ThinkFast: July 2, 2008
ThinkFast: July 2, 2008
Iran’s oil minister, Gholam Hossein Nozari, warned today that if attacked, his country would “react fiercely, and nobody can imagine what would be the reaction of Iran.” He also cautioned that such an offensive by Israel or the United States would create turmoil in the world’s volatile oil market.
“Caught off guard by recent Iraqi military operations, the United States is using spy satellites that ordinarily are trained on adversaries to monitor the movements of the American-backed Iraqi army, current and former U.S. officials say.”
Prompted by a report last week by the Justice Department’s inspector general, the Office of Special Counsel is opening “a new examination into political hiring practices” at the department. The watchdog informed the department this week that it will work to “to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted” for “those who considered political affiliation in making decisions” and “those who let them do that.”
More than 7,000 supporters of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) have organized “on Mr. Obama’s own campaign Web site” calling on him “to reverse his decision to endorse legislation” that expands the government’s domestic spying powers and provides legal protection to the telecom companies that worked with President Bush’s domestic warrantless wiretapping program.
On the trail today: Sen. Obama will visit the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs to “outline his national service agenda.” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is taking a 20-hour visit to Colombia, “a curious stop for an American presidential candidate.”
The Washington Post reports Obama received a “discount” interest rate on his home mortgage loan. “He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago.”
Sen. Ted Kennedy’s (D-MA) office has begun “laying the groundwork for a new attempt to provide universal healthcare.” The plans signal that Kennedy “intends to work vigorously to build bipartisan support for a major healthcare initiative when he returns to Washington in the fall.”
The Washington Post reports, “More than 900 cases alleging that government contractors and drugmakers have defrauded taxpayers out of billions of dollars are languishing in a backlog that has built up over the past decade because the Justice Department cannot keep pace with the surge in charges brought by whistle-blowers.”
In 2002, “an entire interrogation class” at Guantanamo Bay showing the effects of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners was based on “a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners.”
Blackwater Worldwide’s “bid to expand its military-training business in the San Diego area has already sparked controversy in California and is now posing problems in Washington.” Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) “is holding up the approval of four civilian defense officials until he gets more information from Defense Secretary Robert Gates about” the Blackwater training facility.
And finally: The American Family Association has a policy of replacing the word “gay” with “homosexual” on its Christian news outlet, OneNewsNow. To do so, it has set up an automatic filter. But the system went awry when it ended up publishing a story about a world-class U.S. sprinter named “Tyson Homosexual” (whose real name is “Tyson Gay”). Therefore, OneNewsNow published an AP story reading, “Tyson Homosexual was a blur in blue, sprinting 100 meters faster than anyone ever has.” OneNewsNow said that it has now taken “the filter out for that word.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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The far-right’s patriotism problem…
Jonah Goldberg continues to demonstrate how the right-wing is manipulating public discourse in order to confuse and conflate patriotism with rabid nationalism. Make no mistake, this is a coordinated effort to deliberately replace substance with its symbol, meaning with an emblem, and essentially strip language down to nothing but trinkets. We have seen such careful linguistic choreography before, when past authoritarian ideologues have distorted language in order to stifle individualism and dissenting views.
For a people to be controlled, they must first be robbed of honest discourse and open debate. Distorting language and stripping it of real and honest meaning is the first tool and the best mechanism for transforming a democracy into an authoritarian state. An informed populace is a dangerous populace. Patriotism is the word that authoritarians most like to distort and Goldberg demonstrates – once again – just how this distortion is created. Here is what Goldberg writes today about the term patriotism and how Barack Obama, according to Goldberg, is not really a patriot at all:
Read that line again: “What I believe will make this country great.” Not to sound too much like a Jewish mother, but some might respond, “What? It’s not great now?” This sense that America is in need of fixing in order to be a great country points to Obama’s real patriotism problem. And it’s not Obama’s alone.”
