Slowly, the hallucinations fade into haze, and we started to realise they'd slipped us a mickey. Of all the dumb luck. Pretty soon the withdrawals would start. We had to get back to the Man with the Silver Lies: Hell, we didn't care if they were lies. But, dammmit, there was something sinister on that blurry horizon. People trying to tell us what was really happening. Scram! Get! Dammit, we're happy! Don't you see? We just need MORE...

Billmon, think you could do a piece a la Hunter S Thomson?

L

Billmon,
Once again you've proved that you know exactly how to expose the Bush Junta and the media whores who support it. Please, whatever you do, don't get discouraged or think it's all futile, I'm beginning to suspect that more people than we thought really do care about these issues.
Keep it up, Billmon, we're all counting on you...
S

What sceefy said.

The public may be slow and stupid, but it's not totally brainless.

"can't fool all of the people...", even the ones who are so cemented to the Republican platform that they are still using Clinton's "sex-capades" to combat the severity of this "war" (ahem, Miss Ann). I am so glad that people are finally beginning to see the light about the extreme advantage, or disadvantage for us common-folk, this administration has taken. Thanks Billmon and keep up the good work!!!

Billmon, think you could do a piece a la Hunter S Thomson?

I did about 10 years of my life a la Hunter S. Thomson. I don't think I've got enough brain cells left for a repeat.

To be fair, Hunter S. Thompson can't write a piece like Hunter S. Thompson anymore, either.

I'm trying to figure out where the 56% gets their news. If this "peace" is going well, we are all in deep trouble.

Thank god the steady drip, drip, drip of scandal is starting to eat away at the teflon coating Dear Leader is wearing.

I did about 10 years of my life a la Hunter S. Thomson. I don't think I've got enough brain cells left for a repeat.

SNORT!

"memo to self--get golf shoes with cleats--need the traction in this blood-soaked carpet--watch out for the giant lizards...."

Loved the illustrations in that book, too.

Back on track--This poll is great news. All the trends are in the right direction, even Rummy is worried that the public is going to notice the FUBAR they have created. Stupidity and arrogance always lead to a fall, but would it happen soon enough?

Too often it goes:
"You can fool some of the people some of the time...And that's usually good enough!"

-marku

Totally off-topic, on the HST tip:
Fear and Loathing in the Millennium Dome

L

Just as an addition to those figures, the Guardian/ICM poll in Britain last week asked 'do you think military action against Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein was justified?' - 48% yes, 40% no.

Sort of in referance to the one fellow who posted a "fear and loathing in Las Vegas" line; The genius of Thompson wasn't writing about a drug induced haze, it was when he stopped to talk about why that haze was more appealing than reality. And because I can't find a quote at the moment that matches that, I'll give you one that was about Meese, but (unfortunatly) covers a certain other AG. "One of the women asked me what I thought about Ed Meese, the new attorney general. 'He'll get you,' I said, 'You'll all be in jail before long.'"

I think the question is more about whether you can fool all of the people permanently.

Looking briefly at the numbers at Polling Report doesn't exactly hearten me, but I do think that the cumulative effect of all this bad hype is going to make some difference.

L

Why is the fact that more than two-thirds believe having U.S. troops in Iraq now is worthwhile good for Bush? Aren't they just acknowledging we're in a quagmire?

And even assuming everyone who thinks we were right to go in also thinks we should stay, that still leaves more than 10% of Americans thinking we shouldn't have gone in, but now that we're there, we can't afford to leave. Can you say 'avoidable quagmire'?

Also, didn't the numbers of dead since May 1 not gel with the reality? They listed 22 US and 6 UK KIA.

I thought it was substantially higher than that figure.

I thought it was substantially higher than that figure.

They're not counting the "accidental" deaths. I have my own doubts about a lot of those casualties, since I suspect at least some of them involve things like "accidentally" running over a land mine, or "accidentally" getting hit by an RPG.

Somebody believing that having troops in Iraq now is worthwhile doesn't necessarily reflect support for the war. I was adamantly opposed to the war, but I believe that having troops there now is worthwhile. I think that because we can't just pull out now. we've created this mess; it's our responsibility to clean it up, and I don't see how do do that without having troops on the ground. They're not being managed well, but I don't see how we have any choice now except to stay there.

