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August 19, 2003 |
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Subj: Article in the Irish Times . . . Hi BuzzFlash,I thought you might be interested in the following article in today's Irish Times [LINK]. It details a story on how the US soldiers in Iraq are putting up "posters around Saddam's hometown of Tikrit showing his face superimposed on Hollywood heroines and other stars in an attempt to enrage his followers and draw them out." Charming. Apparently, "Bring 'em on" wasn't seen as enraging enough. Best regards, Brian p.s. The Irish Times is a subscription-only service, but they allow one page download per day, so you should be able to view it. Buzz, As of last night, it seems Dennis has been removed from this article. Didn't see his name anywhere in it. Mainstream media does not seem to like Dennis, I wonder why? LOL Anyway check the article out. Please keep up the great work, y'all are fantastic. Thanks kayla michaels Subj: Stagecraft? BuzzFlash, So, I am watching the news and Pres. Dimbulb is giving an interview with the press regarding the “blackout.”At least 3 times, someone comes behind him and gets a shovel full of dirt and the sound of shoveling can be heard in the background. Now I’m no expert on “staging,”but it seems to me that if the purported leader of the free world is talking about the largest blackout in American history, that perhaps that might be a good time for the other faux environmentalists to take a break. Turk Subj: Two-class society Dear BuzzFlash, I just had a conversation with a used furniture dealer who told me that the downturn in the economy has done nothing to help his business as many might think. He pointed out that the people who normally come to him are the ones hurting the most. They come into his shop in hopes of finding something for the little in their pockets. He ended with a strong retort that the middle class is disappearing at a rapid rate and that we are quickly becoming a nation of two classes: the rich, and the poor. I told him that the current Time magazine article on the effects of the tax cuts [LINK] will do nothing to give him hope and that I fear that many of the very ones who will suffer the most from this administrations policies are among its strongest supporters. He said that he is not really "into politics", but he sure hoped the president is a one-termer. I left urging him to get engaged. Indeed, we all ought to get engaged, in persuading those administration supporters of the middle/lower class to engage their brains before it is too late. Mary Re: Amin & the Saudis Buzz, The main reason the the Saudis took in Amin & crew was that he had forced Islam on his people and was trying to establish a Muslim state before his ouster. However, it was not just a Muslim state, but a Whabbi Muslim state financed by the Saudis. Ring a Bell? That was the same agenda as Pakistan and Afghanistan where the Saudis also financed a boatload of FREE islamic schools / mosques that bred the thousands of young fanatical muslims who later became the Taliban. This is going on throughout the Mid-East and Asia. The Saudis offer FREE islamic schools and Mosques as long as they can preach the extremely radical version of Islam that the Saudis approve. That would be Whabbiism. Bill Subj: I found it in the dictionary No kidding- 2002 edition of Webster's Unabridged has this entry:
A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: ZsaZas & DimSon If Bremer were smart, he would demand that American soldiers not get in front of journalist's microphones. For when they do, their words expose the degrading attitude of the US occupiers toward Iraqi citizens. Two recent articles uncover this fact. 1. Zsa Zsa Saddam to Taunt Iraqi Regime Loyalists. Sergeant David Cade, a psych ops specialist, claimed hanging ridiculous posters with Saddam's face superimposed on Western celebrities would be "good for troop morale" ... we can put these posters up in Tikrit and the enemy can't take them down." The enemy? Are Iraqi people now considered "the enemy" by occupying officers? "The enemy" being any Muslim insulted by posters of scantily-clad women who American male machos are demeaning by publicly displaying them as a taunt for "the enemy?" Does such a ridiculous act not confirm a common-held belief that Americans are tacky, shallow and decadent? Not to mention stupid and nasty. 