REICHSMARSHAL MCCAIN & OBERSTURMBANNFUHRER PALIN BEGIN BLITZKREIG

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RIGHT-WING RACISTS COMING OUT OF THE REPUBLICAN WOODWORK

YOUTUBE: WCTV & MSNBC
"Neo-Nazi Skinhead Plot to Assassinate Obama Foiled by ATF WCTV MSNBC"
And so it begins...


THEY MAY BE INSECTS, THEY MAY BE COMPLETELY BUGGED-OUT, BUT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS?

Closet-Nazi McBushco Makes Sure Their Followers Have Guns; And It Ain't For Hunting Moose

In case the grand design of the radical reactionary racist Republicans was not apparent before, take another look. After months of overt race-baiting and coded Jew-baiting (in case you were wondering why they're always on about "Hollywood," Warshenden," "New York City," "San Francisco," and all those other black, gay, Jewish, immigrant "unAmerican" cities) the 'Pukes have their answer: A call to arms from their "base," angry white males. And not just a shout-out; a full-on terrorist conspiracy.

This is not some fantasy of the dim past, irrelevant and immaterial today. This is actual heat-packing here-and-now real live punks gunning for the next President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama, who happens to be half black. By historical American standards which measured race by the thirty-seconds Obama is totally unforgiveably African even today to a certain sort of sicko.

While most Americans, honest to Gawd, World, no longer view life through such racist goggles, the worst among us still do. If you wondered why McSame was so demonstrative in his rudeness, disrespect and outright visible contempt of Obama, this is why. McBush's last stand is based on a raw, racist appeal to the last of the pure whites who populate Republican strongholds from the Aryan Nation to the Trilateral Commission, from Bogaloosa to the boardrooms of corporate America.

They see themselves as an endangered species, slowly being overwhelmed by "mud people" everywhere. They are determined to fight the full final integration of the whole human race by any means necessary. That's why they cling to their guns. And now they're starting to use them for this, their real purpose.

With a compliant, perhaps co-conspiratorial White House, the nuts on the Right have a clear field. This is not the first attempted assassination of Barack Obama, not the first assault on innocents in schools and churches, nor will it be the last. They have one week to stop the change that is coming. This change will forever sweep away their sick way of life, and they know it. They have the means, the motive and the opportunity to cause complete chaos and destruction of the emerging American nation, so long suppressed. The only question that remains is who will stop them?


YAHOO NEWS
"Feds disrupt skinhead plot to assassinate Obama"
Evidently, SOMEbody has been listening to McCain & Palin.

' Two white supremacists allegedly plotted to go on a national killing spree, shooting and decapitating black people and ultimately targeting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, federal authorities said Monday. In all, the two men whom officials described as neo-Nazi skinheads planned to kill 88 people — 14 by beheading, according to documents unsealed in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Tenn. The numbers 88 and 14 are symbolic in the white supremacist community. The spree, which initially targeted an unidentified predominantly African-American school, was to end with the two men driving toward Obama, "shooting at him from the windows," the documents show. The two were charged by federal authorities Monday with possessing an unregistered firearm, conspiring to steal firearms from a federally licensed gun dealer, and threatening a candidate for president. Cowart and Schlesselman were being held without bond. Agents seized a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and three pistols from the men when they were arrested. Authorities alleged the two men were preparing to break into a gun shop to steal more. '

LONDON DAILY MAIL
"Neo-Nazis 'planned to assassinate Obama wearing top hats and white tuxedoes'"
When will the Feds start taking these threats seriously? AFTER an assassination attempt succeeds?

' Barack Obama is refusing to alter his schedule of high-profile appearances despite increasing fears about his safety. Security has been stepped up around the Democratic presidential candidate after federal agents foiled a plot by two racists to kill him. Tomorrow he will appear alongside Bill Clinton in Florida where a crowd of more than 100,000 is expected. Florida is known to be home to a large number of white supremacists with the group Stormfront based in the Palm Beach area. As details of the latest plot emerged it was revealed that secret service agents guarding the senator were unaware of it. According to CBS TV, the Obama campaign only found out about it when his plane landed in Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon. The agency is supposed to share information with the secret service - but the 12 agents assigned to Mr Obama had not been told about the threat. The plot was similar to one uncovered during the Democratic Party convention in Denver in August. Then, three white supremacists-were arrested after being found with a sniper rifle and being high on drugs. Later, FBI agents and the Secret Service decided not to charge them after coming to the conclusion they did not pose a real threat. '

CBS NEWS
""Skinheads" Reveal All On Web"
Idiocy goes digital.

' Personal internet pages and web postings provide a disturbing glimpse into the racist minds of the two self-described 'skinheads' who were allegedly plotting to carry out a mass killing spree which included beheading African-Americans and assassinating presidential candidate Barack Obama. While the alleged plot may never have been carried out, both men have their own Myspace pages where they make a series of racist assertions and proudly tote their guns. On his MySpace page, Schlesselman lists his occupation as “being racist” and writes “I’m white. I’m proud. I get angry. I like guns. I like weapons. I need money wiggers…be afraid.” ‘Wiggers’ is a derogatory slang term used to describe a white person who emulates stereotypical mannerisms of African-Americans. He also posted a homemade video on MySpace in which he appears to be mocking 'wiggers' and African-Americans. On Cowart’s MySpace page, there are a series of photos showing guns displayed in different positions titled “my guns.” In one photo, Cowart is holding a large rifle while wearing a sleeveless shirt. A swastika tattoo, typically associated with white supremacists, can be seen on his right arm. In another picture, he displays what appears to be an iron-cross symbol, often associated with racist skinheads, tattooed on his left chest. A message on his MySpace pages says: "Better to die quick fighting on your feet then to live forever begging on your knees." '

AMERICA THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY
"Palling Around With Neo-Nazis"
Somebody gets it.

' To be clear: No one technically "palled around" with these neo-Nazis. Sarah Palin did not go moose hunting with Cowart and Schlesselman, nor her allies in the press, from Sean Hannity to Mark Stricherz, go bar hopping with the duo. There was no "palling around" because there was no casual relationship. There was something actually far worse: a causal relationship. For, surely, one of the mitigating factors Cowart's and Sclesselman's attorneys will point to is the fact that for several weeks a Governor of one of the fifty states, who had secured her party's nomination for the vice-presidency of the nation, and a variety of serious media outlets had broadcast as newsworthy and significant the "fact" that Barack Obama "palled around" with terrorists. We all know that terrorists are enemies of the United States so someone who "pals around" with them must at the very least be aiding and abetting the terrorists. Isn't that what Palin meant to suggest? Young men and women wearing the uniform of the United States are engaged currently in two wars fighting terrorists who threaten our nation. Why should we stand idly by while one of the terrorists' allies stealthily wins political support when our brothers and sisters are fighting against the same terrorists abroad? You can hear the objection: We never told anyone to kill! We never told anyone to purchase a short-barreled shotgun, or two handguns, or a rifle and ammunition (all of which were found in Cowart's and Schlesselman's possession)! True enough. But, it requires a willful ignorance not to know that questioning the patriotism of the first black candidate for president might capture the attention of racist haters, that suggesting a casual connection between Obama and terrorism was a variety of hate-mongering, and that, long after it had been demonstrated that there was no meaningful relationship between Obama and Ayers, continuing to raise the issue amounted to shouting "fire" in a crowded arena. You can drive one hour from our nation's capital (to the north or south, I might add) and find KKK and other racist memorabilia. The arena of racism is a crowded one and shouting "fire" is literally incendiary. '

MELBOURNE HERALD AND SUN
"White supremacists planned rampage, court told"
The term "White supremacists" is only being used in foreign stories on this. Hm.

' TWO neo-Nazi skinheads planned to assassinate Barack Obama to cap a murderous rampage against African-Americans, court files have revealed. Daniel Cowart, 20, and Paul Schlesselman 18, are in jail after being charged with firearms offences and threatening a presidential candidate. They planned to kill 102 African-Americans before donning white tuxedos and top hats and driving a car "as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows". "Both individuals further stated they knew they would, and were willing to, die during this attempt," the court papers say. Cowart and Schlesselman were arrested in Tennessee last week after being seen drawing a swastika and racial slurs on a car. The pair allegedly planned to kill Senator Obama as a "final act of violence" after embarking on a national "killing spree". They also wanted to attack an unnamed predominantly African-American school. They planned to kill 88 people and decapitate 14 African-Americans. The numbers apparently have special significance for white supremacists. '

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SOLDIER, HERO, MUSLIM, AMERICAN

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MANAHAWKIN, NJ'S FINEST, 20-YEAR OLD GAVE HIS LIFE FOR HIS COUNTRY

KAREEM KHAN, AMERICAN MUSLIM, DIED FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM IN IRAQ



This Is Just One Of The Millions Of Muslims And Arab-Americans Dishonored, Disrespected And Discriminated Against By The Republican Hate-Machine Today

John Sidney McCain III and his running mate, Sarah Palin, have now entered the home stretch of a losing race for President and Vice President of the United States of America. Though their tactics are hurting them in the polls, they will desperately cling to their hateful base by attacking anyone and anything smaller, weaker, different.

