August 26, 2003

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Subj: No More Troops?!

Dear BuzzFlash,

Headlines read = US Troops Use Confiscated Iraqi AK-47's / Officials Oppose More US Troops in Iraq. --- Add this to the MANY stories of a lack of food and water and other essential items, such as repair parts for the equipment, trucks/tanks, brings us to one conclusion, they {pentagon} CAN'T afford to have more soldiers.

A BuzzFlash Reader


Subj: NBC poll: 82% disapprove of bush as president!!!!

1. Do you approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

    Newsweek
Yes 17% 53%
No 82% 36%
Don't know 1% 11%

http://www.msnbc.com/news/956235.asp#survey

Rex


Subj: Loaded Verbiage

Buzz,

Concerning the biased Reuters article about Howard Dean, it seems there are many of both parties who have co-opted Rove-like strategies to point us sheep in the direction they would like us to take. Even my slightly left-leaning paper, the Seattle PI, used weighted language to describe Dean. The use of the word "liberal" in a headline connotes radical left to many awash in right wing propaganda. Though I still remain undecided, because I attended his rally, it was easy to spot the subliminal messages in the papers this morning. I know all of you reading this are not Dean supporters, but he did do a great job in Seattle. The large crowd of 8,000 or more was cheering, but not raucous as reported, and the demographics of the group were from 8 months to 80 years, very middle everything. At this point, I think a Howard Dean/Wesley Clark team could easily take on the Bush Cartel, but my ears and mind are still open. Whether it's Karl Rove's gleeful (while quaking) "Bring Dean On" or those democrats that remain loyal to the center and Joe Lieberman (who I think is a fine individual, though I disagree with his war stance and think he lacks the charisma needed to win) the willingness to use Orwellian measures to herd the flock is getting bleatingly annoying.

A BuzzFlash Reader


Dear BuzzFlash,

Below is a bit of the transcript from Meet The Press, June 15, 2003.

Am I the only one who missed this? Sunday of this week General Clark was on with Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation and he mentioned this incident again. I about went ballistic, why isn't the media jumping all over this?

GEN. CLARK: I think it was an effort to convince the American people to do something, and I think there was an immediate determination right after 9/11 that Saddam Hussein was one of the keys to winning the war on terror. Whether it was the need just to strike out or whether he was a linchpin in this, there was a concerted effort during the fall of 2001 starting immediately after 9/11 to pin 9/11 and the terrorism problem on Saddam Hussein.

MR. RUSSERT: By who? Who did that?

GEN. CLARK: Well, it came from the White House, it came from people around the White House. It came from all over. I got a call on 9/11. I was on CNN, and I got a call at my home saying, “You got to say this is connected. This is state-sponsored terrorism. This has to be connected to Saddam Hussein.”I said, “But—I’m willing to say it but what’s your evidence?”And I never got any evidence. And these were people who had—Middle East think tanks and people like this and it was a lot of pressure to connect this and there were a lot of assumptions made. But I never personally saw the evidence and didn’t talk to anybody who had the evidence to make that connection.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/927000.asp?cp1=1

pissed off patricia

ps: Is anyone else amazed that Judge Moore of 10 Commandments fame in Alabama, with his mentality and attitude, was ever even capable of becoming a judge? I just heard him speak on tv (c-span, 8-25-03) and he sounds just damned scary to me! He doesn't speak as a judge, he speaks more like a hellfire and brimstone preacher. I wonder if anyone who ever stood before this man got a fair shake?


Subj: Arnold's most important muscle

Dear Buzz,

You are going to think I'm crazy, but you have known me for sometime now so I think you will understand. In the nude pictures of Arnold I noticed he had really big muscles everywhere on his body except for a man's most important muscle. It looked kinda small!

Nancy Lynn Nagy (TN)


Buzz,

By any chance did you hear the Ah-nuld statement that went something like: " ...we don't want our children to end up on books..." or "...books on our children..."? I'm not sure when he said it but I heard a very brief snippet on the radio early this morning and have not seen/heard anything about it since. Giving him leeway for his accent, I have never heard him sound so stupid!

When I heard it I thought, "Good grief! They want to steal an elective office for another bona fide idiot!"

Liz


Subj: Washington Post exposes Bush lies

BUSH'S STATEMENTS CONTRADICTED BY FACTS

Read on to see how the Post's August 10 report picks apart Bush's claims that Iraq's nuclear program presented an imminent threat to the United States.

