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Censured Casualties
features rare footage of war crimes against the Iraqi people suffered during and after the Gulf War. The footage is from former Attorney General Ramsey Clark in his attempt to document the injustice of United States military actions in the region.

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Wednesday, December 31, 2003

Recent Claims by USDA and Beef Industry on Mad Cow Safety Standards are BULLSHIT

Anyone who is interested in this issue should look at John Stauber's book Mad Cow USA, which is available online for free. Another place to make sure to browse over is the archive hosted by the Organic Consumers Association.

These really will be the two places to get serious, critical and informed coverage of this issue -- excellent places to start and get informed about the dangers involved with eating American beef (and other meat)...Mad Cow, while only now being found in the US, has after all already been found as a variant disease in US deer, elk, and related game species. As Stauber has argued, it seems clear that the main reason for all this disease is the highly unethical practice of breeders to render sick or downed animals and sell their bodies to feed producers, which often leads to animals of the same kind eating the diseased meat of their own kind.

Of course, it is also highly questionable that animals of any kind can be healthy when eating diseased rendered animals -- hence, last year's case of hunters who contacted the variant Mad Deer disease by eating diseased animals. In a non-Mad example, there is also the problem of domestic dogs and cats being fed diseased rendered animals as name-brand pet food. Some of these foods even contain rendered dogs and cats which have been euthanized with phenylbarbitol and studies have shown significant amounts of this deadly drug in a shocking number of examples.

Within the last few days, government and industry agencies have been on the propaganda offensive -- attempting to assuage any fears created in transnational publics by the media reports. Their message is the contradictory answer that US beef has always been safe, but regardless, those in charge are moving to implement new stringent protection measures. The reason for damage control is clear: take the examples of British or Australian Mad Cow scares -- each devastated the markets for such product, with key international buyers like Japan placing embargos on all importation. Needless to say, the costs to the beef industries and national economies in these countries was tremendous.

Dr. Michael Gregor has been one of the chief experts in following the lies being expounded by the USDA and American beef industry -- here is an excellent recent article of his to this effect.

One thing I hope people will take from the recent breaking of this story is the same message that American's have known since Upton Sinclar -- the choice to eat meat as a dietary choice needs to be critically re-examined in an industrial age of mass production. Regardless of whether one comprehends the problems of animal sentience and moral status, or is swayed by animal suffering, today a diet based on meat can hardly avoid the context of highly unethical and unhealthy rearing, slaughtering, processing, and selling practices. Buying meat from transnational corporate phactory-pharms supports and tacitly underwrites these practices, which ends with the ace in the hole of one's own life being jeopardized to boot.

The reality is the Mad Cow remains a real problem within the United States and will be so for the near future at least. That said, I wouldn't recommend that everyone obsess about Mad Cow with a fear that rivals what happened with other big time media diseases like SARS or AIDS. Rather, people should take the opportunity to think, and then think again, about what it is they are putting into their bodies, why, and what effects their diet has upon themselves and others. If the Mad Cow spectacle results in people doing just a little bit of fact checking into the unsanitary reality of the American meat market and thinking twice about whether they really are "loving it" at McDonalds, then the tragedy of the disease can ironically serve the public good.

Posted by:
Richard
at 12/31/2003 02:51:00 PM | Permalink

Park fees set to reach new heights

Repug thug Arnold continues to whack away at California public sphere, undermining excellent state park systems just as he cuts away at California university system
Park fees set to reach new heights

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/31/2003 01:11:57 PM | Permalink

washingtonpost.com: Military Ends Halliburton Deal To Supply Gasoline to Iraq

Dick Cheney's New Year's Eve shock: Pentagon dumps Halliburton as Iraq gas supplier
washingtonpost.com: Military Ends Halliburton Deal To Supply Gasoline to Iraq

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/31/2003 01:05:03 PM | Permalink

washingtonpost.com: 5 Killed in Baghdad Restaurant Bombing

no real New Year's celebrations in Baghdad as violence erupts
washingtonpost.com: 5 Killed in Baghdad Restaurant Bombing