Actually no one of rational thought has a problem with patriotism being an issue. In fact, patriotism should be THE issue. The problem is that Goldberg and those like him have no concept of patriotism actually means. More disturbingly too, they confuse patriotism with nationalism. Miriam -Webster defines patriotism as “love for or devotion to one’s country.” Nowhere does the term or the idea of patriotism in general require one to believe one’s country is “great.” Nowhere does the term or the idea of patriotism in general require a ban on dissenting views, on criticism of one’s government, indeed even of one’s nation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larisa-alexandrovna/the-far-rights-patriotism_b_110348.html
“When someone is critical of their country and especially when their country strays from its course, it does not mean the person is not patriotic.” I couldn’t agree with Larisa more on this issue. When the rabid right reduces patriotism to stick pins from China and obsess about meaningless gestures in the form of bumper stickers on cars they deflect any meaningful debate about the real problems this country is facing. That is easily proven by watching C-SPAN. I have seen Hatch call Democrats delusional and tin hat-wearers. Since when is name calling been considered a significant conveyance of thought on an issue? If you have to resort to that, you have lost the debate before it’s even begun. What happened to presenting facts to support the issue or the use of critical thinking skills to convey your point? I forgot we can only expect that from Kucinich and Wexman.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:01 amDoD to unveil new waiver process for recruits
The Pentagon has revised its policy for recruits who must get waivers for past bad behavior, but officials stopped short of eliminating waiver requirements for petty crimes. After a lengthy review, the Defense Department bowed to insistence from the services that they be allowed to set their own guidelines for what offenses trigger a waiver. Instead, officials say the Pentagon will unveil a policy Wednesday that improves and simplifies the reporting process, grouping the waivers into four broad categories.
Last year, under the continuing strain of Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of recruits with waivers for bad conduct increased. Senior military leaders at the time suggested the department might be able to eliminate waiver requirements for some less serious crimes or lay out guidelines for what offenses demand a waiver. After months of discussion with the military services, however, that did not pan out. Marine officials, in particular, said they were reluctant to relax their standards for requiring waivers.
Instead, officials have now decided to create four waiver categories for major misconduct, misconduct, traffic offenses and non-traffic offenses. Under the new policy, each branch of the armed forces will set its own guidelines on what behavior requires a waiver, as long as it can assign each offense to one of the four categories.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/ap_waiver_process_070108/
50 % of Marine recruits must get a waiver. Instead of paying KBR and their ilk outrageous sums of money; that should be used to give our soldiers better pay raises. Then this country wouldn’t have as many issues with lowering the bar to get recruits.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:07 amI brought my love
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:08 ama nosehomosexual
of roses yesterday.
Communistic brainwashing techniques from the ’50’s raise their ugly head in the U.S. military & Bush administration.
Was The McChurian candidate brainwashed in Viet Nam?
The Justice Dept. can’t keep up with the number of lawsuits filed in objection to political preference in hiring within.
This will be the Bush legacy, corruption and torture.
The Iraqi army & American citizens are being spied upon.
We used to worry about the Russians & Chinese spying on us…now, it’s our own government spying on us & using Chinese torture methods.
Bush, we can’t wait to see you & your henchmen go!
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:09 amHas OneNewsNow published any reviews of Marvin Homosexual’s new CD? How about Marcia Homosexual Hardin’s new TV show?
These asshats are a parody of themselves. ROTFLMAO
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:10 amSen. Ted Kennedy’s (D-MA) office has begun “laying the groundwork for a new attempt to provide universal healthcare.” The plans signal that Kennedy “intends to work vigorously to build bipartisan support for a major healthcare initiative when he returns to Washington in the fall.”
A truly amazing man. Even while he is at home recuperating from surgery he is working on helping our failing Healthcare System. Thanks Ted for being one of the few shining stars in Congress. You are duly missed…..
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 amIf I remember econ 101, interest rates reflect, in part, risk. I would think a Harvard Law grad a pretty good risk. Seems like some loan office did its job.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 am#4 Zimzone Says:
Bush, we can’t wait to see you & your henchmen go!
Good Morning Zimzone :)
I second that motion!!!!
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:16 amYet they had no trouble keeping pace with voter fraud cases, going so far as to invent them all. Could this possibly be a matter of priorities?
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:17 amFlintstones, meet the Flintstones…. You’ll have a homosexual old time!
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:17 amImpeach Pelosi, Cheney and Bush and Save the Constitution!
