Mood:  loud

(quote) 

Thinkers target White House

 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20909702/

When two Democratic analysts at a centrist think-tank voiced positive thoughts recently about the effects "on the ground" of General David Petraeus's Iraq troop surge, they unleashed a storm in a very Washington-ian teacup.

The pair in question – Ken Pollack and Michael O'Hanlon at the Brookings Institution – were accused of aiding the George W. Bush propaganda machine and, sure enough, the White House lost no time e-mailing their views far and wide.

But their real crime might have been to damage their own prospects of securing coveted postings in the next Democratic-controlled White House. Most other Democratic analysts in Washington are working assiduously in the opposite direction.

Each administration has about 3,000 political appointments in its gift.

All of the Democratic 2008 campaigns, including that of Hillary Clinton, have branded the surge a failure and want an immediate drawdown of US troops. Equally, all are calling for higher taxes on private equity groups and all now question the merits of 1990s-style free trade agreements.

There are few contradictory voices from the centrist or left-leaning think-tanks.

"If you are an ambitious Democrat at a think-tank, now is not the time to say things that will be displeasing to the campaigns," said Steve Clemons, a foreign policy analyst at the non-partisan New America Foundation.

Nor does the self-censorship necessarily have a left-leaning bias. The Democratic campaigns, including that of Barack Obama, are maintaining a studious silenceon the Israel-Palestine dispute, in spite of the Bush administration's question-able record.

"If you want a White House job in January 2009 and you have entrepreneurial views on solving the Israel-Palestine question, then the best advice is to keep your mouth shut," said Mr Clemons.

Washington's constantly expanding plethora of think-tanks occupy a unique category. Unlike universities, they include many people who lack strict scholarly credentials. But, in contrast to think-tanks in other western democracies, they are choc-a-bloc with former and future government officials.

Some describe Washington's think-tanks as holding-pens – or incubators – for future administrations. Given the widespread expectations of a Democratic victory next year, many see the liberal Center for American Progress, which is headed by John Podesta, former chief of staff to the Clinton administration, in that light.

But think-tanks can also resemble retirement homes. Many believe that the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute's best days are behind it after it was seen as a virtual proxy for the White House.

The AEI's long list of fellows include Paul Wolfowitz, the former president of the World Bank and architect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq; John Bolton, the former ambassador to the United Nations; and Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House of Representatives.

But after generating so many of the ideas and people that have driven the Bush administration, the AEI – and other conservative think-tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute – are no longer perceived to be writing the political narrative of the future.

"If you look at all the campaigns, the most glaring contrast is that none of the Republican candidates is coming out with detailed or original policy proposals," said Norm Ornstein, a non-partisan fellow at the AEI."

As a result, perhaps unfairly because AEI continues to generate a lot of ideas, the liberal think-tanks are in the ascendant. They are now seen as the relevant ideas factories for the first time in a generation."

Nor does the AEI see eye-to-eye any longer with the Bush administration. "There is some deep disgruntlement among neo-conservatives who believe that the Bush administration has betrayed them," said Kurt Campbell, head of the Center for a New American Security, a new, centrist think-tank that was launched in June. "However, the neo-cons remain remarkably engaged and on the offensive in Washington's ongoing battle of ideas."

Meanwhile, Washington is playing its customary parlour game of guessing which figures would populate a future administration. Should Hillary Clinton become president, many see Richard Holbrooke, the former UN ambassador, or Strobe Talbott, head of Brookings and former deputy secretary of state, as the next secretary of state.

Susan Rice, who is a former Clinton administration official, now at Brookings and a senior adviser to Mr Obama, and Kurt Campbell are tipped for senior national security positions.

Gene Sperling, Mr Clinton's former economic adviser who is now at the Center for American Progress – also advising Mrs Clinton's campaign – is tipped to take a senior economic position.

As a long-running Clinton loyalist, Mr Podesta could "write his own ticket", said one Democrat.However, the fact is that a Republican could still win in 2008 – or another Democrat."

There are a lot of people assuming that 2008 is a done deal," said John Bolton at the AEI. "People are counting their chickens before they are hatched."

(end quote)

Posted by Joe Anybody at 4:47 PM PDT

Updated: Friday, 21 September 2007 4:54 PM PDT

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Mood:  don't ask

Broader Privilege Claimed In Firings

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071902625_pf.html

By Dan Eggen and Amy Goldstein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, July 20, 2007; A01

Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege.

The position presents serious legal and political obstacles for congressional Democrats, who have begun laying the groundwork for contempt proceedings against current and former White House officials in order to pry loose information about the dismissals.

Under federal law, a statutory contempt citation by the House or Senate must be submitted to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, "whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action."

But administration officials argued yesterday that Congress has no power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases, such as the prosecutor firings, in which the president has declared that testimony or documents are protected from release by executive privilege. Officials pointed to a Justice Department legal opinion during the Reagan administration, which made the same argument in a case that was never resolved by the courts.

"A U.S. attorney would not be permitted to bring contempt charges or convene a grand jury in an executive privilege case," said a senior official, who said his remarks reflect a consensus within the administration. "And a U.S. attorney wouldn't be permitted to argue against the reasoned legal opinion that the Justice Department provided. No one should expect that to happen."

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, added: "It has long been understood that, in circumstances like these, the constitutional prerogatives of the president would make it a futile and purely political act for Congress to refer contempt citations to U.S. attorneys."

Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University who has written a book on executive-privilege issues, called the administration's stance "astonishing."

"That's a breathtakingly broad view of the president's role in this system of separation of powers," Rozell said. "What this statement is saying is the president's claim of executive privilege trumps all."

