.com July 13, 2005
Comment:This is absolutely mind boggling. The chances for these two events taking place at the same time, let alone in the same locations are astronomical (numbers so big we had to look up how to say them). And these estimates are within a very conservative five year mean. In other words, most statistical analysis that is designed to create the impression of a similarly incredible improbability is usually framed within a greater amount of time: 50 years since England began experiencing bombings, 130 years since the Tube first opened, etc. We don't need to frame these results in that way because the chance is so low that these events would ever occur simultaneously without some sort of intervention that one might go so far as to call it impossible.
Probability of 7/7 Drill and Attack Coinciding LU Stations: 274
RELATED:
Explosions In London
Probability of one attack by hour (5yr mean): One chance in 9,474,920
Open Hours per Day: 19
Probability of 3 station terror hit (5yr mean): One chance in 850,602,500,906,920,000,000
Open Days a Year: 364
Mean Sample frequent (yrs) 5 Probability of one attack by hour (10yr mean): One chance in 18,949,840
Mean Sample frequent (yrs) 10 Probability of 3 station terror hit (10yr mean):One chance in 6,804,820,007,255,360,000,000Same Time 3 LU Stations: 274
Probability of drill on 1 stations per hour:One chance in 817,342
Open Hours per Day: 19
Probability of drill on 3 stations per hour:One chance in 546,023,643,432,766,000
Open Days a Year: 157 Same Time 3 PROBABILITY OF DRILL AND TERROR ATTACK COINCIDING BY CHANCE (10yr mean):One chance in 3,715,592,613,265,750,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000Estimate of Grains of sand in the whole world:7,500,000,000,000,000,000(http://www.miamisci.org/tripod/whysand.html)
In context: If I go to a beach, or a desert, or under the sea and pick a single grain of sand. What chance is there of you going to the same part of the world by chance and picking up the same grain? You are trillions of times more likely to do this that the London drill coinciding with this attack at that hour I wonder why the media aren't reporting the drill??
Action Alert:CAFTA & Codex
Action Alert:CAFTA & Codex
http://www.thelibertycommittee.org/update07.13.05.htm
July 13, 2005
Will the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) finally force you
to get a doctor's prescription just to buy vitamin C, or E, or other dietary
supplements you currently pick up "over the counter" in America? Powerful special
interests are banking on it.
Since 1995, Big Medicine has spent billions of dollars trying to get
Washington to
regulate your dietary supplements just as European governments do. So
far, that
effort has failed in America. But you may lose the battle for health
freedom if CAFTA
entangles the U.S. in Europe's infamous Codex Alimentarius (Codex).
And if you think CAFTA -- the bogus "free trade" agreement -- really has
nothing to
do with limiting the manufacture and distribution of dietary
supplements, then why
does it specifically mention Codex?
CAFTA, chapter 6, article 6.3.6(d) states: "The Committee [Committee on
Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Matters] shall provide a forum for consulting on
issues, positions,
and agendas for meetings of the WTO SPS Committee, the various Codex
committees (including the Codex Alimentarius Commission), the
International Plant
Protection Convention, the International Office of Epizootics, and other
international
and regional fora and food safety and human, animal, and plant health."
On top of this, CAFTA is being shoved down Congress' throat under
unconstitutional
"fast track" trade-negotiation authority. That way, Congress isn't
allowed to change
even one word it. That means Congress must either accept the Codex
language, or
reject all of CAFTA. The special interests love it -- they are betting
Congress doesn't
have the courage to dump CAFTA.
You see, CAFTA, like NAFTA, isn't really about free trade. It's about
managed trade
where government gets to pick the winners and losers. In this case,
major
pharmaceuticals win, and you, the consumer, lose. The pharmaceutical
companies
want government to "manage" the dietary supplement industry under Codex
in order
to drive out competitors so only they can manufacture and distribute
vitamin C and
other dietary supplements. If that happens, as it already has in
Europe, the
supplements you now take will be available only by prescription and at a
much higher
cost -- if they are available at all.