“Caught off guard by recent Iraqi military operations, the United States is using spy satellites that ordinarily are trained on adversaries to monitor the movements of the American-backed Iraqi army, current and former U.S. officials say.”
Why are they doing this? Does it mean that we don’t trust the Iraqi armies that we trained? It is so time to get out of there!
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:21 amObama simply doesn’t have to try too hard. I will not yank my vote for him, but his apparent endorsement of the immunity bill is shocking.
Wasn’t it you, Bilbo, who phoned these concerns only to have a campaign staffer give you the cold shoulder?
I don’t know what to think. Why the fears suddenly from the Obama campaign, after the surge in new voters and the primary momentum, of the right somehow coming down on him?
There’s nothing wrong with being a candidate on the left. You don’t have to pander to the problem of this country in order to win, when you have plenty of votes from those looking for solutions. The right can’t even debate on the issues; we don’t want a downthemiddlecompromiseinthecenter campaign. That has not worked for our constitution, and it will not fix our country. We want nothing to do with the problem.
Obama, please don’t scare away that important base of small donors. Come out stongly against the immunity bill.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:22 amThe watchdog informed the department this week that it will work to “to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted” for “those who considered political affiliation in making decisions” and “those who let them do that.”
Of course disciplinary action is warranted. What these people did was against the law. But I’m not holding my breath that anyone in the Bush administration will ever be held responsible for anything they do.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:23 amTed Kennedy knows how to be a sick person caring for other sick people. Specter may want to take some notes.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:23 amCorrection #12 — strongly
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 amThe Washington Post reports Obama received a “discount” interest rate on his home mortgage loan. “He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago.”
OK now, this is getting ridiculous. SO WHAT! I’m betting that every congressperson and senator has a sweet interest rate on their homes. It could be because they are famous and it could be that they have excellent credit ratings. I get home loans that are “below the average” because I have an excellent credit rating.
BTW, I’m sure this has hit the MSM. But, did anyone read in the MSM that the McCain’s didn’t pay property taxes on a beach front condo for 4 friggin years? To me that’s a much bigger sin than getting a good interest rate on a loan.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:26 am#9 cavjam Says:
“More than 900 cases alleging that government contractors and drugmakers have defrauded taxpayers out of billions of dollars are languishing in a backlog that has built up over the past decade because the Justice Department cannot keep pace with the surge in charges brought by whistle-blowers.”
Yet they had no trouble keeping pace with voter fraud cases, going so far as to invent them all. Could this possibly be a matter of priorities?
They need to hire about 1,400 people to help with the overload. The part I found funny and sad at the same time is, it will take them 3 years to hire the amount of people they need to investigate all of this fraud. Because once again the government was unprepared for the reality of war and the consequences it brings.
Have a good day cavjam :)
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 amcavjam Says:The Washington Post reports Obama received a “discount” interest rate on his home mortgage loan. “He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago.”
If I remember econ 101, interest rates reflect, in part, risk. I would think a Harvard Law grad a pretty good risk. Seems like some loan office did its job.
This is the same baloney they’re squawking about with Senators Conrad & Dodd. Some reports indicate they may have qualified for a 1% lower rate, but that hasn’t been validated.
That could be a slippery slope for Republics, as they pretty much invented corporate subsidies and ‘insider’ deals, eh?
Good morning, Freedom Rebel!
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:28 amFreedom Rebel Says:
A truly amazing man. Even while he is at home recuperating from surgery he is working on helping our failing Healthcare System. Thanks Ted for being one of the few shining stars in Congress. You are duly missed…..
Without wealth or health insurance, anyone with similar health issues might already be dead. He recognizes this and is ready to lead the charge for universal health care. The chimpster would kill for a legacy like Sen. Kennedy’s. Oh wait…killing IS Chimpy’s legacy. My bad :)~
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 amThe Washington Post reports, “More than 900 cases alleging that government contractors and drugmakers have defrauded taxpayers out of billions of dollars are languishing in a backlog that has built up over the past decade because the Justice Department cannot keep pace with the surge in charges brought by whistle-blowers.”