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/31/2003 12:36:41 PM | Permalink

New Agency Will Oversee Fuel for Use in Iraq

Halliburton's predatory pricing practices on fuel in Iraq are under attack as a new military agency will oversee fuel policy
New Agency Will Oversee Fuel for Use in Iraq

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/31/2003 08:52:48 AM | Permalink

Ashcroft Elects Not to Supervise Inquiry on C.I.A. Leak

The Ashcroft recusal may well point to Rove implication in CIA-gate, as was widely speculated, so this is a potential bombshell; weird how the story disappeared and now roared back
Ashcroft Elects Not to Supervise Inquiry on C.I.A. Leak

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/31/2003 08:50:09 AM | Permalink

Tuesday, December 30, 2003

washingtonpost.com: . . . Or a Rational Response?

the rightwing is playing a mantra of Bushhatred, attacking those who criticize Bush as consumed with pathological hate; E.J. Dionne suggests, rightly, that its a rational response
washingtonpost.com: . . . Or a Rational Response?

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/30/2003 08:31:23 AM | Permalink

Monday, December 29, 2003

Op-Ed Columnist: Our So-Called Boom

Bushonomics means growing class divisions, the rich getting richer, the poor poorer. In particular, as Paul Krugman points out, corporate America is main beneficiary of Bush's economic politics: "So if jobs are scarce and wages are flat, who's benefiting from the economy's expansion? The direct gains are going largely to corporate profits, which rose at an annual rate of more than 40 percent in the third quarter. Indirectly, that means that gains are going to stockholders, who are the ultimate owners of corporate profits. (That is, if the gains don't go to self-dealing executives, but let's save that topic for another day.)"
Op-Ed Columnist: Our So-Called Boom

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/29/2003 10:50:59 PM | Permalink

Op-Ed Columnist: The White-Collar Blues

Another good column by Bob Herbert on loss of white collar jobs in Middle Classes under Bush regime and difficulty in finding good new jobs
Op-Ed Columnist: The White-Collar Blues

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/29/2003 11:24:51 AM | Permalink

Sunday, December 28, 2003

Revealed: how MI6 sold the Iraq war

12/28/03: (The Times of London)
Only a fragment is pasted below. Check the rest of the details by clicking on the link.

THE Secret Intelligence Service has run an operation to gain public support for sanctions and the use of military force in Iraq. The government yesterday confirmed that MI6 had organised Operation Mass Appeal, a campaign to plant stories in the media about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.

The revelation will create embarrassing questions for Tony Blair in the run-up to the publication of the report by Lord Hutton into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly, the government weapons expert.

A senior official admitted that MI6 had been at the heart of a campaign launched in the late 1990s to spread information about Saddam’s development of nerve agents and other weapons, but denied that it had planted misinformation. “There were things about Saddam’s regime and his weapons that the public needed to know,” said the official.

The admission followed claims by Scott Ritter, who led 14 inspection missions in Iraq, that MI6 had recruited him in 1997 to help with the propaganda effort. He described meetings where the senior officer and at least two other MI6 staff had discussed ways to manipulate intelligence material. ...

Posted by:
Raymond
at 12/28/2003 04:46:54 PM | Permalink

Roadside Bombs Kill 2 G.I.'s and 2 Iraqi Children

Daily Iraq carnage

And Afghanistan is getting increasingly bloody and violent, the Bush incursion into Iraq left the country in chaos
5 Afghan Officers Killed in Kabul as Suspect Detonates Bomb

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/28/2003 03:00:36 PM | Permalink

Saturday, December 27, 2003

Up to 11 Die as Attacks Shatter Fragile Calm in Southern Iraq

Now things are heating up in southern Iraq, despite catching Saddam its obviously a disaster area and quagmire
Up to 11 Die as Attacks Shatter Fragile Calm in Southern Iraq
The Kerbala attacks were followed by massive Baghdad bombing
U.S. Soldier and 2 Iraqi Children Killed in Blast