This includes those human beings among our friends and neighbors, schoolmates and co-workers, families and comrades in arms who worship the same God we do, in a different language. Allah, as they call Him, is God, or Jehovah, as the Jews call him. They are one and the same, just different names for the one true God we all believe in, we three billion "People of the Book." Yes, we all three read and revere the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible. And we all try to follow its' tenets and strictures.

Our common beliefs have led us to stand up for what we believe is right, to fight when required, and to die for our causes. Kareem Khan died for our cause. He died believing in the ideals and freedoms intrinsic to the United States. Chief among them is the freedom of conscience. Unlike his ancestral home, America is dedicated to protecting the religious rights of all citizens of all creeds. At least, most of us are dedicated to that.

Today our dedication to that particular freedom is being sorely tested. Our "Christian" nation, founded by Deists, is under attack from within by forces that would have us demonize and deny full rights to American citizens based solely on their religion. The mere suggestion that a person is a Muslim can make him a target for hatred and violence in this country today. The oft-repeated lie that Presidential candidate Barack Obama is a Muslim is enough to send some people into paroxyms of hatred, fear and anger.

This is what the low-life racist, sectarian Republicans are counting on, in their last desperate attempt to claw their way back into power. That choice of tactics alone should forever disqualify them. It dishonors our fallen warriors, like Kareem Khan, and all those of other faiths who died believing that their sacrifice would lead to freedom for Muslims in Iraq and all over the Middle East. Every life we lose over there is lost for Iraqi Freedom, or so we are told. We must not sacrifice our own freedom in the process. Today, in this crisis, in this election, we are all Muslim, in honor of Kareem Khan. God bless Muslim America.

And shame on McCain and Palin for attacking our troops.

THE NEW YORK TIMES
"More on the Soldier Kareem R. Khan"

' On “Meet the Press” today, Colin L. Powell concluded his endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama by referring to the death of a Muslim soldier, Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan of Manahawkin, N.J., who was killed in Iraq on Aug. 6, 2007, and whose remains were buried in Arlington. He and three other soldiers, including a corporal from Washington Heights, were killed in Baquba after a bomb detonated while they were checking abandoned houses for explosives. They served in the Stryker Brigade combat team of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, based in Ft. Lewis, Washington. '

FIND A GRAVE.COM
"Corp Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan"
Sounds like a terrorist to me.

' The family used to send two large bags of Starbursts in his care packages, because Kareem would pick out all the orange ones and leave the rest for his Army buddies. He was also a big fan of Disneyworld, as was the entire family. The family would take at least one trip to Disneyworld every year, and the living room and dining room of the family's split-level home is filled with souvenirs from those trips, like a wall hanging of Cinderella, figurines of Mickey Mouse and Disney-themed snow globes. Kareem was so crazy about Disneyworld that when he had a two-day leave following his graduation from Fort Benning, Ga., he had a backpack full of clothes stashed in the bush, so the family could immediately drive to Florida. '

HUDSON VALLEY TIMES-HERALD RECORD
"Local Muslim soldier killed in bombing"
Army 2nd Lt. Mohsin Naqvi, 26,

' Nazar stared at nothing in the middle of the room late Wednesday night. The news was five hours old. "He always wanted to lead his people," Nazar said. "He wanted to sacrifice for his country." His country was the United States, no matter how many drill sergeants pronounced his Arabic name and asked: "Are you sure you're in the right army?" No matter how many times commanding officers wanted to chat about loyalties. "We're a Muslim family, OK?" his sister, Tasneem, said. She wants people to know her brother was an American patriot and a Muslim, and those two things don't conflict. It burns her to even feel compelled to say this. But she says news media have skewed the image of Muslims since Sept. 11, 2001. "I think he's proven himself," she said. "He has proven he is not the type of Muslim the media says we are." Mohsin graduated from Newburgh Free Academy. He planned to join the Army right then, but Nazar persuaded him to go to college first. He had finished about two years of schooling by the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. He enlisted four days later. Mohsin was part of the invasion of Iraq as an Army reservist. When he came home in 2003, he finished his bachelor's and earned a master's in computer science from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Then he re-enlisted for active duty. Tasneem says her brother knew some would be suspicious of his religion and Pakistani heritage, but he was determined to serve anyway. He planned to make a career in the Army. He spoke Urdu and was rising fast through the ranks, working as an interpreter in Afghanistan. He told Tasneem: "The only way I'm going to leave the Army is if I retire or if they make me, which I won't let them." '

ALBANY TIMES-UNION
"Mourners remember Muslim soldier who died in Afghanistan "

' Mohsin Naqvi, a Muslim who joined the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and then died in an Afghanistan roadside bombing last week, was mourned by more than 100 people at a Central Avenue mosque today. Male mourners left the prayer room at the al-Fatima Islamic Center about 20 minutes before the start of the 1 p.m. ceremony so that the female members of the mosque could pay respects to Naqvi, who was 26 years old. The men gathered in the hall and bowed their heads in silence as wailing could be heard through the closed doors of the prayer room. Some of the women chanted Naqvi's first name. Naqvi joined the Army shortly after the terror attacks and hoped to bridge the divide between America and the Muslim world, friends and relatives say "Our message is we have chosen this country. We are going to live here. We are going to die here. We are going to contribute in every respect," said Haider Khwaja, the mosque's vice president. "He has sacrificed his life for the country." '

FIND A GRAVE.COM
"Humayun S. M. Khan"

' He was born in the United Arab Emirates, and moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, at age 2. He graduated from Kennedy High School in 1996 and the University of Virginia in 2000. He lived in Bristow, Virginia, and was an ordnance officer with the Germany-based 201st Forward Support Battalion, 1st Infantry Division. He died in a suicide car bombing at the main gates of his base. His unit was charged with the day-to-day security and maintenance of the camp. When an orange-colored taxi drove toward them, he ordered his soldiers to "hit the dirt." He walked toward the car, motioning for it to stop. A makeshift bomb inside it exploded, killing him and two Iraqi civilians in addition to the two suicide bombers. Ten soldiers and six Iraqi citizens were also wounded. During his three months in Iraq, he helped put Iraqi civilians to work for $5 an hour patrolling the streets of Baquba under the U.S. Army. The program, dubbed the United States-Iraq Sponsorship Program, was intended to help combat high unemployment and provide the local population with security and peace. He was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. '

NBC NEWS
"Local Soldier Dies In Iraq"

' The family says Khan was originally scheduled to be home by now, but his stay in Iraq was extended by the military's stop loss program. He last spoke with his mother on May 10, Mother's Day. "I told him, 'Be safe, please be safe for me.' He said, 'Mother, I am safe. I just have a responsibility for my soldiers,'" said Gazala Khan, Humayun's mother. Born in the United Arab Emirates, Khan grew up in Silver Spring, Md., and graduated from Kennedy High School in 1996. His family says he joined the ROTC to pay for law school. His youngest brother describes Khan as a gregarious man who loved basketball. Being both American and Muslim, his family says Humayun was well liked in Iraq, where he was seen as a bridge between two cultures at war. '

BBC
"Serving America's 'Muslim army' "

' Jamal Baadani is a gunnery sergeant currently stationed at Quantico Marine Corp Base in Washington DC. He served in Yemen for Operation Enduring Freedom, and won three awards for his services. He is also the founder of Apaam, the Association of Patriotic Arab-Americans in the Military - prompted by the backlash of racism he and his family were subjected to after the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington in 2001. "I was out with a couple of my marines, and a woman came up to say 'I want to thank you for serving our country, especially at this time.' Then she asked me where I was from. When I said, 'Egypt', she had this look on her face and she said, 'you're a terrorist.' And that was in a Marine Corp uniform." '

