Citizen G'kar: Musings on Earth

December 31, 2004

TOP TEN WAR PROFITEERS OF 2004

Curious about who is making money in Iraq? Despite statements to the effect that Iraq is one of the most risky places to do business, there are business doing well because of Iraq. Unfortunately, the people of Iraq aren't benefiting much from the effort because of Bush's bumbling.

 

 [UNDERNEWS]

[From the Center for Corporate Policy]

1. AEGIS: In June, the Pentagon's Program Management Office in Iraq awarded a $293 million contract to coordinate security operations among thousands of private contractors to Aegis, a UK firm whose founder was once investigated for illegal arms smuggling. An inquiry by the British parliament into Sandline, Aegis head Tim Spicer's former firm, determined that the company had shipped guns to Sierra Leone in 1998 in violation of a UN arms embargo. Sandline's position was that it had approval from the British government, although British ministers were cleared by the inquiry. Spicer resigned from Sandline in 2000 and incorporated Aegis in 2002.

2. BEARING POINT: Critics find it ironic that Bearing Point, the former consulting division of KPMG, received a $240 million contract in 2003 to help develop Iraq's "competitive private sector," since it had a hand in the development of the contract itself. According to a March 22 report by AID's assistant inspector general Bruce Crandlemire, "Bearing Point's extensive involvement in the development of the Iraq economic reform program creates the appearance of unfair competitive advantage in the contract award process."

Bearing Point spent five months helping USAID write the job specifications and even sent some employees to Iraq to begin work before the contract was awarded, while its competitors had only a week to read the specifications and submit their own bids after final revisions were made. "No company who writes the specs for a contract should get the contract," says Keith Ashdown, the vice president of Washington, DC-based Taxpayers for Common Sense.

3. BECHTEL - Schools, hospitals, bridges, airports, water treatment plants, power plants, railroad, irrigation, electricity, etc. Bechtel was literally tasked with repairing much of Iraq's infrastructure, a job that was critical to winning hearts and minds after the war. To accomplish this, the company hired over 90 Iraqi subcontractors for at least 100 jobs. Most of these subcontracts involved rote maintenance and repair work, however, and for sophisticated work requiring considerable hands-on knowledge of the country's infrastructure, the company bypassed Iraqi engineers and managers.

Although Bechtel is not entirely to blame, the company has yet to meet virtually any of the major deadlines in its original contract. According to a June GAO report, "electrical service in the country as a while has not shown a marked improvement over the immediate postwar levels of May 2003 and has worsened in some governorates."

4. BKSH & ASSOCIATES - Chairman Charlie Black, is an old Bush family friend and prominent Republican lobbyist whose firm is affiliated with Burson Marsteller, the global public relations giant. Black was a key player in the Bush/Cheney 2000 campaign and together with his wife raised $100,000 for this year's reelection campaign.

BKSH clients with contracts in Iraq include Fluor International (whose ex-chair Phillip Carroll was tapped to head Iraq's oil ministry after the war, and whose board includes the wife of James Woolsey, the ex-CIA chief who was sent by Paul Wolfowitz before the war to convince European leaders of Saddam Hussein's ties to Al Qaeda). Fluor has won joint contracts worth up to $1.6 billion.

Another client is Cummins Engine, which has managed to sell its power generators thanks to the country's broken infrastructure.

Most prominent among BKSH's clients, however, is the Iraqi National Congress, whose leader Ahmed Chalabi was called the "George Washington of Iraq" by certain Pentagon neoconservatives before his fall from grace. BKSH's K. Riva Levinson was hired to handle the INC's U.S. public relations strategy in 1999. Hired by U.S. taxpayers, that is: Until July 2003, the company was paid $25,000 per month by the U.S. State Department to support the INC.

5. CACI AND TITAN - Although members of the military police face certain prosecution for the horrific treatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison, so far the corporate contractors have avoided any charges. Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba reported in an internal Army report that two CACI employees "were either directly or indirectly responsible" for abuses at the prison, including the use of dogs to threaten detainees and forced sexual abuse and other threats of violence. Another internal Army report suggested that Steven Stefanowicz, one of 27 CACI interrogators working for the Army in Iraq, "clearly knew [that] his instructions" to soldiers interrogating Iraqi prisoners "equated to physical abuse."

"Titan's role in Iraq is to serve as translators and interpreters for the U.S. Army," company CEO Gene Ray said, implying that news reports had inaccurately implied the employees' involvement in torture. "The company's contract is for linguists, not interrogators." But according to Joseph a. Neurauter, a GSA suspension and debarment official, CACI's role in designing its own Abu Ghraib contract "continues to be an open issue and a potential conflict of interest."

Nevertheless, the GSA and other agencies conducting their own investigations have yet to find a reason to suspend the company from any new contracts. As a result, in August the Army gave CACI another $15 million no-bid contract to continue providing interrogation services for intelligence gathering in Iraq; In September, the Army awarded Titan a contract worth up to $400 million for additional translators.

6. CUSTER BATTLES - At the end of September, the Defense Department suspended Custer Battles (the name comes from the company's two principle founders - Michael Battles and Scott Custer) and 13 associated individuals and affiliated corporations from all federal contracts for fraudulent billing practices involving the use of sham corporations
set up in Lebanon and the Cayman Islands. The CPA caught the company after it left a spreadsheet behind at a meeting with CPA employees. The spreadsheet revealed that the company had marked up certain expenses associated with a currency exchange contract by 162 percent.

7. HALLIBURTON: In December Congressman Waxman (D-CA), announced that "a growing list of concern's about Halliburton's performance" on contracts that total $10.8 billion have led to multiple criminal investigations into overcharging and kickbacks. In nine different reports, government auditors have found "widespread, systemic problems with almost every aspect of Halliburton's work in Iraq, from cost estimation and billing systems to cost control and subcontract management." Six former employees have come forward, corroborating the auditors' concerns.

Another "H-bomb" dropped just before the election, when a top contracting official responsible for ensuring that the Army Corps of Engineers follows competitive contracting rules accused top Pentagon officials of improperly favoring Halliburton in an early-contract before the occupation. Bunnatine Greenhouse says that when the Pentagon awarded the company a 5-year oil-related contract worth up to $7 billion, it pressured her to withdraw her objections, actions that she said were unprecedented in her experience.

8. LOCKHEED MARTIN - Lockheed Martin remains the king among war profiteers, raking in $21.9 billion in Pentagon contracts in 2003 alone. With satellites and planes, missiles and IT systems, the company has profited from just about every phase of the war except for the reconstruction. The company's stock has tripled since 2000 to just over $60.

Lockheed is helping Donald Rumsfeld's global warfare system (called the Global Information Grid), a new integrated tech-heavy system that the company promises will change transform the nature of war. In fact, the large defense conglomerate's sophistication in areas as diverse as space systems, aeronautics and information and technology will allow it to play a leading role in the development of new weapons systems for decades to come, including a planned highly-secure military Internet, a spaced-based missile defense system and next-generation warplanes such as the F-22 (currently in production) and the Joint Strike Fighter F-35.

E.C. Aldridge Jr., the former undersecretary of defense for acquisitions and procurement, gave final approval to begin building the F-35 in 2001, a decision worth $200 billion to the company. Although he soon left the Pentagon to join Lockheed's board, Aldridge continues to straddle the public-private divide, Donald Rumsfeld appointed him to a blue-ribbon panel studying weapons systems.

Former Lockheed lobbyists and employees include the current secretary of the Navy, Gordon England, secretary of transportation Norm Mineta (a former Lockheed vice president) and Stephen J. Hadley, Bush's proposed successor to Condoleeza Rice as his next national security advisor.

Not only are Lockheed executives commonly represented on the Pentagon various advisory boards, but the company is also tied into various security think tanks, including neoconservative networks. For example, Lockheed VP Bruce Jackson (who helped draft the Republican foreign policy platform in 2000) is a key player at the neo-conservative planning bastion known as the Project for a New American Century.

LORAL SATELLITE - In the buildup to the war the Pentagon bought up access to numerous commercial satellites to bolster its own orbiting space fleet. U.S. armed forces needed the extra spaced-based capacity to be able to guide its many missiles and transmit huge amounts of data to planes (including unmanned Predator drones flown remotely by pilots who may be halfway around the world), guide missiles and troops on the ground.