We will fight CAFTA, NAFTA, WTO and the like because they subjugate our
national
sovereignty to the "rulings" of global institutions and the whims of the
unelected
bureaucrats-for-life who run them. As this web of global governance
grows, our
freedom to choose shrinks -- and health freedom is just one example.
You can't afford to stay out of this fight.
Read "Your dietary supplements: Under attack again" by Henry Lamb, and
"Controversial EU vitamin ban to go ahead" by Sam Knight.
View the powerful documentary "We Become Silent" narrated by British
actress,
Dame Judi Dench. This film features Congressman Ron Paul.
Then, call your U.S. representative. Urge him or her to vote against --
to dump --
CAFTA. The U.S. House will likely vote on CAFTA next week.
This vote will be very close. They are keeping score on Capitol Hill
and your effort
counts.
"Your dietary supplements: Under attack again"
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44713
"Controversial EU vitamin ban to go ahead"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1690686,00.html
"We Become Silent"
http://www.welltv.com/
Congressional Directory
http://capwiz.com/liberty/dbq/officials/
The U.S. House is likely to vote on CAFTA next week. Please, take
action today --
and spread the word.
Kent Snyder
The Liberty Committee
http://www.thelibertycommittee.org/update07.13.05.htm
July 13, 2005
Will the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) finally force you
to get a doctor's prescription just to buy vitamin C, or E, or other dietary
supplements you currently pick up "over the counter" in America? Powerful special
interests are banking on it.
Since 1995, Big Medicine has spent billions of dollars trying to get
Washington to
regulate your dietary supplements just as European governments do. So
far, that
effort has failed in America. But you may lose the battle for health
freedom if CAFTA
entangles the U.S. in Europe's infamous Codex Alimentarius (Codex).
And if you think CAFTA -- the bogus "free trade" agreement -- really has
nothing to
do with limiting the manufacture and distribution of dietary
supplements, then why
does it specifically mention Codex?
CAFTA, chapter 6, article 6.3.6(d) states: "The Committee [Committee on
Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Matters] shall provide a forum for consulting on
issues, positions,
and agendas for meetings of the WTO SPS Committee, the various Codex
committees (including the Codex Alimentarius Commission), the
International Plant
Protection Convention, the International Office of Epizootics, and other
international
and regional fora and food safety and human, animal, and plant health."
On top of this, CAFTA is being shoved down Congress' throat under
unconstitutional
"fast track" trade-negotiation authority. That way, Congress isn't
allowed to change
even one word it. That means Congress must either accept the Codex
language, or
reject all of CAFTA. The special interests love it -- they are betting
Congress doesn't
have the courage to dump CAFTA.
You see, CAFTA, like NAFTA, isn't really about free trade. It's about
managed trade
where government gets to pick the winners and losers. In this case,
major
pharmaceuticals win, and you, the consumer, lose. The pharmaceutical
companies
want government to "manage" the dietary supplement industry under Codex
in order
to drive out competitors so only they can manufacture and distribute
vitamin C and
other dietary supplements. If that happens, as it already has in
Europe, the
supplements you now take will be available only by prescription and at a
much higher
cost -- if they are available at all.
We will fight CAFTA, NAFTA, WTO and the like because they subjugate our
national
sovereignty to the "rulings" of global institutions and the whims of the
unelected
bureaucrats-for-life who run them. As this web of global governance
grows, our
freedom to choose shrinks -- and health freedom is just one example.
You can't afford to stay out of this fight.
Read "Your dietary supplements: Under attack again" by Henry Lamb, and
"Controversial EU vitamin ban to go ahead" by Sam Knight.
View the powerful documentary "We Become Silent" narrated by British
actress,
Dame Judi Dench. This film features Congressman Ron Paul.
Then, call your U.S. representative. Urge him or her to vote against --
to dump --
CAFTA. The U.S. House will likely vote on CAFTA next week.
This vote will be very close. They are keeping score on Capitol Hill
and your effort
counts.
