what is wrong with this picture? — UPDATING

[click image]

.

Hmmm?

U.S. President is warning Libyan leader that his forces must stop attacking innocent civilians or face military action.

If you can't answer this question instantly, I'm torn between ordering you away from my blog forever and begging you to live here.... [from 11am today]

.

NOON-THIRTY UPDATE:

The French air force destroyed Libyan tanks and armored vehicles on Saturday, the first shots fired in a U.N.-mandated military intervention to protect civilians from attacks by Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

A French defense ministry official said "a number of tanks and armored vehicles" were destroyed in the region of Benghazi, with initial action focusing on stopping Gaddafi's forces from advancing on the rebels' eastern stronghold.

"Rebels"... pfeh....

.

1:15 PM PDT UPDATE:

American warplanes, ships and submarines prepared to launch a furious assault on Libya's limited air defenses Saturday, clearing the way for European and other planes to enforce a no-fly zone designed to ground Moammar Gadahfi's air force and cripple his ability to inflict further violence on rebels, U.S. officials said.

"Rebels"... pfeh... talismanic words....

.

Just a word about the multifarious other pushbutton revolutions in progress: People are being slaughtered and no UN mandates, no French and American airstrikes... pig shit smeared across the globe. Right now.

.

7:05 PM PDT UPDATE:

The U.S. and European nations pounded Moammar Gadhafi's forces and air defenses with cruise missiles and airstrikes Saturday, launching the broadest international military effort since the Iraq war in support of an uprising that had seemed on the verge of defeat. Libyan state TV claimed 48 people had been killed in the attacks....

Fuck.

.

MIDNIGHT PDT OH SHIT UPDATE:

Moscow regrets the attack from a range of European countries on Libya which is being conducted "with reference to the hastily adopted UN Security Council resolution," official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich said on Saturday....

China regrets the multinational military strike launched against Libya, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

"China has noticed the latest development in Libya and regrets the military strike against Libya," Jiang Yu said, adding that China did not agree with resorting to force in international relations.

Part of me hopes this turns into a serious disagreement, but, of course, that's suicidal....

For the record, this might be the source of the downed plane in the "rebel" city that we were assuming was Gaddafi's and setting this whole attack in motion. MIGHT be. Sarkozy's trying to get France behind him again... baaaad poll numbers... but then... the French are NOT as gung ho behind their president's military adventurism as Americans are... hey... can I say "used to be" yet?

.
love, 99
.

hopes for foreclosures to start ramping up again

[click image]

.

I have a really bad headache.

.

He picks the weirdest things to try to keep up appearances with.

Caught between their boss’ anti-lobbyist rhetoric and the reality of governing, President Barack Obama’s aides often steer meetings with lobbyists to a complex just off the White House grounds — and several of the lobbyists involved say they believe the choice of venue is no accident.

It allows the Obama administration to keep these lobbyist meetings shielded from public view — and out of Secret Service logs kept on visitors to the White House and later released to the public.

There are a growing number of wuwu types stumping for us to forget our government and start arranging new ways to handle things that just completely leaves them out. I originally thought that might be a more palatable approach and leave us in better shape than with a just straight up revolution, but that it would require more eye opening than I think the nation is prepared to sustain. It just hit me how much WORK it would be too. So. It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen, despite items about deaths in our Middle East melee and everything you ever wanted to know about the Oscars but were afraid to ask popping up side-by-side in the MSM, to include here on the tubes, you fucking filthy debauched swine.

.
love, 99
.

LOL

[click image]

.

Raimondo loses patience with Arianna helping Hosni with her legendarily assholish headlines.

I see the Huffington Post has another one of their over-sized screaming headlines: "Day of Departure — Will Massive March Force Mubarak's Hand?"

Yes, that's right, Arianna — you airhead — Mubarak will be "forced" to kill, jail, and repress the protesters in Tahrir Square and around the country because their march was too massive.

