Iraq Torture Rape Plame Chalabi Oil Prices World Opinion FEAR
Asscroft: “We have but one thing to fear and that is that the American people are starting to pay attention.” (Okay - he didn’t really say that, but that’s what he meant.)
The Bush administration said on Wednesday that it had credible intelligence suggesting that Al Qaeda is planning to attack the United States in the next several months, a period in which events like an international summit meeting and the two political conventions could offer tempting targets.
Attorney General John Ashcroft said at a news conference that intelligence reports and public statements by people associated with Al Qaeda suggested that the terrorist group was "almost ready to attack the United States" and harbored a "specific intention to hit the United States hard."
But some intelligence officials, terrorism experts - and to some extent even Mr. Ashcroft's own F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III - offered a more tempered assessment. And some opponents of President Bush, including police and firefighter union leaders aligned with Senator John Kerry, the expected Democratic presidential candidate, said the timing of the announcement appeared intended in part to distract attention from Mr. Bush's sagging poll numbers and problems in Iraq.
The administration did not raise the terrorist threat advisory from its current level of elevated, or yellow, and the White House said Mr. Bush would not alter his schedule because of security concerns.
"There's no real new intelligence, and a lot of this has been out there already," said one administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "There really is no significant change that would require us to change the alert level of the country."
Mr. Ashcroft said the government did not have any information about where the terrorists might strike, and he said there was "extraordinary" security being put in place for events like a summit meeting of international leaders next month in Savannah, Ga., the Democratic convention in Boston in late July and the Republican convention in New York in late August and early September.
Mr. Ashcroft called for greater public vigilance, especially in looking out for seven people sought by the F.B.I. who are suspected of being Qaeda members or sympathizers.
The names of six of the seven were publicly circulated by the authorities months ago, and officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that they had no reason to believe any of the seven suspects were in the United States.
Asked about the timing of his new warnings about the suspects, Mr. Ashcroft said, "We believe the public, like all of us, needs a reminder."
Some intelligence officials said they were uncertain that the link between the fresh intelligence and the likelihood of another attack was as apparent as Mr. Ashcroft made it out to be. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security said just a day before Mr. Ashcroft's announcement that they had no new intelligence pointing to the threat of another terrorist attack.
(Updated - edited for clarity)
Police get away with killing another black man child
This one was killed for driving a pickup truck while black.
State Attorney Bernie McCabe has determined two Pinellas sheriff's deputies were justified in shooting to death 17-year-old Marquell McCullough earlier this month.
Deputies David Antolini and Nelson DeLeon fired a combined 15 times at a pickup McCullough was driving, striking the teen nine times.
Sheriff's officials said McCullough smashed the pickup into DeLeon's cruiser, tried to clip Antolini, then headed toward another car.
Although deputies thought they had seen McCullough dealing drugs earlier that night, the investigation revealed it probably wasn't him, but a man who looked similar and also drove a pickup.
Sheriff's officials now will begin an internal investigation to determine whether the deputies followed agency policies.
McCabe's ruling drew sadness, outrage and more questions among some community leaders.
"It's just another layer on the already tense atmosphere that exists in the community," said Sateesh Rogers of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement.
Uhuru members have been marching at BayWalk and in Midtown, protesting the shooting.
Darryl Rouson, president of the NAACP's St. Petersburg chapter, said he finds it hard to believe deputies were completely justified. Yet, he urged people not to react until the internal review is done.
"The pain ... is still in the fact that a young black male's life has been snuffed out and there remains clouds over what happened," Rouson said.
Sheriff's deputies point out the fact that this "uppity nigger should have been on the back of the bus," and that he got "everything that he deserved" for having the gall to drive a pickup truck while someone somewhere was buying or selling or doing drugs or something.(Okay - they did not really say that, but it’s pretty much the gist of there attitude)
(Updated - edited for clarity)
Website of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement
Get Up with MorningWood
Get Up with MorningWood, on Community Radio WMNF 88.5 fm, Tampa, and streaming at wmnf.org.
4 to 6 am (eastern time, US) every Tuesday!
Studio line: 813-239- WMNF WOOD
Today on MorningWood
It’s the MorningWood Memorial Day Special. Remembering those who have fallen, and getting pissed off at one particular chickenhawk “leader” who is responsible for the deaths of over 800 American troops to date.
His illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq have put our country in a state of perpetual war for the foreseeable future and made America an object of hatred for thousands of victims of US might. The Iraq debacle has also distracted from the war on terror. Remember: Sadam had nothing whatsoever to do with 911.
Are we safer than we were 4 years ago? Even the White House says to expect a big terrorist attack on American soil before the election. Don’t be surprised if a major city is hit with a dirty bomb or even a full blown nuclear device. And if you get upset when our pResident “delays” the election in order to deal with the latest “crisis,” then you must want the terrorists to win.