APAAM.ORG
"ASSOCIATION OF PATRIOTIC ARAB AMERICANS IN MILITARY "

' We wanted to share with you the heroic life story of Michael A. Monsoor, Petty Officer, US Navy Seal. Michael lost his life in 2006 as part of combat operations. His heroic action earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor Posthumously. SEAL Team Three was sent to Ramadi, Iraq in 2006 and assigned to train and mentor Iraqi army troops. As a communicator and machine-gunner on patrols, Monsoor carried 100 pounds of gear in temperatures often exceeding 100 degrees. He took a lead position to protect the platoon from frontal assault. The team was involved in frequent engagements with insurgent fighters. Over the first five months of the deployment, the team reportedly killed 84 insurgents.[2] During an engagement on May 9, 2006, Monsoor ran into a street while under continuous insurgent gunfire to rescue an injured comrade. Monsoor was awarded the Silver Star for this action.[2][4] He was also awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.[5] Death in action: On September 29, 2006, the platoon engaged four insurgents in a firefight, killing one and injuring another. Anticipating further attacks, Monsoor and three SEAL snipers and three Iraqi soldiers took up a rooftop position. Civilians aiding the insurgents blocked off the streets, and a nearby mosque broadcast a message for people to fight against the Americans and the Iraqi soldiers. Monsoor was protecting his SEAL comrades, two of whom were 15 feet away. His position made him the only SEAL on the rooftop with quick access to an escape route.[2][6] A grenade was thrown onto the rooftop by an insurgent in the street below. The grenade hit Monsoor in the chest and fell onto the floor. Immediately, Monsoor fell onto and covered the grenade with his body, saving the lives of his three comrades. Monsoor was critically wounded and, although evacuated immediately, died 30 minutes later. Two SEALs next to him were injured by the blast but lived '

THE AMERICAN MUSLIM.ORG
"Muslims & Arabs in the U.S. Military - article collection "
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OOOPS! BUSH BRINGS DEMOCRACY TO MIDDLE EAST!

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BUT HE DIDN'T MEAN IT, HONEST!

WHEN HE SAID "RULE OF LAW," HE DIDN'T MEAN RULE HIM

Now The Rules May Apply To All, Including The Bush Crime Family

Consigliere Cheney better get a few hits out before he leaves office. It seems the Tattaglia's, er, Iraqi's are gunning for him. This breaks all the rules established by the Five Families, er, Bush Administration and the Chalabi Mob, er, government. Bush and Company were to have complete immunity from all prosecutions and lawsuits for all the many, many, many crimes and torts they committed. The puppet government was supposed to maintain their guarantee of that. Now, all of a sudden, they act like they think they are an independent sovereign nation, possibly saddled with an unwelcome and overlong occupation that has had many ill effects. Next, they'll be wanting their country back, and their oil, those mooks! Vito, Gianni, Petraeus, take 'em out!

REUTERS
"Iraqi Shi'ite says Maliki wary of U.S. pact"
Hey, these guys actually think they're a legitimate government, now!

' Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has criticized the draft of a pact that would allow U.S. troops to stay in the country for three years, a senior member of Maliki's ruling Shi'ite alliance said Tuesday. The remarks are the latest sign the draft, agreed last week after months of painstaking talks between Washington and Baghdad, may not survive Iraq's political process intact. "The prime minister said: what (the Americans) have given with the right hand they have taken away with the left hand," said Humam Hamoudi, a senior parliamentarian from the Shi'ite alliance which includes Maliki's Dawa Party. "For example, they said the U.S. forces will withdraw from towns by June 2009 if the security situation permits that. But who will decide that?" Hamoudi told a news conference. "They put terms and conditions into these articles. Those terms will be subjected to veto. This means it is as if they gave nothing. We will try to lift those conditions." '

WORLD PUBLIC OPINION.ORG
"Iraqi Public Opinion on the Presence of US Troops"
These people suddenly think they got rights!

' DR. KULL: Thank you for inviting me to speak. Today I will be addressing the question of how the Iraqi people view the presence of US troops in Iraq and, more importantly, what they want to see happen in the future. As I will demonstrate, the Iraqi people are showing signs of impatience with the pace of US withdrawal. Now one may ask why this matters. Obviously the Iraqi people will not be negotiating the agreements about US forces in Iraq. As long as the government wants US troops there, one may believe that it does not matter what the Iraqi public thinks. However, it does appear that the Iraqi government is paying attention to the Iraqi public. As you probably know, 144 of the 275 members of Parliament signed a letter calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops, citing as a key reason the attitudes of the Iraqi people. This call for a timetable was then reiterated in the June 3rd letter presented to the US Congress from representatives of the Iraqi Parliament. Just in the last few days Prime Minister Maliki has been increasingly aligning himself with this public pressure. This may well be influenced by the prospect of upcoming elections. Thus, if the US government wishes to play a constructive role in the future of Iraq it behooves us to understand better the dynamics of public opinion and thus the forces of the political universe within which Iraqi leaders are operating. Furthermore, Iraqis' attitudes about US forces are likely to affect their readiness to cooperate with coalition efforts to fight the insurgency, or even their readiness to support the insurgency. There is evidence that many Iraqis do support attacks on US troops and that this attitude is related to perceptions of US long-term intentions in Iraq. Thus dealing with these perceptions is critical to the success of the mission. '

TIME MAGAZINE
"Iraqis Balk at a U.S. Troop Deal, but Can They Say Goodbye? "
What, they got political Parties over there, now? Madonn'!

' It would not have surprised Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, that tens of thousands of supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, the populist Shi'ite cleric and militia leader, took to the streets on Saturday to protest a provisional security accord between Iraq and the U.S. Al-Sadr, after all, is an anti-American firebrand, and the Status of Forces agreement under negotiation between Washington and Baghdad would legitimize the continued presence in Iraq of U.S. troops, who have been deployed against al-Sadr's militia. And in March, al-Maliki had ordered Iraqi government forces to drive al-Sadr's Mahdi Army out of Basra. But if Sadr could be expected to have a beef with the proposed agreement, what should be more troubling to al-Maliki is that members of his own coalition are washing their hands of the deal. Until Sunday, the American and Iraqi governments had been inching toward a deal that would create a legal basis for the U.S. military to remain in Iraq once its U.N. mandate expires on Dec. 31. The draft version of the agreement — leaked earlier this month by the American side — also lays out a time line for U.S. withdrawal: American forces would leave Iraqi cities and towns by the end of June 2009 and be stationed on large bases until they're withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011. Washington made further concessions as well, allowing American soldiers to be subject to Iraqi legal jurisdiction for crimes committed while off duty and off base. But that wasn't enough to satisfy members of al-Maliki's United Iraq Alliance coalition, who have asked that negotiations be reopened. The problem may be less any one particular provision than it is the agreement itself. Despite the security gains achieved over the past year, most Iraqis want the foreign soldiers to leave — and with provincial elections scheduled for January of 2009, Iraqi politicians don't want their fingerprints on the document. Tellingly, the only politicians at Saturday's meeting of Iraq's security council who did voice full support for the proposed agreement were from the placid Kurdish-controlled region of northern Iraq — where, unlike in the rest of the country, the U.S. army is much loved but little seen. '

WIRED NEWS
"U.S.-Iraq Deal Could Mean Jail Time for Contractors"
Better hide out in Sicily for a while, guys. And watch ya back, hanh?

' Not too long ago, private security contractors in Iraq had a get-out-of-jail-free card; they could run around the country, without a chance in the world that they could be prosecuted for anything they did. A draft of the U.S.-Iraq security deal, now making the rounds in Washington and Baghdad, could change all that. Guns-for-hire in Iraq could suddenly find themselves facing time in an Iraqi prison, if they broke the local laws. The agreement has not been finalized, but it seems to point the way to an eventual drawdown of U.S. combat forces -- perhaps as early as 2012. One of the major sticking points for the status of forces agreement (SOFA) has been the legal status of U.S. troops -- and the contractors they bring in tow. Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he would reserve judgment on the deal until he could more closely review the legal safeguards for service members. "It's critical that our dedicated men and women in uniform serving in Iraq have full legal protections and are not subject to criminal prosecution in an Iraqi judicial system that does not meet due process standards," he said. '

DAR AL HAYAT
"Oil in a Week (International Oil Companies Return to Iraq)"
No. Not the oil! That's OUR freakin' oil!