Why does anybody take this social-climbing limousine faux-liberal seriously? She married a gay guy — Michael Huffington came out to her before they tied the knot — so she could stay in the country, and then acted surprised when she "found out" he played for the Other Team. I say put her on a plane — albeit not before disabling her gaudy purple Blackberry — and ship her back to Greece, pronto.

She can't help herself, Justin.

.
love, 99
.

hey! you know what? BULLSHIT.

[click image]

.

If you follow the link at the link, you will bump into a twenty-minute video introductory to a series of interviews on Peak Oil and a Changing Climate. This is sort of a mashup of the gang to be trotted out for us over the coming couple months. We will be hearing from Richard Heinberg, Nicole Foss, James Howard Kunstler, Dmitry Orlov, Noam Chomsky, Bill McKibben, Greg Palast, Thom Hartmann, Jean Laherrère, and Mike Ruppert... assuming we can muster the juju to put up with it, that is.

Listen. I'm SICK of progressives. I'm sick of their fucking video mashups and lectures and documentaries and endless bursts of "scholarship" that has a hard time standing up to real scrutiny and preaching to the choir and their everlasting half-hearted petition drives and their ever-lasting whole-hearted fund raising efforts... their goddam motor mouths... their frickin' esteemed positions in major universities and in the media, ALL of it. I mean, do NOT EVEN get me started on the comments appending all these.

DO they think we are so stupid as to not notice that they never DO anything to deserve our esteem? Our time? Our ears? Our eyeprints? Do they think they can just keep up with all this palaver for the rest of time... which, granted, isn't long...? I don't think a one of these people, except maybe Palast, could ever be induced to ACT, to LEAD, to MAKE this stuff get handled. This palaver has been coming at us without much in the way of letup for a decade or two, no? WHEN do they put it together that jawing in front of the masses doesn't CUT it? They expect to bask in their celebrity and punditry without any ACTUAL risk, even though they welcome any amount of PERCEIVED risk. Inflates the esteem quotient considerably... which keeps the donations trickling in.

WHY would all the air have gone out of our big push to clean up our act? BECAUSE these fuckers who never shut up never PUT up either. BECAUSE they play games and pile on bogus "science" to try to "prove" that which cannot be proven, but is felt by everyone, is KNOWN to everyone to be true. We're turning our planet into a sewer and it can't support us or most living things much longer if we don't drastically change our ways.

Peak oil is a big so what. It might NEVER actually peak because there very well may be limitless supplies of abiotic oil, but that is moot, moot, moot, moot, moot, because it's FILTHY shit and has to stop. All these "scientists" who have to play around with nothing-close-to-the-truth because the REAL physics must remain IGNORED by the mainstream would better serve by taking long walks off short piers. We. Don't. Need. Oil.

We. Do. Need. To. Clean. Up. The. Filth. And. Squalor. And. Quit. Extinctifying. Living. Things.

NOT rhetorically. The pen is no longer mightier than the sword. The mouth is no substitute for the feet. People VOTE with their feet and if you are watching the feet of this crowd—again, with the possible exception of Palast—you will find them no further away from their desks than yours are right now.

THIS DOES NOT—AND WILL NEVER—FAZE ACTUALITY.

.

.

.

For any of you who are following my doctoral work in Out There, we have a particularly entertaining interview to listen to tonight. For any of you pooh-poohing it as fairy dust or conspiracy, not doing your thought experimenting to bust open that stanky old cell wherein your brain is molding, just ignore this little link. Not your bag. Not your bag.

.
love, 99
.

toadally

[click image]

.

I am heartened that Glenn is keeping his headlamps on liberal hypocrisy. And I really still hope you took out the time to listen to him making my case the other day.

And didn't I quote someone about the Obama Administration being the Dubya Administration on steroids at some point? I really think I did. I really think it ought to be reiterated over the Emergency Broadcast System.

