gary350

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Everything posted by gary350

  1. Bush Admin Motto: If at first you don't deceive, lie, lie again. (note to character assassinating whiners in deep denial - not one word here from Richard Clarke.) ----------------------------------------------------------- National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice appeared on CBS's 60 Minutes in an effort to quell growing questions surrounding the Administration's inconsistent claims about its pre-9/11 actions. Not only did Rice refuse to take Richard Clarke's lead and admit responsibility for her role in the worst national security failure in American history, but she continued to make unsubstantiated and contradictory assertions: RICE CLAIM: "The administration took seriously the threat" of terrorism before 9/11. FACTS: President Bush himself acknowledges that, despite repeated warnings of an imminent Al Qaeda attack, before 9/11 "I didn't feel the sense of urgency" about terrorism. Similarly, Newsweek reports that Bush's attitude was reflected throughout an Administration that was trying to "de-emphasize terrorism" as an overall priority. As proof, just two of the hundred national security meetings the Administration held during this period addressed the terrorist threat, and the White House refused to hold even one meeting of its highly-touted counterterrorism task force. Meanwhile, the Administration was actively trying to cut funding for counterterrorism, and "vetoed a request to divert $800 million from missile defense into counterterrorism" despite a serious increase in terrorist chatter in the summer of 2001. Source: "Bush At War" by Bob Woodward Source: Newsweek & vetoed request - http://foi.missouri.edu/terrorismfoi/whatwentwrong.html Source: Refusal to hold task force meeting - http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A8734-2002Jan19?language=printer Source: Only two meetings out of 100 - http://www.detnews.com/2002/politics/0207/01/politics-526326.htm RICE CLAIM: "I don't know what a sense of urgency any greater than the one we had would have caused us to do anything differently. I don't know how...we could have done more. I would like very much to know what more could have been done?" FACTS: There are many more things that could have been done: first and foremost, the Administration could have desisted from de-emphasizing and cutting funding for counterterrorism in the months before 9/11. It could have held more meetings of top principals to get the directors of the CIA and FBI to share information, especially considering the major intelligence spike occurring in the summer of 2001. As 9/11 Commissioner Jamie Gorelick said on ABC this morning, the lack of focus and meetings meant agencies were not talking to each other, and key evidence was overlooked. For instance, with better focus and more urgency, the FBI's discovery of Islamic radicals training at flight schools might have raised red flags. Similarly, the fact that "months before Sept. 11, the CIA knew two of the al-Qaeda hijackers were in the United States" could have spurred a nationwide manhunt. But because there was no focus or urgency, "No nationwide manhunt was undertaken," said Gorelick. "The State Department watch list was not given to the FAA. If you brought people together, perhaps key connections could have been made." Source: Slash counterterrorism funding -http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/transcrime/articles/How%20Sept_%2011%20Changed%20Goals%20of%20Justice%20Dept.htm Source: CIA knew 2 hijackers in the U.S. - http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/6/2/111044.shtml RICE CLAIM: “Nothing would be better from my point of view than to be able to testify, but there is an important principle involved here it is a longstanding principle that sitting national security advisors do not testify before the Congress.” FACTS: Republican Commission John F. Lehman, who served as Navy Secretary under President Reagan said on ABC this morning that "This is not testimony before a tribunal of the Congress…There are plenty of precedents for appearing in public and answering questions…There are plenty of precedents the White House could use if they wanted to do this.” 9/11 Commissioner Jamie Gorelick agreed, saying “Our commission is sui generis…the Chairman has been appointed by the President. We are distinguishable from Congress.” Rice's remarks on 60 Minutes that the principle is limited to "sitting national security advisers" is also a departure from her statements earlier this week, when she said the "principle" applied to all presidential advisers. She was forced to change this claim for 60 Minutes after 9/11 Commissioner Richard Ben-Veniste “cited examples of non-Cabinet presidential advisers who have testified publicly to Congress." Finally, the White House is reportedly moving to declassify congressional testimony then-White House adviser Richard Clarke gave in 2002. By declassifying this testimony, the White House is breaking the very same "principle" of barring White House adviser's testimony from being made public that Rice is using to avoid appearing publicly before the 9/11 commission. Source: Quote from Tony Snow Show - http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-03-23-911-rice-usat_x.htm RICE CLAIM: "Iraq was put aside" immediately after 9/11. FACTS: According to the Washington Post, "six days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush signed a 2-and-a-half-page document" that "directed the Pentagon to begin planning military options for an invasion of Iraq." This is corroborated by a CBS News, which reported on 9/4/02 that five hours after the 9/11 attacks, "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was telling his aides to come up with plans for striking Iraq." In terms of resources, the Iraq decision had far-reaching effects on the efforts to hunt down Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. As the Boston Globe reported, "the Bush administration is continuing to shift highly specialized intelligence officers from the hunt for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan to the Iraq crisis." Source: September 17th directive - http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A43909-2003Jan11?language=printer Source: Rumsfeld orders Iraq plan - http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/04/september11/main520830.shtml Source: Shifting special forces - http://www.iht.com/articles/106783.html
  2. gary350