"Your dietary supplements: Under attack again"
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44713
"Controversial EU vitamin ban to go ahead"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1690686,00.html
"We Become Silent"
http://www.welltv.com/
Congressional Directory
http://capwiz.com/liberty/dbq/officials/
The U.S. House is likely to vote on CAFTA next week. Please, take
action today --
and spread the word.
Kent Snyder
The Liberty Committee
a Patriot for Truth Who is Being Slandered
The Honorable Pat Roberts J. Rockefeller Dear Senator Roberts and Senator Rockefeller,
Dear Senator Roberts and Senator Rockefeller,
I read with great surprise and consternation the Niger portion of Senators Roberts, Bond and Hatch "additional comments to the Senate Select Intelligence Committee's Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Assessment on Iraq." I am taking this opportunity to clarify some of the issues raised in these comments.
First conclusion: "The plan to send the former ambassador to Niger was suggested by the former ambassador's wife, a CIA employee."
That is not true. The conclusion is apparently based on one anodyne quote from a memo Valerie Plame, my wife sent to her superiors that says "my husband has good relations with the PM (prime minister) and the former Minister of Mines, (not to mention lots of French contacts) both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity." There is no suggestion or recommendation in that statement that I be sent on the trip. Indeed it is little more than a recitation of my contacts and bona fides. The conclusion is reinforced by comments in the body of the report that a CPD reports officer stated the "the former ambassador's wife offered up his name'" (page 39) and a State Department Intelligence and Research officer that the "meeting was apparently convened by [the former ambassador's wife] who had the idea to dispatch him to use his contacts to sort out the Iraq-Niger uranium issue."
In fact, Valerie was not in the meeting at which the subject of my trip was raised. Neither was the CPD Reports officer. After having escorted me into the room, she departed the meeting to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest. It was at that meeting where the question of my traveling to Niger was broached with me for the first time and came only after a thorough discussion of what the participants did and did not know about the subject. My bona fides justifying the invitation to the meeting were the trip I had previously taken to Niger to look at other uranium related questions as well as 20 years living and working in Africa, and personal contacts throughout the Niger government. Neither the CPD reports officer nor the State analyst were in the chain of command to know who, or how, the decision was made. The interpretations attributed to them are not the full story. In fact, it is my understanding that the Reports Officer has a different conclusion about Valerie's role than the one offered in the "additional comments". I urge the committee to reinterview the officer and publicly publish his statement.
read more:
http://www.buzzflash.com/index.php?story=Story3
Dear Senator Roberts and Senator Rockefeller,
I read with great surprise and consternation the Niger portion of Senators Roberts, Bond and Hatch "additional comments to the Senate Select Intelligence Committee's Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Assessment on Iraq." I am taking this opportunity to clarify some of the issues raised in these comments.
First conclusion: "The plan to send the former ambassador to Niger was suggested by the former ambassador's wife, a CIA employee."
That is not true. The conclusion is apparently based on one anodyne quote from a memo Valerie Plame, my wife sent to her superiors that says "my husband has good relations with the PM (prime minister) and the former Minister of Mines, (not to mention lots of French contacts) both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity." There is no suggestion or recommendation in that statement that I be sent on the trip. Indeed it is little more than a recitation of my contacts and bona fides. The conclusion is reinforced by comments in the body of the report that a CPD reports officer stated the "the former ambassador's wife offered up his name'" (page 39) and a State Department Intelligence and Research officer that the "meeting was apparently convened by [the former ambassador's wife] who had the idea to dispatch him to use his contacts to sort out the Iraq-Niger uranium issue."