Blair - hahhah - busted! or something. Again. I doubt anyone notices this.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10273

Microsoft Word snares Tony Blair

Tattle-tale header files analysed

By Egan Orion: tiistai 01 heinäkuu 2003, 11:53

THE LABOUR government of Tony Blair might soon reconsider its odd addiction to Microsoft software. It just bit him in the butt.
An IT industry writer with some skills in computer forensics took a close look at the Government's infamous plagiarized Iraq dossier and found proof that it was heavily edited after it left the professional hands of the British Intelligence services, by 10 Downing Street.

Richard Smith of computerbytesman.com was able to access the revision history that Microsoft Word maintains within document files and found 10 entries, the last seven traced to people identified as Tony Blair's political retainers or employed on his office staff.

So much for blaming the spooks. The Vole's hung Blair out to dry. µ

L'INQ
http://www.computerbytesman.com/privacy/blair.htm

An IT industry writer with some skills in computer forensics took a close look at the Government's infamous plagiarized Iraq dossier and found proof that it was heavily edited after it left the professional hands of the British Intelligence services, by 10 Downing Street.

My God that's brilliant! I was a reporter for almost 15 years (and an investigative reporter for several of those years) and I would never have thought to look at something like that.

LOL. Gates claims another victim.

"I have my own doubts about a lot of those casualties, since I suspect at least some of them involve things like "accidentally" running over a land mine, or "accidentally" getting hit by an RPG."
One could say the same about many of those helicopter "accidents" in Afghanistan too.

Microsoft Word snares Tony Blair

The loud whooshing, sucking sound I'm hearing must be all the hot air rushing out of that pompous British balloon.

It's a short five miles from my place to Bill Gates'. Do I need to hop over and give him a pat on the back?

Don't despair. People who understand the truth are in the minority but they must continue to make sure that the truth is exposed to the daylight and not hidden away in some bureaucrat's office. Besides, it's because of your good work that people like me don't fall into despair. It's good to know that not only are there other people of like minds, but they can actually express their ideas clearly and concisely.

You know, Billmon, calling them "CNN whores" is a real slur on the hard-working practitioners of the world's oldest profession. Whores don't generally promote mass-murder and illegal invasions, after all.

Again. I doubt anyone notices this.

Oh, you never know...

I took the liberty of posting this over at dKos.
With full credits to Ville and Mr. Billmon, of course...

You know, Billmon, calling them "CNN whores" is a real slur on the hard-working practitioners of the world's oldest profession

You have a point -- but these guys work hard for their money, too. And I'm sure they have the kneepads to prove it.

anybody have the figure of wounded tho, I think it has to be around another hundred or so since the 1m$ photo op, its a grim buisness, but someone needs to be writing all of this down someday, if things were to go badly for the free thinking man, I hate the thought of trying to explain the relaity of this crap to my kids, and to try and convince then the text books are wrong.....

This is how you make friends? Huh?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&ncid=578&e=3&u=/nm/20030701/ts_nm/crime_usa_aid_dc

U.S. Bans Military Aid to Almost 50 Countries
38 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!

By Jonathan Wright

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday declared almost 50 countries ineligible for military aid, including Colombia and six nations seeking NATO (news - web sites) membership, because they back the International Criminal Court and have not exempted Americans from possible prosecution.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said 35 of those countries had been receiving U.S. military aid this year and, in some cases, all the money was already spent. But the ban could still be in effect when a new fiscal year starts in October.

As the deadline passed for governments to sign exemption agreements or face the suspension of military aid, President Bush (news - web sites) issued waivers for 22 countries.

But those 22 did not include Colombia and the eastern European countries of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Colombia, where the government is fighting leftist guerrillas and drug traffickers, has been one of the largest recipients of U.S. military aid, with $98 million this year.

Boucher said all but $5 million of the Colombia military aid has already been spent. The $5 million is now frozen.

Richard Dicker, director of the international justice program at Human Rights Watch, said the suspension of aid worked against some of the Bush administration's other policy goals, such as intercepting drugs in the Caribbean and expanding NATO into eastern Europe.

Of the seven eastern European countries expected to join NATO in May, only Romania has signed a deal with Washington on the ICC.

"This campaign has brought resentment and bitterness from some of the U.S. government's closest allies and comes at an extraordinary high price," Dicker told Reuters.