Industry experts say the war on terror literally saved some satellite operators from bankruptcy. The Pentagon "is hovering up all the available capacity" to supplement its three orbiting satellite fleets, Richard DalBello, president of the Satellite Industry Association explained to the Washington Post. The industry's other customers - broadcast networks competing for satellite time - were left to scramble for the remaining bandwidth.

Loral Space & Communications Chairman Bernard L. Schwartz is very tight with the neoconservative hawks in the Bush administration's foreign policy ranks, and is the principal funder of Blueprint, the newsletter of the Democratic Leadership Council.

In the end, the profits from the war in Iraq didn't end up being as huge for the industry as expected, and certainly weren't enough to compensate for a sharp downturn in the commercial market. But more help may be on its way. The Pentagon announced in November that it would create a new global Intranet for the military that would take two decades and hundreds of billions of dollars to build. Satellites, of course, will play a key part in that integrated global weapons system.

10. QUALCOMM: Two CPA officials resigned this year after claiming they were pressured by John Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for technology security to change an Iraqi police radio contract to favor Qualcomm's patented cellular technology, a move that critics say was intended to lock the technology in as the standard for the entire country. Iraq's cellular market is potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues for the company, and potentially much more should it establish a standard for the region. Shaw's efforts to override contracting officials delayed an emergency radio contract, depriving Iraqi police officers, firefighters, ambulance drivers and border guards of a joint communications system for months.

Shaw says he was urged to push Qualcomm's technology by Rep. Darrell E. Issa, a Republican whose San Diego County district includes Qualcomm's headquarters. Issa, who received $5,000 in campaign contributions from Qualcomm employees from 2003 to 2004, sits on the House Small Business Committee, and previously tried to help the company by sponsoring a bill that would have required the military to use its CDMA technology.

"Hundreds of thousands of American jobs depend on the success of U.S.-developed wireless technologies like CDMA," Issa claimed in a letter to Donald Rumsfeld. But the Pentagon doesn't seem to be buying the argument. The DoD's inspector general has asked the FBI to investigate Shaw's activities.

Was Bush's Second Term Stolen?

Thanks to Preemptive Karma for this link. It seems that there is plenty of evidence around that both the Ohio and the New Mexico presidential vote was tampered with to the extent that is could have changed the result. The most interesting fact is the Kerry's promise to make sure every vote was counted was empty. His campaign initiated only one lawsuit in one county in Ohio. The lawyer hired by the Kerry campaign said there was no evidence of fraud.

Ohio's official non-recount ends amidst new evidence of fraud, theft and judicial contempt mirrored in New Mexico

The Ohio presidential recount was officially terminated Tuesday, December 28.
But the end comes amidst bitter dispute over official certification of impossible voter turnout numbers, over the refusal of Ohio's Republican Supreme Court Chief Justice to recuse himself from crucial court challenges involving his own re-election campaign, over the Republican Secretary of State's refusal to testify under subpoena, over apparent tampering with tabulation machines, over more than 100,000 provisional and machine-rejected ballots left uncounted, over major discrepancies in certified vote counts and turnout ratios, and over a wide range of unresolved disputes that continue to leave the true outcome of Ohio's presidential vote in serious doubt.


Bush Blinks

It seems Bush can learn from experience. Or at least someone in the Justice Department can. The Administration has backed off its assertion that the President can authorize torture. And they have broadened the definition of torture to be consistent with the US Law and at least closer to international law.
CBS News | Bush Admin. Redefines 'Torture' | December 31, 2004 05:00:27
The Justice Department is issuing a rewritten legal memo on the definition of torture, backing away from its own assertions prior to the Iraqi prison abuse scandal that torture had to involve "excruciating and agonizing pain." The 17-page document states flatly that torture violates U.S. and international law and omits two of the most controversial assertions made in now-disavowed 2002 Justice Department documents: that President Bush, as commander in chief in wartime, had authority superseding U.S. anti-torture laws and that U.S. personnel had several legal defenses against criminal liability in such cases. "Consideration of the bounds of any such authority would be inconsistent with the president's unequivocal directive that United States personnel not engage in torture," said the memo from Daniel Levin, acting chief of the Office of Legal Counsel, to Deputy Attorney General James Comey. Critics in Congress and many legal experts say the original documents set up a legal framework that led to abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, in Afghanistan and at the U.S. prison camp for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After the Iraqi prison abuses came to light, the Justice Department in June disavowed its previous legal reasoning and set to work on the replacement document to be released Friday.


December 30, 2004

China's angry young focus their hatred on old enemy

 [The Agonist]


China's angry young focus their hatred on old enemy Justin McCurry & Jonathan Watts | Tokyo &  Beijing | December 30The Guardian -  At 27 years old, Song Yangbiao is already earning a salary that his parents can only have dreamed of. He is better educated, more widely traveled and can expect to live a longer, healthier, wealthier life than any generation in Chinese history. You might think he is also more content. You would be wrong. Mr. Song is not happy. He is furious at Japan. Every day on the "My View of Japan" bulletin board, Mr. Song and his contributors post reports of perceived slights by their neighbors, who are referred to at least once as "shitty little Japanese". Many predict that military conflict is inevitable, and some wish it would come sooner rather than later. "I'm 30 and a fire burns in my heart," writes one contributor. "Only war can extinguish these flames."



Officials: Iraq Edges Towards Civil War

 [The Agonist]

Officials:  Iraq Edges Towards Civil War New York | December 28UPI - Iraq faces the prospect of civil war as Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's government loses credibility and violence against U.S. forces increases, according to almost a half dozen former and serving administration officials. "We are starting to play the ethnic card in Iraq, just as the Soviets played it in Afghanistan," said former CIA chief of Afghanistan operation Milt Bearden.   "You only play it when you're losing and by playing it, you simply speed up the process of losing," he said.

Surprise surprise. Iraq's American puppet had credibility to start? Violence has been increasing since late last summer. The ethnic card has been played also since the invasion began. Baathist, almost all Sunni were excluded from the beginning. Bremer dug up a few token Sunnis they could control, but that's about it.



December 29, 2004

WELCOME BACK, FALLUJANS

We had to destroy the village to save it.

 [UNDERNEWS]

UN IRIN NEWS SERVICE - Residents of Fallujah, devastated by a heavy US-led attack in November, are gradually beginning to return to their homes. But for the vast majority there is little left to go back to.

Since getting the go-ahead from coalition forces on 23 December to return to the city, nearly 4,000 residents who were displaced by the fighting have returned to their homes.

But these numbers are tiny compared with the total pre-attack population of almost 300,000, the majority of whom fled before the fighting began on 8 November. Many other families have returned to check their houses only to leave again after finding that they had been destroyed. . .

The Minister of Security, Kassim Daoud, told IRIN that people were insisting on returning to their homes even with ongoing clashes in the city, which lies 60 km west of Baghdad, and unexploded ordinance in the streets.

The first residents to be given the green light to return were those from the western district of Andalus, which was reported to have been in better condition than many others. On the first day, those returning had their fingerprints checked and their irises scanned to try to ensure that no insurgents were returning. But checks have eased since then, with residents required to show only their ID and ration cards. . .

In the city as a whole, the two main library buildings have been burned and schools and medical clinics have been all but destroyed and are unable to function. . . There is no water or electricity and the sewerage system has also suffered heavy damage, which is likely to cause the spread of diseases, medical representatives in the city said. . .

Those who decide to stay must obtain photo ID badges from the US checkpoint. At the same time they are told by the US forces that troops are unable to provide security for all and are advised to adhere strictly to the curfew which runs from 1800 to 0600. . .

Families will also receive a monthly food ration food from the government, which has also said it will give each returnee US $100 in compensation.

DON'T BASH THOSE WHOSE VOTES YOU NEED

I must say I hadn't thought of this. I guess we need to look in a mirror once and a while and consider just how moral and honorable we are.

 [UNDERNEWS]

There has been a stunning increase in class-based arrogance and disparagement by liberals towards large blocs of voters: red staters, fly overs, evangelicals, etc. For a species that prides itself on avoiding stereotypes this is a bit hypocritical. Worse, it is terrible politics. Just a more respectful attitude might have gained some of those missing three million votes in the last election.

Martin Luther King reminded his aides that among their goals was that the people they were opposing would one day be their friends. Progressives should take the same approach towards those they now disagree with. Among them, for example, may be the basis of a new coalition when the Bush economy truly begins to fall apart.

