tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58960222011-12-15T04:10:32.289+01:00A Contemporary Look at Political Malfeasance, Economics, Culture, and Global Affairs.Dustnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1168646624353684542007-01-13T00:58:00.000+01:002007-01-13T01:03:44.413+01:00

Robert Gates on Capitol Hill on Thursday, told lawmakers, “I would confess I'm no expert on Iraq.”Later, asked about reaching the right balance between American and Iraqi forces, he told the panel he was “no expert on military matters.”Committee members pressed Gates, who replaced Donald H. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon, on an exit strategy for the U.S.“At the outset of the strategy, it's a mistake to

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1166756315412565042006-12-22T03:52:00.000+01:002006-12-22T04:01:48.560+01:00

Phinneas comments on Dr. Walter Block's post on the Mises Blog on Why Be An Economist? To Be Happy, That's Why:There are really only 3 ways of earning a large amount of money: 1. Finance (i.e., money lending, in all its various forms); 2. Speculation (i.e., buying things that you predict will either appreciate on their own, or will appreciate with a minimum of effort on your part); and 3.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1165633311317615442006-12-09T03:57:00.000+01:002006-12-09T04:05:00.833+01:00

In a major speech on the Senate floor, the Oregon senator, Gordon Smith, called for changes in U.S. policy that could include rapid pullouts of U.S. troops from Iraq. He said he would have never voted for the conflict if he had known the intelligence that President Bush gave the American people was inaccurate. Citing the hundreds of billions of dollars spent and the nearly 3,000 American deaths,

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1163989310787775192006-11-20T03:20:00.000+01:002006-11-20T03:21:50.843+01:00

"If you mean by 'military victory' an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that gets the civil war under control and sectarian violence under control in a time period that the political processes of the democracies will support, I don't believe that is possible," Henry Kissinger told the British Broadcasting Corp.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1163035490135741722006-11-09T02:18:00.000+01:002006-11-09T02:31:30.323+01:00

The War Nerd provides six myths of modern warfare.Here are the main counterpoints to understand:1. Most wars are asymmetrical / irregular. 2. In these wars, the guerrillas / irregulars / insurgents do NOT aim for military victory. 3. You can NOT defeat these groups by killing lots of their members. In fact, they want you to do that. 4. Hi-tech

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1163033879776403062006-11-09T01:56:00.000+01:002006-11-09T02:06:53.070+01:00

Mr. Colbert gets mad over the recent election results and says good bye to America.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1163033787008878922006-11-09T01:52:00.000+01:002006-11-09T01:56:27.036+01:00

Impossible. But, there may be a slight hope:In a little-publicized statement, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House Democratic leader, has promised to change the chamber's rules to reflect the provisions of her not-so-modestly-named Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2006 [H.R. 4682]. The months-old measure would, among other things, prohibit House members from accepting gifts and

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1162701968283365422006-11-05T05:41:00.000+01:002006-11-05T05:46:08.286+01:00

Monday view by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Paulson re-activates secretive support team to prevent markets meltdown Judging by their body language, the US authorities believe the roaring bull market this autumn is just a suckers' rally before the inevitable storm hits.Hank Paulson, the market-wise Treasury Secretary who built a $700m fortune at Goldman Sachs, is re-activating the 'plunge protection

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1162701516648231372006-11-05T05:36:00.000+01:002006-11-05T05:38:36.650+01:00

As Iraq slips further into chaos, the war's neoconservative boosters have turned sharply on the Bush administration, charging that their grand designs have been undermined by White House incompetence. In a series of exclusive interviews, Richard Perle, Kenneth Adelman, David Frum, and others play the blame game with shocking frankness. Target No. 1: the president himself.The Architects of War:

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1160698092183038082006-10-13T02:03:00.001+02:002006-10-13T02:08:12.206+02:00

The head of the Army is calling for British troops to withdraw from Iraq "soon" or risk catastophic consequences for both Iraq and British society. In a devastating broadside at Tony Blair's foreign policy, General Sir Richard Dannatt stated explicitly that the continuing presence of British troops "exacerbates the security problems" in Iraq.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1160101080984580882006-10-06T04:04:00.000+02:002006-11-09T02:08:45.620+01:00

Slate's reading guide fast-forwards you straight to the good parts.Here is a quick look:Poppy EngagedPage 1: Though the Bush family maintains that father and son never talk about issues more substantive than fishing, the book starts with the first President Bush calling his old friend Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the longtime Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, in the fall of 1997. Bush's

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1159934529103906402006-10-04T05:52:00.000+02:002006-11-09T02:11:23.983+01:00

Alton Verm filed a "Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials" Thursday with the district regarding "Fahrenheit 451," written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1953. He wants the district to remove the book from the curriculum."It's just all kinds of filth," said Alton Verm, adding that he had not read "Fahrenheit 451." "The words don't need to be brought out in class. I want to get