That’s because the Bush Justice Department is much too busy making sure that it takes care of the non-existent voter fraud out there. It’s more important to make sure that people can’t vote without showing photo ID than recovering our bilked tax dollars.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:34 amHas anyone checked out Obama’s website with dissenters voicing FISA opinions?
I’m glad to hear it’s happening. We’re ‘not alone’ in our concerns on this, and no frigg’n way should Bush win this battle. What he & the Telcoms did was not only unconstitutional, it smacks of collusion and is downright unamerican.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:36 amSen. Jim Webb (D-VA) “is holding up the approval of four civilian defense officials until he gets more information from Defense Secretary Robert Gates about” the Blackwater training facility.
God I hope that one of Obama’s first orders of business will be to do away with these private contractors, especially here in the US. We don’t need mercenaries walking the streets of this country.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:36 am#19 Exit Stage Left Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
A truly amazing man. Even while he is at home recuperating from surgery he is working on helping our failing Healthcare System. Thanks Ted for being one of the few shining stars in Congress. You are duly missed…..
Without wealth or health insurance, anyone with similar health issues might already be dead. He recognizes this and is ready to lead the charge for universal health care. The chimpster would kill for a legacy like Sen. Kennedy’s. Oh wait…killing IS Chimpy’s legacy. My bad :)~
Good to see you Exit Stage Left :)
You got that right.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:38 amWHAT??? Obama locked in on his mortgage rate lower than the regional average? And this not only makes the news, but somehow makes ThinkProgress?
WHY?
Unless, of course, he’s to be commended. Hell, I wish my 30 year loan had locked in below average!
I’m just curious, TP was significantly silent during Hillary’s inconsistencies, but then has to report this????
This is non news, my friends. Bring harsh words to him for continuation of Bush’s grants to religions. Criticize him for supporting FISA. But don’t muckrack him for irrelevant topics.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:39 amThat’s too much “right wing” spin for me!
McWars Says:
Obama simply doesn’t have to try too hard. I will not yank my vote for him, but his apparent endorsement of the immunity bill is shocking.
Wasn’t it you, Bilbo, who phoned these concerns only to have a campaign staffer give you the cold shoulder?
Yes it was me. I told them what I thought (this was before Obama released this “statement”). They told me that he was releasing a statement on the matter. I said that wasn’t enough, he needed to keep his promise and do the right thing. Their response was a very snotty “well thank you for sharing your concerns”.
I think his move to the right is going to bite him big time. He depends on the millions of net roots supporters to give him money and to volunteer for him. I have read many blog posts here, on HP and on Kos saying that people are no longer supporting him financially and by volunteering. Most people will still vote for him, but it’s a shame it is once again coming down to the lesser of two evils.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:43 amThe United States is using spy satellites to monitor the movements of the American-backed Iraqi army….
“But in recent months, U.S. intelligence agencies have aimed the spacecraft’s high-resolution lenses at Iraqi military positions and instructed imagery a**lysts to monitor those units for signs that they are preparing to deploy, officials said.”
Well what the hell is the purpose of rebuilding their army if not for them to deploy in the defense of their own country? Unless, of course, our military leaders have realized that we are the real enemy to peace and stability in the region.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:46 amAverage
Below average
Median
Lower quartile
Upper quartile
Mode
Range
I’m second DRxJ’s dissapointment here. I don’t need to crack open a Statistics text to scrutinize Obama’s campaign. Me not likee, TP.
From the article:
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 am
Its funny that a direct quote from TP gets moderated in the comments, almost as funny as gay/homosexual switching.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:49 amMcCain Pledges Allegiance to NAFTA
John McCain continues his rousing campaign tour of the swing states of NAFTA this week. He will celebrate July 3rd in Mexico City after a jaunt through Colombia to pledge support for the pending free trade accord with that center of cocaine trade. He surely will increase his margin over Obama among business elites in Mexico and Canada.
No, this isn’t a joke. McCain is stumping Colombia today and Mexico tomorrow, a week after his visit to Ottawa, championing NAFTA to business elites in those countries.