.
love, 99
.

can't make this stuff up

[click image]

.

The Inimitable Kims... new runaway hit reality tv show....

.
love, 99
.

excuse me

[click image]

.

Not the first part of a qualm about blowing innocent people to smithereens in their sleep, but we freak OUT over cuss words on our propaganda boxes.

NYC court tosses FCC's fleeting expletives policy
By LARRY NEUMEISTER (AP) – 5 hours ago

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a government policy that can lead to broadcasters being fined for allowing even a single curse word on live television, saying it is unconstitutionally vague and threatens speech "at the heart of the First Amendment."

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan threw out the 2004 Federal Communications Commission policy, which said that profanity referring to sex or excrement is always indecent.

"By prohibiting all `patently offensive' references to sex, sexual organs and excretion without giving adequate guidance as to what `patently offensive' means, the FCC effectively chills speech, because broadcasters have no way of knowing what the FCC will find offensive," the court wrote.

"To place any discussion of these vast topics at the broadcaster's peril has the effect of promoting wide self-censorship of valuable material which should be completely protected under the First Amendment," it added.

The court said the FCC might be able to craft a policy that does not violate the First Amendment.

It cited several examples of chilled speech, including a Vermont station's refusal to air a political debate because one local politician previously had used expletives on the air and a Moosic, Pa., station's decision to no longer provide live coverage of news events unless they affect matters of public safety or convenience.

"This chill reaches speech at the heart of the First Amendment," the appeals court said.

In a statement, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said: "We're reviewing the court's decision in light of our commitment to protect children, empower parents, and uphold the First Amendment."

Carter Phillips, a Washington lawyer who argued the case for Fox Television Stations Inc., called the decision satisfying. He said the court had "sent the FCC back to square one to start over" by not only tossing the FCC's fleeting expletive policy but also a broader indecency policy as unconstitutionally vague.

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, policy director of Media Access Project, which joined the case on behalf of musicians, producers, writers and directors, said: "The score for today's game is First Amendment one, censorship zero."

Parent Television Council President Tim Winter said the ruling was a slap in the face to parents and families.

"Let's be clear about what has happened here today: A three-judge panel in New York once again has authorized the broadcast networks unbridled use of the `F-word' at any time of the day, even in front of children," Winter said in a statement.

The FCC's fleeting expletive policy was put in place after a January 2003 NBC broadcast of the Golden Globes awards show, in which U2 lead singer Bono uttered the phrase "f------ brilliant." The FCC said the F-word in any context "inherently has a sexual connotation" and can lead to enforcement.

Fox Television Stations, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., and other networks challenged the policy in 2006 after the FCC cited the use of profanity during awards programs that were aired in 2002 and 2003.

The FCC found its ban also was violated by a Dec. 9, 2002, broadcast of the Billboard Music Awards in which singer Cher used the phrase "F--- 'em" and a Dec. 10, 2003, Billboard awards show in which reality show star Nicole Richie said, "Have you ever tried to get cow s--- out of a Prada purse? It's not so f------ simple."

The ruling by the three-judge panel came after the Supreme Court last year upheld the policy on procedural grounds and returned it to the 2nd Circuit for consideration of constitutional arguments.

In Tuesday's ruling, Judge Rosemary Pooler wrote for the three-judge panel, describing the evolution of the FCC's rules for what it regarded as indecent speech.

She recounted how the FCC first exercised its authority to regulate speech it considered indecent in 1975 after the airing of comedian George Carlin's "Filthy Words" monologue containing a 12-minute string of expletives broadcast on the radio at 2 p.m.

The FCC pursued a restrained enforcement policy afterward, limiting its enforcement powers to the seven specific words in the Carlin monologue, she said.

In 1987, the FCC ended its focus on specific words, adopting a "contextual approach to indecent speech," Pooler said.

The FCC changed its policy in 2004, responding to Bono's outburst, by saying for the first time that a single use of an expletive — a so-called fleeting expletive — could result in a fine, she wrote.