' The return of international oil companies to Iraq continues to instigate an old debate in this country. Politicians had objected to the presence of foreign firms and the rights they demand through the numerous accusations they had directed at previous governments on this matter. With time, the issue became worse and more complicated, subjecting the country's entire oil policy to accusations which have obstructed the development of this sector in comparison to what neighboring nations have accomplished. Although the issue is still limited to general principles, new developments can be cited, including the role of oil in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the possibility of adopting an independent oil policy that takes into consideration the interests of Iraq while it remains under occupation, and the issue of transparency during negotiations at a time when corruption prevails on the national level. It was remarkable that the first contract for the development of an Iraqi field since 2003 was signed with a Chinese company followed by another signed with a European party. Ultimately, American contracts with American companies are likely to follow soon, especially when the offers are made for huge fields. It is possible that the ministry of oil has not granted any contracts to American firms by successfully resisting pressures, but the truth is that the country has been under occupation since 2003. Regardless of the occupation, the fact remains that American firms are the largest and the most prominent in the global oil industry such that they are impossible to ignore. Hence, they will eventually play a role in Iraq's oil industry since Iraq has decided to open up to international firms. Once again, what matters here is the nature and conditions of contracts. '

[Cross-posted at Out Of Iraq Bloggers' Caucus.]
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WORLD WAR ZERO AND WORLD WAR THREE

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BUSH, PUTIN, MCCAIN, MEDVEDEV, PALIN, PLANNING APOCALYPSE NOW?

A NEW CRIMEAN WAR MAY BE IN THE WORKS

YOUTUBE
"Sarah Palin ABC Gibson Interview - Georgia Conflict"

Gawd Bless The Global Military-Industrial Complex! They're Everywhere, On Every Side!! Except The Citizens' Side!!!

The Crimean War, you may recall, was a complicated affair involving various "Great Powers" of the time in confrontations which ranged from the Arctic to the Middle East, by diplomatic, economic, and the (then) new modern military means, in the 1850's.

The self-installed French Emperor, Napoleon III, the nephew of the little guy ("The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce."), took it into his Imperial Napoleonic head to rearrange things in the Holy Land. He was a sort of Gallic Dubya. Or maybe Dubya is an American Napoleon?

Most of the Middle East was then under Ottoman Turkish control, including Palestine, or, as many refer to it today, Israel. By treaty, the Turks had placed the Russian Empire in charge of all Eastern Orthodox Christians within the Ottoman Empire (whose influence had stretched from Spain to Austria the long southern way, and from Finland to Somalia, Morocco to Mongolia, at one time or another). With the Sultan's permission, the Russians had a copy of the keys to Jerusalem for eighty years.

The Catholic westerner Napoleon III chose to impose himself upon the ailing, unmodernized Turks, and secured a treaty with the Sultan giving the French responsibility for the protection of Christians in the Middle East. Unhappy about this, the Russians invaded Ottoman Moldova and Wallachia, Orthodox Christian enclaves in present-day Romania, wresting them from the Turks. (This was the beginning of the end of the Ottomans, who brought relative peace and stability to the Middle East for centuries. The modern era was about to begin there; and now look where we are today.)

The Russian incursion into Europe caused concern among the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Prussians, the British and the French. British and French warships attacked Russian commercial ports and naval bases at Archangel on the White Sea in the Arctic, Helsinki on the Baltic Sea in Scandinavia, and Sebastopol on the Crimean peninsula, on the Black Sea, today part of the Ukraine. World War Ø had begun.

The Russians had headquartered their warm-water Southern Fleet in Sebastopol for over a hundred years at that point. They were not about to give it up without a fight, as it was their best access to the world's oceans in the icy Winter. The Brit's and the French fought several famous battles with the Rooskies on the Crimean Peninsula, and in the adjacent waters: The French still honor the memory of their brave Algerian Zouaves in that war with the statues on the Pont d'Alma in Paris. The English can still be roused with a few stanzas from Kipling's "The Charge Of The Light Brigade," which took place in Crimea. This despite the fact that the West basically lost the Crimean War to the Russians and their fierce Cossack (now "Kazakh": see "Borat") warriors.

Which brings us to the current complications. The Crimean Peninsula, which looks more like a large island jammed in between the Black Sea (above Turkey) and the Sea of Azov (above Iran), is today an autonomous region of the independent sovereign nation of Ukraine. Soviet Premier Krushchev returned the region to Ukrainian control, nominally, in the 1950's. The Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union after it collapsed. But the Crimean population remain largely ethnic Russian or pro-Russian (like the majority in Abkhazia & S. Ossetia, Georgia). They govern themselves and view themselves as more a part of Russia. The "Red Fleet" is still in Sebastopol, and the Russians control access to the port by land, sea and air. It is still their main warm-water military and civilian seaport, their lifeline to the world.

The Crimea is vital to the exploitation of the Russian and Central Asian oil and gas fields today. At least, it will be until pipelines can be completed to transport the oil and gas across Afghanistan to some Pakistani port on the Arabian Sea far to the South. In case you were wondering why anyone, ourselves included, would ever be interested in the remote wastes of the high Afghan plains and rugged mountains, these pipelines are why.

The whole oil & gas thing (over which we fought WWI & WWII, at least in part), might also explain why the West, the EU, NATO, and the USA are suddenly so interested in the former Soviet Republics of Georgia and Ukrainia: It's the Energy, stupid; and the old "bottle-up the Rooskies" thing, previously seen in the whole Crimean War thing, and in other little things like the Napoleonic Wars.

The lesson of history in all this is that you don't mess with the Russians on what they regard as their home turf unless you are prepared to go all the way to Moscow. Ask Napoleon or Hitler about that, before starting. Unfortunately, they are currently serving time in Hell for the destruction of much of their nations' armies, the slaughter of millions, and other bad stupid crazy Bushlike stuff. You'd have to do similar things in order to meet them in Hell, at which point, their advice would be moot.

The intelligent move on this would be to get Georgia and Ukraine into the European (economic) Union first; then, after a few years of not f*cking with the Russians which might result in a less belligerent government in Russia, try the NATO thing again. If at all. Give the Ukrainians and Georgians a chance to sample Western living, and to decide if they might ever want to die for it. Then maybe NATO, shto?

Unless we plan to invade Russia some day, why encircle it? Isn't this XVII & XVIII Century policy? Aren't we in the XXI Century, when missiles can go from anywhere to anyplace, and all of our economies are tied together anyway? This is why you should always choose a President who paid attention in class, read the assignments, did well on the tests, and maybe did a little extra-curricular activity like reading newspapers and magazines on a regular basis, and familiarizing himself or herself with such things as dictionaries, atlases, encyclopedias, gazetteers, and maybe a few non-fiction books. Perhaps a work of actual History or two? Not just the Bible, or some John Birch Society pamphlets. Because, GOSH, the President of the United States there, he or she has to do an awful lot of reading, there, to sift through all the Warsheden insider BS there, and make intelligent, rational, informed, well-reasoned decisions about this stuff there that effects everybody in the whole wide world there, by golly. There.

Otherwise, "Half a league, half a league, half a league onward; Into the valley of death rode the six hundred." Again? Really? Hm? And for what? Life is not a game of Stratego. It's more like chess, with real bodies. And the Russians are really good at chess, da? So, let's get the cowboys off the chessboard, and bring in our current diplomatic and strategic Bobby Fischer or maybe the Big Blue States champ, Barack Obama. John McCain? Sarah Palin? Nyet. They're only pawns in the Game.


