Blackwater's Bu$ine$$
By Jeremy Scahill
The Nation
24 December 2007 Issue
Gunning down seventeen Iraqi civilians in an incident the military has labeled "criminal." Multiple Congressional investigations. A federal grand jury. Allegations of illegal arms smuggling. Wrongful death lawsuits brought by families of dead employees and US soldiers. A federal lawsuit alleging war crimes. Charges of steroid use by trigger-happy mercenaries. Allegations of "significant tax evasion." The US-installed government in Iraq labeling its forces "murderers."
With a new scandal breaking practically every day, one would think Blackwater security would be on the ropes, facing a corporate meltdown or even a total wipeout. But it seems that business for the company has never been better, as it continues to pull in major federal contracts. And its public demeanor grows bolder and cockier by the day.
Rather than hiding out and hoping for the scandals to fade, the Bush Administration's preferred mercenary company has launched a major rebranding campaign, changing its name to Blackwater Worldwide and softening its logo: once a bear paw in the site of a sniper scope, it's now a bear claw wrapped in two half ovals - sort of like the outline of a globe with a United Nations feel. Its website boasts of a corporate vision "guided by integrity, innovation, and a desire for a safer world." Blackwater mercenaries are now referred to as "global stabilization professionals."
Blackwater's 38-year-old owner, Erik Prince, was No. 11 in Details magazine's "Power 50," the men "who control your viewing patterns, your buying habits, your anxieties, your lust.... the people who have taken over the space in your head."
In one of the company's most bizarre recent actions, on December 1 Blackwater paratroopers staged a dramatic aerial landing, complete with Blackwater flags and parachutes - not in Baghdad or Kabul but in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium during the halftime show at the San Diego State/BYU football game. The location was interesting, given that Blackwater is fighting fierce local opposition to its attempt to open a new camp - Blackwater West - on 824 acres in the small rural community of Potrero, just outside San Diego. Blackwater's parachute squad plans to land at the Armed Forces Bowl in Texas this month and the Virginia Gold Cup in May. The company recently sponsored a NASCAR racer, and it has teamed up with gun manufacturer Sig Sauer to create a Blackwater Special Edition full-sized 9-millimeter pistol with the company logo on the grip. It comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty. For $18, parents can purchase infant onesies with the company logo.
In recent weeks, Blackwater has indicated it might quit Iraq. "We see the security market diminishing," Prince told the Wall Street Journal in October. Yet on December 3 Blackwater posted job listings for "security specialists" and snipers as a result of its State Department diplomatic security "contract expansion." While its name may be mud in the human rights world, Blackwater has not only made big money in Iraq (about $1 billion in State Department contracts); it has secured a reputation as a company that keeps US officials alive by any means necessary. The dirty open secret in Washington is that Blackwater has done its job in Iraq, even if it has done so by valuing the lives of Iraqis much lower than those of US VIPs. That badass image will serve it well as it expands globally.
Prince promises that Blackwater "is going to be more of a full spectrum" operation. Amid the cornucopia of scandals, Blackwater is bidding for a share of a five-year, $15 billion contract with the Pentagon to "fight terrorists with drug-trade ties." Perhaps the firm will join the mercenary giant DynCorp in Colombia or Bolivia or be sent into Mexico on a "training" mission. This "war on drugs" contract would put Blackwater in the arena with the godfathers of the war business, including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.
In addition to its robust business in law enforcement, military and homeland security training, Blackwater is branching out. Here are some of its current projects and initiatives:
Blackwater affiliate Greystone Ltd., registered offshore in Barbados, is an old-fashioned mercenary operation offering "personnel from the best militaries throughout the world" for hire by governments and private organizations. It also boasts of a "multi-national peacekeeping program," with forces "specializing in crowd control and less than lethal techniques and military personnel for the less stable areas of operation."
Prince's Total Intelligence Solutions, headed by three CIA veterans (among them Blackwater's number two, Cofer Black), puts CIA-type services on the open market for hire by corporations or governments.
Blackwater is launching an armored vehicle called the Grizzly, which the company characterizes as the most versatile in history. Blackwater intends to modify it to be legal for use on US highways.
Blackwater's aviation division has some forty aircraft, including turboprop planes that can be used for unorthodox landings. It has ordered a Super Tucano paramilitary plane from Brazil, which can be used in counterinsurgency operations. In August the aviation division won a $92 million contract with the Pentagon to operate flights in Central Asia.
It recently flight-tested the unmanned Polar 400 airship, which may be marketed to the Department of Homeland Security for use in monitoring the US-Mexico border and to "military, law enforcement, and non-government customers."
A fast-growing maritime division has a new, 184-foot vessel that has been fitted for potential paramilitary use.
Meanwhile, Blackwater is deep in the camp of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Cofer Black is Romney's senior adviser on counterterrorism. At the recent CNN/YouTube debate, when Romney refused to call waterboarding torture, he said, "I'm not going to specify the specific means of what is and what is not torture so that the people that we capture will know what things we're able to do and what things we're not able to do. And I get that advice from Cofer Black, who is a person who was responsible for counterterrorism in the CIA for some thirty-five years." That was an exaggeration of Black's career at the CIA (he was there twenty-eight years and head of counterterrorism for only three), but a Romney presidency could make Blackwater's business under Bush look like a church bake sale.