The commission then expanded its enforcement efforts and began issuing record fines for indecency violations by treating each licensee's broadcast of the same program as a separate violation rather than a single violation for each program, Pooler said.

In citing the confusion caused by the FCC's current policy, Pooler wrote that the FCC found some commonly used expressions to be indecent while others, such as "pissed off," "up yours" and "kiss my ass," were found not to be patently offensive.

"The English language is rife with creative ways of depicting sexual or excretory organs or activities," she wrote. "Even if the FCC were able to provide a complete list of all such expressions, new offensive and indecent words are invented every day."

Still, she noted that after the FCC defined the seven dirty words banned for broadcasters after Carlin's performance, not
a single enforcement action was brought in the nine years afterward.

"This could be because we lived in a simpler time before such foul language was common. Or it could be that the FCC's policy was sufficiently clear that broadcasters knew what was prohibited," Pooler said.

Lenny Bruce died that I might say FUCK YOU to anyone... anywhere.

.

oh, everything

[click image, audio, 45 minutes]

.

Scott Horton of Harper's talks with Scott Horton of AntiWar about lots and lots of stuff. The flotilla massacre, the ignoble treatment of Helen Thomas, and, oh, torture.

Harper's Scott is fence sitting, doing his sound-even-tempered-about-it thing, which by now is BULLSHIT, but he says some good stuff in here anyway.

.

Actually, some hours later, I'm losing my feeling of equanimity about Harper's Horton's lawyerspeak. I notice that lawyers, after about the age of 45, become incapable of speaking like PEOPLE anymore, EVEN when not in the office, let alone court. They turn determinedly sophist in there somewhere and can't seem to bust out of it. I've been trying manfully to endure this crap out of him, whether in interviews or on his blog, because he's dealing with important stuff, but he's pissing me off more and more with this... and it's making it so I'm going to have to stop wasting time on him.

.

I saw it trying to happen to me and I got the fuck on out, and that's before I started in with the Zen stuff. I can not condemn people for needing their incomes so badly they can't cut their noses off despite their faces QUITE to the extent I do, as I have too many times to count anymore, but IF they are going to stay chained to that income, it is their DUTY not to let this happen, despite the pressure... or they're NOT worth anyone's attention.

.

For Immediate Release, June 10, 2010

Twenty-Seven to Go on Trial for Protesting the Obama Administration’s Failure to Close Guantanamo, Plan for Indefinite Detention, and Refusal to Prosecute Torture

Contact:

Jeremy Varon — M: 732-979-3119 — varon@aol.com
Helen Schietinger — M: 202-344-5762 — h.schietinger@verizon.net

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, June 14 twenty-seven will face trial stemming from arrests at the U.S. Capitol on January 21, 2010 — the date by which President Obama had promised the closure of the Guantanamo detention camp. The human rights activists will hold a press conference outside the courthouse defending their protest, condemning the Obama administration’s continuation of Bush policies, and explaining their use in court of the “necessity defense.” The press conference will be held Monday, June 14th at 8:30 am, across from the Federal District Courthouse (333 Constitution Avenue, NW).

On January 21, twenty-seven people dressed as Guantanamo prisoners were arrested on the steps of the Capitol holding banners reading “Broken Promises, Broken Laws, Broken Lives.” Inside the Capitol Rotunda, at the location where deceased presidents lie in state, fourteen activists were arrested performing a memorial service for three men who died at Guantanamo in 2006. Initially reported as suicides, the deaths may have been — as recent evidence suggests — the result of the men being tortured to death (see Scott Horton, “Murders at Guantanamo", March 2010, Harper's).

“The continued operation of the prison camp at Guantanamo is unacceptable,” Matthew W. Daloisio of Witness Against Torture. “If Guantanamo was a foreign policy liability and stain on the rule of law on day one of the Obama presidency, it surely is eighteen months later.”