    New Tat

    I see the shlock, the goofy crap that people permanently put on their bodies, and just have to shake my head. But that - that is absolutely beautiful and unique. Wow.
  3. Oh! I've slipped through the swirling clouds of dust, a few feet from the dirt. I've flown the Phantom low enough to make my bottom hurt. I've TFO'd the deserts, hills, valleys, and mountains too, Frolicked in the trees, where only flying squirrels flew. Chased the frightened cows along, disturbed the ram and ewe, And done a hundred other things that you'd not care to do. I've smacked the tiny sparrow, bluebird, robin, all the rest, I've ingested baby eaglets, simply sucked them from their nest! I've streaked through total darkness, just the other guy and me, And spent the night in terror of things I could not see. I've turned my eyes to heaven, as I sweated through the flight, Put out my hand, and touched the master caution light.
  4. LOW FLIGHT Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And hovered out of ground effect on semi-rigid blades; Earthward I've auto'ed, and met the rising brush Of non-paved terrain - and done a thousand things You would never care to - skidded and drooped and flared Low in the heat-soaked roar. Confined there, I've chased the earthbound traffic, and lost The race to insignificant headwinds. Forward, and a little up, in ground effect I've topped the General's hedge with drooping turns Where never Skyhawk, or even Phantom flew. And, shaking and pulling collective, I've lumbered The low trespassed halls of Victor Airways, Put out my hand, and touched a tree.
  5. More "honor and dignity" coming from our mis-leader. . . http://www.misleader.org/daily_mislead/Read.asp?fn=df03192004.html March 19, 2004 | Daily Mislead Archive According to a new report, President Bush's official campaign is selling clothing made in Burma - a country whose goods Bush banned for sale in the U.S. because of their awful human rights, narcotics and sex trafficking record. According to Newsday, "the merchandise sold on www.georgewbushstore.com includes a $49.95 fleece pullover, embroidered with the Bush-Cheney '04 logo and bearing a label stating it was made in Burma, now Myanmar."1 The decision by the president's campaign to defy its own embargo directly contradicts the president's pledge to enforce existing trade laws. Just this week the president said Americans need to be "treated fairly" and pledged to "make sure the playing field is level" on trade.2 But his decision to market Burmese textile products evades laws that prevent American workers from having to compete with Burmese workers who have no minimum wage, human rights or labor protections. Since Bush was elected, thousands of textile jobs have been lost -- particularly in the South - and many have questioned whether the Administration is adequately enforcing trade laws.3 On top of evading his own trade laws, the president's effective endorsement of Burmese goods means his campaign is marketing products from a country the State Department has repeatedly condemned for human rights abuses4 and that the Treasury Department has cited for laundering money from illegal narcotics dealers5. Just last year, the president told the United Nations it needed to more seriously address international sex slavery, saying, "there's a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable."6 But his own campaign is now marketing products from a country that experts cite as one of the leaders in international sex trafficking.7 Sources: 1 "Bush campaign gear made in Burma", Newsday, 03/18/2004. 2 "President Discusses Health Access", 03/16/2004. 3 "4,000 textile jobs lost in 2003", Charleston Post and Courier, 01/14/2004. 4 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Burma, US Department of State, 02/25/2004. 5 States News Service, 03/04/2004. 6 "President Bush Addresses United Nations General Assembly", 09/23/2003. 7 "Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation: Burma/Myanmar".
  6. Inspired by the "The Passion Of The Christ" movie: A few days after the crucifiction, Jesus was in a partying mood and went to a disco. Problem was, he couldn't get his groove on - he couldn't quite get in synch with the music. Finally, in frustration, he exclaimed to his friends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Help! I've risen and I can't get down!
  7. Do you have "The Notebooks of Lazarus Long"? Nice collection of quotes and wisdoms - every other page has one quote done with art and calligraphy, suitable for framing. Been out of print for many years, but easily found used on Amazon or elsewhere. Just saw that a new edition is coming out this year. Don't know if it will have the same art and all - if you don't already have one, just get an original edition in good shape. . . Text available online, but book is much nicer. . . http://www.musespace.com/musings/quotes/lazaruslong.html
  8. That's what the mohel said. . . (look it up)
  9. >Do you think that our foreign policy ought to be designed with the primary goal of making all other nations on earth love us? As worded, no. Never said or implied. But I also don't think we should be so arrogant in so many ways. That includes invading other countries with only token support from the rest of the world, with pathetic justification based on LIES. This is a great way to CREATE many more terrorists than we can possibly kill, as well as squander our status in the world and a huge amount of the respect that was out there once, especially around 9/12/01. Some of us believe that it helps to have friends and to keep them. >Or do you think we should stand for certain principles like freedom, democracy and human rights, and not give a damn about the opinions of those who don't agree with those goals? Gee - in the eyes of the rest of the world, seems like WE are the ones who don't give a damn about what anyone else thinks, including our allies. I like those principles and would love to see them spread. I just think there are sometimes more effective ways to spread them than by force. Force should be justified, or