So liberals need to cut out the Michael Moore-type bashing and demonstrate respect for all Americans, even ones with whom you disagree. One good way to do this: go after to the big guys - the rightwing pols, hypocritical preachers and so forth - but leave the little guys alone. Remember: if want to win elections rather than merely feel superior, you're going to need their votes.

MORE THINGS TO DO IN THE BAD TIMES

AMERICAN MUSLIMS HARASSED AT CANADIAN BORDER

Ever had doubts that Muslim Americans might be mistreated for only one reason? They attended a Muslim conference. They were held until they agreed to be fingerprinted or jailed. I bet they think twice about visiting acquaintances they don't know well where their fingerprints might turn up. Its only a matter of time that most of us will be at risk for having our rights violated in the interest of security.

 [UNDERNEWS]

COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS - CAIR has asked for a formal investigation by the Department of Homeland Security into an incident at the Canadian border in which American Muslim citizens were apparently singled out for special security checks based on their attendance at an Islamic conference and then held until they agreed to be fingerprinted.

A number of the up to 40 Muslims who were singled out for questioning and fingerprinting told CAIR that they were returning from a weekend Islamic conference of more than 10,000 in Toronto when they were stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at the Lewiston Bridge crossing near Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Several of the Muslim citizens held at the border for up to six hours on Sunday night and Monday morning told CAIR they objected strenuously to being fingerprinted, but were informed by CBP representatives that "you have no rights" and that they would be held until they agreed to the fingerprinting procedure. One person was allegedly threatened with arrest if she attempted to leave the detention area without being fingerprinted.

CBP officials on the scene cited "orders from above" to justify their actions. One CBP official reportedly agreed with a Muslim traveler that "it would not look good" if the news media saw the detention area filled exclusively with Muslims in Islamic attire. CAIR is investigating similar reports of demands for fingerprinting of conference attendees at other border crossings.

When contacted by CAIR, a CBP spokesman in Washington, D.C., initially said fingerprinting of American citizens would be a "violation of policy." He later said fingerprinting would be allowed "if there was a law enforcement reason for doing so," but would not state what that reason might be.

Media reports on the incident quote CBP officials as saying some of the Muslim citizens who were fingerprinted had names similar to those on watch lists. But that claim does not explain why everyone in the group of conference attendees, even Muslim converts, were fingerprinted.

House Ethics Panel Chief May Be Replaced

[The Agonist]

House Ethics Panel Chief May Be Replaced - Mike Allen | Washington DC | December 28 | Washington Post - House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert is leaning toward removing the House ethics committee chairman, who admonished House Majority Leader Tom DeLay this fall and has said he will treat DeLay like any other member, several Republican aides said yesterday. Although Hastert (Ill.) has not made a decision, the expectation among leadership aides is that the chairman, Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), long at odds with party leaders because of his independence, will be replaced when Congress convenes next week.


It's disturbing to see just what the Republican Leadership think they can get away with. Apparently they believe that they will not be held accountable by the voters. The only way I can imagine how they could get away with it is that the average voter doesn't bother to be fully informed. Very scary!



Justice at Guantanamo is a Sham

The Bush Administration in no way wishes to give up their political prisoners. Worse yet, they've turned our sons and daughters into torturers. Will this Country ever be the same? Are we headed down the slippery slope of facsism?
Details of Guantanamo Detentions Emerge; Most Captives Remain Far From Release - from TBO.com
Only two detainees have been released by the Combatant Status Review Tribunals the Pentagon set up in response to one of two June decisions on detainees by the Supreme Court. One of the rulings opened the door for foreigners detained as enemy combatants to challenge their imprisonment at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. With more than 510 hearings completed, the military panels have repeatedly ordered continued detention. "So far, it's a disaster" for detainees seeking release, said Eugene Fidell, a Washington attorney who specializes in military law. "The due process has been illusory." ....In the lawsuits, detainees want federal judges to order the Pentagon to let them have lawyers at the tribunal hearings, see secret evidence against them, and exclude evidence gained by torture or to have civilian U.S. courts hear their cases....But Boyle acknowledged that the U.S. military's worldwide effort to seize al-Qaida supporters hypothetically could detain a "little old lady in Switzerland" who donated money to a charity that she didn't know was an al-Qaida front group.


December 28, 2004

Will the DNC Chicken Out?

It seems that the Democratic National Committee has lost its nerve. They reason that since America is voting conservative, the Democratic Party has to become the party of the center. While I must admit that I've entertained this thought after the defeat of Kerry, after reading my fellow bloggers thoughts on the topics it dawned on me that the reactionary policies of the Bush Administration are not supported by the mainstream of America, not even those that voted for him! His extremist views were excused based on a vision of the world and America's future the electorate could understand. Kerry came off as little more than a politician. People don't want to hear complex explanations for complex issues. They want to understand the issues with the "gut test". Kerry failed the "gut test". So it seems the DNC missed this altogether, and are reaching for a gutless position dead center on the issues. Except I wouldn't call this guy centrist. He doesn't sound like a Democrat any more than Jesse Helms ever did.
Dean has a way of reaching to into the gut with his style. He has charisma that Kerry only dreamed about. He has a cohesive plan that makes sense, that will present an understandable alternative to the extremist policies of the Republicans. Even if the electorate doesn't agree with all the details, Dean's ideas will likely pass the "gut test" better than Bush's policies which is beginning to fail the "stink test" even for Republicans.
CNN.com - Sources: Reid, Pelosi backing Roemer for DNC chair - Dec 14, 2004
Amid strong competition over who will lead the party as the next Democratic National Committee chairman, former Indiana congressman and 9/11 commission member Tim Roemer has emerged as a possible new candidate. He has the strong backing of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, senior party sources told CNN Tuesday.

Sounds innocuous doesn't it? But wait, TR is no average Democrat. He could be standing up there with Bush on topics like abortion and Social Security like Lieberman has on Iraq and Homeland Security. Take a look at this guys voting record. Talk about Republican-lite!
Here is Tim Roemer on some more issues:
  • Voted YES on banning human cloning, including medical research. (Jul 2001)

  • Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)

  • Voted YES on federal crime to harm fetus while committing other crimes. (Apr 2001)

  • Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortions. (Apr 2000)

  • Voted YES on barring transporting minors to get an abortion. (Jun 1999)

  • Voted YES on Constitutional amendment prohibiting Flag Desecration. (Jul 2001)

  • Voted NO on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons. (Jun 2000)

  • Voted YES on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime. (Jun 1999)

  • Voted NO on maintaining right of habeus corpus in Death Penalty Appeals. (Mar 1996)

  • Voted YES on making federal death penalty appeals harder. (Feb 1995)

  • Voted NO on raising CAFE standards; incentives for alternative fuels. (Aug 2001)

  • Voted NO on banning soft money donations to national political parties. (Jul 2001)

  • Voted NO on allowing suing HMOs, but under federal rules & limited award. (Aug 2001)

  • Voted NO on Prescription Drug Coverage under Medicare. (Jun 2000)

  • Voted YES on banning physician-assisted suicide. (Oct 1999)

  • Voted YES on deploying SDI (Star Wars Missile Defense). (Mar 1999)

  • Member of Democratic Leadership Council. (Nov 2000)


  • Near 60,000 Dead from Tsunami Disaster

    The breadth of the Indian Ocean disaster is beyond comprehension. Informed sources believe the death toll related directly to the tsunami is headed for 100,000. The homeless are already in the millions. Virtually all of the homeless face contaminated water as their only source. Cholera and other diseases of sanitation could break out any time and tens of thousands more could die. While this is not the kind of cataclysm the world is capable of in a worldwide disaster that threatens the survival of the human race, but it is cut of the same cloth. Our most enthusiastic response for donations and coordinated relief will same tens of thousands of lives. But no matter what we do, tens of thousands more will die. There is nothing we can do about that. We are nearly helpless in this scale of disaster.

     

    Increase the scale of this disaster into another region involving the developed world, the fabric of the world economy is threatened. And, any serious relief effort becomes spotty. Many places receive no help at all beyond local efforts. Move the disaster deep into the developed world, into more than one region, effectively, the world economy collapses and becomes regional. Parts of the world spared by the disaster take care of themselves because doing anything more will do further damage to their economy. Huge parts of the world degenerate into chaos, government breaks down in any kind of comprehensive sense. Anarchy becomes more prominent than rule of law.

     

    At a regional level, government is threatened with breakdown now in the Indian Ocean region. Local government is fractured in the affected areas. National government efforts are spotty at best. It will be years before this break down of order is completely restored. Collateral casualties will certainly be in the hundreds of thousands, very likely the millions.