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1159310872919139802006-09-27T00:44:00.000+02:002006-09-27T03:02:11.340+02:00

Although various people inside the intelligence agencies have known this since even before the US even invaded Iraq, a "declassified government intelligence report says the war in Iraq has become a 'cause celebre' for Islamic extremists, breeding deep resentment of the U.S. that is likely to get worse before it gets better."Update: 3-pages of the 9-pages of key judgments included in the 30-page

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1159223160606302472006-09-26T00:23:00.000+02:002006-09-26T00:26:00.626+02:00

For the answer, go to Rising-Hegemon and look at Newsweek's cover this week by geographical region.And the week before.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1157698329208066282006-09-08T08:45:00.000+02:002006-09-08T08:52:09.263+02:00

Softwood deal pours $450 million straight into White House, says U.S. lawyer.So, here we have the government of Canada requiring that Canadian private parties sign over $450 million to an escrow fund slated to be conveyed to the White House. The agreement does not mention Congress, and the Bush administration says that Congress will not be involved in any way with this agreement. The government

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1154395648695210162006-08-01T03:16:00.000+02:002006-08-01T03:27:28.786+02:00

In 1976, brothers Ozzie and Dan Silna, co-owners of the long-forgotten ABA team, the Spirits of St. Louis, negotiated a deal that cleared the way for the ABA to merge with the NBA. This deal has paid the Silnas about $168 million and it continues to pay off without ever having to field a team or spend money on stadium leases for the past thirty years.Part of the Silnas' deal called for them to

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1153790874505162352006-07-25T03:21:00.000+02:002006-07-25T03:29:40.940+02:00

Murray Rothbard answered the question of how he avoided succumbing to pessimism in "For a New Liberty" in the section titled "Why Liberty Will Win": "... libertarianism will win eventually because it and only it is compatible with the nature of man and of the world. Only liberty can achieve man's prosperity, fulfillment, and happiness. In short, libertarianism will win because it is true,

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1153538536710589922006-07-22T05:20:00.000+02:002006-07-22T05:23:30.903+02:00

Morality knows nothing of geographical boundaries, or distinctions of race. You may put men on opposite sides of a river or a chain of mountains; may else part them by a tract of salt water; may give them, if you like, distinct languages; and may even colour their skins differently; but you cannot change their fundamental relationships. Originating as these do in the facts of man’s constitution,

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1153538315299527512006-07-22T05:17:00.000+02:002006-07-22T05:19:08.986+02:00

The answer at The Belfast Telegraph.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1153449663013366182006-07-21T04:38:00.000+02:002006-07-21T04:41:03.016+02:00

"Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial, else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided,

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1153357734055891282006-07-20T02:57:00.000+02:002006-07-21T03:52:00.336+02:00

Dear Sen. Sununu,I am very concerned with the developments in the middle east. Israel's attacks on innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and Lebanon is very disconcerting. The Daily Star is reporting IDF air strikes against privately owned factories throughout the country."The production facilities of at least five companies in key industrial sectors - including the country's

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1151619594043137492006-06-30T00:14:00.000+02:002006-06-30T00:24:20.240+02:00

Tony Snow during today's White House press briefing:QUESTION: Is this [Supreme Court decision] a setback in terms of the broader goal of this administration to expand executive authority? SNOW: I don’t think it’s ever been the goal of the administration to expand executive authority. In a time of war, the president has tried to act in a way that meets the needs and obligations of a commander in

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1151469839538064032006-06-28T06:39:00.000+02:002006-06-28T06:43:59.630+02:00

Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison has decided not to give Harvard University a planned gift of $115 million, a company spokesman said Tuesday.Ellison canceled the gift because Lawrence H. Summers stepped down as Harvard's president this month, Oracle spokesman Bob Wynne said. Summers announced his resignation in February, after being embroiled in controversy throughout 2005. Wynne said Ellison began

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1151453085791287272006-06-28T01:58:00.000+02:002006-06-28T02:09:40.256+02:00

Capitalist Soccer vs. Socialist Footballor,Nil, Nil: The Nihilism of SoccerI think the facts of the case rest squarely with Sergei Boukhonine at LRC, and the ignorant Weekly Standard folks are just embarrassing themselves once again.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1151113875352008842006-06-24T03:47:00.000+02:002006-06-24T03:51:15.373+02:00

We are now heating up for mid-term elections that will be taking place in November. A number of people are using this as their platform to aspire to become the next Commander-in-Chief. Hillary Clinton has stated that she is disappointed with Bush's handling of the war. But yet she is still proud to support the war, proud that she voted for it, and she stated that she is also against a timeline

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1150774821261233492006-06-20T05:20:00.000+02:002006-06-20T06:39:57.643+02:00