“The deaths at Guantanamo show how barbaric US policies have been,” says Helen Schietinger, a defendant in the trial. “We are still waiting for accountability for those who designed and carried out torture policies under President Bush. Obama can’t restore the rule of law if he doesn’t enforce the law.”

The human rights activists plan to mount a “necessity defense” before Judge Russell Canan. “We will be arguing that we broke the law only after exhausting all legal means of opposing a much larger crime—the indefinite detention, mistreatment, and torture of men at Guantanamo and other US prisons,” says Jerica Arents of Chicago, Illinois, another the defendants.

The January protests were the culmination of a twelve-day fast for justice and an end to torture organized by Witness Against Torture in Washington, DC. More than 100 people participated in the fast and daily actions throughout the nation’s Capital.

Futile Gesture #38,423....

.

items to contemplate

For those of you reading on a feed, I have to say that either you should not read my posts until they are at least a few hours old, because I post them and then think of other stuff to link in them, or remember what I forgot to link in them to begin with, and update them, and then find glaring omissions of whole clauses that went into crucial sentences. I'm a wreck. Okay? Always have been. Part of this is my practice of learning how to just blurt out the truth, short form, but part of it is about tying things together that you may or may not have thought go together. So, basically, I'm telling you that very frequently yer not getting the whole thing, the gestalt. I don't know if that matters to you. But I feel a need to keep warning you, because your version on your reader does NOT update with the posts. It stays how it was when you clicked on it and if you want the final version, you should click in every so often.

.

Yesterday, I think it was DGPNorth who linked us here, in comments, to this video of an ex-Marine survivor of the attack on the Mavi Marmara, and no one should miss it.

.

Today, Blue! links us to this bit about Charlie Rangel comparing Obama to Cheney, which I think rocks, even if people will almost certainly start slinging mud about Rangel's ethics, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, impugning his motives and his statesmanship as a result of it. I take great comfort in the fact that many blacks, many black leaders, have NOT fallen under the spell of Obama's skin color, nor have they fallen for his silver tongue. I knew in my bones when Jesse got caught disparaging him in private that we were in for it, and NOT because I think Jesse is impeccable, but because I know his heart is in the right place.

.

Agent BB2 brings me the sad news about Helen Thomas, which I'm sure you all know about already, but I didn't because I was thrown into another revery of cleaning up that dazzling-to-me daguerreotype I keep feeling the need to bump back up to the top of my page, and ignoring the intertubes all day so far.

Helen is a hero. Helen is Lebanese. Helen is beautiful. And her words were righteous. You should be teaching your children and grandchildren to be like Helen Thomas, and you should NEVER forget that or be too pusillanimous or PC to make this abundantly clear to anyone you ever see.

.

Late last night, lafin sent me this link about the bee thing. He'd been trying to tell me all the stuff I'd heard and read about industrial outsized bees was wrong. I don't know if it is or it isn't, but the main point of continuing to mention it is that colony collapse is not solved, this major, major, major blow to life on earth is not solved. It isn't something to get lost in this apocalypse.

.

Maybe you want to go petition against human experimentation, giving at least the appearance of grievance.... Just sayin'.

.

And, finally—at least for this very moment—this is what set me off on my revery this morning, making me ignore the tubes on my indian.

I'm going to post the new image above this soon, and at some point later will add words to it. That's the warning for the feed readers out there, in case they care.

.

MAKE 'EM PAY THE FULL $150 BILLION....

.

aiyana

[click image, audio, half hour]

.
That damn racist Tea Partier, Will Grigg, is going on about some seven-year-old subhuman who got in the way of a TV stormtrooper reality extravaganza in Detroit, home of unforgivably-black drug-addled felons, just as though it mattered to ALL of us. What?