BUSH'S STATEMENT:

"A report came out of the . . . [International Atomic Energy Agency], that [the Iraqis] were six months away from developing a weapon. I don't know what more evidence we need." Camp David, 9/7/02

THE WASHINGTON POST SAYS...

"There was no new IAEA report... Bush cast as present evidence the contents of a report from 1996, updated in 1998 and 1999. In those accounts, the IAEA described the history of an Iraqi nuclear weapons program that arms inspectors had systematically destroyed."

BUSH'S STATEMENT:

"Iraq has made several attempts to buy high-strength aluminum tubes used to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon." United Nations, 9/12/02

THE WASHINGTON POST SAYS...

"Gas centrifuge experts consulted by the U.S. government said repeatedly for more than a year that the aluminum tubes were not suitable or intended for uranium enrichment. By December 2002, the experts said new evidence had further undermined the government's assertion. The Bush administration portrayed the scientists as a minority and emphasized that the experts did not describe the centrifuge theory as impossible."

BUSH'S STATEMENT:

"Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud." Cincinnati OH, 10/7/02

THE WASHINGTON POST SAYS...

"What Hussein did not have was the principal requirement for a nuclear weapon, a sufficient quantity of highly enriched uranium or plutonium And the U.S. government, authoritative intelligence officials said, had only circumstantial evidence that Iraq was trying to obtain those materials."

BUSH'S STATEMENT:

"The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program. Saddam Hussein has held numerous meetings with Iraqi nuclear scientists, a group of his 'nuclear mujahedeen,' his nuclear holy warriors." Cincinnati OH, 10/7/02


Subj: Hutton Hearings

Dear BuzzFlash,

I have reluctantly become convinced that we do indeed have a "managed press" here in the US.

How else can you explain why our television news outlets have made no mention of the Hutton hearings in London, which may well result in the removal of Tony Blair from office?

Just asking........

Sue


Subj: Joe Scarborough, chickenhawk, blames America's loss in Vietnam on War hero John Kerry.

I've already written MSNBC & Joe Scarborough regarding this typically anti-American post from a typical neocon chickenhawk (I also requested they do a story on the suspicious death of Lori Klausutis). I thought your readers might be interested in doing the same.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/957122.asp

(half way down)

"And another presidential hopeful, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, is taking a page from President Bush’s handbook. Kerry plans to stand before the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, docked off of Charleston, South Carolina, to officially launch his presidential campaign. Kerry, a Vietnam vet, has said in the past -quote- "I have worked with aircraft carriers for real." **Yes, we know, John. Maybe that’s why we lost the war.**"

Aaron Cossel
Portland, Oregon


Subj: O'Really Factor

hi - read Bill O'Reilly's column at the NY daily News, just to see if he takes another shot at Franken.

Instead, found some lovely fuzzy math. [LINK]

Bill seems to think $6 billion divided by 6 million kids (california school budget numbers) = $10,000 per kid.

off by an O'Reilly Factor of 10.

it matters since the rest of the column is a long whine about how $10,000 per child is too much. $10,000, of course, is paltry by any standard, but if he had done the numbers right, would he still argue $1,000 is too much to spend a kid's education?

i wrote the News to tell them, but 6 hours later its still there.

it's not one of the lies Franken points out so well, its just O'Reilly being sloppy, silly and stupid.

matt


Subj: Complain to Arnold

BuzzFlash,

How Can Arnold be Elected Governor of California With Full Nude Photos Like These Floating Around? (Warning, Full Frontal Nudity) (Scroll Down) More Republican Hypocrisy. Don't Complain to Us, Complain to Arnold.

This is simple: he has "Republican" as a title after his name. Recall that when Bill Jeff Blythe IV-Clinton was going through his troubles with the impeachment, Hyde, Gingrich, and Livingston were all excused for their indiscretions. Then, we have Giuliani who, despite his marital-girlfriend issues, gets to write a book on "leadership." Being a Republican and having some sexy issues come to the fore go hand in glove.

It was also the Republican faction (DeLay ?) that was drooling over the BJB4-C report compiled by the Cox-Dicks (real names ... I don't know who made them stand up) investigation group. When considering the improprieties of government officials, the Democrats are the ones who are intent on bringing down the morals of the country while the Republicans use their "indiscretions" to justify their being "borned again." (Of course, being "borned again" without benefit of female involvement kinda makes them all little Nazarenes.)