     

     [Daily Kos]

    Update [2004-12-28 19:18:17 by Armando]:

    The reported deaths from the disaster climbed today to more than 50,000, with some reports placing the number near 60,000, as Sri Lanka and Indonesia increased their confirmed tolls.

    Update [2004-12-28 19:18:17 by Armando]:More Donation Links.

    The number of deaths makes you tremble:

    Survivors of the gigantic undersea earthquake on Sunday that swallowed coastlines from Indonesia to Africa - which officials now describe as one of the worst natural disasters in recent history - recovered bodies today, hurriedly arranged for mass burials and searched for tens of thousands of the missing in countries thousands of miles apart.

    The reported deaths from the disaster - which climbed today to about 44000, with many still unaccounted for, as Sri Lanka and Indonesia increased their confirmed tolls - came into sharper relief on a day when it seemed increasingly clear that at least a third of the dead were children, according to estimates by aid officials.

    The International Committee of the Red Cross and government officials here, as well as those in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, the Maldives and as far away as Somalia, warned that with hundreds of thousands of people stranded in the open without clean drinking water, epidemics of cholera and other waterborne diseases could take as many lives as the initial waves.

    Images from around the region presented a tableau of unrelenting grief. Fathers and mothers wailed over drowned children. Bodies were arrayed in long rows in hastily dug trenches. Villagers sat by ruined homes, stunned. Hotels in some of Thailand's most luxurious resorts were turned into morgues.

    "This may be the worst natural disaster in recent history because it is affecting so many heavily populated coastal areas," said Jan Egeland, the emergency relief coordinator for the United Nations, speaking at a news conference in New York.

    This is gut wrenching.

    A Third Were Children

    The reported deaths from the disaster - which climbed today to about 44,000, with many still unaccounted for, as Sri Lanka and Indonesia increased their confirmed tolls - came into sharper relief on a day when it seemed increasingly clear that at least a third of the dead were children, according to estimates by aid officials. Images from around the region presented a tableau of unrelenting grief. Fathers and mothers wailed over drowned children.

    Amateur videotape played on television showed terrifying scenes from several countries of huge walls of water crashing through palm trees and over the tops of buildings and roaring up coastal streets with cars and debris bobbing on the surface. To backdrops of screams and shouts, people were shown clinging to buildings, being swept away by the current, running for their lives, weeping, carrying the injured and cradling dead children.

    Words fail.

    Update [2004-12-28 11:44:17 by Armando]:

    IRC Donations.

    Oxfam.

    India Relief.

    December 27, 2004

    One man's retirement math: Social Security wins

     [The Agonist]

    One man's retirement math: Social Security wins - David R. Francis | December 27 - Christian Science Monitor - For 45 years, (Stanley Logue, a defense-industry analyst) paid into the system until his retirement in 1994. But with all the recent hoopla over reform, Mr. Logue, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, decided to go back and check his own records. Would he have done better investing his money than the bureaucrats at the Social Security Administration? He recorded all the payroll taxes he paid into the system (including the matching amount from his employer), tracked down the return the Social Security Trust Fund earned for each of the 45 years, and then compared the result with what he would have gotten had he been able to invest the same amount of payroll tax money over the same period in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (including dividends). To his surprise, the Social Security investment won out: $261,372 versus $255,499, a difference of $5,873.

     

    What the Bush Administration is not telling you is that the real reason he wants to privatize Social Security is to give his constituency, the rich, the option out of funding the middle class Social Security benefit. They can well afford their own. And so should the middle-class according to the Bush line of reasoning. Can you afford to fund your own retirement plan? Most of us would expect poverty in retirement if we did.



    Russia, China to Hold Unprecedented Joint Military Maneuvers Next Year

     [The Agonist]

    Russia, China to Hold Unprecedented Joint Military Maneuvers Next Year - Vladimir Isachenkov | Moscow | December 27AP - Russia and China will hold unprecedented joint military maneuvers on Chinese territory next year involving both nations' air forces and navies, Russia's defense minister on Monday. Sergei Ivanov, speaking at a Cabinet session chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said that the exercise would involve submarines and possibly strategic bombers, the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies reported.

     

    Did the Bush Administration even imagine this kind of result when he sparked a new cold war with a purely fanciful ineffective Star Wars missile defense system? I am sure China and Russia are concerned about the neo-conservatives openly stated intention to move militarily into central Asia. With whose Army? The one that's bogged down in Iraq?



    China vows to prevent Taiwan independence

     [The Agonist]

    China vows to prevent Taiwan independence John Ruwitch | Beijing | December 27Reuters -  China's military will crush any major moves towards independence by Taiwan no matter what the cost, said a government policy paper that accused Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian of escalating tension. The paper on defence was released on Monday as China's parliament discussed a draft anti-secession law that analysts say may contain clauses that would legally bind Beijing to take military action if the island Beijing claims as a renegade province ever declares independence. "Should the Taiwan authorities go so far as to make a reckless attempt that constitutes a major incident of 'Taiwan independence', the Chinese people and armed forces will resolutely and thoroughly crush it at any cost," the paper said.

     

    I can't help but wonder if neo-conservatives really think the US can restrain China from preventing Taiwan's independence? A country with ¼ of the world's population headed towards eclipsing the US economy in the next decade could hardly be contained by a weakened US. Bush has squandered what military and economic health we have on a personal adventure in Iraq.



    December 26, 2004

    TSUNAMI HITS SOUTH ASIA: 21,000 DEAD

    Cosa Nostradamus has all the latest links on the huge earthquate in Indonesia and one of the biggest Tsunamis in history killing at least 11,000 people this morning. Millions are homeless in an area rinking the eastern Indian Ocean. Donation links are included.
    Blog Me No Blogs: TSUNAMI HITS SOUTH ASIA
    An undersea tremor registering an historic 8.9 on the Richter scale hit north of Indonesia, near Sumatra and the Andaman Islands at 07:59 am local time (00:59gmt) this morning. It was the fifth largest quake anywhere in a hundred years. Walls of water thirty feet high or more hit populated areas in Malaysia, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, wiping out fishing villages and tourist resorts in the Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand. At least [twenty-one] thousand are dead in coastal areas of South Asia and on low-lying islands in the South Pacific, South China Sea, Sea of Andaman, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. Many hundreds more locals and tourists may have been lost, and remain unaccounted for at this hour. It is one of the worst tsunami's in history, surpassing the New Guinea tidal waves of 1998, which killed over three thousand people. The worst tsunami ever recorded killed 30,000 in Java in 1883, after the eruption of Krakatoa.

    Radical Militants on Planet al-Qaeda Wanted Bush t...

    [Informed Comment]Radical Militants on Planet al-Qaeda Wanted Bush to Win US Election

    Georges Malbrunot, one of two French journalists recently released by radical Muslim fundamentalists in Iraq, spoke to CNN on Friday:
    Malbrunot quoted his captors as saying Bush's re-election "would improve our ability to fight . . . We vote for Bush because Bush help us a lot by intervening in Afghanistan. So, from that point we could spread all over the world and we are now in 60 countries," Malbrunot cited one of the militants as saying on October 15, two weeks before Bush defeated Democrat John Kerry. Malbrunot, 41, quoted the same militant as saying: "Our main targets are Saudi Arabia and Egypt. And because of Bush, if he is re-elected, we are sure that American soldiers will remain in Iraq for years."

    Malbrunot said that the group that held him was not Iraqi nationalists but rather internationalist jihadis and that he felt as though he were on Planet Bin Laden while in captivity.

    Actually, that the radical Muslim fundamentalists much preferred that Bush win was self-evident, since Bin Laden and his fellow travellers want to sharpen contradictions between the Muslim world and the West. It is in that extreme polarization that they know they will find the best chance to pose as champions of Islam and ultimately to take over. They know very well that Bush has decided to make a long-term US push into the Muslim world, involving probably several wars and more occupations. If Bush had stopped with Afghanistan and rebuilt the country properly, he could have dealt a death blow to al-Qaeda. By occupying Iraq militarily, he has given al-Qaeda unprecedented access to the Sunni Arabs (and some Kurds and Turkmen) of Iraq. They hope to use this new base not only to roil Iraq but ultimately to throw Saudi Arabia into turmoil, as well. It is not that far from Mosul to Jidda, where al-Qaeda recently attacked the US consulate in revenge for the assault on Fallujah. Three years ago, an al-Qaeda attack on a US consulate in Saudi Arabia would have horrified most Saudis. Now? I'm not so sure.