WIKIPEDIA
"Crimean War"

' The Crimean War, also known in Russia as the Eastern War (Russian: Восточная война, Vostochnaya Vojna) (March 1854–February 1856) was fought between the Russian Empire on one side and an alliance of France, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Sardinia (which would be absorbed into Italy in 1861), and the Ottoman Empire on the other. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, with additional actions occurring in western Turkey and the Baltic Sea region. The Crimean War is sometimes considered to be the first "modern" conflict and "introduced technical changes which affected the future course of warfare."[12]. '

GUARDIAN ONLINE
"Ukrainian coalition collapses amid tensions over Moscow"

' Ukraine's coalition government collapsed yesterday after its two ruling parties fell out over Russia's invasion of Georgia. President Viktor Yushchenko accused the prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, of attempting a coup and then threatened to dissolve parliament and call early elections. The pro-democratic coalition of the pair has only a two-seat majority. On Tuesday Tymoshenko's bloc voted with the opposition to strip the president of some powers and boost her own. Yesterday Yushchenko's bloc quit the coalition in protest, with the president denouncing the vote in Ukraine's lower house and urging the formation of a new coalition. The ostensible trigger for the government's collapse after less than a year is the conflict in Georgia. Speculation has grown that Ukraine and its Russian-speaking Crimea region could be the Kremlin's next "target". Yushchenko has outspokenly condemned the invasion of Georgia but Tymoshenko has not criticised Russia directly. On Tuesday her party failed to support a toughly worded statement blaming Moscow. '

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
"Roots of Georgia-Russia clash run deep"

' Ancient ethnic strife, fanned by East-West rivalry and Moscow's growing regional ambitions, lie behind the war over Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Russian troops opened a second front Monday. For dozens of young Ossetian men lined up at a Russian Army recruitment center in the North Ossetian capital of Vladikavkaz, the conflict is a replay of endless clashes with their traditional foe: Georgia. For Georgians, whose forces are retrenching after failing to retake the separatist province of South Ossetia, the war appears just the latest futile effort to unite their country against what they see as Moscow's neocolonial designs. US and Russian diplomats, who sparred angrily over the crisis at a United Nations session Sunday, were falling back into the language and passions of their long, bitter cold-war standoff. '

GUARDIAN ONLINE
"Defiant Cheney vows Georgia will join Nato"

' The US vice-president, Dick Cheney, yesterday issued a direct challenge to Moscow's sway over Georgia, pledging Washington's support for its eventual membership of Nato, while denouncing Russia's "illegitimate" invasion. "Georgia will be in our alliance," Cheney said after talks with President Mikheil Saakashvili. Cheney used his one-day visit to Georgia to reinforce battle lines in the increasingly direct struggle between Washington and Moscow for the upper hand along Russia's southern border. His visit to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine was aimed at stressing America's "deep, abiding interest" in the region, in response to the claim by Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, that Moscow had "privileged interests" in former Soviet states. The US challenge was undermined by the collapse of Ukraine's pro-western coalition on the eve of Cheney's arrival in Kiev at the end of his three-country trip yesterday. The crisis threatened to derail President Viktor Yushchenko's efforts to win Ukraine Nato and EU membership. '

AFP
"Cheney set to meet squabbling Ukranian leaders"

' US Vice President Dick Cheney was set Friday to meet with Ukraine's squabbling leaders as he continues his tour to bolster US allies in the region following the conflict between Georgia and Russia. Cheney was to meet with President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whose political feuding has intensified over ties with Russia during Moscow's confrontation with Georgia and the West. Ukraine has applied to join NATO and the European Union, angering Moscow which sees the country as part of its sphere of influence, but its political leaders are deeply divided. European officials have suggested Ukraine could be the next flashpoint for tensions between Russia and the West after the war in Georgia last month that has left Russian troops occupying positions deep inside Georgian territory. '

MCCLATCHY
"Mighty Russian Black Sea fleet making waves"

' As the Kremlin seeks to reassert its sphere of influence around its borders and beyond, this home port for Russia's Black Sea fleet — marooned in the south of Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union — has moved to the center of tensions between Russia and U.S. allies in the region. Some Ukrainian politicians worry that Russia will stoke anti-Western sentiments in Sevastopol and cities around it on the Crimean peninsula to create an opportunity to annex the area, the same way Moscow did with two breakaway provinces in Georgia last month, or at least use its considerable influence here to push the central government in Kiev to drop plans to join the European Union and NATO . Either move would heighten the rising tensions between Russia and the United States , which have returned to Cold War levels over the past year. Georgia and Ukraine , with American backing, angered the Russian leadership with their NATO aspirations. If they were to join, Russia's Black Sea coastline would be surrounded by members of the military organization. '

MCCLATCHY
"Why shouldn't Ukraine join NATO? It may not want to"

' The Bush White House has been pressing its European allies to accept Ukraine into NATO — over Russia's bitter opposition — but the continuing political crisis in Kiev raises serious questions about whether this country is ready to join. Viktor Yushchenko, the U.S.-backed president, was in New York this week, ringing the bell on the New York Stock Exchange and exhorting the U.N. General Assembly to contain Russia. Back home, his ruling coalition remains fractured, raising the prospect of a third parliamentary election in as many years. Approval ratings for the one-time hero of the 2004 Orange Revolution are consistently below 10 percent. Despite Yushchenko's strong condemnation of Russia's invasion of Georgia last month and his enthusiastic support for NATO, polls show that only some 22 percent of Ukrainians favor joining the alliance. In the parliament, opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions, considered by many to be close to Russia, has more than twice as many seats as Yushchenko's bloc, which is anchored by the Our Ukraine party. The political bickering has significant implications for U.S. interests in the area, including the drive to admit Ukraine into NATO. If Russia can capitalize on the instability and help shape Kiev's foreign policy, it could reassert some of the control it lost on Europe's edge after the collapse of the Soviet Union. That would be a major step forward for the Kremlin in what Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has referred to as "regions where (Russia) has privileged interests." '

MCCLATCHY
"In Black Sea port, Ukraine is sovereign, but Russia rules"

' Sergei Zayats, the administrator of Sevastopol's largest district, said he thought the Russians would be willing to resort to force to keep their ships docked in Crimea, where their fleet has operated since the 1780s. "The events in Georgia show that this may happen at any time," said Zayats, who was appointed by Kiev. Russia has said it has no plans along those lines. "This is a myth brought to you from other countries that Crimea will be next," Vsevolod Loskutov, the number two man in the Russian Embassy to Ukraine, told journalists last week. "Both Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have repeated many times that we highlight our respect to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine." The tension over Crimea is complicated by the intertwined histories of Ukraine and Russia. The region belonged to Russia until 1954, when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev handed it over to Ukraine. At the time, the difference was largely semantic, but when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, many in Crimea would have rather not become part of an independent Ukraine. In interviews on the streets of Sevastopol, college students, engineers and housewives alike said they sympathized with Russia far more than with Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's pro-Western president. Any move to join NATO, they said, almost certainly would lead to a backlash. '

AFP
"Georgia-Russia talks angrily break down"

' Internationally-backed peace talks between Georgia and Russia broke down on the first day Wednesday with the rivals, who fought a war in August, blaming each other for the failure to even enter the same room. "There were two separate meetings, the Russians and the Abkhazians (in one) and the Georgians in another," Sergei Shamba, foreign minister of the pro-Russian separatist region of Abkhazia, told journalists. The talks would have been the first time representatives of the two sides have held direct negotiations since the five-day war after Russia thwarted a Georgian assault to retake its breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russia has kept troops in South Ossetia and another rebel region, Abkhazia, and recognises both as independent states. Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili accused Moscow of adopting "Soviet" tactics during the talks. '

ALTERNET
"Bush: Russia must respect neighbors' sovereignty"

' Speaking in the White House Rose Garden with visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Bush reaffirmed U.S. support for Georgia's territorial integrity following its August war with Moscow and expressed support for other countries concerned about Russian aggression. Months of skirmishes between separatists and Georgian forces erupted into war in August when Georgia sent troops and tanks to retake pro-Russian South Ossetia, which broke away from Tbilisi in 1991-92. Russia's counterstrike drove the Georgian army out of South Ossetia. Moscow's troops then pushed farther into Georgia, saying they needed to prevent further Georgian attacks. The West accused Russia of a "disproportionate response" to Georgia's actions. "We firmly support Georgia's democracy and sovereignty and territorial integrity," Bush said. "The United States and the EU agree that the territory of Georgia includes the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "To earn the respect of the international community, Russia must show respect for the sovereignty and territory of its neighbors. Russia must accept the responsibilities and obligations of international leadership," he said. '

HUFFINGTON POST
"McCain's Top Foreign Policy Advisor Got Money From Georgia"