In short, Blackwater is moving ahead at full steam. Individual scandals clearly aren't enough to slow it down. The company's critics in the Democratic-controlled Congress must confront the root of the problem: the government is in the midst of its most radical privatization in history, and companies like Blackwater are becoming ever more deeply embedded in the war apparatus. Until this system is brought down, the world's the limit for Blackwater Worldwide and as its rebranding campaign shows, Blackwater knows it.
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Jeremy Scahill, a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute, is the author of the bestselling Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, published by Nation Books. He is an award-winning investigative journalist and correspondent for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
MEDIA CENSORSHIP IN AMERICA...
US corporate media deliberately censors the news...By Peter Phillips
The corporate media in the US likes to think of themselves as the official most accurate news reporting of the day. The New York Times motto of “all the news that’s fit to print” is a clear example of this perspective. However with corporate media coverage that increasingly focuses on a narrow range of celebrity updates, news from “official” government sources, and sensationalized crimes and disasters the self-justification of being the most fit is no longer valid in the US.
We need to broaden our understanding of censorship in the US. The dictionary definition of direct government control of news as censorship is no longer adequate. The private corporate media in the US significantly under covers and/or deliberately censors numerous important news stories every year.
The common theme of the most censored stories over the past year is the systemic erosion of human rights and civil liberties in both the US and the world at large. The corporate media ignored the fact that habeas corpus can now be suspended for anyone by order of the President.
With the approval of Congress, the Military Commissions Act (MCA) of 2006, signed by Bush on October 17, 2006, allows for the suspension of habeas corpus for US citizens and non-citizens alike. While media, including a lead editorial in the New York Times October 19, 2006, have given false comfort that American citizens will not be the victims of the measures legalized by this Act, the law is quite clear that ‘any person’ can be targeted. The text in the MCA allows for the institution of a military alternative to the constitutional justice system for “any person” regardless of American citizenship. The MCA effectively does away with habeas corpus rights for all people living in the US deemed by the President to be enemy combatants.
A law enacted last year allowing the government to more easily institute martial law is another civil liberties story ignored by the corporate media in 2007. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 allows the president to station military troops anywhere in the United States and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder." The law in effect repealed the Posse Comitatus Act, which had placed strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement in the US since just after the Civil War.
Additionally, under the code-name Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally) three federally coordinated mass arrests occurred between April 2005 and October 2006. In an unprecedented move, more than 30,000 “fugitives” were arrested in the largest dragnets in the nation's history. The operations, coordinated by the Justice Department and Homeland Security, directly involved over 960 agencies (state, local and federal) and are the first time in US history that all of the domestic police agencies have been put under the direct control of the federal government.
Finally, the term “terrorism” has been dangerously expanded to include any acts that interfere, or promotes interference, with the operations of animal enterprises. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), signed into law on November 27, 2006 expands the definition of an “animal enterprise” to any business that “uses or sells animals or animal products.” The law essentially defines protesters, boycotters or picketers of businesses in the US as terrorists.
Most people in the US believe in our Bill of Rights and value personal freedoms. Yet, our corporate media in the past year failed to adequately inform us about important changes in our civil rights and liberties. Despite our busy lives we want to be informed about serious decisions made by the powerful, and rely on the corporate media to keep us abreast of significant changes. When a media fails to cover these issues, what else can we call it but censorship?
A broader definition of censorship in America today needs to include any interference, deliberate or not, with the free flow of vital news information to the American people. With the size of the major media giants in the US, there is no excuse for consistently missing major news stories that affect all our lives.
[Peter Phillips is a professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University and Director of Project Censored. His latest book Censored 2008 from Seven Stories Press is available in bookstores nationwide or at www.projectcensored.org.]
The corporate media in the US likes to think of themselves as the official most accurate news reporting of the day. The New York Times motto of “all the news that’s fit to print” is a clear example of this perspective. However with corporate media coverage that increasingly focuses on a narrow range of celebrity updates, news from “official” government sources, and sensationalized crimes and disasters the self-justification of being the most fit is no longer valid in the US.
We need to broaden our understanding of censorship in the US. The dictionary definition of direct government control of news as censorship is no longer adequate. The private corporate media in the US significantly under covers and/or deliberately censors numerous important news stories every year.
The common theme of the most censored stories over the past year is the systemic erosion of human rights and civil liberties in both the US and the world at large. The corporate media ignored the fact that habeas corpus can now be suspended for anyone by order of the President.
With the approval of Congress, the Military Commissions Act (MCA) of 2006, signed by Bush on October 17, 2006, allows for the suspension of habeas corpus for US citizens and non-citizens alike. While media, including a lead editorial in the New York Times October 19, 2006, have given false comfort that American citizens will not be the victims of the measures legalized by this Act, the law is quite clear that ‘any person’ can be targeted. The text in the MCA allows for the institution of a military alternative to the constitutional justice system for “any person” regardless of American citizenship. The MCA effectively does away with habeas corpus rights for all people living in the US deemed by the President to be enemy combatants.