CNN reports on a telephone poll of 1,001 adult Americans that was conducted June 1-6 by Harris Interactive with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.The headline CNN chose was:Poll: Clinton gets high 'no' vote for 200847 percent of respondents said they would "definitely vote against" Hillary Clinton.But, these headlines would've fit equally as well:Poll: Jeb Bush gets highest '

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1150442618630970142006-06-16T09:19:00.000+02:002006-06-16T09:23:38.633+02:00

The Supreme Court made it easier Thursday for police to barge into homes and seize evidence without knocking or waiting.The court, on a 5-4 vote, said judges cannot throw out evidence collected by police who have search warrants but do not properly announce their arrival. It was a significant rollback of earlier rulings protective of homeowners. Dissenting justices predicted that police will now

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1150442279365310232006-06-16T09:12:00.000+02:002006-06-16T09:17:59.386+02:00

Follow the Money - If You Can... (via antiwar.com)Justin Raimondo reports:Remember that $9 billion that somehow got “lost” in Iraq? Boxes of cash were shipped from the Federal Reserve to Iraq, where a former Coalition Provisional Authority official testified that our guys were playing football with blocks of $100 bills and an investigator described the atmosphere as “a free-fraud zone.” The U.S.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1150342259592674782006-06-15T05:30:00.000+02:002006-06-15T05:47:20.126+02:00

Web designer Artemy Lebedev (of Optimus Keyboard fame) took a trip to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and came back with a surplus of surprising photos. Many of them forbidden by authorities (don't miss page 2). It is a photo journal full of evidence of the depravity of communism, dictatorship, and the devastation due to the lack of free market policies. Here is the Russian text.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1150326472001105432006-06-15T00:58:00.000+02:002006-06-15T01:17:59.643+02:00

The photo above of White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and Communications Director Daniel Bartlett riding in a military helicopter for their six-minute ride from the Baghdad airport to the U.S. embassy in the Greenzone is the photo that most people saw. But, maybe the photo below gives a more accurate portrayal of their emotional state.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1149904434916844302006-06-10T03:53:00.000+02:002006-06-10T03:53:54.916+02:00

GoodSearch.com will send a percentage of their ad revenue to the Mises Institute every time you use their search engine. You don't have to click on ads. You don't have to pay anything. Just select the Mises Institute and search. You can even track the amount that has been raised. They calculate that 10,000 supporters, averaging just two searches a day, will raise $73,000 in a year's time. A

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1149904250942231592006-06-10T03:45:00.000+02:002006-06-10T03:55:44.476+02:00

The AfRR has a great list of the taxes that have piled up over the last one hundred years:Federal Income Tax Federal Unemployment Tax Workers Compensation Tax Social Security Tax Medicare Tax State Income Tax State Unemployment Tax School Tax Sales Taxes (State and Local) Real Estate Tax Property Tax Building Permit Tax Well Permit Tax Septic Permit Tax Utility Taxes

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1149218833998068682006-06-02T05:22:00.000+02:002006-06-02T05:31:54.340+02:00

No get-out-of-jail-free cards or promises of remaining friends for academics when discussing a hot political topic...A Hot Paper Muzzles HarvardBy Eve FairbanksControversial "Jewish lobby" paper raises nary a peep on the cowed campus. By Eve FairbanksDid you think there was a controversy in academia over "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," the paper by Stephen Walt and John

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1148526902040279262006-05-25T05:12:00.000+02:002006-05-25T05:19:33.646+02:00

On Tuesday, Barney Frank gave a great speech as the House debated the latest Agriculture Appropriations bill:Mr. Chairman, I am here to confess my reading incomprehension. I have listened to many of my conservative friends talk about the wonders of the free market, of the importance of letting the consumers make their best choices, of keeping government out of economic activity, of the virtues of

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1148182153326909962006-05-21T05:35:00.000+02:002006-05-21T05:44:07.680+02:00

"We have an entire generation who imagines their member of Congress in an orange jumpsuit," said Paul Light, a New York University professor of public service, referring to the common prison uniform. "It's like members of Congress don't have any shame."

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1148182329344353092006-05-21T05:31:00.000+02:002006-05-21T05:32:09.346+02:00

"Even baby Jesus accepted gifts and I don't believe it corrupted him." - Rep. Drew Saunders, D-Mecklenburg, in support of an amendment to the legislative ethics bill that lowers the monetary threshold on gifts lawmakers may receive from neighbors and state employees.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1147409352450114032006-05-12T06:44:00.000+02:002006-06-02T05:39:11.426+02:00

Were the barbarians more beneficent than the Romans? A couple of Englishmen are trying to convince you that this is so. They state that the only uniquely Roman feature of the Empire was its professional army."...The fact that we still think of the Celts, the Huns, the Vandals, the Goths and so on as “barbarians” means that we have all fallen hook, line and sinker for Roman propaganda. We actually

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1147368439750626462006-05-11T19:25:00.000+02:002006-05-11T19:28:06.573+02:00

By Martin Van CreveldOne of my teachers, a former chief of Israeli military intelligence, used to say that going to war is not like asking a girl out on a date. It is a very serious decision, to be made on the basis of carefully crafted answers to even more carefully crafted questions. Some serious questions, then, about whether the United States should bomb Iran's nuclear installations...