Having written all that, I’ll mostly let the music do the talking today. Not a lot of ranting, but I may jump in with some spontaneous radio blogging as the mood strikes and the need arises.
I’m also offering a couple BlogWood bonuses today, including a “sneak preview” of sorts.
George Bush spoke last night, but he didn’t say anything new. This is the start of a new PR push to convince voters that he has a brain. Don’t buy it. Remember: Every word out of George W. Bush’s mouth is a lie, including the words “is” and “and.”
If you think he’s sincere, just watch this video clip from a German TV show of our brave leader just before he announces the glorious liberation by force of the Iraqi people. This is from the same footage that Michael Moore uses in his new movie “Fahrenheit 9/11,” so when you see the movie this summer, you can nod knowingly and thus impress your peers with the fact that you are already familiar with this part of the film. (Thanks to Sadly, No! for posting the clip so that I could come along and steal it.)
Note: you should right-click the link and “save link target” to your hard drive and then play the WMV file from your own computer. This type of video file will not stream over the Internet.
That’s bonus number one. Bonus number 2 is a link to Music for America. This site uses music to lure visitors into it’s labyrinth of leftist ideals. Check it out, and download some free and legal MP3s.
Playlists
WMNF Community Radio
WMNF is a non-commercial community radio station that celebrates local cultural diversity and is committed to equality, peace and social and economic justice. WMNF provides broadcasts and creates other forums to serve the community by the exposure and sharing of these values.
Who fed Chalabi?
Read Josh Marshall.
"An intelligence source confirmed to Newsday reports in Time and Newsweek that the FBI had launched an investigation into who in the administration had passed the classified material to his Iraqi National Congress."
......Chalabi's interlocutors in the US government were a fairly small and well-known group, stacked heavily toward the top of the totem pole and very much on the appointive, civilian side -- start with the acronyms OSD and OVP. For those who know the nature of the relationship it would, quite frankly, be hard to imagine that they weren't sharing highly sensitive information with him.
If one of those guys gets pegged for giving Chalabi info that later ended up in the hands of Iranian intelligence, everything up till now will seem like it was a breeze.
W’s wild weekend
First, a nice little ride through the cleared brush of the Crawford set ranch:
Here's the official story line from Crawford:
President Bush took a spill during a Saturday afternoon bike ride on his ranch, suffering bruises and cuts that were visible later on his face just two days before he was to deliver a major prime-time speech on his Iraq policy.The president was nearing the end of a 17-mile ride on his mountain bike, accompanied by a Secret Service agent, a military aide and his personal physician, Richard Tubb, who treated him at the scene, said White House spokesman Trent Duffy.
"It's been raining a lot and the topsoil is loose," Duffy said. "You know this president. He likes to go all-out. Suffice it to say he wasn't whistling show tunes."
So it's been raining a lot in Crawford, we are told. So here's the recent precipitation levels from Crawford:
May 22: 0"
May 21: 0"
May 20: 0"
May 19: 0"
May 18: 0"
May 17: 0"
May 16: 0"
May 15: 0"
May 14: 0.03"
May 13: 2.79"
May 12: 0"
May 11: 0.15"
May 10: 0"
May 9: 0"May 13th saw some serious rain, but other than some sprinkles on the 14th, Crawford saw nothing but sun. In the last week alone, the temperature was in the high 80s the entire time.
So rain on the 13th and (barely) 14th was blamed for a Bush fall on the 22nd. As everything else, it wasn't Bush's fault. Nothing is Bush's fault.
Ever.
Liars.
Wonkette gives no respect where none is due:
WH Pool Report: This Doesn't Make President Gay Edition
This White House pool report covers Bush's weekend bike accident. WH spokesperson Trent Duffy wanted reporters to know that just because the president took a tumble, that doesn't make him a pussy: "He wasn't poking along, whistling show tunes." Well, OK, but according to Duffy, the president was riding his bicycle while wearing a helmet and a mouth guard.
Pussy.
After all the excitement down to the ranch, W went to Austin to see daughter Jenna graduate from UT. Apparently, Jenna takes after dear old dad:
Jenna goes AWOL:
President Bush wasn't the only one who skipped the pomp and circumstance of his daughter's graduation from the University of Texas on Saturday. Jenna Bush did not participate either.
Despite her name being listed on the commencement program, Bush was not among the more than 150 English majors receiving degrees Saturday afternoon at the Austin campus. Attendance at the event is not required to graduate from the university.
[...]
A White House spokeswoman said she did not know why Jenna Bush did not attend the commencement but added that the administation declines to comment on matters related to the president's daughters.
Jenna claims that she instead attended graduation ceremonies at the University of Alabama...but no one remembers seeing her there.
“How many people go to the middle of the desert … to hold a wedding…”*
I think it’s safe to say that at least 2 people went out to the middle of the desert to get married, and they invited a bunch of friends and family to celebrate. Gee, maybe they were in the middle of the desert because that’s where they live? Nah. That’s just what they want us to believe.