    Juan Cole has an interesting note on comments made by one of the French journalists held in Iraq by internationalist jihadis. Osama needed a focal point for his ambitions to drive towards a worldwide caliphate, a new Islamic Empire. He needed a new Crusade to show the Muslims of the world that racism and religious intolerance lies just below the surface in the West. Bush was enthusiastic in his response. By attacking the World Trade Center twice, once he flubbed badly, the second time he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. He has unearthed the Great Satan enemy Muslims have been warned about. A new Crusade has begun. Right wing Christians see it as the beginning of the end and stoke the fires of war to bring on the Rapture. Civilization may well hang in the balance.


    This is a very sick world. Perhaps we shall find out if we deserve to live here.



    Yushchenko 'leads Ukraine poll'

    [BBC News | World | UK Edition]  Exit polls in Ukraine's presidential re-run suggest the opposition leader has won by a wide margin.

    Lets hope that Putin plans on keeping his mitts out of this one.

    The glass is half empty: Americans and Civil Rights for Muslims

    [kuro5hin.org] - The Media and Society Research Group of Cornell University conducted a survey in November of Americans with respect to their attitudes towards Muslims. Nearly half (44%) of respondents favored restricting the civil rights of Muslims in some way.

    So nearly half of America want to deny basic rights from Muslims just because of their religion. These are very scary times. What else can one do than talk about it every chance you get?

    December 25, 2004

    Green Light on Judiciary Junkets

    Green Light on Junkets (washingtonpost.com)
    FOR YEARS, federal judges have been defending their predilection for educational junkets: all-expense-paid trips to resorts to attend ideologically tilted seminars funded by organizations that also fund litigation in federal courts. The appearance is dreadful, creating embarrassing problems for individual judges. Yet the judiciary has indignantly refused to impose reasonable standards limiting this practice. In May 2003, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) finally got judges' attention by threatening legislation. Members of the judiciary's administrative arm persuaded him to defer his bill -- as he put it in a statement at the time -- "to allow the judiciary further opportunity to propose self-regulation on these important ethical issues." Since then, the judiciary has indeed amended the ethical advice it gives judges concerning these seminars, but it weakened controls. Its revised opinion makes it easier for judges to attend seminars in more ethically dicey situations and easier to hide who's paying for the trips.

    This is not something I wanted to hear. Now our "honorable" judiciary it seems is engaging in the same slimy interest pandering that besmirches our legislative and executive branches. I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised. After all, one would think capitalism breeds corruption. Liaise Faire capitalism breeds deep corruption.

    A Change of Strategy In Iraq: It May Not Be Too Late

    Think tanks from around the world have been trying to convince this Administration since before the Iraq invasion of the risks of the Bush strategy. Well, the stories have been pretty consistent since this summer. At least this think tank thinks it may not be too late.
    International Crisis Group (ICG) - Conflict prevention and resolution
    In Iraq, the U.S. is engaged in a war it already may have lost while losing sight of a struggle in which it still may have time to prevail. Its initial objective was to turn Iraq into a model for the region: a democratic, secular and free-market oriented government, sympathetic to U.S. interests, not openly hostile toward Israel, and possibly home to long-term American military bases. But hostility toward the U.S. and suspicion of its intentions among large numbers of Iraqis have progressed so far that this is virtually out of reach. More than that, the pursuit has become an obstacle to realisation of the most essential, achievable goal -- a stable government viewed by its people as credible, representative and the embodiment of national interests as well as capable of addressing their basic needs. That does not mean the war is over or its outcome predetermined. Nor does it mean, as some have suggested, that the U.S. ought to rapidly withdraw, for that would come at great cost to its own strategic interests, to the Iraqi people and potentially to the stability of the region as a whole. Rather, it means that Washington must grasp the extent to which the ground beneath its feet has shifted since the onset of the occupation and develop a comprehensive strategy and timetable adapted to this reality if it wants a chance to salvage the situation. And it means that the tactical achievements regularly trumpeted -- the re-occupation of insurgent sanctuaries; increased training of Iraqi security forces; formal adherence to decrees passed by the Coalition Provisional Authority and to the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL); the transfer of sovereignty; Prime Minister Allawi's generally pro-American policy and pronouncements; and even the timely conduct of national elections if that happens -- are for the most part Pyrrhic victories in a struggle that has moved on.


    December 24, 2004

    Support the Troops this Holiday Season

    Want to do something for the troops? Given a bunch of them a call home to their families this holiday season. After you do that, read and weep about what Bush is doing for the troops:
    Daily Kos :: F You! You support the troops.
    Did you know that 6.8 million veterans choose the VA as their health care provider? OK, forget about them if you must (although I will not). Now think about the thousands that are coming home wounded and disfigured physically AND mentally for the rest of their lives. They will need health care right? Too bad. At least 250,000 veterans are forced to wait for their disability claims to be resolved by the Veterans Administration (VA). Sometimes up to two years. Despite the fact that thousands of veterans returning from Iraq will file disability claims, the FY 2005 budget reduces to number of staff responsible for processing those claims. In an effort to "restructure" to VA, the Bush Administration announced the closing of seven hospitals. (NY, PA, KY, OH, MS, CA, TX) That's a total of approx. 5,800 beds nationwide. A 2002 study showed that 150,000 veterans wait more than six months for an appointment for primary care. Oh yeah, here is the kicker. For every dollar in disability these wounded warriors will collect, they will have to forgo a dollar of their Social Security benefits. How is that for one last kick in the ass? Democrats have fought to end this. It's something called "mandatory funding." Or obligatory funding, or even gauranteed funding. Take your pick. It would ensure that funding for veterans benefits is MANDATORY in budgets passed by the United States Congress. But Republicans wouldn't even let it come to a vote on the floor in the House or the Senate last year. Here are the bills: Senate Bill 50, The Veterans Health Care Gaurantee Act. And HR 2318 The Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act. Let me leave you with a quote from a historic American that knew a little something about being Commander in Chief.
    "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how the perceive Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation." - George Washington


    The Price of Peace in the Congo

    UN Peacekeepers abandoned their usual passive role and struck a blow for peace in the Congo.... and it didn't cost so much at all. No one expects it always to come about so easily, but it does show that peacekeepers can have a more active role and be effective without starting an all out war.
    International > Africa > Novelty in Congo: U.N. Investigates a Massacre" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/24/international/africa/24congo.html?oref=login&oref=login&oref=login">The New York Times > International > Africa > Novelty in Congo: U.N. Investigates a Massacre
    Concerned about the rising abuses, United Nations peacekeepers, most from Nepal, surrounded the militia base on the hill overlooking the town in early December and ordered the fighters to surrender. When they refused, the two sides exchanged fire, with the guerrillas eventually breaking through the soldiers' line and retreating. It was the largest military engagement involving Congo peacekeepers since they were deployed here in 2000, United Nations officials said. It was followed by a raid on another militia camp 12 miles away, in Mahagi. In that case, the militias retreated even more swiftly. The results have been startling. Ndrele has settled into something resembling normalcy. On a recent market day, thousands of people from surrounding villages swarmed into town under the watchful eye of the peacekeepers. One man whose son had been killed by the militia years ago said it was the first time in five years he had dared come to Ndrele. The women in the market said that they were selling more than ever and that, best of all, they no longer had to share their wares and their profits with the militias. Besides reassuring residents, the raid instilled fear in the militiamen. More than 100 have come to a disarmament camp that the United Nations set up in September to reintegrate combatants into society.


    December 23, 2004

    US Mining Firm: Mercury Emitted in Indonesia

    Firm: Mercury Emitted in Indonesia (washingtonpost.com)
    A U.S. mining company acknowledged Wednesday that it released tons of mercury into the air and water over five years at one of its gold mines in Indonesia but denied causing harm to anyone's health. The acknowledgment by Newmont Mining Corp. is its latest setback in a six-month battle to defend itself against allegations that it polluted the area. Indonesian police have accused the company's local subsidiary, Newmont Minahasa Raya, of dumping heavy metals into Buyat Bay, causing residents to develop skin diseases and tumors.

    And Americans wonder why there are so many people who hate Americans? What about the people of Bhopal who died by the 10s of thousands twenty years ago and are still dying so Union Carbide could enrich itself.
    When will America learn?