In fact, Valerie was not in the meeting at which the subject of my trip was raised. Neither was the CPD Reports officer. After having escorted me into the room, she departed the meeting to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest. It was at that meeting where the question of my traveling to Niger was broached with me for the first time and came only after a thorough discussion of what the participants did and did not know about the subject. My bona fides justifying the invitation to the meeting were the trip I had previously taken to Niger to look at other uranium related questions as well as 20 years living and working in Africa, and personal contacts throughout the Niger government. Neither the CPD reports officer nor the State analyst were in the chain of command to know who, or how, the decision was made. The interpretations attributed to them are not the full story. In fact, it is my understanding that the Reports Officer has a different conclusion about Valerie's role than the one offered in the "additional comments". I urge the committee to reinterview the officer and publicly publish his statement.
read more:
http://www.buzzflash.com/index.php?story=Story3
Thursday, July 14, 2005
UPDATE : Following Lies
British authorities finger patsies within days of bombings, country drinks it up, and it’s like Déjà vu all over again Posted Jul 14, 2005 10:17 AM PSTCategory: COVER-UP/DECEPTIONS
I got an email with an interesting rumor going around London that just before the attacks, someone was trying to hire Muslims to play terrorists for a terror drill, to try to sneak onto the trains and buses with fake bombs to test out the security.
We know the terror drill was real. We know they were running the drill at the exact same stations the bombings actually occurred.
We know that the accused bombers don't fit the profile of men ready to die for Allah. Indeed it is reported that some of them were not particularly religious.
And we are faced with the strange claim that these men, one of whom had a new family, carried bombs set on timers yet stood there waiting for the bombs to explode.
This makes sense ONLY if they thought they were carrying fake bombs as part of a terror drill. This also explains the nervousness of the man on the bus who had probably just heard of the real explosions and was starting to suspect that the fake bomb he was carrying might not be fake after all.
"Hey you, Muslim person. Wanna make a hundred pounds? You could use that kind of dough, with a new kid and all. We're running a terror drill, and all you gotta do is take this here harmless backpack with a fake bomb inside to work with you tomorrow, just to see if the subway guards catch you or not. Mum's the word, this is national security and all; you can't tell anyone!"
I got an email with an interesting rumor going around London that just before the attacks, someone was trying to hire Muslims to play terrorists for a terror drill, to try to sneak onto the trains and buses with fake bombs to test out the security.
We know the terror drill was real. We know they were running the drill at the exact same stations the bombings actually occurred.
We know that the accused bombers don't fit the profile of men ready to die for Allah. Indeed it is reported that some of them were not particularly religious.
And we are faced with the strange claim that these men, one of whom had a new family, carried bombs set on timers yet stood there waiting for the bombs to explode.
This makes sense ONLY if they thought they were carrying fake bombs as part of a terror drill. This also explains the nervousness of the man on the bus who had probably just heard of the real explosions and was starting to suspect that the fake bomb he was carrying might not be fake after all.
"Hey you, Muslim person. Wanna make a hundred pounds? You could use that kind of dough, with a new kid and all. We're running a terror drill, and all you gotta do is take this here harmless backpack with a fake bomb inside to work with you tomorrow, just to see if the subway guards catch you or not. Mum's the word, this is national security and all; you can't tell anyone!"
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
JOE WILSON: 'The President should fire Rove'!
JOE WILSON: 'The President should fire Rove'!
Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2005-07-13 18:04. Evidence
The Ambassador Strikes Back, Answers to the Right Wing Spin Machine*** A BRAD BLOG EXCLUSIVE ***
Ambassador Joseph Wilson fired back today at the Rightwing Spin Machine, which, having been issued marching orders late yesterday in a set of talking points from the RNC , is...
Ambassador Joseph Wilson fired back today at the Rightwing Spin Machine, which, having been issued marching orders late yesterday in a set of talking points from the RNC, is once again hoping to distract from the potentially treasonous crimes that George W. Bush's top political operative and Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove is being alleged to have committed.
In a phone discussion early this afternoon, Wilson told The BRAD BLOG in no uncertain terms that "the President should fire Rove."
He told us that he'd be appearing on NBC's Today Show tomorrow morning and would be repeating that call.
As well, he told The BRAD BLOG that he planned to read a letter on air which he received from Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush shortly after an article of his was printed in the San Jose Weekly News, on October 13, 2002, in which Wilson related his concerns about the pitfalls of the approach to Iraq being taken at the time by both the U.N. and the U.S.