The administration's statement is a dramatic attempt to seize the upper hand in an escalating constitutional battle with Congress, which has been trying for months, without success, to compel White House officials to testify and to turn over documents about their roles in the prosecutor firings last year. The Justice Department and White House in recent weeks have been discussing when and how to disclose the stance, and the official said he decided yesterday that it was time to highlight it.

Yesterday, a House Judiciary subcommittee voted to lay the groundwork for contempt proceedings against White House chief of staff Joshua B. Bolten, following a similar decision last week against former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers.

The administration has not directly informed Congress of its view. A spokeswoman for Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), the Judiciary Committee's chairman, declined to comment . But other leading Democrats attacked the argument.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) called it "an outrageous abuse of executive privilege" and said: "The White House must stop stonewalling and start being accountable to Congress and the American people. No one, including the president, is above the law."

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) said the administration is "hastening a constitutional crisis," and Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) said the position "makes a mockery of the ideal that no one is above the law."

Waxman added: "I suppose the next step would be just disbanding the Justice Department."

Under long-established procedures and laws, the House and Senate can each pursue two kinds of criminal contempt proceedings, and the Senate also has a civil contempt option. The first, called statutory contempt, has been the avenue most frequently pursued in modern times, and is the one that requires a referral to the U.S. attorney in the District.

Both chambers also have an "inherent contempt" power, allowing either body to hold its own trials and even jail those found in defiance of Congress. Although widely used during the 19th century, the power has not been invoked since 1934 and Democratic lawmakers have not displayed an appetite for reviving the practice.

In defending its argument, administration officials point to a 1984 opinion by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, headed at the time by Theodore B. Olson, a prominent conservative lawyer who was solicitor general from 2001 to 2004. The opinion centered on a contempt citation issued by the House for Anne Gorsuch Burford, then administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

It concluded: "The President, through a United States Attorney, need not, indeed may not, prosecute criminally a subordinate for asserting on his behalf a claim of executive privilege. Nor could the Legislative Branch or the courts require or implement the prosecution of such an individual."

In the Burford case, which involved spending on the Superfund program, the White House filed a federal lawsuit to block Congress's contempt action. The conflict subsided when Burford turned over documents to Congress.

The Bush administration has not previously signaled it would forbid a U.S. attorney from pursuing a contempt case in relation to the prosecutor firings. But officials at Justice and elsewhere say it has long held that Congress cannot force such action.

David B. Rifkin, who worked in the Justice Department and White House counsel's office under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, praised the position and said it is consistent with the idea of a "unitary executive." In practical terms, he said, "U.S. attorneys are emanations of a president's will." And in constitutional terms, he said, "the president has decided, by virtue of invoking executive privilege, that is the correct policy for the entire executive branch."

But Stanley Brand, who was the Democratic House counsel during the Burford case, said the administration's legal view "turns the constitutional enforcement process on its head. They are saying they will always place a claim of presidential privilege without any judicial determination above a congressional demand for evidence -- without any basis in law." Brand said the position is essentially telling Congress: "Because we control the enforcement process, we are going to thumb our nose at you."

Rozell, the George Mason professor and authority on executive privilege, said the administration's stance "is almost Nixonian in its scope and breadth of interpreting its power. Congress has no recourse at all, in the president's view. . . . It's allowing the executive to define the scope and limits of its own powers."

Posted by Joe Anybody at 2:13 PM PDT

Updated: Friday, 20 July 2007 6:03 PM PDT

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Mood:  irritated

TOPOFF 4

Frequently Asked Questions

http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/training/gc_1179422026237.shtm

1. What is the TOPOFF Exercise Series?

Top Officials 4 (TOPOFF 4) is the Nation’s premier terrorism preparedness exercise, involving top officials at every level of government, as well as representatives from the international community and private sector. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), TOPOFF 4 is the fourth exercise in the TOPOFF (Top Officials) Exercise Series, a congressionally mandated exercise program. Each TOPOFF exercise involves a two-year cycle of seminars, planning events, and exercises culminating in a full-scale assessment of the Nation’s capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

2. What is TOPOFF 4?

Taking place from October 15–24, 2007, the Top Officials 4 Full-Scale Exercise (TOPOFF 4 FSE/T4 FSE) will involve thousands of Federal, State, territorial, and local officials. They will engage in various activities as part of a robust, full-scale simulated response to a multifaceted threat. The exercise will address policy and strategic issues that mobilize prevention and response systems, require participants to make difficult decisions, carry out essential functions, and challenge their ability to maintain a common operating picture during an incident of national significance. As in a real-world response, agencies and organizations will deploy staff into the field and will face realistic incident-specific challenges, including the allocation of limited response resources and exercise actions needed to effectively manage conditions as they emerge. Planning and preparation for the exercise will also help strengthen working relationships between departments and agencies that are critical to successful prevention and response in real emergencies.

3. Where will the TOPOFF 4 Full-Scale Exercise take place? How were the venues selected?

Joining DHS and other Federal agencies in this important effort are the States of Arizona and Oregon, the United States Territory of Guam, as well as three international partners: Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. As radiological incidents originate in Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; and the United States Territory of Guam, State, territorial, and local officials in Oregon and Guam will conduct a full-scale exercise, while Arizona officials will participate in a functional exercise. In coordination with the U.S. Department of State, related activities will also take place in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

States request participation in the exercise to support national exercise goals and to enhance their own preparedness. Typically, two States are selected for each TOPOFF cycle. For the first time in the TOPOFF series, a U.S. territory will take part in the exercise this year.