A law enacted last year allowing the government to more easily institute martial law is another civil liberties story ignored by the corporate media in 2007. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 allows the president to station military troops anywhere in the United States and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder." The law in effect repealed the Posse Comitatus Act, which had placed strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement in the US since just after the Civil War.
Additionally, under the code-name Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally) three federally coordinated mass arrests occurred between April 2005 and October 2006. In an unprecedented move, more than 30,000 “fugitives” were arrested in the largest dragnets in the nation's history. The operations, coordinated by the Justice Department and Homeland Security, directly involved over 960 agencies (state, local and federal) and are the first time in US history that all of the domestic police agencies have been put under the direct control of the federal government.
Finally, the term “terrorism” has been dangerously expanded to include any acts that interfere, or promotes interference, with the operations of animal enterprises. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), signed into law on November 27, 2006 expands the definition of an “animal enterprise” to any business that “uses or sells animals or animal products.” The law essentially defines protesters, boycotters or picketers of businesses in the US as terrorists.
Most people in the US believe in our Bill of Rights and value personal freedoms. Yet, our corporate media in the past year failed to adequately inform us about important changes in our civil rights and liberties. Despite our busy lives we want to be informed about serious decisions made by the powerful, and rely on the corporate media to keep us abreast of significant changes. When a media fails to cover these issues, what else can we call it but censorship?
A broader definition of censorship in America today needs to include any interference, deliberate or not, with the free flow of vital news information to the American people. With the size of the major media giants in the US, there is no excuse for consistently missing major news stories that affect all our lives.
[Peter Phillips is a professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University and Director of Project Censored. His latest book Censored 2008 from Seven Stories Press is available in bookstores nationwide or at www.projectcensored.org.]
Sunday, May 13, 2007
GONZO II and more of the same...
Well, this week has been another exercise of more of the same...
Gonzo goes before a congressional committee and continues to declare "I don't recall." with a straight face. This man has no shame and no credibility. His role as official flack taker for the Bush regime is clear. As long as he continues to smile-and-forget then his function is well fulfilled. What a pathetic page of history he provides. It only proves that all you need to rise to high position in this government is a good haircut and a tailored suit... even if the suit and the head is empty and void of ethics.
Then we turn to the sad performance of John McCain both on the Republican dog and pony "debate in name only"--(to be fair it was not much different for the Democrats), and on today's "Meet The Press". This poor man is a shell of his former image... he has become just another lap dog for the far right who continues to spew the same bloody vomit of "optimism" regarding Iraq. His self-centered arrogance was startlingly clear with his "I have the answers" response to Tim Russert's question regarding why, in the face of the American peoples wishes (supported by the Iraq parliament) that we not set a time frame for withdrawal. He has, with one brief comment placed himself above the collective wisdom of 60% of the American people. Perhaps he has forgotten the term "representative government".
McCain's brushing aside the will of Iraq's own parliament, on the question of withdrawal, calls into serious question the definition of "democratic government". Isn't a democracy what we are trying to build in Iraq (that's just one of dozens of stories about why we are there in the first place)? If that is true then how does McCain justify dismissing the wishes of Iraq's own parliament with such cavalier disdain?
McCain's suggestion that because of his experience in Vietnam he is the only one truly qualified to talk intelligently about the conduct of war is the height of self delusion. And, that term "self delusional" probably says more to explain the McCain/Bush/Cheney/Right Wing actions than any other term.
Gonzo goes before a congressional committee and continues to declare "I don't recall." with a straight face. This man has no shame and no credibility. His role as official flack taker for the Bush regime is clear. As long as he continues to smile-and-forget then his function is well fulfilled. What a pathetic page of history he provides. It only proves that all you need to rise to high position in this government is a good haircut and a tailored suit... even if the suit and the head is empty and void of ethics.
Then we turn to the sad performance of John McCain both on the Republican dog and pony "debate in name only"--(to be fair it was not much different for the Democrats), and on today's "Meet The Press". This poor man is a shell of his former image... he has become just another lap dog for the far right who continues to spew the same bloody vomit of "optimism" regarding Iraq. His self-centered arrogance was startlingly clear with his "I have the answers" response to Tim Russert's question regarding why, in the face of the American peoples wishes (supported by the Iraq parliament) that we not set a time frame for withdrawal. He has, with one brief comment placed himself above the collective wisdom of 60% of the American people. Perhaps he has forgotten the term "representative government".
McCain's brushing aside the will of Iraq's own parliament, on the question of withdrawal, calls into serious question the definition of "democratic government". Isn't a democracy what we are trying to build in Iraq (that's just one of dozens of stories about why we are there in the first place)? If that is true then how does McCain justify dismissing the wishes of Iraq's own parliament with such cavalier disdain?
McCain's suggestion that because of his experience in Vietnam he is the only one truly qualified to talk intelligently about the conduct of war is the height of self delusion. And, that term "self delusional" probably says more to explain the McCain/Bush/Cheney/Right Wing actions than any other term.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
"I DON'T RECALL...", "I HAVE NO RECOLLECTION OF THAT...", "I DON'T REMEMBER..."