In reply to that article, Wilson said that the former President wrote that he had "read your article and I agree with a lot of it."
Additionally, Wilson explained, Bush 41's own National Security Advisor, Brett Scowcroft had contacted him to ask whether he "could walk on over to the White House with the letter" at the time. Which apparently he did.
Wilson also had sent the article to Bush 41's Secretary of State, James Baker.
"None of them responded saying you’re a Democratic partisan hack and your views suck," said Wilson.
The above points are notable, because armed with those RNC talking point, Rush Limbaugh, Fox "News" and Friends have today kicked into overdrive smearing and lying about Wilson, claiming that he was against the Iraq War from the get-go.
If fact, Wilson, who was in charge of the Embassy in Iraq during the first Gulf War under Bush 41 (he was the last American to speak personally with Saddam Hussein before the war begain, and was responsible for taking care of some 125 Americans who had sought refuge in the American Embassy there when they were not allowed by Saddam to leave the country just prior to the war), says that it was "a full eight months" after he was sent by the CIA to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium there, "before I had said anything publicly about what America should consider in regard to a war with Iraq."
"My real concern was always WMD," he told us, "not Regime Change."
That concern was expressed in the October 2002, San Jose Weekly News editorial which apparently George W. Bush's own father and National Security Advisor tended to agree with. Wilson's trip to Niger occurred a full eight months earlier, in February of that same year.
We asked him if he had heard Fox "News'" John Gibson make his deplorable and irresponsible statement yesterday which said that "Karl Rove should receive a medal," because Wilson's wife, covert CIA asset Valerie Plame, "should have been outted."
"Where I come from," slurred Gibson, "we do not want secret spy masters pulling the puppet strings in the background.
Gibson's "logic", such that he has any, seems to be based on the unsupported claims that Plame -- or Wilson's "little wifey" as Gibson condescendingly referred to her -- was "pulling the puppet strings" of national policy from her covert position in the CIA by sending Wilson, to Niger. That was, in Gibson's false claim, because Wilson, "was opposed to the War in Iraq, opposed to Bush policy, and pointedly and loudly said so."
No, he didn't, Mr. Gibson. Never mind those pesky facts. It's only Fox "News" you work for, so we realize such facts are hardly relevant to you receiving your paycheck there.
"That is something that should be out in the open," blathered Gibson, "And the person doing it should be identified and should own up to it. So Rove should get a medal, if he did do what he says he didn't do."
In response, Wilson simply said, "Well, that's a lie. But no surprise there."
In the meantime, despite such pesky facts, the wingnuts also continue to claim that Plame was, in fact, not even a covert asset at the time of her outting.
The BRAD BLOG has learned from several sources, as also confirmed in Time magazine that Plame was indeed a "NOC", a nonofficial covert agent, the most valuable and secretive of CIA assets.
In regard to whether she was covert or not at the time of her outting by Rove, Bob Novak or whoever his "two senior administration sources" were, Wilson said, "What I can say is, that the CIA looked at the evidence of what had happened and referred the case to the Justice Department. That means that the CIA may think that a crime has been committed."
On Rightwing Hackery hoping to cynically deflect from the seriousness of the potentially treasonous crime committed by claiming that "Wilson lied" about his wife's involvement in sending him to Niger, Wilson says, "In actual fact, all I've done is repeat what the CIA itself has said since July 22nd, 2003 as reported initially in Newsday by Knut Royce and Tim Phelps."
That Newsday article says [emphasis added]:
A senior intelligence official confirmed that Plame was a Directorate of Operations undercover officer who worked "alongside" the operations officers who asked her husband to travel to Niger.
But he said she did not recommend her husband to undertake the Niger assignment. "They [the officers who did ask Wilson to check the uranium story] were aware of who she was married to, which is not surprising," he said. "There are people elsewhere in government who are trying to make her look like she was the one who was cooking this up, for some reason," he said. "I can't figure out what it could be."
"The CIA said [my wife] was not the person to have authorized my trip. They've repeated that time and time again."