4. What is the difference between a functional and a full-scale exercise (FSE)?

A functional exercise focuses on coordination of decision-making and communications during a simulated disaster. It is a functional assessment of planning and decision-making in a time of crisis that engages multiple agencies in policy decisions and communications over several days.

A full-scale exercise adds on-the-ground first response activities to test participants on a wide range of capabilities and task areas, including incident response, incident command, cross-jurisdictional coordination, risk communication, and implementation of protocols and policies. Participants in both full-scale and functional exercises also exercise prevention and the intelligence gathering function, which are critical to preventing terrorist attacks.

5. How many, and what kinds of, agencies are participating?

There will be approximately 15,000 participants from government and private sector organizations in TOPOFF 4. Approximately 10,000 participants from more than 275 government and private sector organizations participated in TOPOFF 3.

6. Who participates in TOPOFF training? What top officials are participating?

The exercise engages participants at all levels of government, from Cabinet Secretaries to governors, mayors, and city managers; to local fire, EMS, police, and search-and-rescue personnel; to professionals in law enforcement, public health, and public communications; to members of the private sector.

TOPOFF 4 will enable top officials and relevant personnel to practice different courses of action, gain and maintain situational awareness, and deploy appropriate resources. Top Federal officials, State governors, county executives, mayors, and city managers, along with State, local, and territorial personnel will be key participants and play active roles throughout the exercise.

7. What are the objectives of TOPOFF 4?

TOPOFF 4 has overarching programmatic objectives in five areas, which provide a framework for enhanced interagency coordination, a more cohesive planning process, and a stronger overall exercise experience for participants, culminating in a heightened ability to prevent, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The stated objectives for TOPOFF 4 are:

• Prevention: To test the handling and flow of operational and time-critical intelligence between agencies to prevent a terrorist incident.
• Intelligence/investigation: To test the handling and flow of operational and time-critical intelligence between agencies prior to, and in response to, a linked terrorist incident.
• Incident management: To test the full range of existing procedures for domestic incident management of a terrorist weapon of mass destruction (WMD) event and to improve top officials’ capabilities to respond in partnership in accordance with the National Response Plan and National Incident Management System.
• Public information: To practice the strategic coordination of media relations and public information issues in the context of a terrorist WMD incident or incident of national significance.
• Evaluation: To identify lessons learned and promote best practices.

While working to meet the overarching exercise objectives, participating agencies, States, territories, and local entities also exercise to support their own individual objectives.

8. What role does the private sector play in T4?

DHS works through its Private Sector Office and Office of Infrastructure Protection to involve the private sector in the TOPOFF exercise cycle of events. TOPOFF 3 involved more than 5,000 members of the private sector participating at varying levels.

9. How does TOPOFF 4 differ from previous exercises in the TOPOFF series?

With each successive TOPOFF cycle, coordination and cooperation are enhanced, creating continuous improvements in the preparedness effort. The T4 FSE includes the greatest coordination to date, with concurrent exercises being conducted by the Department of Defense and, for the first time ever, will include a response from within a U.S. Territory. The exercise includes a strong prevention component, and is being interlinked with the Terrorism Prevention Exercise Program (TPEP), a component of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).

TOPOFF 4 also utilizes a capabilities-based planning approach, allowing Federal, State, territorial, and local officials to identify and exercise multiple emergency response and recovery capabilities that would be employed against a wide array of real-world hazards. Some of the capabilities being exercised this year include: evacuation/shelter-in-place, mass care, and interoperable communications. This approach aligns TOPOFF exercise program with the National Preparedness Goal and associated documents such as the Target Capabilities List (TCL) (which identifies needed capabilities) and the Universal Task List (UTL) (which identifies the tasks necessary to execute each capability). It also gives participants an opportunity to become more familiar with the National Response Plan and National Incident Management System. This collective guidance forms the framework for how our Nation responds to all hazards in a coordinated and consistent manner.

10. What is the scenario for the TOPOFF 4 FSE?

The T4 FSE is based on National Planning Scenario 11 (NPS-11). The scenario begins as terrorists, who have been planning attacks in Oregon, Arizona, and the U.S. Territory of Guam, successfully bring radioactive material into the United States. The first of three coordinated attacks occurs in Guam, with the simulated detonation of a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD), or “dirty bomb,” causing casualties and widespread contamination in a populous area. Similar attacks occur in the hours that follow in Portland and Phoenix. An RDD is not the same as a nuclear attack. It is a conventional explosive that, upon detonation, releases radioactive material into the surrounding area. Although it does not cause the type of catastrophic damage associated with a nuclear detonation, there are severe rescue, health, and long-term decontamination concerns associated with an RDD.

11. How is the TOPOFF 4 scenario developed?

A team of exercise planners experienced in WMD, war gaming, law enforcement, intelligence, and international terrorist networks develop the scenario. The team also works with planners in the participating nations, States, territories, local jurisdictions, private sector entities, and Federal departments and agencies to ensure that the scenario can sufficiently sustain the exercise and meet participants’ specific training objectives.

12. How relevant is the TOPOFF 4 scenario to the war on terrorism?

The TOPOFF 4 scenario is based on research of actual terrorist organizations’ capabilities and news accounts of events that have transpired since September 11, 2001. The scenario is plausible, but purely fictional.  It is not based on specific military or government intelligence and is not intended as a forecast of future terrorist activities. The scenario contains some artificiality to ensure conformance with agencies’ and jurisdictions’ training objectives.

13. Will real weapons be used?

Real weapons will not be used in the scenario, but the response will be mounted as if they had been.