After Alberto Gonzales spent the first couple of hours proving to everyone with a brain that he is a liar, and an incompetent lap dog, my eyes began to glaze over.
A man who has risen to one of the highest positions in the United States government... a man charged with managing a department of over 100,000 employees, a former judge, a man who was confirmed by the very senate who now greets him with such disdain... a man who could have been--should have been-- the pride of all Hispanic Americans... has proved himself to be a
disgraceful manipulator and fake.
He is not qualified to be the county dog catcher... let alone the highest law enforcement officer in the land.
To watch this chubby little poser sit there, attempting to cover his culpable ass, by stating every variation of the phrase "I don't recall" in the English language... and to do it with a smile on is face, is sickening... and representative of everything wrong in America today.
This is not just a condemnation of Gonzales, however. This morality play exposes the ugliest underbelly of power politics, greed, and arrogance. This is "rot from within".
The Gonzales's of the world have not just appeared overnight... they are not isolated aberrations. He is just a willing tool of those those hidden power-brokers who are capable of pushing people like Gonzales into positions that can benefit the "king-makers". In this case... just another of "Bush's Boys". Unfortunately, Bush himself plays the same roll as Gonzales. Bush's strings have been pulled for years by others far more powerful... and quantum leaps smarter.
As much as we like to sweep this ugly scene under the rug, and pretend it is not happening, we have all been yanked into reality by watching an utterly incompetent and corrupted man try to weasel his way out of accepting any responsibility for his actions... or, as some would say, his non-actions.
All this just points up our own failures. Our failure to truly become involved in the processes that control our nations future. Our failure to demand excellence and hold people accountable for incompetence, failures, and dishonesty. Our failure to say "No More" ...when we know, deep in our hearts and souls, that a thing is wrong. Our failure to acknowledge our own complacency and our willingness to "look the other way".
How else can we explain that the man who framed the legal argument for allowing torture and "renditions" is now the Attorney General of the United States of America... who has the "full confidence of the President?
Why should we be shocked then when we "turn over the rock" and find, buried in the slime and ooze, another one of this administrations "great legal minds".
My parents used to warn me that "If you stick your head up too high it will get shot off." My father said "Don't rock the boat." They were both wrong!
We should all be sticking our heads up and screaming at the top of our voice. This boat needs to be "rocked".
Indeed if we do not "right the ship" we will all sink with it.
A man who has risen to one of the highest positions in the United States government... a man charged with managing a department of over 100,000 employees, a former judge, a man who was confirmed by the very senate who now greets him with such disdain... a man who could have been--should have been-- the pride of all Hispanic Americans... has proved himself to be a
disgraceful manipulator and fake.
He is not qualified to be the county dog catcher... let alone the highest law enforcement officer in the land.
To watch this chubby little poser sit there, attempting to cover his culpable ass, by stating every variation of the phrase "I don't recall" in the English language... and to do it with a smile on is face, is sickening... and representative of everything wrong in America today.
This is not just a condemnation of Gonzales, however. This morality play exposes the ugliest underbelly of power politics, greed, and arrogance. This is "rot from within".
The Gonzales's of the world have not just appeared overnight... they are not isolated aberrations. He is just a willing tool of those those hidden power-brokers who are capable of pushing people like Gonzales into positions that can benefit the "king-makers". In this case... just another of "Bush's Boys". Unfortunately, Bush himself plays the same roll as Gonzales. Bush's strings have been pulled for years by others far more powerful... and quantum leaps smarter.
As much as we like to sweep this ugly scene under the rug, and pretend it is not happening, we have all been yanked into reality by watching an utterly incompetent and corrupted man try to weasel his way out of accepting any responsibility for his actions... or, as some would say, his non-actions.
All this just points up our own failures. Our failure to truly become involved in the processes that control our nations future. Our failure to demand excellence and hold people accountable for incompetence, failures, and dishonesty. Our failure to say "No More" ...when we know, deep in our hearts and souls, that a thing is wrong. Our failure to acknowledge our own complacency and our willingness to "look the other way".
How else can we explain that the man who framed the legal argument for allowing torture and "renditions" is now the Attorney General of the United States of America... who has the "full confidence of the President?
Why should we be shocked then when we "turn over the rock" and find, buried in the slime and ooze, another one of this administrations "great legal minds".
My parents used to warn me that "If you stick your head up too high it will get shot off." My father said "Don't rock the boat." They were both wrong!
We should all be sticking our heads up and screaming at the top of our voice. This boat needs to be "rocked".
Indeed if we do not "right the ship" we will all sink with it.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Racial Baiting and Demagogues...
Don Imus may be the dumbest talk show host to ever be in front of a microphone. His comments regarding the woman's basketball team at Rutgers University were not only obscenely racist and sexist... they were downright stupid. A career which has made Imus rich and famous is now washed down the drain. Perhaps that is appropriate given the cesspool he has wallowed in for so many years. He might land on his feet if satellite radio gives him a call. Won't surprise me.