2. Bush's not-ready-for-prime-time players. Lt. Gen. James Conway, the top Marine commander in Iraq called the Pentagon's inability to develop technology to reduce "friendly fire" casualties as "the biggest disappointment of the war." The Biggest Disappointment? Tell that to the thousands of Iraqis who were murdered or wounded or who had a family member killed by DimSonDubya's "shock and awe" bombs. Conway lamented the soldiers "who don't need to die." Well, Iraqis must feel their citizens "don't need to die" in a war and occupation that "didn't need to" happen in the first place. T Quigly Dear BuzzFlash, How convenient that von Bushy was in Texas and Cheney was in Wyoming when the blackout occurred. So, Andrew Card was in charge! And to James C. Moore, I guess you can be forgiven for being misguided enough to vote for Bush. You didn't help elect him. Those 5 Supreme Unjustices are to blame. What would happen if the White House held a news conference and none of the media came? Or better yet, if they all turned their backs to the Press Secretary! I know, it will never happen. It is only a few of us who hit the streets protesting Bushy's appearances that have the guts to show our displeasure! A loyal BuzzFlash reader, IrmaS Subj: Has he hugged anyone yet? BuzzFlash, it is time for an update. Back in December 2002, you published this great piece by Mark Crispin Miller [LINK], which began with the quote "There's only one person who is responsible for making that decision [to go to war], and that's me. And there's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids on the death of their loved ones. Others hug, but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug, and that's me, and I know what it's like." -- GWB to Barbara Walters, ABC "20/20," 12/13/02. So has he hugged anyone yet? People should be calling the white house to find out. Please publish this update. I intend to get in touch with as many media types as possible with this quote. Thanks, and keep up the good work. Brendan Subj: "Zsa-Zsa Saddam" "TIPS." "Shock and Awe." "The Poindexter Wheel of Death Fortune." Now "Zsa-Zsa Saddam." The enlightened American civilization that our Forefathers endowed us with has been hijacked by reprehensibly graceless, amoral loons. Decorated war hero and Rhodes scholar, General Wesley Clark, asked on CNN: " What does America stand for? How do we want to behave in the world? What does it take to fulfill America's dreams?" Indeed. Suzanne, San Francisco Re: Whatever You Do, Don't Call the Crawford Photo-Opportunity Backdrop a Ranch! I am a native born Texan. Calling Bushes spread a ranch is a joke in that part of the country. Ranchette maybe? And as for horses. You won't see W riding a horse. It is common knowledge that he is afraid of horses! As my horse loving friend says, Yep, that figures, horses are a good judge of character. A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: EPA Counsel Quits Dig this. You'd think this'd be massive news--third senior EPA official in a couple of months to resign (they're all spending time with Christie's family...), just when Leavitt's announced. Isn't there one major reporter that's gonna go "hmmm..." and dig into this? No. We gotta find it in a garbage (literally) newsletter. Tom Fry BuzzFlash, H. Russell's reader commentary on the "Crawford Ranch" was completely accurate in depicting the utter phoniness of the Bush ranch as purely an opportunistic prop. Just for the record, it should also be pointed out that there is no such thing as "Crawford", Texas. The ranch's actual address is Waco, Texas. The name Crawford was invented by the spin-crazy Bush-leaguers, presumably to avoid the Waco wacko connection. Personally, I'd take a Branch Davidian over a Bush Republican any day. C. Richardson PS: As long as we're debunking ridiculous myths, the truth is that Dubya is notoriously afraid of horses and never rides. Subj: Bush Ranch Factoids BuzzFlash, Actually the Bush Ranch isn't a cattle farm. Its last use for ranching was as a hog farm. Consistent with the secretive nature of this regime, reporters aren't allowed near the place and the "White House Press Corps" spends its boring days in the gym at the elementary school waiting for the designated liar (which used to be Ari) to show before the blue curtain. On site commentary from the talking heads is shot from the edge of the school's parking lot - several miles from the "ranch". The Crawford location was chosen because of a picturesque creek that runs through the property (which makes it good for entertaining the leaders that come and go) - but MOSTLY for the close proximity to Fort Hood, which is only a short helicopter ride away. He NEVER goes into town, except for a rare photo op, and attends church at the military base. Roy Subj: "Let's roll, America" Has anybody else heard the U.S. Navy radio spots that feature sound bites from Dubya? They usually play very late at night & feature such phrases as "war on terror," "weapons of mass destruction," & for a closer, "Let's roll, America." You really gotta hand it to these Grand Old Hypocrites, only they could use recruiting spots as cheap campaign ads... William