' John McCain's chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The payments raise ethical questions about the intersection of Randy Scheunemann's personal financial interests and his advice to the Republican presidential candidate who is seizing on Russian aggression in Georgia as a campaign issue. McCain warned Russian leaders Tuesday that their assault in Georgia risks "the benefits they enjoy from being part of the civilized world." On April 17, a month and a half after Scheunemann stopped working for Georgia, his partner signed a $200,000 agreement with the Georgian government. The deal added to an arrangement that brought in more than $800,000 to the two-man firm from 2004 to mid-2007. For the duration of the campaign, Scheunemann is taking a leave of absence from the firm. "Scheunemann's work as a lobbyist poses valid questions about McCain's judgment in choosing someone who _ and whose firm _ are paid to promote the interests of other nations," said New York University law professor Stephen Gillers. "So one must ask whether McCain is getting disinterested advice, at least when the issues concern those nations." "If McCain wants advice from someone whose private interests as a once and future lobbyist may affect the objectivity of the advice, that's his choice to make." McCain has been to Georgia three times since 1997 and "this is an issue that he has been involved with for well over a decade," said McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers. McCain's strong condemnation in recent days of Russia's military action against Georgia as "totally, absolutely unacceptable" reflects long-standing ties between McCain and hardline conservatives such as Scheunemann, an aide in the 1990s to then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Four months ago, on the same day that Scheunemann's partner signed the latest $200,000 agreement with Georgia, McCain spoke with Saakashvili by phone. The senator then issued a strong statement saying that "we must not allow Russia to believe it has a free hand to engage in policies that undermine Georgian sovereignty." On Tuesday, McCain told Fox News that "as you know, through the NATO membership, ... if a member nation is attacked, it is viewed as an attack on all." '

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PALIN SAYS SHE WANTS MORE POWER

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PALIN SAYS SHE WILL BE A 'MAVERICK" EVEN AGAINST "MAVERICK" JOHN MCCAIN

PALIN SAYS SHE WILL NOT BE BOUND BY MCCAIN'S POLICIES WHEN HE DIES

YOUTUBE
"2008 Vice Presidential Debate: If Or When John McCain Drops Dead?"
You heard it here first. OK, second.



YOUTUBE: CNN
"VP Debate: Sarah Palin Seeks Expanded VP Powers as Cheney Did"
Word for word.



Palin Has Big Plans For Her New Super-Vice-Presidency. But What Are They?

In yesterday's first, last and only 2008 Campaign Vice Presidential Debate (after she promised never to answer media questions again), sticking to the Bush-Cheney policy of shredding the Constitution and destroying the balance of powers it provides, wing-nut Sarah Palin just declared that she will go beyond even Dick Cheney in grabbing power and defying the law of the land. She also refused to commit to carrying out McCain's platform when she takes over his office upon his death, which may be imminent. She has her own agenda.

The power-mad newby, who yesterday re-demonstrated her cluelessness on dozens of vital issues, has either been promised an unprecedented role in the McCain Administration; or else she just decided yesterday, in mid-debate, to announce a coup all on her own. In response to the debate moderator's question on how his or her administration would differ from the next President's should he be unable to finish his term, Biden said he would carry out every one of Obama's policies word for word. Palin said her opinions frequently differed from McCain's, and that was okey-dokey, by golly. [01:05+ CSPAN]

"As for disagreeing with John McCain and how our administration would work: What do you expect? A team of mavericks; of course we're not going to agree 100% on everything and as we discuss ANWR there, at least we can agree to disagree on that one there [winks], and I'm gonna keep pushing him on ANWR though. I have so appreciated that he has never asked me to check my opinions at the door."

Palin then went on to expand her Constitutional powers without authorization. In response to a question on the role of the Vice-President, Palin declared [01:11+ CSPAN]:

"Of course, we know what a Vice-President does, and that's not only preside over the Senate, we'll take that position very seriously also, I'm thankful that the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the Vice-President also if that Vice-President so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the President's policies and making sure too that our President understands what our strengths are. John McCain and I have had good conversations about where I would lead with his agenda."

MODERATOR:

"Governor [Palin], you mentioned a moment ago that the Constitution might give the Vice President more power than it has in the past. Do you believe, as Vice-President Cheney does, that the Executive Branch does not hold complete sway over the office of the Vice-Presidency, that is, it is also a member of the Legislative Branch?"

PALIN:

"Well, Our Founding Fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the Vice Presidency and we will do what is best for the American people in tapping into that position and ushering in an agenda that is supportive and cooperative with the President's agenda in that position. Um. Yeah. So. I do agree with him [Cheney] that we have a lot of flexibility in there and we'll do what we have to do to administer very appropriately the plans that are needed for this nation and it is my executive experience that is partly to be attributed to my pick as VP with, with, uh, McCain not only as a Governor but earlier on as a mayor as an oil and gas regulator as a business owner it is those years of experience on an executive level that will be put to good use in the White House also."

"Scholarship-pageant" contestant in the headlights? Talking-points robot? Loud-mouth small-town un-American crypto-fascist? Historical & legal ignoramus? Blithering idiot? Woman with an agenda never before seen in this country? Overweaningly ambitious, grossly underqualified, issues-ignorant, faith-driven self-annointed messenger from God? A female Dubya with a bit of Cheney thrown in? You be the judge, in 33 days.


THE NATION
"Palin's Running... for President"
John who?

' In a segment aired Thursday night -- a few hours before Palin would debate Democrat Joe Biden -- Couric asked the Republican contender to name the vice president she admired most. Palin's response? "My goodness, I think those who have gone on to the presidency," said the governor, without blinking. Palin expressed particular regard for former President George H.W. Bush. Why? Because of Bush's "having kind of learned the ropes in his position as vice president and then moving on up." '

CBS NEWS: KATIE COURIC REPORTS
"One-On-One With Sarah Palin"
No, it's not Saturday Night Live. Unfortunately.



NBC: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
"Gov. Palin and Katie Couric get real and adorable"
Hard to distinguish the comedy of Tina Fey from thr tragedy of Sarah Palin, isn't it. Well, one is potentially deadlier...



YOUTUBE: CSPAN
"Full Vice Presidential Debate with Gov. Palin and Sen. Biden"


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IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:

Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: BRING THEM ALL HOME ALIVE, NOW!

PALIN PUPPET SHOW

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NEW VP LITE MEETS FOREIGN "LEADERS"

NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO WATCH



It Must Have Been Awful

Awfully hilarious. I wonder if she told Muslim Karzai that "Jesus loves him"? Or that her Mom has an afghan, they're so warm & cozy, $49.99 on the Home Shopping Network, dontchya know? Did she tell South American Uribe that she and McCain would drop by his "casa" when they went to neighboring Spain? Or how much she loves the spicy Mexican food, like Doritos? Or maybe she just said, "Good job, Poncho. Let us know who you need us to bomb next." (And these were the only two Bush-installed mutts that could be relied upon to come when called, sit, stay, roll over, play dead, fetch, and beg for a foto-op.) Foreign policy is the McPalins' strong suit? What's their weak suit? Counting? The alphabet?

No wonder Palin has been hidden from the media. Even the tamest corporate network talking heads will have a hard time concealing the Governor's lack of knowledge and experience on all things non-Alaskan. In fact, why doesn't she just run for Vice-President of Alaska? Oh, wait, she has that job. Exxon is the President of Alaska. So, why doesn't she just fick off?

Oh, right, her Grampa John needs someone to change his diapers. Well, she's a good grand-daughter to do that, especially given all the moose he's been eating lately. And all the crow he'll be eating in the debates. Speaking of which, if our first female President-In-Waiting can't answer a few questions from Larry King or Baba Wawa, how's she going to handle Vladimir Putin or the Fed Chairman? Yeah, how is she on multiple debentures, derivatives, indexing with LIBOR, you know, all that boring Lower-48 economical kinda junk, ay? Hm, 'Cuda?

On the other hand, Palin's first "international" outing (If you count New York as foreign territory, as most Republicans do) was a raging success, by past Republican Presidential standards: She didn't throw up on anybody, or put her head in their lap. She didn't forget their names or their countries' names or where their countries were. And she didn't compare them to waiters, busboys or dishwashers. She didn't even bomb any of them. (Yet.) So, she's more than qualified than Bush I, Bush II or McCain, at least at small talk. That's all there is to the job of President of the United States of America, isn't it? Chit-chat? Girl talk? Hm?


YAHOO NEWS
"Palin meets her first world leaders in New York"
How small was the talk? Well, let's just say you don't want to try any of Sarah's new Afghan Columbian brownies.

' Sarah Palin met her first world leaders Tuesday. It was a tightly controlled crash course on foreign policy for the Republican vice presidential candidate, the mayor-turned-governor who has been outside North America just once. Palin sat down with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The conversations were private, the pictures public, meant to build her resume for voters concerned about her lack of experience in world affairs. lengths Tuesday to maintain that distance as Palin made her diplomatic debut. The GOP campaign, applying more restrictive rules on access than even President Bush uses in the White House, banned reporters from the start of the meetings, so as not to risk a question being asked of Palin. McCain aides relented after news organizations objected and CNN, which was supplying TV footage to a variety of networks, decided to pull its TV crew from Palin's meeting with Karzai. Overheard: small talk. '

FINANCIAL TIMES
"Palin begins course on foreign affairs"
It's the Bono one that really counts. "ACHTUNG, baby!"