Other major countries liable to the suspension of military aid are Brazil, Cambodia, Serbia and South Africa.

TRAINING AND WEAPONS

A U.S. official said that if countries had ratified the treaty setting up the international court and had not received a waiver, the ban on military aid would come into effect.

But the threat, enshrined in the American Service Members Protection Act of 2002, does not apply to the 19 NATO members and to nine "major non-NATO allies."

The suspension covers international military education and training funds, or IMET, which mainly pay the cost of educating foreign officers at U.S. institutions, and foreign military funding, which pays for U.S. weapons and other aid.

IMET funds usually amount to less than $1 million per country a year, but foreign military funding can run into the hundreds of millions.

Congress passed the law out of disapproval of the International Criminal Court, set up to try war crimes and acts of genocide. The United States says it feared politically motivated prosecutions of civilian or military leaders.

The United States had hoped that the threat to withdraw aid would lead to a last-minute rush to sign Article 98 agreements exempting U.S. personnel from transfer to the court.

Altogether 44 governments have publicly acknowledged signing the agreement and at least seven others have signed secret agreements, U.S. officials say.

The pace of signatures does appear to have picked up a little. About 25 governments have signed in the last four months, about half of those in the last three weeks.

green boy:

i thought "illegal invasions" was the title of a porn film...

let's not drop the ball just because of a little creeping of the american sanity gauge needle back toward "S". third verse!! same as the first...!!!

Here is an observation. From some of the reading I have done recently, it seems very clear to me that GWB's grandfather not only assisted in financing the Nazi party in Germany in the 20's and 30's, but also benefitted from slave labor from the Auschwitz camp. The decision to award rebuilding contracts to the likes of Halliburton, Bechtel, and Carlyle was made before the invasion/occupation of Iraq was even voted on in Congress. George Shultz, R Reagan's defense secratary, sat not only on the board of Bechtel, but also on a lesser known group that recommended Iraq policy. We all know GHWB's ties to Carlyle. Halliburton had shell companies set up in the Canary Islands, in order to do business with Iran, and Libya. War profiteering seems to run in the Bush family, and those they choose to align themselves with. My question is this: How can a nobody like myself figure this out, and no one else seems to care/notice/understand?

One could say the same about many of those helicopter "accidents" in Afghanistan too.

This always intrigued me as well. During peacetime our troops are constantly training in these same helicopters, often in desert conditions, like in Afghanistan, yet when is the last time you heard of an Apache going down in non-combat operations? However, in Afghanistan, you'd think these multi-million dollar machines were Ford Pintos they way they were falling out of the sky due to "mechanical problems" and the like. The most likely reality is that these things are pretty easy to shoot down with a little training and a pile of decades old SAMs...just ask the former Soviet Union. And still our ass-kissing press corps, just soak up the lies like Brawny paper towels, then pass them along to us as messy spit-balls in the face, but noboby seems to care.

Sigh.

I would be a little more hesitant to automatically assume that the accidents are "accidentally running into an RPG with a truck etc." for the reason that it sounds reasonable that there is an increased accident rate in a combat zone for a variety of reasons. Troops are tired, they are stressed, they are nervous so the truck backfiring in front of them sounds like a rocket being launched which causes the 19 year old PFC who is driving to do his best impression of a NASCAR driver with a 5 ton truck. Maitenance is probably not up to peacetime best standards for the same reasons --- people are tired, stresses and because of resistance and accidents, the logistic chain is not perfect so parts may not always be there so preventive maitenance may be deferred for another day or week.... Helicopters are flying with heavy loads, low to the ground and they are doing it frequently. So I believe the accidents are accidents but the rate is contributed by the fact that they are in combat regions.

Fester

american u.s. troop toll:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030629/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_389

"A torrent of guerrilla-style attacks and sabotage has marred efforts to re-establish order since Saddam's ouster. Nearly one third of the more than 200 U.S. troop death toll comes from attacks or accidents since major combat was declared over May 1."

Espumoso,

Combat helicopter crashes are the number one killer of US military personnel during peacetime. (Whenever that is). It's not unusual to see the high rate of accidental deaths in military operations.