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1146771142665174102006-05-04T21:27:00.000+02:002006-05-04T21:39:16.700+02:00

Happy returns for acquitted tax accountant Accountant charged with filing false income tax papers for clients, arguing wages are not taxable, acquitted though IRS says taxes are due A Bay Shore accountant has been acquitted of income-tax evasion charges after he filed returns for 36 clients claiming that salaries cannot be legally taxed.But don't get ready to go rushing out to your tax

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1146770828463682832006-05-04T21:23:00.000+02:002006-05-04T21:27:08.516+02:00

Nearly 80 people convicted of sedition amid the war's anti-German hysteria received the first posthumous pardons in Montana history, including one who was imprisoned merely for calling the conflict a "rich man's war" and mocking food regulations during a time of rationing.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1146708423124003832006-05-04T04:02:00.000+02:002006-06-02T05:35:54.533+02:00

You decide.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1146636246619538032006-05-03T08:01:00.000+02:002006-05-03T08:04:06.656+02:00

By KARL BEISELAnother View The Union Leader THE NEW HAMPSHIRE Senate will soon vote on what might be the most important bill to protect our freedoms in many years. House Bill 1582, which the House overwhelmingly passed last month, would preclude New Hampshire from participating in the REAL ID Act, a federal law passed last year establishing a de facto national ID card. The REAL ID

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1146639101816696992006-05-01T08:35:00.000+02:002006-05-03T08:56:24.920+02:00

Figuratively, of course, not literally. Stephen Colbert sent a stealth missile straight into the belly of the beast at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington DC on Saturday. The press nor the powerful were impressed but, he certainly acquired the admiration of millions of the people devoid of influence.Here is the transcript since without C-Span and the internet no one would have

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1146338339172868372006-04-29T21:14:00.000+02:002006-04-29T21:46:10.393+02:00

From Bruce Bartlett via the Mises.org Weblog

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1146191999768096422006-04-28T04:25:00.000+02:002006-04-28T07:11:32.833+02:00

Greg Mankiw of Harvard University, and instructor of the famed ec10, recently wrote of his ignorance of Austrian Economics.Prestopundit responded in the comments section:...I find it stunning that an economist can be unfamiliar with the economic work of the leading economist of the last 100 years. Here are some of the contributions of Friedrich Hayek which may be unknown to you (explained by some

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1145908149571960202006-04-24T21:44:00.000+02:002006-04-24T21:49:59.160+02:00

The Fight Against Government Land OwnershipBy Henry LambWhy does the federal government own 65 percent of all the land west of Denver and less than 2 percent of the land east of Denver? Who cares? Everyone should care. The federal government was not created to be the owner of the land; it was created expressly to get the "right of soil" out of the hands of a king – that is, out of the hands of

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1145674259126506552006-04-22T04:47:00.000+02:002006-04-22T04:50:59.156+02:00

Has the US government reached the point of maximum sustainable complexity (MSC)? Any organization sufficiently complex eventually either reduces complexity or collapses under its own weight.This would explain why Congress has been non-existent lately and the President a dead duck since the Spring of '05.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1145430515299164402006-04-19T09:07:00.000+02:002006-04-19T09:09:15.296+02:00

"If in November Republicans lose control of the House of Representatives, April 5 should be remembered as the day they demonstrated that they earned defeat. Traducing the Constitution and disgracing conservatism, they used their power for their only remaining purpose -- to cling to power."

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1144483139296642542006-04-08T09:55:00.000+02:002006-04-08T09:58:59.306+02:00

Wilson In Hell (1942)By Robinson JeffersRoosevelt died and met Wilson; who said, "I blundered into itThrough honest error, and conscience cut me so deep that I diedIn the vain effort to prevent future wars. But youBlew on the coal-bed, and when it kindled you deliberatelySabotaged every fire-wall that even the men who deniedMy hope had built. You have too much murder on your hands. I will

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1144478906969343392006-04-08T08:46:00.000+02:002006-04-08T08:55:59.376+02:00

Entitled the "Consent of the Governed Amendment," proposing an amendment relative to insuring that the majority of citizens of the United States shall live under a government which they hath consented to...SECTION 3 Every person elected to, or employed by, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the United States government shall live, with their immediate family, within the

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1144474304984287912006-04-08T07:30:00.000+02:002006-04-08T07:53:47.863+02:00

The Electronic Frontier Foundation seems to think so."The evidence that we are filing supports our claim that AT&T is diverting Internet traffic into the hands of the NSA wholesale, in violation of federal wiretapping laws and the Fourth Amendment," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "More than just threatening individuals' privacy, AT&T's apparent choice to give the government secret,

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1144474137130305082006-04-08T07:28:00.000+02:002006-04-08T07:28:57.130+02:00

What law has Iran broken?