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/27/2003 02:10:52 PM | Permalink

San Antonio Current WITH A WHISPER, NOT A BANG

Bush covertly signs some of Patriot II into law when no one is paying attention, so cometh creeping fascism to the land....
San Antonio Current

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/27/2003 10:06:26 AM | Permalink

Coalition Forces Attacked in Southern Iraq

Daily carnage in Iraq
Coalition Forces Attacked in Southern Iraq

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/27/2003 09:57:57 AM | Permalink

Friday, December 26, 2003

Bracing for the Blow

IBM plans big job cuts through "outshoring" and "outsourcing"
Bracing for the Blow

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/26/2003 06:36:32 PM | Permalink

Yahoo! News - Iraqi Rebels Kill Two American Soldiers

A very bloody week in Iraq as carnage intensifies
Yahoo! News - Iraqi Rebels Kill Two American Soldiers

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/26/2003 06:34:50 PM | Permalink

Amazon.com: Books: American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush

This could be the book we've been waiting for, the one on the Bush dynasty that I've felt guilty about not writing: Kevin Phillips is coming out with book on the Bushes that sounds excellent. Phillips, a former Republican, is becoming major critic of everything Bush
Amazon.com: Books: American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/26/2003 12:49:56 PM | Permalink

Bush Advisers, With Eye on Dean, Formulate '04 Plans

Bush thugs plan Dean-smear campaign
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/26/politics/campaigns/26REPU.html?hp
And Nathan Newman comments:
"Atrios predicts that the new media meme (pumped by the GOP) will be that Dean is "pessimistic." Since Dean thinks he can get rid of Bush and solve our economic problems, I'd say that makes him optimistic.
So I'd say this calls for a positive google bomb promoting the idea that Dean is optimistic. "

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/26/2003 11:30:49 AM | Permalink

Rules for Reporting

Paul Krugman discerns the immense importance of the coming election and sets down some rules for reporting that constitute a strong critique of how the mainstream media whores have been reporting on political candidates; actually, the rightwing press coverage of the Dems has been much more scandalous than Krugman notes....

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/26/2003 08:02:04 AM | Permalink

Yahoo! News - France Says No Proof of Hijack Plot Found

What was the Air France hoopla all about? According to this story, it was false info: are terrorists playing the Bush bunglers with disinformation or are the Bush bandits messing with France, trying to associate them with lax airport security and their airlines with terrorism?
Yahoo! News - France Says No Proof of Hijack Plot Found

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/26/2003 07:30:18 AM | Permalink

TIME.com: Nation -- Condi and the 9/11 Commission

The Worst National Security Advisor in recent history, Condi Rice, is reluctant to go before the 9/11 Committee; for good reason, her policy failure to focus on terrorism contributed mightily to the 9/11 disaster; it appears that committee Chairman Kean and others are gunning for her. Happy Hunting!
TIME.com: Nation -- Condi and the 9/11 Commission

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/26/2003 07:23:23 AM | Permalink

Iraqi Insurgents Kill Three U.S. Soldiers

Today's carnage in Iraq
Iraqi Insurgents Kill Three U.S. Soldiers
Yesterday, Peter McLaren gave me a good source on Iraqi news with frequent updates and cumulative statistics and info
http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/26/2003 07:08:30 AM | Permalink

Thursday, December 25, 2003

Pakistani President Escapes New Death Plot

Second assassination attempt on Pakistan President in two weeks: It is not safe to be a Bush ally
My Way News

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/25/2003 09:45:32 AM | Permalink

6 Flights Canceled as Signs of Terror Plot Point to L.A.

tense Xmas in LA. Howard Dean is right: We are NOT safer because of Bush's unilateralist militarist policies and it is impossible to have a Merry Xmas or be merry while Bush is president
6 Flights Canceled as Signs of Terror Plot Point to L.A.