    December 22, 2004

    Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia

    Its always seem incredible that Bush supposedly had no strategy to rebuild Iraq. Well it seems he did:
    Baghdad Year Zero (Harpers.org)
    ...the most common explanation for what has gone wrong in Iraq, a complaint echoed by everyone from John Kerry to Pat Buchanan: Iraq is mired in blood and deprivation because George W. Bush didn’t have “a postwar plan.” The only problem with this theory is that it isn’t true. The Bush Administration did have a plan for what it would do after the war; put simply, it was to lay out as much honey as possible, then sit back and wait for the flies.

    So the idea was to open the Iraqi economy to encourage foreign investment. The problem was this plan was illegal under international law. Multi-nationals were quite reluctant to invest their money in Iraq just to mire themselves down in International Court. Bremer sought every sneaky quasi-legal method to allow his "reforms" to go through. He made many enemies in the process: The workers who were laid off, the Iraqi investment community who were locked out of the process because their state operated companies didn't fit into the NeoCon model of a "free market", the Shiites who had a much different idea of how their country should run, and the Sunnis who were denied employment of any kind because of their Baathist ties.
    So after making an enemy of virtually everyone in Iraq, Bremer proceded with his plan, only to spark the insurgency.
    When Bremer first arrived in Baghdad, the armed resistance was so low that he was able to walk the streets with a minimal security entourage. During his first four months on the job, 109 U.S. soldiers were killed and 570 were wounded. In the following four months, when Bremer’s shock therapy had taken effect, the number of U.S. casualties almost doubled, with 195 soldiers killed and 1,633 wounded. There are many in Iraq who argue that these events are connected—that Bremer’s reforms were the single largest factor leading to the rise of armed resistance. Take, for instance, Bremer’s first casualties. The soldiers and workers he laid off without pensions or severance pay didn’t all disappear quietly. Many of them went straight into the mujahedeen, forming the backbone of the armed resistance. “Half a million people are now worse off, and there you have the water tap that keeps the insurgency going. It’s alternative employment,” says Hussain Kubba, head of the prominent Iraqi business group Kubba Consulting. Some of Bremer’s other economic casualties also have failed to go quietly. It turns out that many of the businessmen whose companies are threatened by Bremer’s investment laws have decided to make investments of their own—in the resistance. It is partly their money that keeps fighters in Kalashnikovs and RPGs.

    Soon, Iraq was rated the riskiest place in the world to do business. The few multi-national companies there were happy to spend tax dollars, but they were hardly interested in risking their own capital in an explosive atmosphere.
    Shocking information in this article, and well worth the time to read it.

    Medicare Drug Benefit Punishes the Poor

    Finally the real impact of the Bush Administration Medicare drug benefit has come out. It effectively punishes the indigent who are dual eligible for Medical Assistance and Medicare. All dual eligible recipients will find their formulary for medications narrowed significantly. While this will not affect everyone, those who are disabled with mental illness may find they can no longer continue the one version of the medication that has worked for them. They may have to face taking medication that causes permanent side effects including neurological movement disorders like Tardive Dyskenisia. On top of that, the cost of these medications will increase not decrease for the dual eligible.
    This is typical of the Republican habit of blaming the indigent while lining the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies and is unconscienable.
    Contact your legislator today to head off this mess.

    December 21, 2004

    The Rumors Are True: Authorization to Torture in Iraq and Guantanamo Reaches Highest Levels

    Thanks to the ACLU, a cover-up of torture of prisoners at Guantanamo and in Iraq has been exposed. An Executive Order allowing torture was issued by President Bush and carried out by Dept. of Defense staff and reported and investigated by FBI agents to their supervisory staff. Yet it took a court order brought about by a lawsuit of the US Government by the ACLU to compel the Government to release documents that record these events.
    American Civil Liberties Union : FBI E-Mail Refers to Presidential Order Authorizing Inhumane Interrogation Techniques
    A document released for the first time today by the American Civil Liberties Union suggests that President Bush issued an Executive Order authorizing the use of inhumane interrogation methods against detainees in Iraq. Also released by the ACLU today are a slew of other records including a December 2003 FBI e-mail that characterizes methods used by the Defense Department as "torture" and a June 2004 "Urgent Report" to the Director of the FBI that raises concerns that abuse of detainees is being covered up.... Another FBI agent’s account of interrogations at Guantanamo in which detainees were shackled hand and foot in a fetal position on the floor. The agent states that the detainees were kept in that position for 18 to 24 hours at a time and most had "urinated or defacated [sic]" on themselves. On one occasion, the agent reports having seen a detainee left in an unventilated, non-air conditioned room at a temperature "probably well over a hundred degrees." The agent notes: "The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor, with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his own hair out throughout the night." (Aug. 2, 2004)


    December 20, 2004

    Constitution Party Conservative VP Candidate is Unnerved by the Religious Right

    Chuck Balwin was the Vice Presidential candidate for the Constitution Party. Here he tells of his growing trepidation at the Religious Right.
    I Am A Conservative Christian, And The Religious Right Scares Me, Too
    More than that, the Religious Right appears to believe that G.W. Bush is the anointed vicar of Christ. But instead of wearing the garb of a religious leader, he wears the shroud of a politico and a military commander-in-chief. As such, in the minds of the Religious Right, Bush's war in Iraq is a holy crusade. America is fast taking on the shape of the old Holy Roman Empire and President Bush is quickly morphing into a modern day Caesar. The willingness of the Religious Right to give President Bush king-like subservience is easily seen in the way they demonize anyone who dares to oppose him. This is very unnerving. Are we heading for a modern day religious inquisition, this one led not by the Catholic Church but by the Religious Right? Are we witnessing the type of marriage between Church and State that America's founders originally feared? I used to believe that liberals were paranoid for being fearful of conservative Christians gaining political power. Now, I share their trepidation. Of course, the sad truth is, neither George W. Bush nor the Republican Party in Washington, D.C. represents genuine Christian or even conservative principles. If they did, they would take their oaths to the Constitution seriously and then neither liberals nor conservatives would have anything to fear, for the U.S. Constitution protects the rights and freedoms of all men. Unfortunately, when the seed of Bush's unconstitutional policies come to fruition, it will produce large scale fallout economically, socially, and politically. And sadder still will be that, instead of blaming Bush's infidelity to constitutional government and conservative principles, people will blame Christianity and conservatism itself. The result of this miscalculation will doubtless be a massive tide of support for more and greater unconstitutional government, but only under a different name.


    Racist Sentiments Color Prosecution of Two Muslim US Military Men at Guantanamo

    Another miscarriage of justice occurs, this time in the courtmartial of a Muslim Chaplain and an Interpretor who were expressed their views disagreeing with the detention of the prisoners privately. The Interpretor, faced the death penalty, was finally convicted of mishandling confidential information, sentanced to time served. The Chaplain who spent 76 days in solitary confinement, was acquited of all charges.
    Is pretty apparent that not only were racist sentiments at work, but Army prosecutors were trying to make their careers on the backs of innocent men.
    Yet, this is the first I've heard of the outcome of these charges. Has this country no shame?
    How Dubious Evidence Spurred Relentless Guantanamo Spy Hunt
    In fact, documents and interviews show that the case grew much bigger than has been publicly disclosed, spinning into a web of counterintelligence investigations that eventually involved more than a dozen suspects, a handful of military and civilian agencies and numerous agents in the United States and overseas. Within less than a year, however, the investigations into espionage and aiding the enemy grew into a major source of embarrassment for the Pentagon, as the prosecutions of Captain Yee and another Muslim serviceman at the base, Airman Ahmad I. Al Halabi, unraveled dramatically.... But confidential government documents, court files and interviews show that the investigations drew significantly on questionable evidence and disparate bits of information that, like the car report, linked Captain Yee tenuously to people suspected of being Muslim militants in the United States and abroad. Officials familiar with the inquiries said they also fed on petty personal conflicts: antipathy between some Muslim and non-Muslim troops at Guantanamo, rivalries between Christian and Muslim translators, even the complaint of an old boss who saw Airman Al Halabi as a shirker.... Ultimately, Air Force prosecutors could not substantiate a vast majority of the charges they brought against Airman Al Halabi, a translator at Guantanamo, who had faced the death penalty. He pleaded guilty in September to four relatively minor charges of mishandling classified documents, taking two forbidden photographs of a guard tower and lying to investigators about the snapshots. He was sentenced to the 10 months imprisonment he had already served, and is appealing a bad-conduct discharge.... Captain Yee, 36, a West Point graduate from Springfield, N.J., was held for 76 days in solitary confinement, charged with six criminal counts of mishandling classified information and suspected of leading a ring of subversive Muslim servicemen. He was found guilty only of noncriminal charges of adultery and downloading Internet pornography. That conviction was set aside in April, and his punishment was waived.... "Lots of the guards saw us as some sort of sympathizers with the detainees," Airman Al Halabi recalled in one of several interviews. "We heard it many times: 'detainee-lovers,' or 'sympathizers.' They called us 'sand niggers.' "


    December 19, 2004

    Freedom of Speech?