And the Bush Apologists, who suddenly don't seem to care all that much about National Security after all, keep repeating the opposite. Time and time again.
LINK TO ORIGINAL
Comment viewing options
Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2005-07-13 18:04. Evidence
The Ambassador Strikes Back, Answers to the Right Wing Spin Machine*** A BRAD BLOG EXCLUSIVE ***
Ambassador Joseph Wilson fired back today at the Rightwing Spin Machine, which, having been issued marching orders late yesterday in a set of talking points from the RNC , is...
Ambassador Joseph Wilson fired back today at the Rightwing Spin Machine, which, having been issued marching orders late yesterday in a set of talking points from the RNC, is once again hoping to distract from the potentially treasonous crimes that George W. Bush's top political operative and Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove is being alleged to have committed.
In a phone discussion early this afternoon, Wilson told The BRAD BLOG in no uncertain terms that "the President should fire Rove."
He told us that he'd be appearing on NBC's Today Show tomorrow morning and would be repeating that call.
As well, he told The BRAD BLOG that he planned to read a letter on air which he received from Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush shortly after an article of his was printed in the San Jose Weekly News, on October 13, 2002, in which Wilson related his concerns about the pitfalls of the approach to Iraq being taken at the time by both the U.N. and the U.S.
In reply to that article, Wilson said that the former President wrote that he had "read your article and I agree with a lot of it."
Additionally, Wilson explained, Bush 41's own National Security Advisor, Brett Scowcroft had contacted him to ask whether he "could walk on over to the White House with the letter" at the time. Which apparently he did.
Wilson also had sent the article to Bush 41's Secretary of State, James Baker.
"None of them responded saying you’re a Democratic partisan hack and your views suck," said Wilson.
The above points are notable, because armed with those RNC talking point, Rush Limbaugh, Fox "News" and Friends have today kicked into overdrive smearing and lying about Wilson, claiming that he was against the Iraq War from the get-go.
If fact, Wilson, who was in charge of the Embassy in Iraq during the first Gulf War under Bush 41 (he was the last American to speak personally with Saddam Hussein before the war begain, and was responsible for taking care of some 125 Americans who had sought refuge in the American Embassy there when they were not allowed by Saddam to leave the country just prior to the war), says that it was "a full eight months" after he was sent by the CIA to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium there, "before I had said anything publicly about what America should consider in regard to a war with Iraq."
"My real concern was always WMD," he told us, "not Regime Change."
That concern was expressed in the October 2002, San Jose Weekly News editorial which apparently George W. Bush's own father and National Security Advisor tended to agree with. Wilson's trip to Niger occurred a full eight months earlier, in February of that same year.
We asked him if he had heard Fox "News'" John Gibson make his deplorable and irresponsible statement yesterday which said that "Karl Rove should receive a medal," because Wilson's wife, covert CIA asset Valerie Plame, "should have been outted."
"Where I come from," slurred Gibson, "we do not want secret spy masters pulling the puppet strings in the background.
Gibson's "logic", such that he has any, seems to be based on the unsupported claims that Plame -- or Wilson's "little wifey" as Gibson condescendingly referred to her -- was "pulling the puppet strings" of national policy from her covert position in the CIA by sending Wilson, to Niger. That was, in Gibson's false claim, because Wilson, "was opposed to the War in Iraq, opposed to Bush policy, and pointedly and loudly said so."
No, he didn't, Mr. Gibson. Never mind those pesky facts. It's only Fox "News" you work for, so we realize such facts are hardly relevant to you receiving your paycheck there.
"That is something that should be out in the open," blathered Gibson, "And the person doing it should be identified and should own up to it. So Rove should get a medal, if he did do what he says he didn't do."
In response, Wilson simply said, "Well, that's a lie. But no surprise there."
In the meantime, despite such pesky facts, the wingnuts also continue to claim that Plame was, in fact, not even a covert asset at the time of her outting.
The BRAD BLOG has learned from several sources, as also confirmed in Time magazine that Plame was indeed a "NOC", a nonofficial covert agent, the most valuable and secretive of CIA assets.