McCain’s has a pat routine for these junkets. He piously intones homilies on the benefits of free trade: “We need stand up for free trade with no ifs, ands or buts about it. We let trade and globalization be politicized at our own peril.” He repeats a sanctimonious pledge never to “dishonor” America by even contemplating any deviation from the “sacred” NAFTA treaty.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-l-borosage/mccain-pledges-allegiance_b_110255.html
What McCain will never get is the human rights violations that these corporations get away with outside the USA. FAIR TRADE is the only way to insure that workers get paid properly and that prison camps aren’t set up in places like Jordan where workers put in 14 to 16 hours a day. Then only receiving 3 cents a garment and beaten if they don’t produce. I’d like to see him work for a day in that kind of environment and then try to justify his position.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:51 am#25 Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
Most people will still vote for him, but it’s a shame it is once again coming down to the lesser of two evils.
Good morning Bilbo :)
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:56 amYou are absolutely right, because the thought of a McCain Presidency is more than I can bare.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is taking a 20-hour visit to Colombia, “a curious stop for an American presidential candidate.”
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Hey, he’s just campaigning all those American citizens who have retired there. It has absolutely nothing to do with Charles Black’s lobbying connections.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain…
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 amGood morning FR! Thanks for being the Today Show of TP!
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:00 am“Caught off guard by recent Iraqi military operations, the United States is using spy satellites that ordinarily are trained on adversaries to monitor the movements of the American-backed Iraqi army, current and former U.S. officials say.”
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We always DID believe in spying on our own…
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:01 amMcWars Says: Obama simply doesn’t have to try too hard. I will not yank my vote for him, but his apparent endorsement of the immunity bill is shocking.
I’m okay with Obama being moderate on some issues – but lately he’s gone far rightwinger on the death penalty, FISA immunity, and expanding Bush’s faith-based initiatives.
Worries me that the taste of power has begun to turn him into Hillary Clinton… Sigh…
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:02 am#31 misshusseinmolly Says:
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is taking a 20-hour visit to Colombia, “a curious stop for an American presidential candidate.”
___________________________________________________________
Hey, he’s just campaigning all those American citizens who have retired there. It has absolutely nothing to do with Charles Black’s lobbying connections.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain…
Good Morning misshusseinmolly :)
I loved it when someone from the media asked him why he wasn’t taking Black on this trip. He deflected it by saying that he rotates his people, it’s too much for one person. That was a news flash to me, since when did this start occuring?
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:03 amIran’s oil minister, Gholam Hossein Nozari, warned today that if attacked, his country would “react fiercely, and nobody can imagine what would be the reaction of Iran.”
___________________________________________________
Why is it that we assume that all we have to do is bomb somebody and they will meekly give us anything we want? Generally, bombing somebody tends to p!ss them off. Bigtime.
When we were attacked on 9/11, our reaction (once we recovered from the initial stunned shock) was to go out for blood. It should not surprise us that Iran may react the same way if they are attacked. And they will use any weapon they have at their disposal, including their oil.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:05 am#32 McWars Says:
Good morning FR! Thanks for being the Today Show of TP!
It’s wonderful to see you ;) Your welcome.
Fiaz took me off the moderation list, with Zooey’s helped of course. I was getting sick and tired of being moderated off the site.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:06 amFreedom: Nothing Left to Lose?
Fortis Bank predicts US Financial market meltdown within weeks
(Fortis is a large bank and insurer in the Netherlands and Belgium.)
28th of June, 9:10
snip…
Royal Bank of Scotland Warns of Global Crash
Financial Times of London
The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks.
snip…
Barclays: “US central bank accused of unleashing an inflation shock that will rock financial markets.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Business Editor, Financial Times
“Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall “below zero”.
snip…
Ironically historians will record that it was another supply-side Republican who greased the skids under capitalism as we’ve known it. Like Moscow elites before him, George W. Bush and the neo-con ideologues he installed in high office, pursued policies that enriched themselves and the already rich who supported them. They lavished upon them over-generous tax cuts, government contracts and by gutting the regulatory machinery that had at least tried to keep the destructive appetites of these hyper-capitalists in check.