Fester. I'm sure that combat being well, combat, has a lot to do with an increase in accidental crashes. I guess what I find fascinating is that, to my recollection, I don't remember a single copter loss to hostile fire in Afghanistan, yet many copters were lost. We're they all really due to "accidents'? Maybe so, but I'm skeptical.

drs. Interesting. I guess we just don't hear about them during "peacetime" since a Laci Peterson, or (insert random kidnapping story here) case is far more important. I'm still skeptical that all of the deaths in Iraq and copters going down in both places are due to bona fide accidents. I could be wrong, but the gov't has an interest in keeping the combat casualties to an absolute minimum, hence my skepticism.

I think "you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but not all the people all of the time" was from P.T.Barnum.

Also there is the possibility that American troops wounded in combat who dies later from their injuries would not be considered combat deaths. In addition, in the future as troops combat civilians and do maneuvers in 120 degree heat, any deaths due to heat exposure won't be catagorized as combat deaths either.
Searching for Entrepreneurship Legality and Fairness in Public Policy

I think "you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but not all the people all of the time" was from P.T.Barnum.

Nope, that was: "There's a sucker born every minute."

(Actually, I read here that it wasn't said by Barnam, but by one of his competitors.

Still, makes a great GOP talking point.

"It is true that you may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people all the time."

Bartlett's attributes this phrase to Abraham Lincoln, and sources it to Alexander McClure's Lincoln's Yarns and Stories (1904), where it is claimed to have been said to a caller at the White House.

Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1940 ed.) also attributes it to Lincoln but sources it to William P. Kellogg and Richard Price Morgan (whoever they are), who claim to have heard Lincoln say it in a speech at Bloomington, Illinois, on May 29, 1856.

H.L. Mencken's A New Dictionary of Quotations (1942 ed.) also ascribes it to Lincoln, but says that it is "not found in his public papers," so it may be apocryphal.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

If you want to know more about the state of the military's equipment in Iraq, take a look at this site:
http://www.sftt.org
They ask for letters from the field, and boy, do they get them!
My hubby is in the military, and I can tell you that, on a good day, they have to canabalize equipment for spare parts...I can't even imagine how bad the conditions are over there:(

Well, whatever games they want to play with the casualty counts -- particularly fatalities, since the numerous maimings are hardly even mentioned -- the death toll for US troops is now 65(+?) higher than "at the end of major hostilities" (May 1).

God, those "minor hostilities" are a real beast! I'll start accepting supposed exclusions from the "combat losses" when the Pentagon starts listing casualty *specifics* instead of just playing data manipulation games with broad-brush categories. (My understanding is that the "Other" deaths also may include "friendly fire" fatalities -- amazingly questionable to just split out from a tally typically labeled "in attacks".) Oh, what a tangled web we weave ...

So, as sanity slowly takes over the US, do you feel more like an American again, and less like a Canadian? In any case, happy Canada Day.

Flash!!

Pentagon applies American standards of jurisprudence to War Accounting

"In an effort to reduce unnecessary insinuations of combat-related fatalities, the Pentagon today announced that all subsequent deaths in the Iraq theater will be considered "innocent until proven guilty". Mere forensic evidence, such as a bullet wound, that is only *suggestive* of battle-induced loss will be considered inconclusive without proof positive that the wound was neither self-inflicted nor careless. Entry wounds located on the forward portion of the body will necessitate careful consideration of the possibility that the enlisted personnel may have 'walked into it'.

"Additionally, all further casualties occurring within a US military vehicle of any type will be assumed to be the result of a design flaw or operator error. Had the vehicle and its controller functioned entirely as expected, these incidents would not arise. It is unreasonable to assume hostile action to be the root cause in such a case.

"All new fatalities will therefore require a careful, non-existent investigation before being conclusively summarized as 'war-related'. ... News at 11."

They left one response off that poll: "Whadda ya mean 'if'?"

As I daily monitor the variety of radical left websites, I continue to marvel at the lack of awareness and perception on the part of the radical left. You seem to live in some "Never-Never Land" where you don't have to grow up and you live to plot against your arch rival, Captain Hook. It is reflective of the failure of the public school system that so many of you on the far left lack an ability to understand world events. You continue to feed one another with your hopes of unseating President Bush and your utter disdain for his policies.