' Sarah Palin was on the fringes of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday at the start of a three-day crash course on international affairs to address concerns, even within her Republican party, that the Alaska governor’s knowledge of the outside world is shaky. The schedule of the vice-presidential nominee included meetings with five presidents, a prime minister, Henry Kissinger, doyen of former US secretaries of state, and Bono, the fund-raising activist. '

CBS NEWS
"Palin “Disappointed” In “Understandable” AIG Bailout"
"Shot called by The Feds"? What is she, all mobbed up?

' During a quick stop at a diner in Cleveland, Ohio, Sarah Palin was asked for her reaction to the AIG bailout. “Dissapointed that taxpayers are called upon to bailout another one,” she said. “Certainly AIG though with the construction bonds that they’re holding and with the insurance that they are holding very, very impactful to Americans so you know the shot that has been called by the Feds its understandable but very, very disappointing that taxpayers are called upon for another one.” Told that her traveling press corps was getting lonely in the back of her campaign plane, Palin said, “Are you getting lonely? Gee, yeah, come on up then!” Though she has been on the campaign trail for nearly three weeks, Palin has yet to hold a press conference, and this morning’s stop marked the first time she answered a question from the press on the fly, prompting concerned looks from staffers. Palin did have a two-day interview with ABC News’ Charlie Gibson and sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity in Cleveland this morning. The media is sure to take the governor up on her offer to chat at the front of her plane, assuming the campaign is willing to comply with the boss’s wishes for more face time with journalists. '

POLITICO.COM
"Henry and Sarah"
Barracudas school with sharks, now?

' The pool report, from WSJ's Elizabeth Holmes: Again, your pool was in the room for half a minute. Peter Hamby and his outstanding sound tech, picked up this part of the conversation. Kissinger: (something about a speech, not sure to whom he was referring) “And I'm going to give him a lot of credit for what he did in Georgia.” Palin: “Good, good. And you'll give me more insight on that, also, huh? Good.” Palin emerged from the building at 3 p.m., making this by far her longest meeting (others were roughly half an hour). She was accompanied by Kissinger and the two hugged and she gave him a peck on the cheek. CNN’s Peter Hamby (the star of today) yelled, “Governor, how was your meeting?” and she mouthed “It was great.” '

FOXNEWS
"Palin Adviser On Karzai, Uribe, and Kissinger Meetings"
Wow! She said all THAT???!!! You could hardly see handler Biegun's lips move! Although she did seem a bit uncomfortable with his hand up her arse for so long.

' Sarah Palin’s Foreign Policy adviser, Stephen Biegun met with the press to give more details on Palin’s meetings today with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and Former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger. Biegun said that Palin is aware that she is a candidate for office and not the President of the United States, “So rather than make specific policy prescriptions, she was largely listening, having an exchange of views, and also very interested in forming a relationship with people she met with today.” With Colombian President Uribe, Palin spoke about the security situation and violence in the country, “They were in full agreement that a very important step in ameliorating the conditions that the FARC guerillas are exploiting is to address issue of increased economic opportunity. And both governor Palin and Sen. McCain, on Sen. McCain’s behalf, Gov. Palin emphasizes her and Sen. McCain’s strong support for Colombia free trade agreement and the degree to which it will contribute not only to economic prosperity but also social stability in Colombia which is critical to finally winning the war against terrorist elements of the FARC.” '

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
"Palin meets world leaders, but keeps the public at arm's length"
Of course Karzai warmed to her. By Afghan standards, she was practically naked.

' Controversy erupted when the McCain-Palin campaign tried to bar reporters from attending a brief photo session preceding a meeting between Palin and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. CNN, which was providing pooled video of the encounter for the other television networks, threatened to withdraw its cameras, according to network officials, thus denying the campaign the pictures it wanted of Palin-as-diplomat. The campaign relented. Peter Hamby, a CNN producer, wrote in a pool report that journalists were allowed into the room where Palin and Karzai met for 29 seconds. Above the click of cameras, the two were overheard discussing Karzai's 20-month-old son, Mirwais. Since GOP nominee Sen. John McCain chose Palin as his running mate, his campaign has tried to shield her from unscripted encounters with the media and the public. Jon Alterman, a scholar at the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Palin's New York diplomatic mission could both help her and hurt her. "It cuts both ways. On the one hand, she can say, I've met with all these people, I know how to do this," Alterman said. "On the other hand, it underlines that she hasn't done it until the end of September," less than two months before she could be elected vice president. "The challenge is getting things out of your meetings and getting people to do things they wouldn't otherwise do," he added. "That's not the kind of meeting she's having. They're courtesy meetings." Karzai, however, who depends on U.S. backing to sustain his fragile government in Kabul, had warm words for Palin. The meeting was "very good. I found her quite a capable woman. She asked the right questions on Afghanistan," Karzai said in an appearance later before the Asia Society in New York. '

NY DAILY NEWS
"Sarah Palin meeting world leaders, passing up N.Y. public during visit"
What a rube! Nobody in NY buys retail politics. Anybody who's anybody can get it for you wholesale, schmuck.

' Sarah Palin swooped into New York Monday night to meet world leaders, but New York won't be meeting her. The GOP veep hopeful has served as a crowd magnet in other parts of the country - she drew 60,000 to a Florida rally on Sunday. But the Alaska governor will be kept largely under wraps during her stay in New York, where Dems outnumber GOPers 5 to 1. She's just too busy for that kind of retail politicking, say aides, who add that Palin andMcCain are due back in mid-October for a major fund-raiser. She and Bristol toured the New York Stock Exchange and met business executives, charging Alaska taxpayers for three nights in a $707-a-day hotel room, state records show. Her trip home was not so great. "I left New York City yesterday morning, and I hate to admit it but I am wearing the same clothes," she told a news conference back in Alaska. "They lost my luggage." '

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BUMPER STICKERS 2008

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WEAR YOUR HEART ON YOUR ASS

WELL, YOUR CAR'S ASS

It's How We Express Our Deepest Thoughts & Feelings, In Traffic

Although, some of us just use the finger.















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Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.

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GOD STRIKES REPUBLICANS DOWN

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RIGHT-WING HYPOCRITS HIT BY LIGHTNING, THREE TIMES

MCCAIN TRIES & FAILS TO EXPLOIT HURRICANE VICTIMS; CONVENTION CURTAILED; VP BAD MOM, LIAR


Tame Corporate Media Spin All This As "A Good Thing"

Yeah. Right. Those "highly moral" born-agains & evangelicals, you know, the vast majority(?) of Americans(?) that are Republican(?) Jesus freaks, will love Palin & McCain even more now that they know Palin's family doesn't use birth control or STD-protection of any kind, and no sex-education, either. Of course, that will trump the self-righteous bible-belters' disapproval of pre-marital sex, teen immorality, and parents who don't know or can't control what's going on in their own kids lives; or in their heads, for that matter, right?

No shock and awe over Palin lying by omission or commission to McCain's vetters, either, hunh? Or any discomfort and disbelief that McCain actually knew in advance that his VP's minor child was going to have a kid out of wedlock? Why, it just shows that the whole gang of 'em are human after all, and in need of spiritual guidance from, say, some guy with a big make-believe church on TV. Wait for it. McCain may have to become "born again" himself after all this. Shall we gather at the river? Careful where you baptise, I'll be puking. Best go upstream, brethren.

Speaking of morality, and water, and revolting spectacles, how 'bout John & Cindy McCain & Alaska's "Neglectful Mom of The Year" rushing to Missisippi in Cindy's private plane ("C*NT" ONE), down to the Delta where Obama has traction, (where McCain's family owns, or owned slaves), to pretend to be doing something about the various hurricanes Dubya's global warming has caused, while interfering with real preparation, relief and evacuation efforts, WHEW! Thank Gawd there was an extra Senator there, to bloviate at the hurricane. Let's hope he gets some votes out of it, hunh?