And unchecked those capitalists did what such bears do in the woods –and they did it all over working Americans. Home ownership has become a nightmare for millions. Easy consumer credit became indentured servitude. Automakers were allowed by Washington to sell cars and trucks with embarrassingly bad gas millage because they were more profitable. Those cars and trucks are now just another lodestone around the necks of struggling ordinary Americans. (Were they dumb to buy them in the first place? Yes. But dumb is why laws regulating self-destructive human behavior are necessary. After all, if everyone obeyed the speed limit there would be no need for highway cops.)
http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Freedom–Nothing-Left-to-L-by-Stephen-Pizzo-080701-650.html
**Long article with lots of important points. Sorry for the haphazard cutting and pasting, but I really wanted to show just how many economists from all over the world are alarmed by what we have let happen to our own economy. It’s bad enough thst we have raped the citizens of our own country financially but I am not sure that very many realize (or even care) tht we are taking the rest of the world down with us as well. Talk about rats deserting our sinking ship. At this point, I think the rats are pretty smart.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:08 amFreedom Rebel Says:
“I loved it when someone from the media asked him why he wasn’t taking Black on this trip. He deflected it by saying that he rotates his people, it’s too much for one person. That was a news flash to me, since when did this start occuring?”
Hasn’t Johnny boy been rotating women for years?
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:08 amIn other news:
A MN Judge declared WalMart guilty of forcing employees to work on breaks, ’shorting’ hours of pay and other niceties from the Country’s largest employer. Millions of dollars are at stake from a multitude of litigants.
This is the American Icon of ‘going cheap’ on their employees.
A WalMart spokesperson, naturally, said they would appeal.
This from the largest corporate welfare operation in the World.
‘We buy cheap, sell cheap and treat our employees cheap!’
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:09 amThe Washington Post reports, “More than 900 cases alleging that government contractors and drugmakers have defrauded taxpayers out of billions of dollars are languishing in a backlog that has built up over the past decade because the Justice Department cannot keep pace with the surge in charges brought by whistle-blowers.”
It’s sad that this kind of news, of BIG Corporations milking the middle class for billions, no longer shock me.
And conservatives wonder why we need more government. If only they could actually be the beacons of morality they claim to be…
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:09 amIn 2002, “an entire interrogation class” at Guantanamo Bay showing the effects of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners was based on “a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners.”
_____________________________________________________
So lemme get this straight. We train our interrogators on “coercive management techniques” that we KNOW result in false confessions. Yet we use them anyway.
Why? Just for the fun of it?
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:11 amZimzone Says: ‘We buy cheap, sell cheap and treat our employees cheap!’
So that they aren’t paying them holiday wages, Wal-Mart is forcing full-time employees to work 32 hour weeks, so that the holiday they work, adds up to 40 and they don’t get the holiday pay. Great place to work, huh?
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:13 am#38 And the beat goes on Says:
Talk about rats deserting our sinking ship. At this point, I think the rats are pretty smart.
Good to see you :)
I agree with you. Anything that helps them (Republicans)get richer they are for, and history is living proof of that and so is our current economic climate. You are being far to kind by calling them rats.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
We train our interrogators on “coercive management techniques” that we KNOW result in false confessions. Yet we use them anyway.Why? Just for the fun of it?
I always wondered what people into S&M did for careers… I think we know where some of them work now.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 am#39 Saint Augustine Says:
Hasn’t Johnny boy been rotating women for years?
In the true Republican way go for the richest available woman. You are right on that one Saint Augustine :)
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:17 amSen. Ted Kennedy’s (D-MA) office has begun “laying the groundwork for a new attempt to provide universal healthcare.” The plans signal that Kennedy “intends to work vigorously to build bipartisan support for a major healthcare initiative when he returns to Washington in the fall.”
_________________________________________________________
When an empathetic person gets a catastrophic illness, they often think of others in the same situation. I suspect that Kennedy has probably always thought of people who have been screwed by our current health care system, but his recent health experiences have probably allowed him to relate to the seriously ill in a way no one else can.
It kind of reminds me of Hubert Humphrey, who had terminal cancer of the bladder. He made himself available for any kind of experimental treatment that anybody wanted to do, because he said that while there was no hope for him, such experimentation might save someone else’s life down the line.