These policies reflect the common sense and mature wisdom of nearly half of US Citizens (another 45 percent represent the "Liberal Democrat" more idealized social vision, and the remaining 3-5 percent represent the radical anarchist and social democratic views that have no welcome [or opportunity] among the 95-97%conservative and Liberal Democrat population

If you really understood American politics, the American people and how they vote, you would understand that barring some sudden poor health or similar event, President Bush will receive around 65% of the vote and probably carry 45-48 states if the opponents are of the sort of Dennis Kucinich, Howard Dean, Cynthia Mckinney, or Ralph Nader. That is how it will play out. In fact, Bill and Hilary Clinton are doing everything they can to ensure a Bush landslide so she can run in 2008. This is common knowledge among Democrats and Republicans.

A little education of war and occupation; no one of any consequence believes that you can occupy a country like Iraq (and with Saddam and many cohorts still on the loose) and not have these miniscule attacks (not to denigrate the loss of even one soldier)which are quite few in the face of the situation. You will undoubtably see a campaign to eliminate and/or capture these elements that is probably a combination of covert and open operations. In six months there will be a real change in Iraq to the positive and support for the President will be near 70 percent.

An added note for some of your readers who made comments such as not ever hearing of Apaches crashing during non-combat maneuvers. It happens every month. Whether it be operator error or mechanical failure, military deaths occur every month for as long as we have had a military. I know, I am a veteran, 2 Marine sons, and a male from my family has served in the military in every generation since the early 1700's. From Privates to Sailors to Generals, we have served proudly and when necessary, sacrificed our lives for this great nation.

Is this discussion over with?

In six months there will be a real change in Iraq to the positive and support for the President will be near 70 percent.

Ah just what we all needed: some of that ol' time gospel music!

And there'll be pie in the sky by and by . . .

"If you really understood American politics, the American people and how they vote, you would understand that barring some sudden poor health or similar event, President Bush will receive around 65% of the vote and probably carry 45-48 states"

Reverend, are you talking to the same God that aWol does?

Reverend, are you talking to the same God that aWol does?

Gary: Indeed! The "good Reverend" seems to forget that most blatantly deceptive presidents (like Johnson, with the "Gulf of Tonkin") display the "common sense and mature wisdom" NOT to actually *run* for a second term after so callously deceiving the people.

All bets are off on your boy Bush, Rev! He's not only abused the privilege, he's actually running on it! Thanks for the presumed "education", but I can do without all that sermonizing. Been through this nonsense before, in the 1960's. And I'm not about to be fooled again!

As I daily monitor the variety of radical left websites ...

Reverend: You must be of the *far-right* persuasion! I've always perceived this web site as relatively moderate, and literally chock full of that "mature wisdom and common sense" you allude to.

Of course, it doesn't pontificate sourcelessly or claim oracular powers of precognition, like some folks. (Ahem.)

But I'm curious: Why would YOU "daily monitor" a variety of "radical left websites"? You'd be far more at home in places like the so-called Free Republic site ('Home of the Hitler Youth'). Of course, you wouldn't have much to "critique" there. ;-)

But I'm curious: Why would YOU "daily monitor" a variety of "radical left websites"?......

In answer to your question, there are several very sound reasons.
1. It is important to not just listen to and/or read what others of like opinion say; The strength of one's beliefs are developed by having to provide a reasoned defense of said opinions.

2. There are times when contrary solutions at least cause you to address whether you might be able to develop even better solutions within your own belief system and still maintain the integrity of your beliefs.

3. This is probably the most important for me in my main thrust of life; by being exposed and aware of how people of very different backgrounds, culture, interests, philosophies, faith based, and political beliefs live and express themselves, I am better able to communicate my own ideas when in their environment. "I can get to the bone" when necessary.

It has served me well in diverse places like South African remote villages, the Philippines, Taiwan, Central America, Caribbean Islands, the streets of South Central Los Angeles, Pastoring a predominately Hispanic Church, and Skateboard Parks. And thus, unlike some of my liberal friends, I am equally comfortable in these surroundings as I am in my usual conservative environs.

I would think this is fair advice no matter where your belief system lies on the left-right barometer.

thus, unlike some of my liberal friends, I am equally comfortable in these surroundings as I am in my usual conservative environs.

You mean, places like this?

Yep, I'm sure you fit in great.