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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryFirefighters plan to read names on 9/11
NEW YORK - Presidential politics and the health of ground zero workers loom over the former World Trade Center site this Sept. 11 perhaps more than at any other anniversary of the attacks. The firefighters who helped rescue New Yorkers on Sept. 11 — and later, recovered the dead — are to read victims' names for the first time Tuesday at the sixth anniversary ceremony. The Real George Bush, MakeThemAccountable.com
While campaigning for Elizabeth Dole in South Carolina, the trip mostly paid for by us, the taxpayers:
“You know, I was campaigning in Chicago and somebody asked me, is there ever any time where the budget might have to go into deficit? I said only if we were at war or had a national emergency or were in recession. (Laughter.) Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.)” (Emphasis added.) — White House press release dated February 27, 2002
Click here to hear it for yourself. (Recorded from the Mike Malloy Show - Mike got it from network news tapes.)
And besides, the statement itself is a lie. Why tell such a lie?
“(The ‘trifecta’ joke’s) entire purpose clearly is to blame the deficit on Sept. 11 and its aftermath. It lets Bush escape any serious questions about either his failure to balance the budget or, particularly, his campaign pledge to use the Social Security Trust Fund to pay down the national debt. The national tragedy gave him unparalleled political cover for his administration’s failures — and Bush has displayed no hesitation whatsoever about using it. Indeed, it has become his favorite joke.” — MSNBC.com, June 27, 2002 (article no longer available on the MSNBC website)
The WorldBin Laden wants 'caravan' of martyrs
CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden urged sympathizers to join the "caravan" of martyrs as he praised one of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers in a new video that emerged Tuesday to mark the sixth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
US surge has failed - Iraqi poll
About 70% of Iraqis believe security has deteriorated in the area covered by the US military "surge" of the past six months, an opinion poll suggests. The survey by the BBC, ABC News and NHK of more than 2,000 people across Iraq also suggests that nearly 60% see attacks on US-led forces as justified… Between 67% and 70% of the Iraqis polled believe the surge has hampered conditions for political dialogue, reconstruction and economic development, according to the August 2007 findings.
Tour of Baghdad shows progress uneven
BAGHDAD - Students lined up for security checks, while sprinklers watered the grass on nearby median strips. In another neighborhood across the Tigris River, streets were deserted, blocked by mounds of dirt or concrete barriers.
Rocket blast injures 50 Israeli soldiers
JERUSALEM - A Palestinian rocket exploded in an Israeli army base early Tuesday, wounding 50 soldiers and drawing calls for a major military operation against rocket squads in the Gaza Strip.
Mexican rebels claim pipeline attacks
VERACRUZ, Mexico - A shadowy leftist guerrilla group took credit for a string of explosions that ripped apart at least six Mexican oil and gas pipelines Monday, rattling financial markets and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production.
Historic handshake in Northern Ireland
DUBLIN, Ireland - Northern Ireland leader Ian Paisley and the head of state of the Irish Republic, President Mary McAleese, shook hands Monday for the first time — another symbolic milestone on Ireland's road to reconciliation.
And may I remind you that this miracle was accomplished by negotiation, not by either side obliterating the other nor converting the other to its religion.—Caro
Secular party wins Moroccan elections
RABAT, Morocco - A conservative-leaning secular party will be the largest group in Morocco's new parliament, followed by an Islamic party that had been expected to win, according to final election results announced Monday.
Reports says organized crime top problem
UNITED NATIONS - Organized crime may have brought in more than $2 trillion in revenue last year, about twice all the military budgets in the world combined, a report issued Monday said. The NationAP Poll: Most see Iraq war as failure
WASHINGTON - The public sees the Iraq war as a failure and thinks the U.S. troop buildup there has not worked, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll suggesting the tough sell President Bush faces in asking Congress and voters for more time.
Petraeus: Limited troop withdrawal
Gen. David Petraeus told Congress on Monday … (that) last winter's buildup in U.S. troops had met its military objectives "in large measure." As a result, he told a congressional hearing and a nationwide television audience, "I believe that we will be able to reduce our forces to the pre-surge level ... by next summer without jeopardizing the security gains we have fought so hard to achieve."
Call me crazy for asking, but doesn’t that put us back in the same position we were in BEFORE the surge? If so, what was the point of the surge?—Caro
Rep. Wexler: Gen. Petraeus testimony eerily similar to Westmoreland and Vietnam (by John Amato)
I’ve been reading Barbara Tuchman’s “The March of Folly,” and her chapter “America Betrays Herself in Vietnam” should be read by all. Apparently Rep. Wexler (D-Fl.) knows his history and says: … “This testimony today is eerily similar to the testimony the American people heard on April twenty eighth nineteen sixty seven from General William Westmoreland, when he told the American people–America was making progress in Vietnam.”