Having said that, however, what was even more obscene was the pack of self-serving vultures who smelled blood and swooped in to feast on the Imus carcass.
Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are two of the most outrageous race baiters in the world. They have made careers and fortunes playing the race card at every opportunity. To hear these two bottom-feeding demagogues take a moralistic, holier-than-thou, tone regarding the Imus situation is like listening to Bush and Cheney tell how much they hate war and are only protecting our freedoms.
Both are pure BS.
If Jackson and Sharpton are truly "reverends" where is all the Christian forgiveness that they purport to believe in? Isn't a person who publicly admits their mistake, and asks forgiveness of those whom he offended, worthy of some Christian charity? Obviously not if you are Sharpton and Jackson. They quickly seized the opportunity to get a new photo-opp and advance their position in the black community.
Where are Jackson and Sharpton when every hip-hop rapper uses the vilest of terms to degrade and demean black women and promote violence? They are conspicuously silent when it is their own people who commit such outrageous acts. Could this be more about political posturing and fund raising... than right and wrong? Perhaps it is time for them... and every black leader... to look inward and clean up their own house.
Make no mistake about it ... Imus deserved his fate. But, if he is to be thrown out so readily, and with such vehement rhetoric... then perhaps those who yelled the loudest should now turn their aggressive campaign against the people who coined the derogatory phrases and language they hate so much.
The "gotcha" smile on the face of Rahema Ellis, NBC reporter, spoke volumes about what this whole show was really about. It was a reckoning... vengeance... getting even... pay back.
I fear that we have not come far as a nation where race relations is concerned. This is not a white problem... or a black problem. It is a white and a black problem. We will either deal with it... or it will surely deal with us.
Having said that, however, what was even more obscene was the pack of self-serving vultures who smelled blood and swooped in to feast on the Imus carcass.
Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are two of the most outrageous race baiters in the world. They have made careers and fortunes playing the race card at every opportunity. To hear these two bottom-feeding demagogues take a moralistic, holier-than-thou, tone regarding the Imus situation is like listening to Bush and Cheney tell how much they hate war and are only protecting our freedoms.
Both are pure BS.
If Jackson and Sharpton are truly "reverends" where is all the Christian forgiveness that they purport to believe in? Isn't a person who publicly admits their mistake, and asks forgiveness of those whom he offended, worthy of some Christian charity? Obviously not if you are Sharpton and Jackson. They quickly seized the opportunity to get a new photo-opp and advance their position in the black community.
Where are Jackson and Sharpton when every hip-hop rapper uses the vilest of terms to degrade and demean black women and promote violence? They are conspicuously silent when it is their own people who commit such outrageous acts. Could this be more about political posturing and fund raising... than right and wrong? Perhaps it is time for them... and every black leader... to look inward and clean up their own house.
Make no mistake about it ... Imus deserved his fate. But, if he is to be thrown out so readily, and with such vehement rhetoric... then perhaps those who yelled the loudest should now turn their aggressive campaign against the people who coined the derogatory phrases and language they hate so much.
The "gotcha" smile on the face of Rahema Ellis, NBC reporter, spoke volumes about what this whole show was really about. It was a reckoning... vengeance... getting even... pay back.
I fear that we have not come far as a nation where race relations is concerned. This is not a white problem... or a black problem. It is a white and a black problem. We will either deal with it... or it will surely deal with us.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Freed Britons can sell stories to media - Europe - MSNBC.com
Freed Britons can sell stories to media - Europe - MSNBC.com: "LONDON - The 15 British sailors and marines held by Iran for nearly two weeks were granted permission to sell their stories to the media, the Ministry of Defense said Sunday.
The move is a change from the military’s usual policy of blocking serving personnel from entering into financial arrangements with media organizations. A Defense Ministry spokeswoman said the situation of the former captives is unique and deserved special consideration."
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COMMENTARY: If this wasn't so pathetic it would be funny. Now, in a brazen attempt to sell this contrived "fantasy capture" story, the participants in this fraud get to sell their story... for big bucks.
First, lets accept the likelihood that the British troops were duped into this shell game by George, Dick, and Tony. Now that outward and vocal skepticism has raised its ugly head... the real perpetrators figure that the "grunts" can sell this story better than the power politicians. Besides it keeps the story eating up headlines and media interest and diverts the journalists from real and meaningful reporting. That's a very good thing for the administrations of both Britain and the U.S. ... and a game that lazy journalists and a controlled press, are all too willing to play.
George and Dick were hoping that this little gambit would perform the same role as the BS that surrounded the Gulf of Tonkin resolution in the Vietnam war... and provide the excuse we needed to take preemptive action against those nasty nose-tweaking Iranians... in the name of a "rescue" mission.
Unfortunately, that crafty Iranian leader outmaneuvered them at their own game. That's a reality that we are becoming all to used to from an administration whose very name stands for "gross incompetence".
The move is a change from the military’s usual policy of blocking serving personnel from entering into financial arrangements with media organizations. A Defense Ministry spokeswoman said the situation of the former captives is unique and deserved special consideration."