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1144474030428486312006-04-08T07:26:00.000+02:002006-04-08T07:27:10.430+02:00

Yea, but which one can we nail him on.Experts: Leaks are probably legal but 'amount to using sensitive intelligence data for political gain.'

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1144474638739631502006-04-08T07:25:00.000+02:002006-04-08T07:37:18.740+02:00

New Evidence On Who Killed Vince Foster? U.S. Attorney Miguel Rodriguez claims Kenneth Starr and Brett Kavanaugh, assistant to the President and slated for a federal appeals court appointment, were major players in the Foster murder cover-up. Justice, however, has never been served because the mainstream media has been complicit in the cover-up.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1144473952853773702006-04-08T07:24:00.000+02:002006-04-08T07:25:52.853+02:00

Prosecutors told a federal judge in a recent brief that they have "overwhelming evidence" that two pro-Israel lobbyists deliberately broke the law when they obtained classified information from government officials.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1144473712964706812006-04-08T07:06:00.000+02:002006-04-08T07:21:53.063+02:00

What an utter disgrace for the Washington Post. Completely disgraceful. Please don't buy this paper or visit their website. This is just ridiculous. This is not news. Think about all that is happening in the world and if this is the best use of a reporter's time. And, when was the last time you saw an article on any other politician or businessmen's hair? ($200 haircuts aboard Air Force One on

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1144480998519466852006-04-08T07:02:00.000+02:002006-04-08T09:26:30.900+02:00

Here's a sampling. There are many more at the group's Web site, www.fair.org. "This has been a tough war for commentators on the American left. ... Liberal writers for ideologically driven magazines like The Nation and for less overtly political ones like The New Yorker did not predict a defeat, but the terrible consequences many warned of have not happened. Now liberal commentators must address

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1143487693174764902006-03-27T21:22:00.000+02:002006-03-27T21:31:39.373+02:00

From private talks between George Bush and UK PM Tony Blair, the memo makes it clear the US was determined to go to war whether or not he had UN backing. He is quoted discussing ways to provoke Saddam Hussein into a confrontation... The five-page memo, dated 31 January 2003, was written by Mr Blair's then chief foreign adviser, David Manning, the New York Times says. Summarising the

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1143272810254269582006-03-25T08:44:00.000+01:002006-03-25T08:50:09.573+01:00

Pat Buchanan writes:While President Bush appears serenely confident about Iraq, the same cannot be said of the War Party propagandists who were plotting this conflict when Dubya was still a rookie governor of Texas. William Kristol of the Weekly Standard now demands the firing of Donald Rumsfeld. William F. Buckley, whose National Review branded the anti-war right "unpatriotic conservatives" who

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1143178788346554432006-03-24T06:38:00.000+01:002006-03-24T06:44:49.840+01:00

Brats from Berkeley no matter what their political orientation?Michelle Malkin has the scoop.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1143176580580286192006-03-24T05:50:00.000+01:002006-03-24T06:08:29.266+01:00

"Our present emergency and a common sense of decency make it imperative that no new group of war millionaires shall come into being in this nation as a result of the struggles abroad. The American people will not relish the idea of any American citizen growing rich and fat in an emergency of blood and slaughter and human suffering."- FDR Fireside Chat May 26, 1940.Bush's uncle benefits from Iraq

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1143175800866026762006-03-24T05:48:00.000+01:002006-03-24T05:50:00.893+01:00

Wall Street lays plans in case bird flu strikes.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1143102374089050932006-03-23T09:02:00.000+01:002006-03-24T03:32:54.913+01:00

Part I: Cold Warrior in a Strangle LandPart II: What Ever Happened to Congress?Chalmers Johnson served in the U.S. Navy, was a consultant for the CIA, is a professor emeritus of the University of California, San Diego, and is a military historian. He is also president and co-founder of the Japan Policy Research Institute, an organization promoting public education about Japan and the rest of Asia

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1142998242870818682006-03-22T04:24:00.000+01:002006-03-22T04:46:04.173+01:00

"Life is algid, life is fulgid. Life is what the least of us make most of us feel that the least of us make the most of. Life is a burgeoning, a quickening of the dim, primordial urge in the murky wastes of time." - Willard Van Orman Quine