14. How are lessons learned from past exercises used to inform and improve future exercises?

Lessons learned from each TOPOFF exercise provide valuable insights that guide future planning for securing the Nation against terrorist attacks. The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) is a capabilities and performance-based program that provides a standardized mechanism for building on such lessons learned. HSEEP outlines an evaluation methodology by using Exercise Evaluation Guides (EEGs). These standardized guides ensure that emergency preparedness can be measured in the exact same way everywhere exercises take place. This makes it possible to assess current capabilities and measure preparedness over time for any jurisdiction—in every response area. In addition to establishing standard evaluation tools, this model gives guidance on gathering and reporting lessons learned, which help to identify strengths and areas needing improvement. This information is then folded back into the exercise process to enhance its relevance and realism for the next exercise in the series.

15. What does it mean to “play” in the exercise? How is exercise play prompted and regulated?

Play is the term used to describe how personnel from a variety of agencies and organizations act out the response to the scenario, as though it had actually occurred.  Players are fed information by exercise controllers, based on a Master Scenario Event List (MSEL). The MSEL contains a number of key events that trigger the need to make decisions and conduct activities to exercise specific agency capabilities and achieve the exercise objectives.

16. What is gained from TOPOFF training?

Top officials from all levels of government gain valuable knowledge and experience dealing with complex issues related to terrorism prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The exercise offers participants a mechanism to test plans and skills in a real-time, realistic environment and to gain the in-depth learning that only experience can provide. Training activities are based on the objectives of participating departments and agencies.

Several of the overarching objectives of TOPOFF 4 pertain directly to the assignment of roles and responsibilities, and the coordination of communications and operations. By exercising these objectives, participants are able to improve upon their overall ability to respond to major disasters, regardless of whether they are natural or manmade.

TOPOFF 4 also provides an opportunity to fully integrate and conform to Homeland Security Presidential Directive – 8 (HSPD-8), the National Preparedness Goal, and the National Exercise Program. DHS will introduce the five-year National Exercise Program plan during the TOPOFF 4 exercise cycle. This program combines exercise activities, affords departments and agencies the opportunity to reduce the number of separate exercises they must plan and participate in, and, more importantly, provides an opportunity to demonstrate that the government can operate effectively during an elevated threat situation.

17. How does TOPOFF influence Federal, State, territorial, and local preparedness capabilities?

The exercise will offer top officials at all levels of government an opportunity to practice and reinforce operations under the President’s National Preparedness Strategy. The exercise’s implementation of the National Response Plan (NRP) will include practicing capabilities in the areas of incident response, incident command, cross-jurisdictional coordination, emergency and risk communication, and implementation of protocols and policies. Significantly, the T4 FSE will help to introduce a more integrated approach to national preparedness, ensuring that existing preparedness initiatives are closely aligned and operationally synchronized. The T4 FSE also offers an important opportunity to aggressively exercise capabilities developed or strengthened as a result of recent events, including new technologies, policies, and procedures.

18. Is the exercise open to outside observation?

Because of the sensitive nature of the capabilities being exercised, external observation and information dissemination will be carefully managed. Some international, Federal, State, territorial, and local officials and emergency response personnel are invited to observe a portion of the exercise, so that they may better understand how we as a Nation are preparing to address terrorist threats. Members of the media will be able to attend briefings during and after the exercise. Some law enforcement and intelligence components of the exercise are classified and will not be discussed in detail.

19. What happens if there is a real terrorist attack or natural disaster while the exercise is taking place?

The exercise will be halted immediately. No essential personnel will be diverted from any type of actual emergency response effort to respond to simulated events, nor will ongoing preparedness efforts be compromised.

20. What information will be made available to the public about exercise outcomes and lessons learned?

There will be a formal evaluation of the exercise, and findings and lessons learned will be applied to ongoing efforts to improve national preparedness and security. Because of the need to maintain operational security and protect sensitive information about efforts to thwart terrorist activities, information released to the public must be carefully scrutinized.  DHS and its partner agencies make every effort to keep the public informed, without releasing information that could potentially aid our enemies.

21. Who can I contact at DHS public affairs for additional information?

News media inquiries about TOPOFF 4 should be directed to the FEMA News Desk at (202) 646-4600 or send an email to FEMA-News-Desk@dhs.gov

Posted by Joe Anybody at 2:57 PM PDT

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Mood:  incredulous

Something I wrote about

 Screams From the "Killing Fields"

and

Screams for Peace

In a world of fear, racism, terrorism, and military control.

In a world of an this illegal raging war.

In a world of HATE ….and massive selfish greed.

I am alive and screaming for PEACE, ….and love, and tolerance! 

I stand beside you when you ring the bell.

I am the witness, the one who will help you tell.

In a world of confusion… lost ….. looking for truth, No spin –

Yes spin -

All spin –

And Big-Media Lies Corporate Lies…. and Government Lies …911 lies….

WMD, WMD….

Wmd…. wmd …wmd…?

There are no WMD’s? 

In a world of despair, I step forward to shoulder some pain.

I shine my light …. In world of apathy, for I hear the screams,

You scream,

I scream …ya …… we-all scream …..

For-sure as I write this ….I am still yelling into the night and then into the day …..

Can you hear my dire scream for peace?

Join me as we raise our voice's for all those across the land to hear.

Let me hear your scream for peace! 

For I hear those screams of death, lingering in my ears by the thousands.., I have no peace inside!

The screams of those who lives, no longer walk with me and you, and they resonate loud to my listening ear.

Those screams tell me to speak up and speak out-loud, to demand that we all “help stop this sickness, of killing one another”.