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COMMENTARY: If this wasn't so pathetic it would be funny. Now, in a brazen attempt to sell this contrived "fantasy capture" story, the participants in this fraud get to sell their story... for big bucks.
First, lets accept the likelihood that the British troops were duped into this shell game by George, Dick, and Tony. Now that outward and vocal skepticism has raised its ugly head... the real perpetrators figure that the "grunts" can sell this story better than the power politicians. Besides it keeps the story eating up headlines and media interest and diverts the journalists from real and meaningful reporting. That's a very good thing for the administrations of both Britain and the U.S. ... and a game that lazy journalists and a controlled press, are all too willing to play.
George and Dick were hoping that this little gambit would perform the same role as the BS that surrounded the Gulf of Tonkin resolution in the Vietnam war... and provide the excuse we needed to take preemptive action against those nasty nose-tweaking Iranians... in the name of a "rescue" mission.
Unfortunately, that crafty Iranian leader outmaneuvered them at their own game. That's a reality that we are becoming all to used to from an administration whose very name stands for "gross incompetence".
Gonzales Crams for a Senate Grilling - Newsweek Periscope - MSNBC.com
Gonzales Crams for a Senate Grilling - Newsweek Periscope - MSNBC.com: "April 16, 2007 issue - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has virtually wiped his public schedule clean to bone up for his long-awaited April 17 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee—a session widely seen as a crucial test as to whether he will survive the U.S. attorney mess. But even his own closest advisers are nervous about whether he is up to the task. At a recent 'prep' for a prospective Sunday talk-show interview, Gonzales's performance was so poor that top aides scrapped any live appearances."
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Commentary: The very fact that Gonzo has to "practice" and "be coached" for his upcoming testimony to congress speaks volumes for how lame this man really is. What is it about "testifying to the truth" that is so complicated that he has to be grilled by administration hacks? And why should a man, who is the highest law enforcement official in the United States, be practicing "talking points" spoon fed to him by the administration? He is, after all, the Attorney General of the United States of America... not the legal mouthpiece of Emperor Bush.
Oops! That's my mistake. Gonzales has never been anything other than the legal mouthpiece of Bush. He has been eagerly washing the Bush dirty laundry since the old days in Texas... and he has been well rewarded for his skills at misdirection, cover-up, obfuscation, and downright lies.
Unfortunately for him (and more importantly for the nation) he has been promoted well beyond his point of incompetence. He is so far over his head in his current job that he has become a caricature... and not a funny one. He, like the man who hired him, is a complete failure in his current job. He should be sent back to Texas to plead the case of DWI offenders... he does that pretty well. His employer should be sent back to chop wood and melt away into oblivion. The nation will be better served in both cases.
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Commentary: The very fact that Gonzo has to "practice" and "be coached" for his upcoming testimony to congress speaks volumes for how lame this man really is. What is it about "testifying to the truth" that is so complicated that he has to be grilled by administration hacks? And why should a man, who is the highest law enforcement official in the United States, be practicing "talking points" spoon fed to him by the administration? He is, after all, the Attorney General of the United States of America... not the legal mouthpiece of Emperor Bush.
Oops! That's my mistake. Gonzales has never been anything other than the legal mouthpiece of Bush. He has been eagerly washing the Bush dirty laundry since the old days in Texas... and he has been well rewarded for his skills at misdirection, cover-up, obfuscation, and downright lies.
Unfortunately for him (and more importantly for the nation) he has been promoted well beyond his point of incompetence. He is so far over his head in his current job that he has become a caricature... and not a funny one. He, like the man who hired him, is a complete failure in his current job. He should be sent back to Texas to plead the case of DWI offenders... he does that pretty well. His employer should be sent back to chop wood and melt away into oblivion. The nation will be better served in both cases.
Monday, April 2, 2007
THE CONVENIENCE OF EVENTS...
Now that the United States congress has finally found its backbone and begun to exercise their responsibility of oversight, the Bush/Cheney/Blair triumvirate is beginning to feel the heat.
What to do?
Aha... a diversion is in order. Since the run-up to a war in Iran is not going too well (given our recent memory of the same misdirection in our run-up to Iraq) perhaps we need to get creative and think of something with a better story line. The old "weapons of mass destruction" thing might not fly this time around. And the "maniac dictator" doesn't seem to fit either.
What to do? What to do? ...
I can just hear this conversation in the oval office...
"George, I think we need to take a new tack... we need something to get the peoples minds off all the sleazy stuff that congress is throwing around."
"You're right, Dick. I talked to Tony this morning and he is up to his knees in 'righteous indignation' from all those misinformed British do-gooders. He hung-up on me mumbling something about 'bloody ungrateful colonies' or something.
"Hey, George... how about this? We know the folks at home hate the Iranians for the old hostage thing that brought that toothy peanut farmer to his knees and gave Reagan the white house. Maybe there's something there? These lemmings in the American press will eat it up if we can create another hostage thing."
"Dick, I think you're on to something. How about if we get Tony involved and see if he can help us devise a scheme that will work for all of us?
"Good idea, George. Tony is a real creative thinker. I'll bet he can come up with something."
Hm mm... wonder what kind of "creative thinking" will win the day...?????