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1142911972248626982006-03-21T04:20:00.000+01:002006-03-22T04:21:56.716+01:00

Sheen joins a growing number of people questioning the official story of 9/11 and calls for a new independent investigation of the attack and the circumstances surrounding it.Did you ever expect to hear Charlie Sheen quote Teddy Roosevelt?"That we are to stand by the President right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."Or

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1142911647213925882006-03-21T04:18:00.000+01:002006-03-24T06:43:07.983+01:00

A very fascinating discussion of le probleme du pain over at Marginal Revolution.Tom Slee sums up the contents:"The number of different and (to this reader) all perfectly plausible contributors to the difference between French and American bread is astounding. A quick scan suggests: - Taste differences are compensated for by non-taste factors (kitchen life, variety, lack of riots)- Distribution

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1142576193253666882006-03-17T07:14:00.000+01:002006-03-17T07:34:23.036+01:00

A question of how early humans behaved.Depending on which journal you've picked up in recent months, early humans were either peace-loving softies or war-mongering buffoons.Which theory is to be believed? Perhaps a little of both?

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1142575874391761122006-03-17T07:09:00.000+01:002006-03-17T07:32:07.610+01:00

Physicists announced Thursday that they now have the smoking gun that shows the universe went through extremely rapid expansion in the moments after the big bang, growing from the size of a marble to a volume larger than all of observable space in less than a trillion-trillionth of a second.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1142365886707305912006-03-14T20:50:00.000+01:002006-03-17T07:29:37.660+01:00

Escape From New York"...Yet Wall Street may prove to be a victim of its own success. For while they're still making money hand over fist, New York-based financial institutions are seeing their global positions erode. In today's flat world, capital is being formed all over the place, especially in the so-called BRIC bloc—Brazil, Russia, India, and China. (By running up gigantic debts and a huge

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1142036491496299842006-03-11T01:18:00.000+01:002006-03-17T07:27:25.523+01:00

A simple, but absolutely essential lesson.Highlights:The principle of self-ownership.To take life is murder.To take liberty is slavery.To take property is theft.You do not have the right to initiate force against the life, liberty, or property of others.You have the right to protect your life, liberty, and justly acquired property.You have the right to seek leaders for yourself, but you do noy

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1141958385198318372006-03-10T03:34:00.000+01:002006-03-10T03:39:45.200+01:00

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank's write-up on a recent Cato forum:Former Reagan aide Bruce Bartlett, author of the new book "Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy" called the administration "unconscionable," "irresponsible," "vindictive" and "inept."Conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan, author of the forthcoming "The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It;

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1141957991828084602006-03-10T03:30:00.000+01:002006-03-17T07:18:55.146+01:00

''The committee is, to put it bluntly, is basically under the control of the White House," said Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, a West Virginia Democrat and the intelligence committee's vice chairman. ''You can't legislate properly unless you know what's going on." Rockefeller said the Republicans' bill leaves Congress to ''legislate in darkness and ignorance." These words were spoken by Sen.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1141634197482620012006-03-06T09:26:00.000+01:002006-03-06T09:39:43.500+01:00

Sometimes, the lesser of two evils does win out in Hollywood.Once upon a time, "Chariots of Fire" really did beat "Reds" and "On Golden Pond" after all."We are humbled by the other nominess in this category. You have made this year one of the most breathtaking and stunning maverick years in American cinema," said "Crash" producer Cathy Schulman.Let's hear it for the mavericks, the radicals, the

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1141440608646573832006-03-04T03:46:00.000+01:002006-03-17T07:23:51.336+01:00

Pentagon Loses Track of $2.3 TrillionOn Sept. 10 [2001], Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared war. Not on foreign terrorists, "the adversary's closer to home. It's the Pentagon bureaucracy," he said.He said money wasted by the military poses a serious threat."In fact, it could be said it's a matter of life and death," he said.Rumsfeld promised change but the next day – Sept. 11-- the

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1141435584018997712006-03-04T02:12:00.000+01:002006-03-17T07:21:27.656+01:00

Former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who collected $2.4 million in homes, yachts, antique furnishings and other bribes on a scale unparalleled in the history of Congress, was sentenced Friday to eight years and four months in prison, the longest term meted out to a congressman in decades.Cunningham accepted money and gifts including a Rolls-Royce and $40,000 Persian rugs from defense contractors

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1141186436062483872006-03-01T05:12:00.000+01:002006-03-28T05:29:47.196+02:00

The Bush administration has a plan to put 300,000 acres of land up for sale in California, Colorado, and Idaho.Environmental groups and legislators in western states have complained loudly about the plan in President Bush's proposed 2007 budget. The proposal calls for selling off forests to raise money for a rural school program, which would then be phased out over five years."Some of the sites

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1141186252898993802006-03-01T04:37:00.000+01:002006-03-01T05:11:57.016+01:00