    This stupid administration can't even avoid shooting itself in its foot. Even a foreign author whose writings are listed in the State Departments website on a list of writer's as a voice needing to be heard, can't get published in the US. You see Big Brother wants to be able to preview whatever its citizens can read. Thanks to Juan Cole at Informed Commentfor the article.
    Informed Comment
    Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian dissident who is the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, “is being prevented from publishing her memoirs in the United States because of regulations that prohibit ‘trading with the enemy’." Her book is an effort to "help correct Western stereotypes of Islam, especially the image of Muslim women as docile, forlorn creatures." ... The problem with publishing her book in the US, Ms. Goodman writes, is a 1917 law that “allows the president to bar transactions during times of war or national emergency.” The law has been amended to exempt publishers, but the Treasury Department has ruled it illegal “to enhance the value of anything created in Iran without permission” -- including books. Moreover, as Ms. Goodman points out, if Ms. Ebadi's literary agent were to help prepare the manuscript for an American audience, she too would be subject to punishment -- 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for an individual or $1 million for a publishing house. The Treasury Department suggests that Ms. Ebadi apply for a special license. But, as Ellen Goodman points out, “no American needs a license to publish a book. Neither this free-speech lawyer nor her supporters are going to ask the government for permission.”


    Tariq Ramadan: Moderate or Radical?

    A moderate Muslim with a message of peace and an openly stated wish to prevent a clash of cultures is denied access to the United States to teach at Notre Dame. While no apologist to the West, Ramadan is one of the worlds moderate leader who has the potential for great influence. He seeks to begin a process of reinterpretation of the Koran to bring its understanding into the 21st century. Surely, the debate will lay bare the issue of Jihad, it will also reaffirm that the murder of innocent people for any reason is unacceptable in Islam. The US is no longer the beacon of freedom for the world. People must step forward with their own sources of light to show the world the darkness that lies within.
    Tariq Ramadan: Moderate or Radical?
    The Agonist - Tariq Ramadan has resigned two professorships at The University of Notre Dame - professor of Islamic studies in the classics department and professor of religion, conflict, and peace building - and has accused American authorities of assailing academic freedom. This preeminent Catholic institution had invited him to teach Islamic philosophy and ethics at its Kroc Institute for Peace Studies. Prompted by the Dept. of Homeland Security, the US government revoked his visa without explanation in late July, just days before he was to begin teaching. When asked, State Department spokeswoman Kelly Shannon referenced the Immigration and Nationality Act, but declined to say which section directly pertained. Time magazine honored this Swiss-born intellectual imam, naming him one of the 100 innovators of the 21st century. A highly respected major American university invited him to teach. Yet, the US perceives Ramadan enough of a threat to bar his entry into the country.


    December 18, 2004

    Fairwell to Bill Moyer

    Bill Moyers retires after one last Frontline presentation. He is a man who will be missed by progressive thinkers, a man who inspired me regularly, and someone who regularly appeared on this blog. There are too few men of his caliber in journalism today. Its become bad for sponsors to showcase a liberal. So a sad day has come to American Journalism. I can only hope someone will step up to fill his shoes.
    Bill Moyers Gets In the Last Word (washingtonpost.com)
    Bill Moyers has always taken the high road, but it got a little lonely up there. In a country where political discourse grows ever more shrill, his voice was more and more easily drowned out. Last night, at the age of 70 and on the eve of his 50th wedding anniversary, Bill Moyers took the high road home. Moyers said not goodbye but "farewell" as he took leave of "Now," the program he has hosted for the past three years on PBS. The show will continue in a few weeks with another host, but Moyers's presence will be an irreplaceable loss. Watching the final program, which consisted of a report on the dominance of right-wing ranting in TV and radio and an interview with Anthony Romero, head of the ACLU, one may have felt guilty about not having supported Moyers more loyally as he kept fighting the good fight. Throughout his broadcast career, Moyers was a voice of reason. His is one of the few liberal voices left in broadcasting, it seems, and his insistence on being armed with facts to support his opinions left him at something of a disadvantage when dealing with people who think the way to win an argument is to scream the loudest. Moyers represented reason, deliberation, serious questioning of the status quo and, especially, standing as firmly as possible against government encroachment into Americans' private lives.


    A Set-back for Al Qaeda

    Al Qaeda Shifts Its Strategy in Saudi Arabia (washingtonpost.com)
    Al Qaeda forces in Saudi Arabia have shifted their strategy and are now almost exclusively searching for U.S. and other Western targets in the kingdom while avoiding attacks on domestic institutions in a bid to strengthen their flagging network, according to security officials and Saudi experts on radical groups.
    While Al Qaeda retains its primary goal of eventually toppling the Saudi royal family -- as Osama bin Laden made clear in an audio recording released Thursday -- an 18-month campaign of car bombings, gun battles and kidnappings has so far failed to generate many new recruits and has resulted in a backlash among many Saudis, even those who otherwise are critical of the government, the officials and experts said.

    It appears that Bin Ladin has had a major setback in his major objective: the fall of the House of Saud. Look for him to reorganize his attacks on western targets to gather the imagination of the disillusioned in the Muslim world.

    December 16, 2004

    Where is Our Creativity and Scientific Prowess?

    FT.com / World / US - US must make R&D priority, business leaders warn
    The US must make innovation the top national priority or risk ceding its role as the world’s foremost economic power, an organisation of top business and academic leaders warned on Wednesday. The warning came as the Council on Competitiveness, a Washington-based group, issued a comprehensive report recommending strategies for encouraging innovation and producing workers that 'succeed, not merely survive' in the global economy. At a conference held to release the report, Samuel Palmisano, chairman and chief executive of IBM, said American innovation had reached 'a critical juncture' and the country was “somehow losing its edge at just the wrong time, when the game was becoming dramatically more competitive.”

    The spirit of scientific inquiry instigated by Kennedy's goal of landing on the moon and the space race with the Soviets led to a real effort by the American people to commit to innovation and math and science degrees. Somehow all that energy has dried up.
    Jimmy Carter talked about a malaise permiating our culture. Unfortunately, the American people didn't want to hear a speech they might expect from their pastor on Sunday coming from our nation's president. The message was ignored. But he warned us of a time where the competitiveness of this Country would fade. And he hinted at the reasons for the problem.
    We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure. All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to true freedom for our Nation and ourselves. We can take the first steps down that path as we begin to solve our energy problem.

    In today's America, science is looked upon as suspect, as secular to its core with no room for God. The spiritual credentials of scientists and mathematisions are suspect today. But this is not the only problem.
    The primacy of individualism is unchallenged today. The American Dream is focused on making money, not on innovation, math and science. India and China on the other hand has huge numbers of its graduates getting advanced technical degrees. And they work for cheap!
    Common goals are talked about today only in the context of freeing up the drive of individualism and allowing corporations to merge and limit competition. Without competition, there is no need for innovation and scientific inquiry.
    So its no wonder the number of our high school graduates going into math and science has fallen off. We have become a country preoccupied with personal goals. There is no talk of common goals and self sacrifice to reach them.
    The solution is not so easy. There has been a full generation born into our malaise. The solution however is what its always been and what Jimmy Carter tried to do and failed so miserably. We need goals set by our leaders that allow us to think expansively, toward growth, innocation, and science and math. And we need a major commitment of resources to follow through. Bush's enemic attempt to capture the imagination of America by setting a goal to land Mars was about as ill advised as Carter's malaise speech. He is spending us into financial disaster, stoking our deepest fears about safety and protection of our interests. He urges us to "circle the wagons" not to take risks, innovate and grow. Paranoia doesn't allow for much creativity, except the kind that imagines every possible threat.
    This country needs new leadership. Someday, it just may wake up. If not, we are headed towards a decline in our power on a scale that will make the Fall of the Roman Empire look small in comparison.