What to do?
Aha... a diversion is in order. Since the run-up to a war in Iran is not going too well (given our recent memory of the same misdirection in our run-up to Iraq) perhaps we need to get creative and think of something with a better story line. The old "weapons of mass destruction" thing might not fly this time around. And the "maniac dictator" doesn't seem to fit either.
What to do? What to do? ...
I can just hear this conversation in the oval office...
"George, I think we need to take a new tack... we need something to get the peoples minds off all the sleazy stuff that congress is throwing around."
"You're right, Dick. I talked to Tony this morning and he is up to his knees in 'righteous indignation' from all those misinformed British do-gooders. He hung-up on me mumbling something about 'bloody ungrateful colonies' or something.
"Hey, George... how about this? We know the folks at home hate the Iranians for the old hostage thing that brought that toothy peanut farmer to his knees and gave Reagan the white house. Maybe there's something there? These lemmings in the American press will eat it up if we can create another hostage thing."
"Dick, I think you're on to something. How about if we get Tony involved and see if he can help us devise a scheme that will work for all of us?
"Good idea, George. Tony is a real creative thinker. I'll bet he can come up with something."
Hm mm... wonder what kind of "creative thinking" will win the day...?????
Thoughts Born Of Tragedy
September 11th, 2001 was a day that stunned the world. Several days later, after my mind began to clear from the shock of the events of that day, I set this to paper... I believe it is worth repeating today...
==================================================================
..."history may judge us to be the real bully if, in the our rush to punish someone, we act in ways contrary to our core beliefs and values as a nation"...
Speaking as one who is closer to the end of life than the beginning, the observation that "those who do not know or understand history, are doomed to repeat it" takes on new relevance for me. Events of the last week have given us all reason to reflect and try to sort out meaningful lessons.
Here are a few observations I believe have meaning for all of us... both privately and in our business affairs:
BULLIES DON'T WIN...
Throughout history the bullies of the world have always lost. Gandhi was right! They may bloody our nose with a sneak attack or a lucky punch but, in the long run, they are always defeated by the forces of good and right. Tyrants down through the ages have had to learn this lesson the hard way. The Hitler's of the world have never prevailed.
Neither have predatory corporations or governments.
COALITIONS WORK...SHORT TERM...
Building coalitions are effective to achieve goals...short term. They rarely work long term.
While it is very possible (and desirable) to bring divergent groups together to battle a common foe...that same coalition will decay when the mutual adversary is overcome. Disparate groups will melt away as their own self-interest begins to resurface.
This is as true in business and private organizations as it is in public and world affairs.
BULLIES & TYRANTS DON'T ALWAYS CARRY KNIVES...
Modern bullies wear designer clothing and use computers. They understand the power of politics, sound bites, and photo opportunities. They are masters at using the tools of mass communications to advance sinister goals. Yes...this includes the use of the internet.
They run large corporations, foundations, financial institutions, think-tanks, and hold our highest public offices. They are subtle. They are deceptive. They are dangerous because, like Hitler, they understand the human need for security and order. They understand how to make actions that steal our freedom... appear to be logical and necessary.
They are comfortable and proficient working with hidden agendas which promote their own self-interests. They are practiced at turning dramatic tragic events, or temporary conditions, into building blocks for their own personal financial gain or extensions of their power base.
The antidote against these poisonous souls... is a mechanism for totally free, uncensored, exchange of ideas and thoughts... the internet!
BEWARE OF KNEE-JERK REACTIONS...
Never has careful, measured, thought been more important than now.
When a bully bloodies our nose our first reaction is righteous anger and indignation. This is both normal and right. We should be angry. We should feel indignation.
This same anger and indignation, however, can lead to a rashness of response which plays right into the hands of the forces stacked against us.
If we attack a perceived foe, without indisputable evidence of their guilt and culpability, we have become no better than they.
Indeed, in the eyes of the world, history may judge us to be the real bully if, in the our rush to punish someone, we act in ways contrary to our core beliefs and values as a nation.
The world is watching. We now have the opportunity to prove what a great nation we truly are. It will take patience, great judgement, and a careful measuring of the facts before we act, if we are to be what we have always purported to be... a nation grounded in fairness, freedom, respect for human rights, responsible judgement, and real justice.
Editorial Commentary Written--9/17/2001 ©Copyright 2001-2007 Thom Reece All Rights Reserved
==================================================================
..."history may judge us to be the real bully if, in the our rush to punish someone, we act in ways contrary to our core beliefs and values as a nation"...
Speaking as one who is closer to the end of life than the beginning, the observation that "those who do not know or understand history, are doomed to repeat it" takes on new relevance for me. Events of the last week have given us all reason to reflect and try to sort out meaningful lessons.
Here are a few observations I believe have meaning for all of us... both privately and in our business affairs:
BULLIES DON'T WIN...
Throughout history the bullies of the world have always lost. Gandhi was right! They may bloody our nose with a sneak attack or a lucky punch but, in the long run, they are always defeated by the forces of good and right. Tyrants down through the ages have had to learn this lesson the hard way. The Hitler's of the world have never prevailed.