A new Zogby International poll finds that 85% of US troops in Iraq said the US mission is mainly "to retaliate for Saddam's role in the 9-11 attacks."Yet, Sept. 17, 2003, President Bush stated "[w]e have no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 11th attacks." (BBC link)Moreover, Bush may have none as early as 10 days after 9-11-01.The Sept. 11 Commission found no "

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140841761914870312006-02-25T05:22:00.000+01:002006-02-25T05:32:24.293+01:00

Washington D.C. Told To Justify Port Deal In CourtThe Bush administration was ordered by a U.S. federal judge on Friday to explain why it did not give New Jersey officials documents and information Washington had about a deal allowing an Arab company to take over management of a container terminal in Newark......The judge asked in the order that federal officials explain why New Jersey officials

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140682215497964512006-02-23T08:57:00.000+01:002006-02-23T09:21:59.303+01:00

A Non-Partisan Voice of FreedomThe goal is to spread the word of liberty and freedom to people, communities and countries where they may not be readily available. Personal freedom is sought by everyone young or old, male or female, no matter what race, ethnicity or culture. It is unfortunate that a small but powerful few have taken it upon themselves to deny others freedom for their own gain.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140690305368767512006-02-23T08:22:00.000+01:002006-02-23T11:25:05.380+01:00

America's Fleecing in the Name of SecurityRest easy, America. As a response to the Sept. 11 attacks, the Princeton, N.J., Fire Department now owns Nautilus exercise equipment, free weights and a Bowflex machine. The police dogs of Columbus, Ohio, are protected by Kevlar vests, thank God. Mason County, Wash., is the proud owner of a half-dozen state-of-the-art emergency radios (never mind that

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140690994184625832006-02-23T08:12:00.000+01:002006-02-23T11:41:58.816+01:00

Former prime minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad admits that “somebody” paid a lobby fee – US$1.2mil – to arrange his meeting with U.S. president George W. Bush in 2002. “I don’t think the (Malaysian) Government paid. But I must admit the Heritage Foundation (a US think tank) arranged it. “They talked me into meeting Bush because they said I would be able to influence him in

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140490901434380302006-02-21T07:38:00.000+01:002006-02-23T10:21:08.153+01:00

Eugene Jarecki's documentary is now available at the Information Clearing House and is well worth a look.More from the BBC Storyville.(If it isn't clear, this means it is available for viewing here.)

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140504092143490292006-02-21T07:35:00.000+01:002006-02-21T07:41:32.153+01:00

In a seven-year-old secret program at the National Archives, intelligence agencies have been removing from public access thousands of historical documents that were available for years, including some already published by the State Department and others photocopied years ago by private historians.The restoration of classified status to more than 55,000 previously declassified pages began in 1999,

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140321335172655112006-02-19T04:48:00.000+01:002006-02-25T05:34:31.206+01:00

Department of Defense staffer Steven Cambone's notes from meetings with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the afternoon of September 11, 2001 were heavily cited in the 9/11 Commission Report's reconstruction of the day's events.The released notes document Donald Rumsfeld's 2:40 PM instructions to General Myers to find the "[b]est info fast . . . judge whether good enough [to] hit S.H. [Saddam

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140150595989282372006-02-17T05:23:00.000+01:002006-02-17T05:50:33.863+01:00

...a wealth of eyewitness testimony and interviews suggest that one stubbornly popular picture of what happened in Tiananmen Square needs revision: There was no massacre of students on the Square. Standard histories such as that by Yale's Jonathan Spence, as well as the recent groundbreaking "Tiananmen Papers," suggest that Chinese soldiers did not fire on students before they left the square in

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140149084181335552006-02-17T04:51:00.000+01:002006-02-17T05:04:44.196+01:00

The Mexican government has admitted to staging a dramatic kidnap rescue for the benefit of a prime-time television audience. The raid, televised on December 9, in which Mexico's equivalent of the FBI burst into a farmhouse at dawn, guns at the ready, to subjugate four alleged kidnappers and liberate three victims, had been presented by the government as proof that it was winning the battle

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140148277189863992006-02-17T04:47:00.000+01:002006-02-17T04:51:17.203+01:00

A former NSA employee said Tuesday there is another ongoing top-secret surveillance program that might have violated millions of Americans' Constitutional rights. Russell D. Tice told the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations he has concerns about a "special access" electronic surveillance program that he characterized as far

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1140146987892797592006-02-17T04:23:00.000+01:002006-02-17T05:06:55.576+01:00

...Right now in the White House they're discussing how to help the vice president get through his problem. They've already tried the wearing of orange ties, an attempt to take the sting out of the incident by showing they don't feel the sting. Duck! Ha ha!But what are they thinking that they're not saying? Here's a hunch, based not on any inside knowledge but only on what I know of people who