After all, he just wanted a chance to show that Repukelickins really do care about reg'l'r folks that're struck by disasters like Hurricane Andrew or Katrina, or the recent Midwestern floods, or the cyclone in Burma, the earthquakes in China, the genocide in Darfur, Zimbabwe, Georgia, etc, etc, etc. Even if they did absolutely nothing right when those disasters occurred. Even if they still don't give a sh*t to this very day about any of the victims and refugees anywhere, like in New Orleans, where new winds & waves are striking neighborhoods that were never rebuilt, overtopping levees that have not been replaced, sending refugees fleeing helter-skelter like in Katrina, which was THREE years ago, yawl. But then, them people was sinful black Democrats, and Gawd punished 'em cause of that, is how yer "born agains & evangelical" sick f*cks see it.

Let's hear how they see Gawd's intervention in their Convention. The one where they pretend to care, to want to help, to be effective in disaster relief, with their "No Big Gummint" bullsh*t.

See, Gawd ain't cooperatin'. The storm has passed Nawlins, mostly. The Repukes won't be able to capitalize on a new disaster. Their thunder has been stolen by the storm, making them its' principle victims. Now, will lightning strike hypocritical right-wing lyin' slut-Mom Sarah "The Barracuda" Palin? If there's a God in Heaven, you better watch out, you blaspheming, Jesus-pimping, anti-christian 'Pukes! What would Jesus do? He's already doin' it, sinners, He's already a-doin' it! They's ANOTHER storm headed right fer vote-rich Florida. Think you can exploit this? Remember, God is always watching. And He doesn't watch FuxSnooze!


YOUTUBE: CNN
"McCain Plans To Make Natural Disaster Backdrop Convention"



THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
"Palin daughter’s pregnancy shocks GOP convention"
Republicans want to put ANOTHER bastard in the VP's office.

' In a convention already thrown off-kilter by hurricane Gustav, the news that GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter is pregnant has added yet another wrinkle to the proceedings. Palin’s oldest daughter, 17-year-old Bristol, is five months pregnant and will marry the father of the child, Palin and her husband disclosed Monday. The Palins decided to make the announcement to quell Internet rumors that Sarah Palin’s fifth child, four-month-old Trig, is in fact her daughter Bristol’s baby. The Palin announcement reopened the question of how closely GOP presidential candidate John McCain had vetted Palin before selecting her as his running mate, a move that surprised the political world last Friday. If he had not known of the daughter’s pregnancy until now, what would that say about the thoroughness of Senator McCain’s scrutiny – and about Palin’s judgment? Two top McCain advisers, Stephen Schmidt and Mark Salter, told reporters in St. Paul Monday that Palin had indeed informed the campaign of Bristol’s pregnancy during the vetting process, according to the Associated Press. '

THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD-TRIBUNE
"Day of stunning Palin disclosures"
And this was the BEST woman for the job? Don't the 'Pukes have even ONE other woman, just ONE who's not a mess?

' In a day of stunning disclosures, John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, said Monday her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was five months pregnant, and it was revealed that an attorney was hired to defend the governor in a probe into the firing of her public safety commissioner. The revelations threatened to steal any remaining thunder from Day One of the Republican National Convention, which already was overshadowed by Hurricane Gustav — and brought unwanted attention to the 44-year-old governor, who has little experience on the national stage. The Republican convention, taking place just three days after McCain named Palin has his running mate, had already been scaled back because of the hurricane. Coming after the randomness of Gustav, the revelations added to the sense of unscriptedness hanging over the convention. The national convention, which a political party counts on to send its candidate surging into the fall campaign, already had been relegated to a distant second to the hurricane on TV, in newspapers and on Internet Web sites. As for the Alaska probe, a Republican-dominated legislative committee is investigating whether Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan after he refused to fire a state law enforcement official who had divorced Palin's sister. '

RADAR ON LINE
"Palin Daughter's Babydaddy: Some Dude Named Levi, Reports Enquirer"
The girl likes a guy in pants. Not just any pants. She's particular. Gotta be Levi's. The VP's daughter loves a guy with a button fly, no new-fangled zippers to figure out. Cheap & easy, that's our girl!

' Make that 2-0 for David Perel. Fresh off his success with the John Edwards story, sources tell Radar that an aggressive 36-hour push by Perel's National Enquirer reporting team forced Alaska Governor and John McCain's vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to announce that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant, an announcement which effectively puts an end to the Internet rumor that Palin had faked her own pregnancy to cover up her daughter's. (Or does it? There are already conspiracy theories that this pregnancy is being faked to dispel the rumors that Trig, Palin's 4-month-old, is really Bristol's child. Kinda crazy, right?) Radar has also learned that the father of Bristol's child, as well as her soon-to-be-husband, is a 17-year-old hockey player named Levi Johnston. '

MARKETWATCH
"Gustav passes New Orleans with levees intact "
Praise the Lord! Uh, well, maybe the other hurricane will get the 'Pukes some votes. Gawd willin'!

' Hurricane Gustav moved past the New Orleans area Monday, and though it still threatened to flood some areas with storm surges, the city's levees and floodwalls apparently braved the worst the storm had to offer with minimal damage. The front end of Gustav was working its way toward northwest Louisiana and had been downgraded to a tropical storm, although there were warnings the storm's back end still featured hurricane-force winds. Gustav hit Louisiana three years and three days after Katrina struck. Katrina created a storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain that shot water into New Orleans' outfall canals and caused levees to fail. Three-fourths of the city was underwater. It's still trying to rebuild. '

WASHINGTON POST
"GOP Opens Convention With An Eye On Gustav"
Republicans desperate to capitalize on human misery. As usual.

' As Hurricane Gustav battered the Gulf Coast, Republicans today completed an enthusiastic but abbreviated first session of their national convention with headlining appearances by the current First Lady and - Republicans hope - her successor. Bush emphasized that "we are all Americans" today and that partisanship should take a back seat. But when she introduced a video compilation of appearances from governors of Gulf Coast states, Bush did mention that "they all happen to be Republicans." '

ABC NEWS
"Money Trail: What Hurricane? Lobbyists, GOP Party On"
Let them eat cake! Lots of cake!! More cake, please!!! WOO-HOO!!!! It's A Cake-Vention!!!!!!! CAAAAAAAKE!!!!!!!!!

' As residents of New Orleans were fleeing Hurricane Gustav, top Republican party officials donned pink boas and swigged vodka shots at a wild whirl of corporate and lobbyist-paid parties this weekend in Minneapolis-St. Paul. More than a hundred people jammed a Minneapolis restaurant where waiters wore pink wigs and guests wrapped themselves with pink boas, on the weekend before the start of the Republican National Convention. Many corporate sponsors and their lobbyists carried through with plans for lavish entertainment of GOP lawmakers and others despite calls from the campaign of Sen. John McCain that Republicans should tone down the convention festivities. "We will be contacting corporations and others to ask them to be respectful of events in the gulf," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said Sunday afternoon. Yet, last night lobbyists for the National Rifle Association, Lockheed Martin and the American Trucking Association put on a raucus six-hour party at a downtown bar featuring music by the band "Hookers and Blow." There was no evidence of any actual prostitutes or cocaine. Along the Mississippi last night, corporate lobbyists for the chemical industry were entertaining Ohio Republicans on two large yachts. Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), one of about 700 guests, said he "could not remember" who paid the costs of the river cruise. Saturday night, 22 big corporations sponsored a pig roast and "booze cruise" for California Congressmen and delegates on Lake Minnetonka, west of Minneapolis. Many delegates at a party Saturday night for GOP convention CEO Maria Cino said they saw no reason to stop the good time because of events in New Orleans. "Everyone goes through hard times," said Wisconsin delegate Jeff Larson. '

USA TODAY
"McCain-Palin tour storm zone, stump in Mo."
Better bring your ass-hat, too, McSame. Guess Republican hats aren't American hats. Prob'ly made by political prisoners in China.

' As the Republican Party revamped its national convention, John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin split their attention Sunday between campaigning and showing support for Gulf Coast residents threatened by Hurricane Gustav. "We will put aside our political hats and put on our American hats," McCain told a packed minor league ballpark about 35 miles west of St. Louis. The Arizona senator said the same line when he spoke via satellite to a news conference in St. Paul, where Republicans are gathering to officially nominate him for president. '

FOX NEWS
"Obama Cancels Speech During Gustav"
Obama does the right thing, as usual.

' Barack Obama canceled a speech in Detroit Monday out of respect for the victims of Hurricane Gustav. “I apologize for this change in plans, but instead of a political speech, I’d like all of us to join together in silent prayer,” he said. '

[Cross-posted at CoffeeHouseStudio.]
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