Neither have predatory corporations or governments.
COALITIONS WORK...SHORT TERM...
Building coalitions are effective to achieve goals...short term. They rarely work long term.
While it is very possible (and desirable) to bring divergent groups together to battle a common foe...that same coalition will decay when the mutual adversary is overcome. Disparate groups will melt away as their own self-interest begins to resurface.
This is as true in business and private organizations as it is in public and world affairs.
BULLIES & TYRANTS DON'T ALWAYS CARRY KNIVES...
Modern bullies wear designer clothing and use computers. They understand the power of politics, sound bites, and photo opportunities. They are masters at using the tools of mass communications to advance sinister goals. Yes...this includes the use of the internet.
They run large corporations, foundations, financial institutions, think-tanks, and hold our highest public offices. They are subtle. They are deceptive. They are dangerous because, like Hitler, they understand the human need for security and order. They understand how to make actions that steal our freedom... appear to be logical and necessary.
They are comfortable and proficient working with hidden agendas which promote their own self-interests. They are practiced at turning dramatic tragic events, or temporary conditions, into building blocks for their own personal financial gain or extensions of their power base.
The antidote against these poisonous souls... is a mechanism for totally free, uncensored, exchange of ideas and thoughts... the internet!
BEWARE OF KNEE-JERK REACTIONS...
Never has careful, measured, thought been more important than now.
When a bully bloodies our nose our first reaction is righteous anger and indignation. This is both normal and right. We should be angry. We should feel indignation.
This same anger and indignation, however, can lead to a rashness of response which plays right into the hands of the forces stacked against us.
If we attack a perceived foe, without indisputable evidence of their guilt and culpability, we have become no better than they.
Indeed, in the eyes of the world, history may judge us to be the real bully if, in the our rush to punish someone, we act in ways contrary to our core beliefs and values as a nation.
The world is watching. We now have the opportunity to prove what a great nation we truly are. It will take patience, great judgement, and a careful measuring of the facts before we act, if we are to be what we have always purported to be... a nation grounded in fairness, freedom, respect for human rights, responsible judgement, and real justice.
Editorial Commentary Written--9/17/2001 ©Copyright 2001-2007 Thom Reece All Rights Reserved
Welcome To FREEDOM FUNNEL... Down The Drain
Like many citizens of the world I have, over the past years, become very concerned at the creeping loss of our individual freedoms and the rising tide of separation between the "haves" and the "have-nots".
First, let me make clear that I am an American patriot. I served my country willingly during the Viet Nam debacle, lived through the social upheavals of the 60' and 70's, and have always had a keen appreciation for justice and the so called "American Way".
Now, as I get closer to the end of life than the beginning, I feel capable and compelled to comment on the world I see around me. It's not a pretty sight!
I see an America sliding down the slippery slope of what John Edwards accurately described as "Two Americas". The great middle class, that made America the envy of the world... is shrinking faster than the polar ice caps.
A once benevolent government that stood for protection of individual liberties, blind justice, compassion for the well-being of all, and a truly "fair and balanced" society... has turned cold, manipulative, autocratic, self-serving, and willing to commit atrocities that were once thought to be unspeakable.
Our love of the land and appreciation for the wonder of nature that Teddy Roosevelt so wisely protected, has now fallen prey to the brazen exploitation of special interests... with the full and willing complicity of the very people charged with the protection of these irreplaceable national assets.
Class warfare is now fostered by those who would divide and conquer. We are now told that we must live in fear and be willing to allow the unthinkable to be done in our name... for the sake of "security".
How quickly we have forgotten the lessons of history.
So, faced with the harsh realities of a world fast becoming something I no longer recognize as something I want to live in... or bequeath to posterity... I will use this forum to speak out in the hope that there are others of like mind that may listen and take action.
Thom
First, let me make clear that I am an American patriot. I served my country willingly during the Viet Nam debacle, lived through the social upheavals of the 60' and 70's, and have always had a keen appreciation for justice and the so called "American Way".
Now, as I get closer to the end of life than the beginning, I feel capable and compelled to comment on the world I see around me. It's not a pretty sight!
I see an America sliding down the slippery slope of what John Edwards accurately described as "Two Americas". The great middle class, that made America the envy of the world... is shrinking faster than the polar ice caps.
A once benevolent government that stood for protection of individual liberties, blind justice, compassion for the well-being of all, and a truly "fair and balanced" society... has turned cold, manipulative, autocratic, self-serving, and willing to commit atrocities that were once thought to be unspeakable.
Our love of the land and appreciation for the wonder of nature that Teddy Roosevelt so wisely protected, has now fallen prey to the brazen exploitation of special interests... with the full and willing complicity of the very people charged with the protection of these irreplaceable national assets.
Class warfare is now fostered by those who would divide and conquer. We are now told that we must live in fear and be willing to allow the unthinkable to be done in our name... for the sake of "security".
How quickly we have forgotten the lessons of history.
So, faced with the harsh realities of a world fast becoming something I no longer recognize as something I want to live in... or bequeath to posterity... I will use this forum to speak out in the hope that there are others of like mind that may listen and take action.
Thom
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