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1139984396642507622006-02-15T07:08:00.000+01:002006-02-15T07:19:56.690+01:00

Brain scans show Democrats and Republicans both ignore facts.Democrats and Republicans alike are adept at making decisions without letting the facts get in the way, a new study shows. And they get quite a rush from ignoring information that's contrary to their point of view... Bias on both sides The test subjects on both sides of the political aisle reached totally biased conclusions by ignoring

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1139883278952254322006-02-14T02:02:00.000+01:002006-02-14T03:27:47.603+01:00

The U.S. Defense Department and the White House have decided that the United States is now conducting "the Long War" rather than what previously was known as the War against Terror, then as the Global Struggle against Violent Extremism, and briefly - as one revealing Pentagon study described it - a war against "the Universal Adversary." President George W. Bush said in his State of the Union

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1139887100498777082006-02-14T02:00:00.000+01:002006-02-14T04:33:07.570+01:00

Meet The Press transcript for February 12, 2006:MR. RUSSERT: Senator Roberts, it seems as though the president is saying, “This is a law that’s on the books from 1978”... SEN. ROBERTS [Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee]: Mm-hmm. MR. RUSSERT: ...”but it’s an old law, and my program doesn’t work under that law, so I’m just going to set it aside.” What is the authorization for the

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1139881137012781752006-02-14T01:40:00.000+01:002006-02-14T03:28:52.826+01:00

It's getting harder to cover your tracks as even the most everyday activities -- from running a Google search to using the E-Z Pass lane -- leave a lengthy digital trail.Joe BurrisBaltimore Sun Ever get the feeling that someone's eyeballing you? You're probably right.These days, between the news that the National Security Agency has been eavesdropping without warrants and that the Justice

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1139514701200463782006-02-09T20:46:00.000+01:002006-02-09T20:51:41.203+01:00

Cheney Spearheaded Effort To Discredit WilsonCheney 'Authorized' Libby To Leak Classified Information

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1139514346688690362006-02-09T20:41:00.000+01:002006-02-09T20:45:46.713+01:00

How Rich Bastards Like [John Stossel] Rip Off Taxpayers for Millions of Dollars

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1139347207287664962006-02-07T22:03:00.000+01:002006-02-08T00:29:03.610+01:00

Reuters AlertNet: When entrepreneur Ahmed Abu Dayya first heard that Danish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad were being reprinted across Europe, he knew exactly what his customers in Gaza would want: flags to burn. Abu Dayya ordered 100 hard-to-find Danish and Norwegian flags for his Gaza City shop and has been doing a swift trade."I do not take political stands. It is all business," he said

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1139170709650009502006-02-05T21:01:00.000+01:002006-02-06T07:09:24.323+01:00

NOW Press ReleaseColin Powell's Former Chief of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson Calls Pre-War Intelligence a "Hoax on the American People"In an interview airing tonight on the PBS weekly newsmagazine NOW, Colin Powell's former Chief of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson states that much of Powell's landmark speech to the United Nations laying out the Bush Administration's case for the Iraq war was false. "I

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1138944611844526412006-02-03T06:11:00.000+01:002006-02-03T06:38:00.273+01:00

The UK press is discussing a new book, "Lawless World," by British human rights lawyer, Phillipe Sands. The book reveals extraordinary details of a George Bush and Tony Blair pre-war meeting in January 2003 at which they discussed plans to begin military action irrespective of whether the UN had passed a new resolution authorizing the use of force.The minutes from the meeting include President

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1138766674485139462006-02-01T03:55:00.000+01:002006-02-01T05:17:42.246+01:00

Vikings march through the streets of Lerwick on 12/31/06, in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The festival of fire is known known as 'Up Helly Aa'. The spectacular event takes place annually on the last Tuesday of January. The festival ends with the hauling of a Viking longboat through the streets where paraders throw torches into the galley.

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1138732452870546292006-01-31T19:31:00.000+01:002006-01-31T19:34:12.900+01:00

Congress has granted unusual authority for the Pentagon to spend as much as $200 million of its own budget to aid foreign militaries, a break with the traditional practice of channeling foreign military assistance through the State Department.The move, included in a little-noticed provision of the 2006 National Defense Authorization Act passed last month, marks a legislative victory for Defense

Dustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896022.post-1138322230980560422006-01-27T01:29:00.000+01:002006-02-01T05:24:24.076+01:00

An audit of US reconstruction in Iraq has uncovered the squandering of tens of millions of dollars. The report found problems with nearly 2,000 contracts worth $88.1 million.Here is a small sample of the problems:$108,140 paid to contractor to refurbish Olympic swimming pool in Hilla. Work never done $662,800 paid to repair Hilla hospital. Much of work never done, including renewing central lift

Dustnoreply@blogger.com