it is counter-productive in the long run. Maybe the short run. >Personally, I don't give a shit about the opinions of those that think that suicide bombings of innocent people are justifiable (as per that link). And we shouldn't be courting the favor of such monsters. More incredible arrogance - a teeny narrow little American view. Can you possibly see and understanding how other people see us and more importantly, WHY? And how this affects us? Fuck 'em all! We have power and are willing to use it whenever we like. We're justified because they're monsters! (Gee - sounds a little like what they say about us) Unless we want to be the masters of a world-wide police-state, I don't think this alone is a good long term strategy. Yeah, there are exceptions - I'm hardly a pacifist. I just think a more balanced, less arrogant approach might be more effective and sustainable in the long run. And for fuck's sake - if we are fighting a "war on terrorism", how do you think it looks to billions of people around the world when they see us LIE and use that as an excuse to go "regime-changing" and nation-building where it suits us? But golly, he was a bad old brutal dictator! We did it for all those principles of freedom and democracy and human rights! Swell! Don't you think some of those billions of people wonder why we didn't care so much about those principles when it came to Pinochet, Marcos, Suharto, Somoza, Pol Pot, etc. etc. ? They see us as arrogant, greedy, selfish pigs. And not just the Republicans!
  10. Spectator? Kinda, since I was turned away - point on a big wedge that was building - I had much more freedom than usual to just look at the sky and ground. (I know - I shoulda been paying more attention to how the formation was flying, but what can I say. . . ) Anyway, we were going to punch a very solid cloud (again, what can I say. . . ) The sun was about directly overhead and as we got closer to the surface of the cloud, a sun-dog on it got bigger and bigger and clearer and clearer, with a bulls-eye shadow of our wedge, which was causing it! Then of course, we punched right through the wedge-shadow bulls-eye. Way cool visuals - fantastic colors and the high speed shit of punching the cloud - took my breath away.
  11. I doubt they are so much for Kerry as they are like so many of the rest of us, including most of world (allies included) - ABB! Anybody But Bush! http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=206
  12. Public service bump. Let me add that I'm sure there are other escrow services available - escrow.com is just the only one I have used personally. . .
  13. Was there ever any? The only non-scandalous, non-self-serving POTUS that I can think of is Carter. All the rest had massive skeletons in the closet. Mostly agree, but the difference may be that few have campaigned so strongly on the issue of "character" and have pledged so emphatically to "Restore honor and dignity to the White house". Not saying he is the only president to lie, but he is bringing it perhaps to a craven, all-time low - particularly ironic in light of the emphasis he put on "character".
  14. http://www.heinleinsociety.org/newsFUTL.html http://www.sfrevu.com/ISSUES/2003/0312/For%20Us%20The%20Living/Review.htm Anybody read it yet?
  15. The "honor and dignity" just keeps flowing out of the Whitehouse. . .
  16. Onward Christian Soldiers! And people wonder how the holocaust could happen? This is how. These are the people.
  17. Can you prove you really knew about, let alone had a 10 pound, 10meg, $500 hard drive for your Commodore64? Or did you just look it up on the web first??? Huh? Huh? Let me just add that you probably checked your "facts" about that old drive on snopes, right? And of course you believe it!!!! Sucker! Sorry - just beating someone else to it. . .
  18. It's so important, I started a new thread, but will repeat here: Sorry, but I think sending more than $50 or $100 to "someone on the internet" is just plain stupid. There is a very simple and effective way to protect both buyer and seller, for a reasonable fee, $47 on a $1,500 transaction (more if by credit card): http://www.escrow.com/solutions/escrow/process.asp
  19. Reading the thread about the probable eBay rig ripoff. . . Sorry, but I think sending more than $50 or $100 to "someone on the internet" is just plain stupid. There is a very simple and effective way to protect both buyer and seller, for a reasonable fee, $47 on a $1,500 transaction (more if by credit card): http://www.escrow.com/solutions/escrow/process.asp
  20. Of course it's not his fault that smoking, drinking, drugs, or bad genetic luck cause birth defects. It's also not his fault that there is a certain level of mercury pollution in the water and in fish. He's not responsible for pollution and related birth defects that were happening when he took office. But he IS responsible for the future. Why not LOWER pollution for the benefit of ALL citizens? Why make things WORSE??? Why??? The answer is simple, in three words - GREED, GREED, GREED.
  21. gary350

    "sorry" habit

    Karen, Reply attached. . .
  22. Here's something yummy that is still OK. . .
  23. Thanks for engaging intelligently - replies are forming in my head but I can't play any more right now - back later. (A boy - cool! I have both - boy almost 9, girl almost 12)
  24. Not in the least! It is very clear that these issues deeply move you, and I certainly am empathetic and applaud you for it. Vehement? Great - you should be! Like the bumper sticker says, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!" I deeply wish that kind of caring and concern was more prevalent in our society and certainly more in our current government. That's my point. I support ALL efforts for the cause, and don't wish to take away from any of them. My goal was not to compare or say that any one avenue to help is more important than any other. It was simply to point out ONE critical, far-reaching way to help that some folks might not be considering. Yes, It happens to be "political", but will still have a huge effect on the cause.