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.
The U.S. military says it is investigating the attack, which took place in the village of Mogr el-Deeb about five miles from the Syrian border, but that all evidence so far indicates the target was a safehouse for foreign fighters.
"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."
But video that APTN shot a day after the attack shows fragments of musical instruments, pots and pans and brightly colored beddings used for celebrations, scattered around the bombed out tent.
Nope, no instruments or dishes... just the fragments of instruments and dishes that were left over after we bombed the shit outa the place... see, fragments do not meet the Pentagon’s strict definition of “evidence.”
The wedding videotape shows a dozen white pickup trucks speeding through the desert escorting the 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.
An AP reporter and photographer, who interviewed more than a dozen survivors a day after the bombing, were able to identify many of them on the wedding party video - which runs for several hours.
APTN also traveled to Mogr el-Deeb, 250 miles west of Ramadi, the day after the attack to film what the survivors said was the wedding site. A devastated building and remnants of the tent, pots and pans could be seen, along with bits of what appeared to be the remnants of ordnance, one of which bore the marking "ATU-35," similar to those on U.S. bombs.
......Prominently displayed on the videotape was a stocky man with close-cropped hair playing an electric organ. Another tape, filmed a day later in Ramadi and obtained by APTN, showed the musician lying dead in a burial shroud - his face clearly visible and wearing the same tan shirt as he wore when he performed.
......Kimmitt said U.S. troops who swept through the area found rifles, machine guns, foreign passports, bedding, syringes and other items that suggested the site was used by foreigners infiltrating from Syria.
The videotape showed no weapons, although they are common among rural Iraqis.
*Major General James Mattis is the source of this quote.
I’m not worthy
of this effusive praise, but it sure is nice to see it from such an informed source:
I'm delighted to see a Tampa Bay blogger who has such a comprehensive grasp of the situations facing this country. Would that other citizens were so aware and concerned.
Thanks to Poor Richard's Anorak for these kind words.
Bootlicking Bandar buoys Bush
In April we learned that
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, promised President Bush the Saudis would cut oil prices before November to ensure the U.S. economy is strong on election day, journalist Bob Woodward said in a television interview on Sunday.
I guess Bandar felt it was time to make good on his promise:
Saudi Arabia has assured the United States that it will supply up to 2 million barrels a day in additional crude oil if the market demands it, the U.S. energy secretary said Sunday.
Saudi Arabia has pledged to pump an additional 600,000 barrels a day starting in June, lifting its total daily output to 9.1 million barrels, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told a news conference at an Amsterdam hotel after meeting privately with Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi.
"He also stated that going forward they will meet all requests up to their full capacity of 10.5 million barrels a day. I think this was a very important comment on his part," Abraham said.
Abraham said he expected the new Saudi commitment would help reassure oil markets about the reliability of supplies.
Oil prices have soared above $40 a barrel in recent weeks due to fears about instability in Iraq and other oil-rich Gulf countries, bottlenecks in gasoline production at U.S. refineries, and an unforeseen burst in global demand, particularly from China and the United States
Speaking of wafers
Florida Politics makes another good catch. If you follow news and politics in this state, this blog should be on your daily reading list.
Finally, someone in the media asks:
Is the church prepared to deny the Eucharist to Gov. Jeb Bush, a Catholic?
"Bishops' choice: Holy hypocrisy". In the column, Marquez points out that
Not only has Bush signed death warrants for convicted murderers, but he has argued for narrowing their rights to appeal even though evidence shows people have been wrongly convicted and put on death row.
Click through for links and the full text.
Rich review of “Fahrenheit 9/11″
"But why should we hear about body bags, and deaths, and how many, what day it's gonna happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Or, I mean, it's, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that? And watch him suffer."
— Barbara Bush on "Good Morning America,"
March 18, 2003SHE needn't have worried. Her son wasn't suffering. In one of the several pieces of startling video exhibited for the first time in Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," we catch a candid glimpse of President Bush some 36 hours after his mother's breakfast TV interview — minutes before he makes his own prime-time TV address to take the nation to war in Iraq. He is sitting at his desk in the Oval Office. A makeup woman is doing his face. And Mr. Bush is having a high old time. He darts his eyes about and grins, as if he were playing a peek-a-boo game with someone just off-camera. He could be a teenager goofing with his buds to relieve the passing tedium of a haircut.
"In your wildest dreams you couldn't imagine Franklin Roosevelt behaving this way 30 seconds before declaring war, with grave decisions and their consequences at stake," said Mr. Moore in an interview before his new documentary's premiere at Cannes last Monday. "But that may be giving him credit for thinking that the decisions were grave." As we spoke, the consequences of those decisions kept coming. The premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11" took place as news spread of the assassination of a widely admired post-Saddam Iraqi leader, Ezzedine Salim, blown up by a suicide bomber just a hundred yards from the entrance to America's "safe" headquarters, the Green Zone, in Baghdad.