Those screams tell me to…..”Make them stop ……make them so-called-leaders of men, stop this immoral war”.

Those scream will not go in vain….. those screams of pain and death……for I hear them in my soul all the time.

Those are real screams by real people…..they were paid for in blood and in love and with their breaths of hope, they paid with their lives. 

The LOVE has been taken from those lives.

And insultingly….. love and life and liberty was taken from all those that have died by war.... for…..nothing more than sinister greedy lies! 

And now, it is I, who is screaming….

I am screaming for those that are “dead”

And with me in my scream for Peace……is room for you, in fact I need you to help me, to raise my voice!

In this world of divided unison, I try to hold a hand out To whom that want to reach out and grasp it.

Be he my friend or even my enemy, and no matter what happens to be his plight.

My hand is out…. Peace wants you too….

When I feel your grip, my heart will hold on to your struggle as well.

For I ……have the desire to fight for truth and justice in solidarity.

And your truth is my justice ….my truth will be for your justice. 

- Around the table - the words are passed, some speak of peace…. Some speak of war or the terrorism spin.

Some speak of walls and prisons and jails and control.

Yes there is some who speak for the devil….

 But proudly there are some that bravely, speak for peace, and they are “peacemakers”  

First thing in the morning, I get up and say today is the day we “end this war, as well as racism ...in our land.

”A gently push, from a passion for unity, a push for co-existing, a push for compassion, love, and understanding.

And as the day goes by into the night and it turns into another day in an endless war in another year of the tidings for greed

The energy put forth by me and us all as a community, needs to be a continuing one of peace, understanding and encouragement.

Of a desire to see love being used rather than violence, and for all of us to be an example and an inspiration, by our examples.

We need to stop ….... look ….. and listen…… and....

Then Be True ….. Peacemakers! 

I feel that it will be together as a community that we all can help make the screaming end.

By us all joining in force and in unity, by joining hands and our spirits, by making the world one of harmony rather than one of fear, violence and hate.

To rise… up and above, and to shine down, the light of Peace, with a helping hand and a willingness to care and share. 

Hear the screams? They are out there ….

Can you hear my scream for peace, will you join me?

Posted by Joe Anybody at 12:45 AM PDT

Updated: Thursday, 31 May 2007 12:18 PM PDT

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Mood:  incredulous

Hello Z3 Readers,

here is the website I found these cool tools on

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

I want you to look at these

"cool tools for activists"

http://capitoladvantage.com/capub/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=40

************

Check this out my fellow Z3 Readers

Congress At Your Fingertips - Standard
		$17.95 AVAILABLE NOW!!! This award-winning publication is our most popular version! The Standard Version is organized by state delegation and offers biographical data for each Member of Congress. It includes Members’ current color photos, phone and fax numbers, Web sites, e-mail addresses (where available), Hill offices, district offices, and key staff. Committee and subcommittee rosters include phone and fax numbers, Web sites, Hill offices, and staff directors. (Actual size: 4" x 9") 110th Congress 1st Session Available NOW!!

Congress At Your Fingertips - Condensed
		$12.95 AVAILABLE NOW!!! This directory is a black-and-white compact edition of our Standard Version, except that it does not include Member photos. It includes Members’ party affiliations, districts, terms, phone and fax numbers, Web sites, Hill offices, and key staff. Committee rosters include phone numbers, Hill offices, and majority and minority staff directors. The Condensed Version also includes Senate and House leadership, contact information for important congressional offices and national party organizations, a schedule for the 110th Congress, a map of Capitol Hill, and more! (Actual size: 31/2" x 6 3/4") 110th Congress 1st Session Available NOW!! Congressional Office Mailing Labels     Starting at $50 1" X 4", laser printed, pressure sensitive, arranged by state delegation, including Member Title, First & Last Name, Mailing Address, City, State and Zip. Labels available for: Members Staff - please specify which staff member District Offices Governors 110th Congress 1st Session Avaiable NOW!! HOW TO ORDER Is right here --> Please return your completed order form with payment via fax to: 703.550.0406 Or by mail to: Capitol Advantage Publishing PO Box 2018 Merrifield, VA 22116-2018 Here is the pdf. FORM to order with http://ffs.capwiz.com/capitoladvantage2/publishing/pdf/orderform_2007.pdf

Posted by Joe Anybody at 11:09 PM PDT

Updated: Tuesday, 8 May 2007 11:14 PM PDT

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Mood:  don't ask

The article below was copied from the website;

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/04/11/leak/index.html 

"Some very thoughtless person"

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates complained bitterly today that "some very thoughtless person" at the Pentagon leaked word about duty extensions for Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates said that the leak robbed the Army "the opportunity to notify unit commanders who could then talk to their troops 48 hours before we made a public announcement."

Was there maybe another reason that Gates wanted to keep the story under wraps? As War Room reader Terry Anastassiou notes, George W. Bush mentioned duty extensions just yesterday as one of the terrible things that might have to happen if Congress doesn't get him a timetable-free "emergency" supplemental spending bill soon. At a speech at an American Legion post in Virginia, Bush said: "If Congress fails to pass a bill I can sign by mid-May ... Some of our forces now deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq may need to be extended, because other units are not ready to take their places."

We're just guessing here, but it's not all that hard to imagine how this might have played out for the White House. Bush plays hardball with the Democrats into May. The Pentagon announces that it has to extend troop deployments by a few months. And the president says, "See, I warned you. Look what those Democrats have done."