There was a picture of Princess Di on her sixth birthday cake. She posed with The Little Mermaid and Snow White. Putting on airs? Trying to count? Good thing she's dead. Damn menace to society. Damn menace to fascism. Probably taxpayers feeding her for the rest of time, so she could breed up a batch more gangbangers. Can hardly wait for the next episode.
.

I don't know about you, but I take considerable comfort in the fact that she barely knew what hit her. It was over before it could have been much worse than a flash of a terrible nightmare, and, most importantly, she will not have to live in this travesty of America, won't have to sink with us. This probably isn't much help to her family, but unfortunately, the way things are going, it probably will end up comforting them too.
.

This is the sort of thing the Tea Partiers have the heart to protest. I think I'll do a Google Alert to see how many "progressives" I can find even mentioning it, and if they're doing more than tsking it.
.

BTW, if you bother listening to the interview, there is MORE bad news about the morally supine SPLC.
.

Swell.
.

4:45pm — I've done a pretty thorough search and put up an email alert for this and aside from Groupthink putting it up through their AP feed on the day, and Democracy Now! doing a segment on it, it's all black people's blogs, Detroit news outlets and some watered-down MSM. Fuck you.
.

On a more optimistic note, having recently taken Chris Hedges to task about his bullshit line of "Tea Party Brownshirts" — going out of my way to shoot him right between the eyes on the hypocrisy of this — I'm going to take credit for this more careful tone.

You're welcome.
.

And I think it's perfectly appropriate to tack this onto this post, given that Hedges talks of moral nihilism of liberals.
.

11pm: She now has her own Wikipedia page....
.

Swell.
.

head shill, rahmbette malden huffington's latest hit job

[click image of Arianna Huffington greeting Rupert Murdoch]

.
There seems to be a great deal of skepticism about Massa's explanation for his departure from Congress. I swallowed hard and listened to the entire interview with Glenn Beck and then this snippet from his appearance with Larry King, and find I believe him about Rahmbo poking him in the chest in the shower, and about why he quit. I don't know if he really did anything so unethical as to sexually harass any staff, but we all know it wouldn't even have come up if he did... unless they wanted to dump his ass. So that part of it is actually moot.

Beck seemed irked that Massa would not dish enough dirt on this mechanism for political hardball, and we all should be irked about that, but no one should be surprised, because the hardball gets exponentially worse, sometimes lethal, when someone attempts to do that.

There is little reasonable doubt that the White House was doing this to him because they are bent on passing this fascist "health" bill, and the head shill for the Democratic Fascist Party is out there with everyone else in Emanuel's pocket to fuck with your head nonstop until he gets his way.
.

T-H-E-A-T-E-R ....
.

president's lips moving again

[click image]

.
Jocular SOB, ain't he? Once again, here is but one example of how on top of it Firedoglake really is....

T-H-E-A-T-E-R ....
.

as though horton and giraldi set out to bolster all my arguments

[click image, audio, mp3, half hour]

.
Right after I got done with my last post, I proceeded to listen to this interview. These are guys from the conservative end of our bipolar spectrum. Tell me what they are saying that is so offensive to you. Tell me these two aren't completely on our side.
.

religious rites are just nutty

[click image]

.
I've heard the excuse that they serve to concentrate one on the path to righteousness or perfection, but, well, no, they serve to illustrate to self and/or others that one is pious. Forget piety! Illustrate it to yourself and your community! Why actually be humble when there are all these convenient, if sometimes uncomfortable, ways to engage in religious braggadocio instead?
.

i guess nobody died

[click image]

.
Peter B interviews some of the participants in the Gaza Freedom March circus, and I could barely listen to the self-congratulation posing as activism for world peace, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera... but am pleased to know the travesty at least came off without more deaths. Maybe you want to listen to this crap, but it's crap. Gazans are still as miserable and as abject as they were yesterday and will be tomorrow, but, boy, these "marchers" feel good about themselves. That's for sure.
.

kind of blue

[click image]

Conferees Approve Study of Nuclear Bomb
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 17, 2009

The first step toward rebuilding one of the nation's tactical nuclear weapons so it could be put in the stockpile well into the 21st century has been approved by House and Senate conferees.