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/25/2003 09:41:14 AM | Permalink

Wednesday, December 24, 2003

Amid Celebrations, Guerrillas in Iraq Mount Several Attacks

Big Xmas Eve attacks in Iraq
Amid Celebrations, Guerrillas in Iraq Mount Several Attacks

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/24/2003 04:01:34 PM | Permalink

"Prosecutors May Examine Limbaugh Records"

Law goes after Limbaugh's medical records and he blames the Left!, the guy is unravelling....
My Way News: "

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/24/2003 06:29:03 AM | Permalink

washingtonpost.com: White House Faulted on Uranium Claim

Why do Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and the media focus on one false claim of Bush's concerning Iraq whereas, as the film UNCOVERED shows, they lied systematically day after day, lie after lie
washingtonpost.com: White House Faulted on Uranium Claim

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/24/2003 06:16:25 AM | Permalink

washingtonpost.com: 3 U.S. Soldiers Killed by Roadside Bomb

More US troops killed in Iraq, not much changed postSaddam
washingtonpost.com: 3 U.S. Soldiers Killed by Roadside Bomb

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/24/2003 06:13:36 AM | Permalink

Tuesday, December 23, 2003

Talk of Tikrit's Favorite Diner: Hatred of Hussein, Fury at U.S.

NYT correspondent John Burns reports on hatred of Saddam, fury at US in Tikrit, suggesting that the Big One's capture is not going to solve the problem
Talk of Tikrit's Favorite Diner

New docs on Rummy and Saddam relationship
Rumsfeld Made Iraq Overture in '84 Despite Chemical Raids

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/23/2003 08:52:04 AM | Permalink

Monday, December 22, 2003

Paul Wolfowitz, the Godfather of the Iraq War

Rumors that Wolfie may have to go: "The Rummy and Wolfie show may soon go off the air. It is widely believed in national-security circles that Wolfowitz may leave the Administration sometime in 2004. He has become too controversial for Bush to promote to Defense Secretary; Wolfowitz believed that U.S. troops in Iraq would be greeted with rose petals." TIME Person of the Year: Paul Wolfowitz, the Godfather of the Iraq War

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/22/2003 02:25:20 PM | Permalink

Who Really Found Saddam?

More on Who Really Found Saddam; several sources are claiming it was the Kurds and questioning US account; is this an urban legend or another case of Bush gang "constructing" news?
Who Really Found Saddam?
And here's another one that privileges Israeli intelligence agents (and possiby made up by them, but who knows?)
http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,8223166,00.html

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/22/2003 09:46:41 AM | Permalink

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | The Year of the Liar

TIME magazine has chosen the US Soldier as its Person of the Year; SALON more accurately calls this the YEAR of the LIAR using Bush as poster boy
Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | The Year of the Liar

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/22/2003 09:43:20 AM | Permalink

washingtonpost.com: U.S. Threat Level Rises to Orange

The Bush gang raises terror leve threats to US to higher level as worldwide threats multiply in response to their aggressive policies; ordinary people will fall victim to their militarist macho
washingtonpost.com: U.S. Threat Level Rises to Orange

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/22/2003 09:39:13 AM | Permalink

The Saddam Hussein Sourcebook

here's a good archive of documents and analysis of US relationships with Saddam over the years; note longtime Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bechtel, etc relations
The Saddam Hussein Sourcebook

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/22/2003 09:33:57 AM | Permalink

Sunday, December 21, 2003

Yahoo! News - Saddam was held by Kurdish forces, drugged and left for US troops

Saddam capture story complexifies as alternative stories emerge, this one from British Sunday Express
Yahoo! News - Saddam was held by Kurdish forces, drugged and left for US troops
Here's another story that Saddam was a prisoner when found by American forces by Israeli intelligence source Debka
http://www.debka.com/article_print.php?aid=743