It takes a remarkable person to think of others during dire circumstances.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:19 amObama needs to turn left and keep his campaign going left and not worry about attracting uncommitted voters from the center, he will get the votes by staying left and on course with his campaign and the issues, it`s inevitable. FISA is a good case against going to the center, everyone knows and understands letting the telecoms off is not in the best interest of the country, I say fine them big time and let`s move on to righting the wrongs of the SHRUBS CRIME FAMILY….
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 am#44 Freedom Rebel Says:
Good to see you :)
Good to see all of you too! Just back from a blissful week on the California coast, north of San Francisco. No smoke or wildfires, thank goodness. It was so much fun listening to progressive radio since Sacramento lost it’s only station in February. We were able to get green960 there. Wish we could have spent another week there!
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:29 am“…below the average for such loans…”
It is amazing how the media, particularly the print media, can fail to continually misunderstand the English language. The term, “average” implies has no merit nor demerit. It is simply a mathematical term that describes the mid-point on a numbered spectrum. There are just as many below the average as above the average, by definition. The fact that Senator Obama has a home loan with an interest rate below the average rate at the time as do my wife and I conveys only one piece of usable information: we all have interest rates on our respective homes that are below average and nothing else. There are other uneducated Republican fools, (a triple redundancy that will immediately take the statement to mean that Senator Obama received special treatment to obtain something to which he was not entitled. I suggest they clean up their own (White) house before attempting to falsely degrade others.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:45 am#49 And the beat goes on Says:
I know what you mean, vacation sometimes are just too short. I’m glad you had such a good time. Great Post as always…:)
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:48 amCrusty Old Bastard Says:
“It is amazing how the media, particularly the print media, can fail to continually misunderstand the English language. The term, “average” implies has no merit nor demerit.”
Speaking of cleaning up one’s own house the above should read:
“It is amazing how the media, particularly the print media, can continually misunderstand the English language. The term, “average” implies no merit nor demerit…”
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:49 amThe Department of Justice situation sounds similar to DoD. DoD budget doubled under Bush but their Office of Inspector General did not expand. Bush/Cheney are clever enough to know if you don’t have accountants you don’t have to account for anything, if you don’t have police you don’t have to follow the law…
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:01 amGood morning FR :)
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:22 am“I do know these guys, I’ve been much more inside than I can probably even say until it’s over, but they’re going to be lethal until 11:59 am on January 20th, 2009. It’s not going to end with the election, no matter who wins. So, it’s really… there’s never been, never, in the history of our country, a government like this one never, nothing close.” – Sy Hersh
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:33 amLast Month at The Nation Institute event in NYC
#54 Exit Stage Left Says:
Good morning FR :)
On the Zoo thread yesterday we were talking about the FISA Bill and I wanted to see the research that John Dean had come up with. Just in case you are interested here is the link:
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/index.html
I still haven’t had a chance to read it all yet, plus I need to find the ACLU research on the topic also. It was so poorly written that it has taken days for both to pour through all of it.
I’m still very upset by this issue. I’m hoping Obama is listening to all the upset emails and phone calls he has been getting.
Have a good day Exit Stage Left :)
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:37 amMcIIIrd just sacked his campaign manager and replaced him with a Rove protege…
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:39 pmWatch out for the shit slinging our way!
Full story here
re: FISA overhaul
If it’s worth breaking the law over, it’s worth going to jail for.
Where’s the goddamned pride in these people?
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:47 pmWhen some troll says healthcare in the USA is the best in the world, and that Universal Healthcare or “socialized” only brings wait in line for treatment, slap him with this:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1033962,hosp070108.article
Video shows woman dying on psych floor in Brooklyn, N.Y.
July 1, 2008Recommend (5)
FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — City hospital officials promised reforms at a Brooklyn psychiatric ward where surveillance footage captured a woman falling from her chair, writhing on the floor and dying as workers watched without helping for more than an hour.
Esmin Green, 49, had been waiting in the emergency room for nearly 24 hours when she toppled from her seat at 5:32 a.m. on June 19, falling face down on the floor.
Beware, watching the video may be very moving…
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:38 pm