Petraeus Falsely Claims That Six Months Ago, ‘No One Would Have Forecast’ Anbar’s Success
(Monday) in his testimony to the House, Gen. David Petraeus cited the reduced violence in the Anbar province as evidence that President Bush’s “surge” is working. He added that it would be “premature” to withdraw U.S. troops now, because in January, “no one would have dared to forecast that Anbar Province would have been transformed the way it has in the past 6 months“… Yet in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Commitee six months ago — just two weeks after Bush first announced his escalation plans — Petraeus admitted that in Anbar, there already appeared “to be a trend in the positive direction where sheikhs are stepping up”… Bush’s “surge” is not responsible for progress in Anbar.
Which Intel Agencies?
In defending his statistics (Monday), Gen. Petraeus said that two US intelligence agencies had signed off on his methods for collecting and analyzing the data. But he didn't say which two. There are 18 US intelligence agencies, though probably a far smaller number have any direct competence for analyzing this kind of question. And Karen DeYoung's recent piece in the Post reported that the CIA and the DIA was following the same methodology as the GAO, which Petraeus's shop has said is all wrong.
Walsh wants U.S. troops out of Iraq; no more war funding
This just in: Just received an email from our Washington reporter, Erin Kelly, who just got off the phone with Rep. Jim Walsh. She's writing a story for tomorrow's paper that reports the moderate Republican is switching gears and is now calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Not only that but Walsh, who visited Iraq during the weekend, says he will no longer support funding the war.
Intelligence officials contradict White House on bin Laden
WASHINGTON — Contradicting President Bush's counter-terrorism adviser, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement chiefs and a Cabinet member said Monday that Osama bin Laden remained the most dangerous terrorist threat to the United States six years after the 9-11 attacks.
Sen. Craig files to rescind guilty plea
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sen. Larry Craig filed papers Monday seeking to withdraw his guilty plea in an airport sex sting, arguing that he entered the plea under stress caused by media inquiries into his sexuality. MediaPermanent link to MTA daily media news
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/09/10/six-years-of-911-as-a-license-to-kill/">Six Years Of 9/11 As A License To Kill
"Sept. 11 changed everything" became a sudden cliche in news media. Words are supposed to mean something, and those words were - and are - preposterous.
Brit Hume’s exclusive one hour interview
with Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker proved Fox News to be an even friendlier forum than expected. Hume opened the interview by asking Petraeus to give a “synopsis” of his testimony before the House today. Petraeus then proceeded on an uninterrupted 16 minute soliloquy, turning the Fox News “interview” into a powerpoint presentation on national TV. While Petraeus was presenting his charts, a Fox chyron read “A briefing for America.” After taking a commercial break, Hume allowed Crocker to give his own 10 minute uninterrupted speech. Hume never asked a critical question of either Petraeus or Crocker.
From Josh Marshall: “The ‘exclusive’ is also helpfully interspersed with commercials from the White House-organized pro-Iraq War astroturf group Freedom's Watch.”—Caro
FACT CHECK: Petraeus To Withdraw Troops Next Summer Because Of Broken Military, Not ‘Progress’
In (Monday’s) hearing, Gen. David Petraeus suggested that he will withdrawal 30,000 troops from Iraq next summer, citing that “security gains” and future progress due to the escalation have allowed the move… The traditional media has largely accepted Petraeus’s spin… But in reality, security and political progress in Iraq is nonexistent. Petraeus, who has said he wants to stay in Iraq for 9-10 years, is in fact reducing troop levels next summer because the escalation has overstretched and overburdened the military to its breaking point.
REPORT: Petraeus Spent At Least 17 Days In August Flacking For Bush’s Escalation
The Washington Post reported this weekend that the White House political office and Gen. David Petraeus’ unit have been “hard-wired” together, working jointly to “map out ways of selling the surge.” The White House has used Petraeus as a PR flack over and over again to sustain its failing Iraq strategy. Last month, Petraeus kicked his political activities into overdrive. He hosted over 38 congressional members inside the Green Zone, and he gave numerous radio, print and TV interviews.
O’Hanlon pushes Iraq line in right wing press tour.
(Monday) morning, Brookings analyst Michael O’Hanlon published a column on National Review Online pre-emptively defending Gen. David Petraeus’ testimony to Congress about Iraq. He followed it up with an appearance on Laura Ingraham’s conservative radio show.