Posted by Joe Anybody at 4:51 PM PDT

Updated: Saturday, 14 April 2007 10:19 PM PDT

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Mood:  celebratory

* Copied from -->

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/news/article_1281660.php/Senate_panel_backs_subpoenas_in_clash_with_Bush__Roundup_ 

'The clock is ticking. Money is going to run out for our forces in Iraq sometime next month,' White House spokesman Tony Snow said Thursday. 'Is that the message you want to send to men and women who are putting their lives on the line?'

HELL YES

IT IS THE MESSAGE!  (~joe)

Well Z3 Readers it looks like

The Rove Shit is hitting the fan……….

A US Senate panel Thursday authorized subpoenas of White House officials over the disputed dismissal of federal prosecutors, escalating a confrontation between the Democratic-led Congress and President George W Bush.

With Republicans arguing against the move, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted largely along party lines to allow its chairman to issue the subpoenas against five former and current administration officials, including Bush's top political strategist, Karl Rove.

Bush has vowed to fight Congress' demand - possibly in court - and warned Democrats against staging 'show trials.' Forcing his closest advisers to testify under oath would undermine the confidentiality he needs to run the country, Bush argues.

Democrats railed against what the White House has portrayed as a take-it-or-leave-it offer for officials to talk informally with lawmakers.

'What we're told we can get is nothing, nothing, nothing,' said the Senate panel's chairman, Patrick Leahy.  

Posted by Joe Anybody at 1:35 PM PDT

Updated: Thursday, 22 March 2007 1:48 PM PDT

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Mood:  sharp

  Hello z3 Readers

By the way before we get started - check out this abc news story discussing if the fear issue is being employed by fox tv towards society

...well how ironic (duhhhh)

Here is the link to the abc story and a few paragraphs

^{Nuclear Blast on TV's '24' Causes Fallout for Fox}

^{Critics Ask Whether the Show Is Feeding Terror Fears}

^{By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES}

^{Jan. 15, 2007 — - "How much longer? I hear someone," says the nervous terrorist with a heavy Middle Eastern accent, just before U.S. agents storm a warehouse where a nuclear device is being assembled. Confusion reigns, drama builds, the device is detonated and a mushroom cloud looms over Los Angeles. Such is primetime television in the age of terrorism, or as some critics charge, has "24" gone too far?}

^{"It's the closest television comes to roller coasters," said David Bianculli, television critic for the New York Daily News. "It works well dramatically, and as far as feeding fears, that's what '24' is all about."}

^{Sut Jhally, co-producer and co-director of the film "Hijacking Catastrophe," says the dramatic action in the show creates a dangerous climate in which the public loses some of its perspective on what's real and what's not. Of course that may be a minority opinion given the show's enormous popularity.}

^{"24" is taken seriously by some serious folks. Last June the conservative Heritage Foundation hosted a panel called, "'24' and America's Image in Fighting Terrorism: Fact, Fiction or Does It Matter?" Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff participated.}

^{But some national security experts worry that television fantasy can trigger the imagination of terrorists. Jack Cloonan, a former senior agent on the FBI's bin Laden squad in New York, said that trainees in former al-Qaeda camps watched movie videos "to get ideas."}

^{"The show has huge entertainment value, but it ups the ante for everybody," said Cloonan. "We saw what Columbine did. Fox may think they are doing a public service, but I don't see any redeeming value at all."}

^{Josh Governale, spokesman for "24," refused to comment on tonight's episode.}

http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=2795969

My fellow resders allow me to continue,

Now below my text here ...I am copying the following post to put  in my z3 report, because it illustrates the point i have been making for a long time - about how trumped up terror fear as explained/shown in the "power of nightmares" video-series from the bbc.

Consider what this article is saying and the abc one you just read above,  and then - think about how fear is running/ruining this world and exploited by our neocon leaders and croonies to this very day, renebr the terror alerts?

the BBC article can be watched from my website here 

http://www.joe-anybody.com/id16.html 

I urge you all to watch the bbc Nightmare 3-part-series after you read the following post which I found on a military website that is full of interesting information here titled "homeland security blues"   

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/cat_homeland_security.html

More of my opinion on this terror-angle can be found on my Joe anybody website under the 'Terror' tab -->

http://www.joe-anybody.com/id57.html

Homeland Security

Blues 

When I scan the papers for how the feds, state and locals are dealing with terrorist CBRN [Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear] incidents, I cringe. We seem to swing from pandering to our worst fears to get a few more bucks to blind rote repetition in hazard response that doesn't match logic to the threat. Here's a few examples that I hope are not typical, but I wonder...

In Denver, there was a "white powder" scare on Sunday - actually, it wasn't even a powder scare, it was a number of capsules holding a yellow powder which were delivered to a bank. It tested positive for a biological organism (protein) but not anthrax. There was no threat in the envelope, no return address, no visible signs of ill effects on the employees handling the mail. So of course the locals did the routine thing - quarantine the seven bank employees and the police officer who answered the 911 call, call the feds, let the WMD Civil Support Team confirm it's not anthrax, and strip and wash the employees in the bank's parking lot. Yep - routine.

But as a precaution, the employees were scrubbed in a puffy orange tent and sent home in a hazardous- materials suit because the substance was still unknown Sunday evening. One of the female employees cried on her way out of the decontamination tent, where she was required to strip naked and get scrubbed down by a hazardous-materials team.

The police officer also was decontaminated because he came in contact with the employees when he answered the 911 call.

Okay, is it asking too much for someone - between FEMA, the FBI, the Army (assuming the 20th SUPCOM), the WMD CST, and the Denver firefighters and hazmat team - to think, hmmm, doesn't test out as a BW agent or any typical white/yellow powder, no weird messages in the envelope, maybe we don't have to recreate the decon scene from "Silkwood" for what is probably a false alarm and obviously not a chemical or radiological hazard that might cause an acute lethal reaction. Idiots.