In regard to whether she was covert or not at the time of her outting by Rove, Bob Novak or whoever his "two senior administration sources" were, Wilson said, "What I can say is, that the CIA looked at the evidence of what had happened and referred the case to the Justice Department. That means that the CIA may think that a crime has been committed."
On Rightwing Hackery hoping to cynically deflect from the seriousness of the potentially treasonous crime committed by claiming that "Wilson lied" about his wife's involvement in sending him to Niger, Wilson says, "In actual fact, all I've done is repeat what the CIA itself has said since July 22nd, 2003 as reported initially in Newsday by Knut Royce and Tim Phelps."
That Newsday article says [emphasis added]:
A senior intelligence official confirmed that Plame was a Directorate of Operations undercover officer who worked "alongside" the operations officers who asked her husband to travel to Niger.
But he said she did not recommend her husband to undertake the Niger assignment. "They [the officers who did ask Wilson to check the uranium story] were aware of who she was married to, which is not surprising," he said. "There are people elsewhere in government who are trying to make her look like she was the one who was cooking this up, for some reason," he said. "I can't figure out what it could be."
"The CIA said [my wife] was not the person to have authorized my trip. They've repeated that time and time again."
And the Bush Apologists, who suddenly don't seem to care all that much about National Security after all, keep repeating the opposite. Time and time again.
LINK TO ORIGINAL
Comment viewing options
Sunday, July 10, 2005
The Trouble With Normal
So DailyKos has conducted a "mass banning" of those who had been "perpetuating a series of bizarre, off-the-wall, unsupported and frankly embarassing conspiracy theories." I hope no one is terribly surprised by this development. From the darlings of alternative media, purges usually follow their contributors' binges of unproscribed spelunking into the deep politics of a mass event. If someone like Kos doesn't distance himself from inquiries that offend mainstream sensibilities he risks the loss of the honourary privileges extended to the pacified blogosphere, and where is he then? Just another former Republican who has a problem with women. And since inquiry isn't his strong suit - Kos regards the theft of the 2004 election as just another "conspiracy theory" and can write with a Bushian lack of irony that he has a "high tolerance level for material I deem appropriate" - making it a sacrificial offering to the incurious middle couldn't have been a tough call.More than truth, such people crave respectability, which they call "credibility" because it conforms to the conventional wisdom of those whose approval they seek. This becomes the capital they believe they trade for "influence," which is nothing more than their place in punditry's pecking order.
more:
http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2005/07/trouble-with-normal.html
more:
http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2005/07/trouble-with-normal.html
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Ambassador Joe Wilson
Ambassador Joe Wilson -- Still Fighting the Bush Administration's "Culture of Unaccountability"
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2005-07-09 11:58. Evidence
A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW
In my judgment, a smear campaign operated out of the White House is unethical, to say the least. The First Amendment specifically says that nothing should be done to abridge a citizen's right to petition his government to redress a grievance. The attack on me, through the compromise of Valerie's identity, is an assault on not just my petition to redress a grievance, but it is also a deterrent to other citizens who might step forward. That is why I have always argued that Rove should be fired, even if no indictments are forthcoming.
* * *
If there's a list of people who have fearlessly stood up for democracy, decency and the truth against the corrupt buzzsaw of the Bush Administration, Ambassador Joe Wilson is certainly at the top of the list.
From the moment that what has become known as "Plamegate" emerged on the horizon (as a result of a David Corn column), BuzzFlash has been at the lead of media outlets demanding accountability from the White House. Although the mainstream corporate media is now focusing on the legal issue of whether Karl Rove or other White House staffers will be indicted, the more preeminent issue is that the Bush White House committed treason by betraying the national security of the United States of America. This is a fact that doesn't need to be legally adjudicated to be recognized.