A<:>E<:>R
GF, ND


Subj: Reconstructing Iraq

Dear BuzzFlash

On the news Saturday, CNN, they mentioned that the Army Corp of Engineers and the CeeBees are doing a great job in Iraq. And Halliburton is getting paid for it????? Have you seen anything on this.

Cathi Lowery
Vancouver, WA


Subj: No bio-drones, either?

BuzzFlash,

Wow. This new lie about Iraq was a big story in the morning, and all but buried on TV by noon. How the hell do they do that?

John Westermann, author of Exit Wounds, High Crimes, The Honor Farm, Sweet Deal, Ladies Of The Night, teaches at Stony Brook University.
http://www.johnwestermann.com


Subj: Sean Hannity...another FOX thug

BuzzFlash:

I caught the tail end of Hannity and Colmes (i.e., BushGroper and Pseudo-Liberal) tonight, and actually heard Hannity tell Victor Kamber, a Democratic consultant, to "shut up". What the hell is it with these FOX pundits telling people to shut up (remember O'Reilly and Jeremy Glick)?

Meanwhile, Joe Conason is taking the conservative pundits to the political woodshed on the networks he is actually allowed to appear on. I wonder how he'd destroy Hannity if that gutless, no-neck moron actually had Conason on his show.

Vishal
Los Angeles


Subj: Cheney's secrecy re Energy Task Force

Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL)

Yes we were correct, it was about oil and the "smoking gun" has been found through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Early in 2001, VP Dick Cheney convened a task force in order to set the national energy policy. Bush administrators met secretly with utility, gas, oil, coal and nuclear energy industrial leaders. This task force released its anti-environmental report in May 2001.

Immediately there was a flurry of requests for information about the deliberations and the identities of participants. VP Cheney refused to release the report. Then the Government Accounting Office (GAO) got involved; followed by stonewalling; followed by lawsuits and eventually the redacted information was "dribbled" out.

The report verified utility, gas, oil, coal and nuclear energy had access and influence. In some cases these industries actually wrote parts of the report, word for word. Groups influencing this report include: Chevron Corporation, National Petroleum & Refiners Association, National Mining Association, National Coal Council, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and General Motors.

Documents, dated March 2001, were obtained by Judicial Watch, a conservative watch dog group, using FOIA. Three are maps of Iraq, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. These maps show supergiant oilfields, other oilfields, earmarked fields, pipelines, refineries and tanker terminals. Included also are two charts regarding oil and gas projects and a list of "suitors for Iraqi oilfield contracts." Again, this was in 2001 when Iraq was not permitted to sell oil. So, why were these industrial leaders working on these documents? The answer, war with Iraq and regime change.

All that was left to accomplish was a PR campaign to ready America for the decision to go to war! In the run-up to the war, the Bush Administrations and the neo-cons used exaggerations, lies and false evidence.

Norm


Quote of the Day

“Of course, it is ironic that a media company that should be fighting for the First Amendment is trying to undermine it”

-- Federal judge Denny Chin, dismissing the Fox News suit against Al Franken for using the words "fair and balanced" in the title of his book, August 22, 2003. Judge Chin said the suit was "wholly without merit, both factually and legally," and that anyone would have to be "completely dense" to not realize that the book's cover was mocking the network

http://www.monitor.net/monitor/0308a/default.html

Chewgababy

Sent to: bob graham <bob_graham@graham.senate.gov>; shelby <senator@shelby.senate.gov>; portergoss <Porter.Goss@mail.house.gov>; Rockefeller, Senator (Rockefeller) <Senator@rockefeller.senate.gov>; flatimesunion <tuletter@jacksonville.com>; orlando sentinel <insight@orlandosentinel.com>; sptimes <letters@sptimes.com>; tampa tribune <tribletters@tampatrib.com>; miamiherald <heralded@herald.com>; GainesvilleSun <voice@gvillesun.com>; nytimes <letters@nytimes.com>; lwashpost <letters@washpost.com>; chicagotrib <ctc-TribLetter@Tribune.com>; bostonglobe <letter@globe.com>; latimes <letters@latimes.com>; seattletimes <opinion@seattletimes.com>; Houston Chronicle <viewpoints@chron.com>; cbs news <evening@cbsnews.com>; peter jennings <PeterJennings@abcnews.com>; nbc nightly news <nightly@nbc.com>; foxnews <foxnewsonline@foxnews.com>; late edition <lateedition@cnn.com>

Subj: Did the US warn the UN of the planned attack on UN headquarters?