Let's flash over to Kansas City, where Kansas State University is planning to open up a Bio-Security Research Institute, which will study food safety. About $54 million is being invested in the facility. The university has a program called "Making America Safer" which includes several projects funded by DHS. They're looking forward to helping...

Now, under the center’s purview, hundreds of researchers and students are engaged in projects aimed at keeping America safe. The center works with the departments of Agriculture, Defense and Justice and other federal, state and local agencies “to facilitate an effective strategy for rapid response to emerging agricultural threats,” Vanier said.

The center is even developing plans for training police and firefighters who would be early responders in the event of a bioterrorist attack.

No, it's not the scientists' job to limit or halt bioterrorism attacks, contrary to the article's cheery tone. Intelligence professionals find out where the terrorists are and counterterrorism units grab the bad guys. All the scientists do is preach how deadly the bugs are and why they need more money to research the hazards. Although I should take it easy on K-State's associate vice provost for research and compliance, Jerry Jaax - he paid his dues as an Army MRIID doc working at the Reston Ebola breakout in 1989 - he's still a typical medic: "a bioterrorism attack could cripple the agricultural-based economy of the [Kansas] region. Jaax said a 'significant risk' of such an attack does exist." Yadda yadda. Where's the intel assessment?

Last, let's jump up to the Fed level. ABC News gets Richard Clarke (its paid consultant) and the FBI's WMD Division to hype up the spinach E. coli incident into a potential agro-terrorism incident.

Government investigators say there's no evidence linking the current E. coli outbreak — in which tainted spinach has caused at least 171 known cases in 25 states, according to the FDA — to terrorism. But those same investigators are keenly aware that America's food supply is vulnerable to attack. An international meeting on how to fight agro-terrorism starts Monday in Kansas City.

Government agencies have held mock exercises to see what would happen if the food supply was compromised. The results were catastrophic.

"What happened was utter chaos," said Sen. Patrick Roberts, R-Kan. "We lost almost the entire livestock herd of the United States, all export stock. We had panic at the grocery stores."

What a shock. A national exercise which went for the "worst case scenario" route to test the leadership responses, despite all lack of any evidence of a current terrorist threat and the complete lack of any past history of agro-terrorism. But it justifies the USDA's research bills.

Is it too much to ask for some sanity? Some logic and common sense? Natural disasters, accidents and indigenous diseases are still the major killers out there, people. I'm not against some funds for countering CBRN terrorism - it pays my bills - but certainly we could be spending it smarter, and more importantly, talking about the topic more intelligently.

UPDATE: Offices in Denver got four "anthrax" envelopes Monday - some copycat with a sick sense of humor. We need FEMA or the state EOCs to develop procedures that will minimize panic and not automatically go to four-alarm mode, assuming that every white powder is anthrax unless otherwise proven. These hoaxes and false alarms are going to continue - better figure out a sane way to face that fact.

-- Jason Sigger, crossposted at Armchair Generalist

September 27, 2006 04:26 PM | Homeland Security | Discuss

Posted by Joe Anybody at 12:16 AM PST

Updated: Tuesday, 16 January 2007 2:03 AM PST

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Mood:  chillin'

Greg urged all of us to write our County Election Clerks and demand

Verified Elections in Oregon.

He told of spoiled votes and how he once flew to New Mexico

And there he found 34,000 uncounted ballots in the garbage so to speak

Problems with chads, touch screens, and GLITCH’s these were the “spoiled votes”

He discusses the other type of “rejected ballots” which also were not counted.

These were known as “provisional ballots”.

Which were all those Military Ballots, that were returned because they couldn’t be “forwarded to the soldier’s location?”

Resulting in many Soldiers that didn’t get to vote at all.

And ….ALL, by the way, were black soldiers.

Then there was the Felony Voters ….to the tune of 94,000 whom were targeted in Florida.

In one case of this rejecting voters, Greg noticed was, where the Republican State Party Chairman was challenging these black voters credibility, and well, it turns out that every single name on their list was a good legal voter.

I think he said around 1 million 900 thousands votes were not counted due to these provisional ballots eventually being tossed in the garbage

Greg then discussed the Oil Lies

And how he had secretly taped these big Huston Oil guy’s and himself discussing the plan.

Only to latter have to remind them when they were lying that he had them on tape, playing “their own voice” as proof to get them to remember.

They had “a Plan” and it was given to Greg by the ol stupid guy ruse

He says to one “Hey!” ….“what is your plan mine is different”

They told him

To be used in Iraq it was called The Plan for Sustainable Oil Industry.

He goes on to mention James Baker III, whom he exposes as a man with an office in the White House & Saudi Arabia. He joked about how Baker plays in the Oval Office.

How he represents big players like the Carlyle Group, Exxon, and Bush and the Saudi’s who were sued in the 911 Tower attack.

With meetings and Oil War plans being in the making they all planned

This was such, as the private meeting with Cheney in his bunker. This meeting was also attended by Ken Lay and others in March of 2000 and together they all worked on the plan.

In what most of us would refer to as à ”price fixing” these guys brokered deals which they claimed would “enhance the relationship with OPEC”

It was the old sales pitch …..“Less oil” = high prices.

.

Back when Iraq appropriated the oil wells from Iran in the 60’s

Greg mentions in Iraq there is 74 fields and only 15 are being in production?

He asked Why so little production in this area?