Messman Subj: ALERT - MAJOR SPIN BuzzFlash, Did TOM RACHMAN, Associated Press, have a private audience with U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham yesterday when he, “stressed Thursday that the Iraqis must eventually decide how to sell their oil.”This story is in practically every newspaper in the world. I am very suspicious about this. “The decision was prompted in part by the reluctance of foreign oil company experts and prominent Iraqi expatriates to join the board, officials said. The expatriates expressed concern they would be perceived by Iraqis as agents of a U.S.-orchestrated takeover of the Iraqi industry. Some oil companies reportedly were reluctant to assign key personnel to the effort, fearing that their participation might sour future business deals in Iraq.”I can’t find anything at all on it, other than Rachman’s AP story. Wouldn’t there usually be SOMETHING from someone else? It seems to me that as soon as the oil started flowing, it was immediately made crystal clear that the U.S. would not be allowed to manage this resource of the Iraqi people. This group who planned the war is really delusional. Me and three other people over a beer could have predicted this. So now, huge spin. Berkeley Subj: THE SEMO SPEAK OUT Dear BuzzFlash, I just sent a letter to the southeast Missourians who have the nerve to speak out after what they have endured. I dare not, for fear of getting beaten to death..a 68 yr.old woman..would you believe?? In this neighborhood, everyone thinks we should be right where we are, doing no good in Iraq. If you dare to ask anyone...no one can, as usual, tell you why we're there.. There are three people living across the street...the man and his father are both in Baghdad, and the wife is home (she is also a reservist). The lady next door to them said maybe I should talk to her...I would not even consider it! I am sick to death of the pictures I have seen on the front page of the St. Louis Post Dispatch...the arrogant soldiers with their arms folded, flaunting what they have done to the palaces. The soldiers who killed the family two or three days ago..a lone Iraqi woman...her husband and three children killed by our troops...the Reuters news man killed, even though he was not a threat...it sickens me and how do I tell people who think I am wrong...how? I am human...I do not see why we must do this! I have a problem with a God -- that I was reared to believe in -- thinking this is right!!! Shirley............St. Louis Buzz, Why do we have to read about journalists' outrage at a colleagues death by shooting in Euro press....? Where the hell is the American press and where is the outrage of our journalists? Or are they still embedded? Elke Subj: Up To Here! Hi Buzz, I am at the end of my rope and am about to call off the elections because of the lame chicken paid off politicians in our employ. They let Bush and his merry madmen run rampant on Our America and what really really gets me is they stand in front of the microphones smiling and laughing as if all is well! Why in sam hell should I vote, it won't make a bit of difference who wins. Be it a Demowimp or a Republicommie! I see a not so far away future here in Our America where the greedy pigs will be running it all. Money talks > Po people walk here in the Homeland! Like I have said before, you all do some good work in getting all of those reports and posting them for us to read, but in my eyes is not changing a thing. The liars will win, they always do. Frustrated in Hibbing, Tom [BuzzFlash Note: We're as frustrated as you are, Tom. However, we believe that as long as we keep posting the truth, we'll win and the liars will lose.] Subj: The Phony Ranch Dear BuzzFlash, I remember seeing an interview during the 2000 campaign where Diane Sawyer asked Al Gore a list of questions having to do with farming. She wanted to show he was a phony to say he worked on his family’s farm. I was impressed because he answered almost every single question correctly. I myself grew up on a farm and didn’t know the answers to most of them. I don’t know what Gore’s actual farm experience was, but he showed how smart he is, and that seems more important. I would love to see reporters ask Bush real questions about anything at all, including his knowledge of ranches! How come he always gets to put on a big, phony act and nobody questions it? In answer to your reader that asked about the quaint old barn that the reporters stand in front of, I remember reading in several places at the beginning of 2001 that the location is rented by Bush from a neighbor. The reporters are not allowed onto El Rancho Fake-o to photograph the luxurious house he really lives in. Where I grew up wasn’t anywhere near Texas, so I don’t know anything about clearing brush. But there were lots and lots of other things that needed to be done, like planting and making the hay, fixing fences, feeding the cows and so on. I read that the ranch has cows, or “bovine”as Bush calls them. Why is it he always just clears brush and never does anything else? Maybe the cows in Texas are more self-sufficient than other places and take care of themselves? Connie Hi Buzz, It is crazy here in Arizona and Bush is not helping Governor Napolitano (D) one bit. We are OUT OF GAS in Phoenix. Some stations are gouging us $4.99 per gallon (since Republicans are into deregulation and keep spouting how great free enterprise was for America. Heaven forbid we could have had a law against that). People are in gas lines for 3 hours. This is WORSE than the seventies. Where is Bush. Other states are experiencing increases, too. Does he have a game going with his oil buddies? I have no link, but if you want, you can go to www.arizonarepublic.com or www.azcentral.com. Thanks. MV Subj: Please check out Bush's latest revising of historical fact: In this WP story:
compare these 2 sentences, the first a Bush quote, the second a Milbank reality check: ----------------------------- We've got about 10,000 troops there, which is down from, obviously, major combat operations," In fact, the 10,000 troops in Afghanistan represent the highest number of U.S. soldiers in the country since the war there began- ------------------------------- It's like the largely unchallenged false Bush statement r.e. Hussein "not allowing the inspectors in"- can you imagine what the British press would do with brazen untruths like this? Dave Dorsett Subj: Is Perle's group sabotaging hunt for Al Qaeda? Dear Buzz, "The Pentagon, for its part, claims that it suspected senior Hussein officials of trying to make a run for it on a smuggling route. But an expose last month by The New Yorker suggests that the raid and arrests may have been part of a deliberate effort to inflame tensions with Damascus in an effort to put an end to the remarkably close level of cooperation between Syria, the CIA and the State Department in the campaign against Al Qaeda." "It appears that certain elements in the Pentagon leadership, specifically Douglas Feith, are trying to sabotage sensitive talks between Teheran and the State Department to promote cooperation over Al Qaeda and other pressing issues affecting Afghanistan and Iraq". --TomPaine.com http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/8625 Read again Seymour Hersh's "The Syrian Bet" and your heart will pound with fear and your mind will reel with disgust. Pearl's little group is having the overall effect of impeding the hunting, capturing and dismantling of the Al Qaeda terrorist group responsible for 9-11. The next question for most reasonably thinking people would be: Is this their intention? God help us if it is! Nancy Lynn Nagy (TN) * * *
IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER "DEEP THROAT" TO SHOW SOME COURAGE AND COME FORWARD Somewhere, somebody's conscience is bothering them. Or at least i hope it is. If you are like me, you might have the feeling that it is only a matter of time before some real, hard evidence surfaces, pointing to a systematic strategy to mislead the american public and turn the War On Terrorism into the energy wars. There are plenty of people, including me, who believe that evidence is staring us in the face with every spin. But there are still millions of Americans who simply aren't prepared to believe that there are darker aspects of BushCo's machinations.And all of us need Deep Throat to come forward, and soon. The reason? Because a whistleblower would provide the nation with a critical safety valve. Watergate was one of this nation's darkest episodes. Even though I was quite young then, I remember vividly the atmosphere and I recall people who were openly terrified of the Nixon administration, especially the young, idealistic friends of my older brothers. And yet, the government was able to catch up, to investigate, to hold hearings into the matter. The process itself may have been colored, like all dealings inside the beltway, with its share of political shenanigans, but in the end the buck did at least stop where it should have--the top of the heap. The situation now is, in my opinion, much worse and doesn't look likes it's going to shape up any time soon. The process may not be pretty--and it isn't supposed to be--but what would the nation prefer? A madhouse with attendant media feeding frenzy, mass demonstrations, and the wrong people getting hung out to dry? Or something which allows us to participate, in some small measure, in the process of pursuing what passes for truth and building a case to impeach the president and delivering ourselves from this crew of dangerous ideologues? Somewhere, somebody has the ability to set this process in motion. Someone has seen the memo or sat in on the policy briefing that would demonstrate the depth of the Bush administration's deception. Somebody has got to have the foresight to understand that it is critical to this nation's future how and when this house of cards topples. Consider the alternatives and search your soul, whoever you are, because you could help stop a potential nightmare. Come forward with credible and accessible evidence before we are swept up in an escalating, spiraling cycle of damage and damage control. David Neale |
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