Yet the mainstream corporate media will claim that the White House has been vindicated, if no legal charges are forthcoming. Likewise, Rove and the "Iraq Group" responsible for pulling the rug out from under our covert tracking of Weapons of Mass Destruction will be declared "vindicated" if the Bush-dominated Washington, D.C., Appeals Court overturns any convictions that might be obtained (as Judges Sentelle and Silberman, GOP activist/partisan federal jurists, did with Oliver North and John Poindexter).
A crime against a nation does not need to be legally identified when it is staring us in the face. All Bush had to do was root out the traitors to the nation on his staff and fire them. But if he fired Karl Rove, it would be like lobotomizing his own brain. So the individuals who sold out America in an effort to bully and intimidate truth tellers are still running the United States.
In this context, BuzzFlash is proud to have conducted an e-mail interview with Ambassador Joe Wilson on Friday, July 8.
read more:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/696
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2005-07-09 11:58. Evidence
A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW
In my judgment, a smear campaign operated out of the White House is unethical, to say the least. The First Amendment specifically says that nothing should be done to abridge a citizen's right to petition his government to redress a grievance. The attack on me, through the compromise of Valerie's identity, is an assault on not just my petition to redress a grievance, but it is also a deterrent to other citizens who might step forward. That is why I have always argued that Rove should be fired, even if no indictments are forthcoming.
* * *
If there's a list of people who have fearlessly stood up for democracy, decency and the truth against the corrupt buzzsaw of the Bush Administration, Ambassador Joe Wilson is certainly at the top of the list.
From the moment that what has become known as "Plamegate" emerged on the horizon (as a result of a David Corn column), BuzzFlash has been at the lead of media outlets demanding accountability from the White House. Although the mainstream corporate media is now focusing on the legal issue of whether Karl Rove or other White House staffers will be indicted, the more preeminent issue is that the Bush White House committed treason by betraying the national security of the United States of America. This is a fact that doesn't need to be legally adjudicated to be recognized.
Yet the mainstream corporate media will claim that the White House has been vindicated, if no legal charges are forthcoming. Likewise, Rove and the "Iraq Group" responsible for pulling the rug out from under our covert tracking of Weapons of Mass Destruction will be declared "vindicated" if the Bush-dominated Washington, D.C., Appeals Court overturns any convictions that might be obtained (as Judges Sentelle and Silberman, GOP activist/partisan federal jurists, did with Oliver North and John Poindexter).
A crime against a nation does not need to be legally identified when it is staring us in the face. All Bush had to do was root out the traitors to the nation on his staff and fire them. But if he fired Karl Rove, it would be like lobotomizing his own brain. So the individuals who sold out America in an effort to bully and intimidate truth tellers are still running the United States.
In this context, BuzzFlash is proud to have conducted an e-mail interview with Ambassador Joe Wilson on Friday, July 8.
read more:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/696
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Saudis warn of shortfalls as oil hits $61
Saudis warn of shortfalls as oil hits $61By Carola Hoyos and Neil Dennis in LondonPublished: July 6 2005 22:02 Last updated: July 6 2005 22:02
Oil prices hit new record highs above $61 a barrel on Thursday, driven by short-term supply fears as the first hurricane of the season threatened crude production and refinery operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
//
But private warnings also point to a worsening long-term outllook, with Saudi officials saying that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will be unable to meet projected western demand in 10 to 15 years.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e0cdc282-ee47-11d9-98e5-00000e2511c8.html
Oil prices hit new record highs above $61 a barrel on Thursday, driven by short-term supply fears as the first hurricane of the season threatened crude production and refinery operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
//
But private warnings also point to a worsening long-term outllook, with Saudi officials saying that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will be unable to meet projected western demand in 10 to 15 years.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e0cdc282-ee47-11d9-98e5-00000e2511c8.html
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
A lot of talking
A lot of talking just brings quarrels; act as if you were dumb.
-- The Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, Shambhala
-- The Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, Shambhala
Friday, July 01, 2005
Phenomena
Padampa Sangye says:
Phenomena arise as enemies; stay in hermitages or in the mountains.
-- The Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, Shambhala
Phenomena arise as enemies; stay in hermitages or in the mountains.
-- The Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche, Shambhala
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