MoveOn sparks protests from GOP & White House with 'Gen. Betray Us' ad
"General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" The liberal interest group MoveOn.org Political Action has once again sparked controversy with its political advertising -- this time a full-page ad in The New York Times today with that headline… MoveOn, like other interest groups from both the left and the right, is no stranger to controversial ads.
Troop blogs show increasing criticism of war
DENVER — With the world being bombarded by all factions on their side on the war in Iraq, U.S. soldiers Internet blogs provided the kind of public relations Madison Avenue would drool over. Soldiers told of helping Iraqi families, the loss of friends and their dangerous daily missions. In the past year, as soldiers and Marines return for the second, third or even fourth deployments, and the death toll approaches 4,000, some soldiers began questioning the war.
So Bin Laden is "virtually impotent," but Al Qaeda has "regained a significant level of their capability"
Wait, yesterday, Bush's Homeland Security adviser said the Osama Bin Laden was "virtually impotent." Yet, today, Bush's National Intelligence Director testified that Bin Laden's forces pose a real threat. What is it? And, if we're fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here, how can they still be a real threat?
Got whiplash yet?—Caro
Sometimes the jokes just write themselves… (by Nicole Belle)
One of the folksy, “gosh durnit, that president sure is a funny feller” anecdotes in Robert Draper’s new book about George W. Bush, Dead Certain, is that Dubya is a big fan of Austin Powers and in particular, the character of Dr. Evil, imitating him often along the corridors of the White House. My favorite part? Chris Matthews asking “Why a clueless megalomaniac?”
Click through to watch the video.—Caro
When We Try to Explain the Rout of the Press under George W. Bush (by Jay Rosen)
A few factors that tend to get overlooked... There is simply nothing in the Beltway journalist’s rule book about what to do when a group of people comes to power willing to go as far as this group has in expanding executive power, eluding oversight, steamrolling critics (even when they are allies) politicizing the government, re-interpreting the Constitution, rolling back the press, making secrecy and opacity standard operating procedure, and repealing the very principle of empiricism in matters of state. That’s not an excuse for what happened, but I think it does help explain why the press got beat so badly. Technology & ScienceNew System Helps Airliners Avoid Turbulence
Airplane passengers could soon experience much less in-flight turbulence if testing goes well for a new detection system designed to end stomach-lurching bumpy rides and reduce delays.
What will happen when machines outthink us?
Techies and scientists at the Singularity Summit say now is the time to prepare for a future in which artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence - and in which it may be hard to tell one from the other.
Mediterranean Diet May Boost Alzheimer's Survival
Patients eating most greens, grains, olive oil lived 4 years longer, study found.
From the research I’ve read, this kind of diet will boost survival for anyone.—Caro
Mental Health Woes Strike Half of Cancer Patients
Listening to patients is key to helping them feel better, researchers say
Viking queen unearthed for DNA study
Archaeologists exhume the body of a Viking queen, hoping to learn whether a woman buried with her 1,200 years ago was a daughter or servant.
Scientists reinvent use for satellites
INDIANAPOLIS - Running out of gas usually means a long walk to a gas station to get more fuel. When a satellite's fuel tank runs dry, though, the mission's over — or it used to be. EnvironmentPollution May Cause 40 Percent of Global Deaths
Water, air and soil pollution, along with other environmental factors, contribute to 40 percent of deaths worldwide each year, a new study concludes.
Possible Energy Source: Burning Seawater
A Pennsylvania reseacher experimenting with a radio wave generator has happened upon an impressive discovery: seawater exposed to radio frequencies can be "burned" by separating and consuming the hydrogen within.
Utility Will Use Batteries to Store Wind Power
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 — American Electric Power, a coal-burning utility company that is looking for ways to connect more wind power to its grid, plans to announce on Tuesday that it will install huge banks of high-technology batteries. The batteries are costly and their use at such a big scale has not been demonstrated, but they may be an essential complement to renewable power, experts say.
Unmanned Solar Plane Breaks Flight Record
A solar-powered aircraft has unofficially broken the world record for longest unmanned flight, sailing for 54 hours more than 50,000 feet above the New Mexico desert, said defense research company QinetiQ.
Criterion Creates Global Clean Energy Fund
TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2007 -- Criterion Investments launched Canada's first fund strictly focused on clean energy and technologies that combat climate change, Investment Executive reported Monday.
Worms devour Hong Kong's waste
Sep 9 - Earthworms will munch through tonnes of Hong Kong's organic waste, as part of a new recycling project. For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com. |
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