Chalabi said that he warned the US that there would be an attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad. Significantly there has been no claim by the Bremer administration that this information was passed on to the UN. Instead they have put out numerous statements that the UN and other organizations are responsible for their own security. The initial UN reaction was that they were not aware of any warning having been given.

There the matter lies.

There has been no follow up in the media or in Congress as to the truth of Chalabi's claim and as to whether the UN was warned. Further, having been warned of such an attack why did the Coalition Forces occupying Iraq not take action to prevent it? Under the Geneva Conventions that is their responsibility. Even if they had warned the UN, and the Bremer occupation authority has made no such claim, that would not relieve them of the responsibility as the occupying power to protect the UN headquarters.

Once again there seems to be collusion between the administration, the media, and Congress to ignore a failure to act and an intent to avoid an investigation. This is what happened with the 9-11 horror. It is what is happening with this latest tragedy.

Robert E. Reynolds, Orange Park, Fl


Subj: America: The True "Axis of Evil"?

Dear BuzzFlash,

With undeniable evidence that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and probably Rice, among who knows how many others, are guilty of mind-boggling acts of treason, murder, theft, and persistent lying, why aren't they arrested and put in prison where they belong? If these creeps were associated with Clinton it would be a political and public feeding frenzy. If these criminals were in Iraq or Iran or North Korea they would be branded as members (or leaders) of an "Axis of Evil", with probable invasion of their country, their being hunted for prosecution, and their probably receiving the same type of Bush-America justice as allegedly was bestowed upon Hussein's sons. Why are these psychos still free, allowed to ravish people and places, while all American politicians and citizens seem to be concerned with is defending their actions, promoting their own and/or condemning others' political propaganda, taking care to not lose votes in the next election, or who's going to win the next "American Idol"? Are the majority of Americans all crazy or just brain-dead? Turn off your Goddamn T.V.s and propaganda-fueled radio talk shows, get out of your internet chat rooms, and get real. Lunacy can no longer be a defense for homicidal and self-serving ideologies.

A BuzzFlash Reader


Subj: Why Are We Using Past Tense?

"Bush Lied And Our Soldiers Died"

A great phrase for bumper stickers, postcards, e-mail taglines, buttons, etc.

But why are we using past tense?

Today I read the reports that yesterday's military death means more soldiers have died since Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" than died before the aircraft carrier photo-op.

And the Bushits aren't exactly being honest about what's happening in Iraq.

So, shouldn't it be ...

"Bush Keeps On Lying and Our Soldiers Keep On Dying"

Ed Nickow


Sent to: editor.reuters@reuters.com <editor.reuters@reuters.com>; feedback@ap.org <feedback@ap.org>

Subj: this is Not "Postwar" Iraq

Dear Editors,

Please refrain from describing today's Iraq as "postwar", as in this headline: "Postwar U.S. Iraq Deaths Exceed Toll During War"

I do have some suggestions for how to stick more closely to the truth, however.

Perhaps "post-invasion", or "pre-quagmire", or "pre-acknowledgement of the Bush cabal's impeachable lying" might be better ways to describe those heady days when only uniformed people were shooting at us, we weren't talking about 2-year tours of duty, and the civilian death count was more in the 2000 range.

Remember back then? It was almost as innocent as September 10th.

Sincerely yours,

Andy Elliott


Subj: Condi Rice's latest statement

Last night, CNN reported that Condi Rice made statements that we should not be surprised that we are encountering guerrilla tactics and terrorist attacks in Iraq. She stated that American troops in Europe and Asia following WW2, 1945-1947, experienced exactly the same kind of attacks.

I am unable to find any source for this statement but was hoping you would post it along with any historical citations or is Condi rewriting history again?

A BuzzFlash Reader


Subj: That dictatorship thing again...

Hey, Buzz,

I was reading this article you'd linked:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/26/politics/26MEMO.html?th

and I don't know if this bit jumped out at you like it did to me:

"He often says that life would be a lot easier if it were a dictatorship." -- Joshua B. Bolten, White House budget director and formerly Mr. Bush's chief domestic policy adviser

Often? OFTEN?!! I know W had been caught spouting the dictator line a couple of times, but his own advisor casually mentioning that he says it "often"?!

You know, I used to joke about being paranoid that they'd try to cancel the election if they didn't think they'd win. Nowadays it's only half-joking...

-- Jim

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