    December 15, 2004

    Military Strategy as Well as Intellegence Are Oxymorons in the Bush Administration

    The Agonist has made a new commitment to producing their own articles and editorial as of this month. So besides being a one stop place for the best headlines worldwide, it now shows the talent of their staff. Kudos to The Argonist!
    Here is one of their inaugural articles, an excellent analysis of how the US military is caught up in the type of conflict it is ill prepared for. One of the inescapable points he makes is that the command structure, by playing out a doctrine that was created for a different kind of war, they adopt a strategy that is losing the war and creating unnecessary casualties.
    The Agonist | On Strategy in Iraq
    American forces have tactical doctrines which are unsuited to current missions, because they assume forward control is sufficient. This defect shows up in our logistical problems with trucking, and with the high percentage of personnel transport vehciles which are not ready to go through hostile terrain. The two problems reinforce each other - excessively forward tactical doctrine creates more chances for insurgents to attack flank and rear areas not covered by the forward deployed assets. This problem is about to become a vicious circle: to make up for the failure of a forward deployed control, and having a logistical capacity that is a "soft white underbelly", in the old military phrase, the US is about to over rely on the already overtaxed rotary wing arm. Since this arm is already undersupplied with spare parts for current committments, it is gravely increasing the hazard being faced by US service personnel fighting in Iraq. Instead of dealing with these problems, either by scaling back the mission, or demanding the committment of sufficient resources to accomplish the current mission - the SecDef has instituded steps which are designed to delay the day of reckoning, but do so by increasing the risk to personnel. Just as with the armor shortage, this will eventually manifest itself as increased fatalities, decreased mission effectiveness - as hard choices must be made as to which objectives to abandon - and increased insurgent effectiveness. The rising fatality and casualty rate is not, then, an accident, but the result of the failure of the civilian leadership to "bite the bullet". A war time economy should be managed, not to increase profits, but to win the war in the most effective manner possible. The failure to restructure the US to a war time economy has a cost - dead soldiers, and a live war.


    December 14, 2004

    Losing the War on Terror

    The Bush Administration continues more of the same in the explosive region of Central Asia. Many countries continue to fall into deeper poverty and alienation including Pakistan.
    EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - As New Term Approaches, Bush Administration Confronts Old Problems in Southwest and Central Asia
    There is ample evidence that suggests that US policy has failed to achieve its objective of containing Islamic radicalism. If anything, radical impulses appear to still be spreading, accompanied by growing anti-Americanism. Al Qaeda and other Islamic radical groups are now operating in more than 60 countries around the world, and Iraq is emerging as a magnet for extremists. At least seven members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a radical Pakistan-based pan-Islamic group, are known to have been killed fighting American troops in Iraq. Several dozen Pakistanis were involved in recent fighting in Falluja. Perhaps more importantly, the current American reliance on a force-based strategy appears to be heavily influencing the way Muslims perceive basic democratic concepts, including respect for human rights. The intensity of the US use of force in Iraq, combined with the US tolerance for authoritarianism in Southwest and Central Asia, is prompting people across the Muslim world to view American-style democratic values as unacceptable for their own respective societies....

    Outside of Iran, Pakistan could become the most problematic country in the region for the new Bush team. During his first term in the Oval Office, Bush gave Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf a pass on Islamabad’s covert nuclear assistance to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Bush’s stance toward Pakistan merely encouraged other countries, especially Iran and North Korea, to test US resolve by proceeding with nuclear programs. The United States, with its tolerance of bad Pakistani behavior, has sent an inconsistent message to the global community on the non-proliferation issue. Despite elections and the rehabilitation of parliament, Musharraf has allied himself with Islamic radical parties, while handing the military almost total control over the country’s political and economic development. The military has utterly failed to carry out reforms in key sectors, including education and human rights, thereby strengthening extremists and wasting the funds of Western donors. Ignoring the fact that Pakistani society is growing increasingly polarized, Bush strongly endorsed Musharraf’s policies during the Pakistani president’s early December visit to Washington.


    North Korea Now Threatens Japan

    Now North Korea directly threatens Japan for actions Japan is unlikely to avoid. Japan has been focused for weeks on the where abouts of a woman who was kidnapped by North Korea at age 13 during the Cold War. Japan is talking sanctions for lack of accurate information from North Korea.
    I can't help but believe that if the US wasn't bogged down in a futile losing battle in Iraq, North Korea would be less bellicose.

    North Korea says Japanese sanctions would be 'declaration of war'
    North Korea warned it would regard any sanctions imposed on it by Japan a declaration of war that it would meet with an "effective physical" response. North Korea would also reconsider taking part in six-nation talks aimed at ending its drive for nuclear weapons if a "provocative campaign" under way in Japan against the country continued, a foreign ministry spokesman said.


    December 13, 2004

    Stephen Roach Has More Gloomy Forecasts For the US Economy

    Stephen Roach speaks out again, telling us much the same story as Kurt Richebacher, though with a more positive spin. While they both seem to believe letting the dollar slide will improve the trade deficit, its also likely to reveal the inherant weakness in the manufacturing base of this economy and will ultimately spark a recession.

    Global: The Paradox of Trade

      A sharply diminished US industrial base places major constraints on the potential upside of any trade-induced multiplier effects that may arise from a depreciation of the dollar. There is nothing new to this erosion -- it has been a constant trend evident over most of the post-World War II era. But it is particularly important to scale the size of the US manufacturing base relative to that of the mid-1980s -- a point in time when the major countries of the world endorsed the so-called Plaza Accord, which was aimed at pushing the dollar sharply lower. Back then, the ensuing currency adjustment did provide some unmistakable benefits to the US -- namely, a marked pick-up in export growth and a related narrowing of the trade and current account deficits. US exports increased at an 11% average annual rate over the 1986 to 1990 period and the trade deficit narrowed enough to push the current account actually into surplus briefly in 1991. But, today, with America's manufacturing base about 40% smaller than it was in the mid-1980s -- measured both by jobs and labor income generation -- its potential for sparking a revival in aggregate economic activity is likely to be commensurately smaller.


    Kurt Richebacher, European Economic Guru Challenges Bush's Economic Policy

    Kurt Richebacher is thought of as an economic genious. Needless to say, his thought are not so optimistic about the US economy. Here is the Editor's Note about him:

      Editor's note: Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker once said: "Sometimes I think that the job of central bankers is to prove Kurt Richebacher wrong." A regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal, Strategic Investment and several other respected financial publications, Dr. Richebacher's insightful analysis stems from the Austrian School of economics. France's Le Figaro magazine has done a feature story on him as "the man who predicted the Asian crisis."


    A NEW ILLUSION: THE FALLING DOLLAR

      Our opinion about the economic situation in the United States has been and remains diametrically at variance with the optimistic consensus view that discarded the economy's slowdown as a "soft patch" due to the rising oil price. In our view, the economy is rapidly losing steam because prior aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulation has largely spent itself, while having failed to initiate the desired self-sustaining investment recovery. Moreover, we hold a strong opinion that the existing outrageous imbalances and structural dislocations in the economy make a normal, sustainable economic recovery flatly impossible.

      Pondering the causes and implications of the dollar's sudden plunge, it ought to be recalled that global currency experts were overwhelmingly forecasting a strong dollar and a weak euro, commensurate with expected strong economic growth in the United States and sluggish economic growth in Europe.

      There rules a perception in the markets that the U.S. economy is fundamentally strong and, in addition, vastly superior to that of Europe in resilience and flexibility. All that is sheer nonsense. Due to years of unimaginable credit excesses and resulting monumental imbalances, the U.S. economy is highly vulnerable to a sudden downturn. It is, in fact, in worse shape than in 2000.

      U.S. policymakers and economists are hailing the dollar's fall as a boom for exports, employment and profits. They fail to realize that the consumer borrowing and spending excesses of the past few years have grossly depleted the economy of available resources for sharply higher exports. A plummeting dollar does nothing at all to offset the profound structural shortfall of savings and capital formation. Rather, it fuels inflation.

      Remarkably, the dollar has plummeted despite highly optimistic expectations about the economy's outlook as reflected in stellar growth forecasts. It is our assumption that increasingly bad economic news will shake this overconfidence and speed up the dollar's decline.

      For reasons already explained, we expect that sharply weaker consumer spending will soon distinctly slow the U.S. economy. Two events in particular are putting the brakes on economic growth: first, the full stop of the income creation through tax cuts; and second, the waning of the housing and mortgage refinancing booms.