He refers to 1920 and Winston Churchill who Greg says invented Iraq and for its purpose of oil and oil drilling ….which currently today is that company known as British Petroleum

He mentioned how when John Kennedy was talking with the British after being asked to join in and overthrow the Government of Iran by attacking Iraq who had appropriated the oil and land.

But then Kennedy turned around and told the British how they had been robbing the Iraq people for so long it wasn’t appropriation of their oil wells… it was justice”

Greg mentions 253 billion dollars flowing out to OPEC from the US

And 1/3 of a trillion coming back which is about 311 billion

In fact since the war began Exxon reserves have grown by 666 billion dollars.

He talked of Venezuela, offering cheap oil and having plenty of the reserves to do it.

Greg mentions Chavez doesn’t like the US oil plans, and coincidently Venezuela, owns a key U.S. subsidiary called Citgo Petroleum Corp., which has 14,000 gas stations and owns eight oil refineries in the US

He offers cheap oil but said he will not give the US his,”countries money” back

He is willing to help the poor with cheap oil but not loan or put his profits into the US economy.

In fact to prove his point Greg said Chavez withdrew 20 billion dollars out of the US and loaned it to the countries of Argentina and Ecuador.

He ends the lecture by promoting his book and encouraging us to get out and vote.

He talked of Martin Luther Kings Family being proud of his new book Armed Madhouse.

Proud enough to place this book on their father’s grave which is what was told to Greg by one of the family members. He ends with a short inspiring talk of marching for civil right

And a references by Jessie Jackson saying, how they should march down and throw the book through one of the white house windows not put it on a grave.

And a brief why we should bother to vote, - and a short “don’t take our flag” reflection.

They want to take votes from dead soldier, well make them Steal them, he says!

Greg predicts that they will take (steal) 5 million votes this next time in 2008

So he says we will need to then have….. 6 billion voters at the polls on that day!

Greg then closed with a quote, a fitting choice to repeat

(I think it was from Bush who the quote was from) a reminder from March 17 in a message to the Iraqi people

“Do not fight for a dieing regime …it is not worth your life”

We could heed those words today ourselves, says Greg.

 This report is also posted on Portland Indy Media here http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/06/340504.shtml

Posted by Joe Anybody at 5:29 PM PST

Updated: Friday, 5 January 2007 6:07 PM PST

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Mood:  loud

The following article about Saddam's hanging and the question why were so many cell phone videos allowed to be recording this? I think this was extremely uncalled for and was deliberately set up to further the Bush Agenda and crusade.

I found this all here on the TPM CAFE .COM website --> http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/michaelroston/2006/dec/30/saddam_and_the_cellphones 

michaelroston's Blog

Saddam and the cellphones

By now, millions of people have viewed the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Not just Al Iraqiya's pornographic tease of America's old pit bull just prior to his necktie party. No, I mean millions have watched Saddam actually hang. Take a look at the video up at this website Live Leak, a YouTube clone (Hat tip to No Quarter; you probably don't *really* want to follow this link). How many views? When I clicked it was 134,205 times it had been watched. Meanwhile, the people at Boing Boing found 4 more of these clips at Google Video, guaranteeing that millions more casual internet users will watch Iraq's dead president swing. And I'm sure it will be no time at all before these videos are pressed to a million VCD's sitting on the floor of marketplaces across the Middle East to be viewed as short films prior to one's at home screening of a pirated copy of Dreamgirls.

Clearly, the location of Saddam Hussein's execution was one of the most secure settings for an execution ever constructed. So, why are we finding on the move about this planet a bunch of viral, unrestricted and uncensored videos of what is probably the most controversial execution ever carried out?

Newsweek provided an interesting interview with Ali Al Massedy, the "official videographer" tasked with producing the official record of the execution. He usually does this job for Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Presumably, they brought him in to shoot the film so that there would only be one version of the execution, and the government would then be able to tightly control its distribution. Ali says as much:

Ali said the videotape lasts about 15 minutes. When NEWSWEEK asked to see a copy, Ali said he had already handed the tape over to Maliki's chief of staff. "It is top secret," he said. He would not give the names of officials in attendance, though he estimates there were around 20 observers....He also said that government officials had not decided whether or not to release the videotape.

Well, I guess they decided. It was so top secret that they let multiple men out of that limited group of 20 bring in cellphones with video functions, and then allowed them to record the execution. I bet you couldn't smuggle a gun into that execution chamber. But apparently you could smuggle a cell phone with a video camera into those gallows, and stand out in plain sight 15 feet from the platform and shoot that video of this "top secret event" to your heart's desire.

And just as our fair president raced to wake up Saturday morning and issue a statement about what had been done in Iraq, several of those 20 attendees raced home or to their offices to upload videos of a hanged Saddam Hussein so everyone in the world could see this secretive execution carried out.

What a sham it has been. Pretending at the time of Saddam's capture that now was the time for a trial, and pretending at the time of his sentence that now was the time to order his execution, and pretending at the time of his execution that now was the moment he had to hang, and then pretending that it was a secret act carried out with discretion to avoid antagonizing any of Iraq's population.

Here we are seeing 21st century psychological operations. It's hard to know who is directing this internet traffic, but it can be concluded there were elements within America's government and/or military, working in concert with Iraq's current scarecrow power-holders, who wanted as many people as possible in the world to see Saddam hang. And from that rope hanged not just that bearded old man, but whatever was left of our culture that hasn't been degraded by the 7 years of 'leadership" we've been dragging around with us.

*************

Posted by Joe Anybody at 2:16 AM PST

Updated: Friday, 5 January 2007 6:29 PM PST

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