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/21/2003 09:44:31 AM | Permalink

washingtonpost.com: The 'Bush Doctrine' Experiences Shining Moments

The Bush neocons gloat, not aware that their humuliations of Saddam and Libya are angering allies and helping to create new enemies; preemptive strikes continues to be a dangerous and disstabling policy
washingtonpost.com: The 'Bush Doctrine' Experiences Shining Moments

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/21/2003 09:24:18 AM | Permalink

Saturday, December 20, 2003

TOMPAINE.com - Under The Cover Of Darkness

here's a good account of how Bush administration uses secrecy and scullduggery to push through legislation that is ruining US system of government and democracy
TOMPAINE.com - Under The Cover Of Darkness

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/20/2003 11:19:08 AM | Permalink

Friday, December 19, 2003

During trial, Hussein may try to implicate Western leaders

Hearing Saddam spill the beans about his connections with Bush Sr, Rumsfeld, Cheney et al would be most illuminating; does this mean that he faces a possible Oswald/Jack Ruby moment in his future?
During trial, Hussein may try to implicate Western leaders

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/19/2003 06:34:50 PM | Permalink

"Is the search for weapons over?"

Bush declares search for Iraqi weapons a non-issue and US is bringing home chief weapons hunter: either Bush administration lied in the first place about Iraqi weapons or they are taking a dangerous risk of dismissing what could be a big threat
Independent News:

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/19/2003 12:57:56 PM | Permalink

U.S. Administrator Escaped Ambush in Iraq Two Weeks Ago

US Iraq Occupation officials aren't saying how bad it is: Wolfy almost got it one night in the hotel and now they are admitting Bremer almost got ambushed; its come out in the last couple of days that US occupation forces are infilitrated on the highest levels, its still a mess postSaddam
U.S. Administrator Escaped Ambush in Iraq Two Weeks Ago

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/19/2003 08:29:13 AM | Permalink

Thursday, December 18, 2003

Op-Ed Columnist: Telling It Right

good commentary by Paul Krugman on need to continue to delve into Bush administration history, particularly their failure to prevent 9/11 attacks and then foolish war on Iraq, that separated us from our allies, helped produce terrorist enemies and produced a big mess in Iraq that is hardly resolved with Saddam's capture
Op-Ed Columnist: Telling It Right

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/18/2003 08:29:19 PM | Permalink

News Analysis: In Debate on Antiterrorism, the Courts Assert Themselves

There was a second court decision today against the Bush Reich; its fortunate that we still have sectors of a free and independent judiciary (which is why the Bush administration is fighting tooth and nail to get rightwing extremists on the courts), though the decisions today will probably be appealed and go up to the Bush Family Supreme Court
News Analysis: In Debate on Antiterrorism, the Courts Assert Themselves

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/18/2003 08:25:16 PM | Permalink

Remember 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'? For Bush, They Are a Nonissue

For the arrogant Bush, the issue of WMD is a non-issue; this will be the Bush administration strategy: we got Saddam, we won and we rule, so shut up; of course, a lot can and probably will happen to complicate the situation, but the fact of a systematic campaign of lying and corruption of intelligence by the Bush administration to drive US and UK into a dubious war and occupation of Iraq IS a big issue!

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/18/2003 01:17:02 PM | Permalink

Appeals Court Orders Release of American Held as Combatant

This is a major blow against the Bush Reich, as an Appeals court in effect says that the Bush fascists cannot just arrest anyone and hold them forever because they are suspected of being a terrorist
Appeals Court Orders Release of American Held as Combatant

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/18/2003 09:07:03 AM | Permalink

9/11 Chair: Attack Was Preventable

the 9/11 Commission Chair Thomas Keen says that 9/11 attack was preventable, that those responsible should have been fired, and goes after Condi Rice in a CBS News report. She is definitely the worst National Security Advisor in recent history and its good to see some of the media finally go after her

Posted by:
Douglas
at 12/18/2003 08:23:32 AM | Permalink