The lawmakers permitted $32.5 million to be spent next year on feasibility, design and cost studies for the non-nuclear components of the B61-12 tactical nuclear bomb, according to their report released this week on the fiscal 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. The measure contains funds for the nation's nuclear weapons programs.

The rebuilding of the bomb has raised caused some members of Congress and anti-nuclear activists to question whether a new nuclear weapon is being assembled.

The Obama administration did not seek funds for studying the nuclear components of the B61-12, and the conferees made clear that no money could be spent for such a task without approval from the House and Senate Appropriations panels.

The Pentagon is midway through a congressionally mandated review to establish the Obama administration's nuclear weapons policies, including the number of weapons needed in the future. Called the Nuclear Posture Review, it is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early next year. The conferees said in their report that after that review, the National Academy of Sciences would look at the deterrence value of the B61 against nuclear terrorism and other military threats, and that the independent JASON Defense Advisory Group would determine whether the B61-12 can be considered reliable without nuclear testing.

The Bush administration had looked at replacing the current stockpile of high-yield nuclear warheads with new, longer-lasting and more secure weapons. One candidate was a new version of the B61.

Focus has also been on the B61 because it is the nuclear weapon currently deployed in Europe for use by NATO, and must either complete refurbishing or be rebuilt, as is being considered. In a speech last month, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the Nuclear Posture Review "in one or two cases" will "probably [recommend] new designs" for nuclear weapons "that will be safer and more reliable."

The B61 was first produced in 1966, with the number increasing in the 1970s as new modifications were introduced. In 2000, models of the B61-7 and B61-11 were put into refurbishment programs to extend their lives for 20 years.

In their report, the conferees approved $9.9 billion for next year's operation of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which runs the nuclear weapons program within the Energy Department.

Are you surprised?

Really?

pardon me

[click image]

... but isn't bombing sites with nuclear materials still nuking people?

Are they nuts?

Yes. Of course, they are. Pumping profits madly into the "defense" industry....

And, well, tell me again just exactly how this is different than *'s Axis of Evil shtick.... ???

Plus, long as we insist on our preëmptive nuclear strikes, Russia does too. Only prudent.

And, finally, proof Democrats are as hypocritical as Republicans:


Scott Horton talks to Debra Sweet [26 minutes]

yeah, 'sensible', that's the ticket....

[click image]

Obama predicts 'sensible' health care win
By MARK S. SMITH, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 6 mins ago

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – President Barack Obama predicted Monday that Congress would pass his sweeping health care overhaul this fall as more "sensible and reasoned arguments" prevail. But he said immigration changes, another politically explosive subject, would have to wait until next year.

At a North American summit in Mexico, the president also delivered an animated defense of U.S. efforts to help restore Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a June 28 coup. He said critics of his policy in Honduras smacked of "hypocrisy," faulting the United States for being too heavy-handed in Latin America and yet telling him he has not intervened enough in this instance.

Obama spoke at a news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, where he confronted questions on both his foreign and domestic agendas, from drugs in Mexico to the testy health care fight at home.

The president never made direct mention of a matter roiling Washington — the outbursts and hot tempers that have disrupted town halls on health care around the country. Republicans are pointing to them as signs of public dissatisfaction with Obama's health care efforts, while Democrats have accused Republicans of trying to sabotage the democratic discussion.

Said Obama: "I suspect that once we get into the fall and people look at the actual legislation that's being proposed, that more sensible and reasoned arguments will emerge, and we're going to get this passed."

He also spelled out a more detailed timeline on immigration change. The president said he expected draft legislation for an immigration overhaul this year but the matter would not get priority attention until 2010.

"We have a broken immigration system. Nobody denies it," Obama said. But politically and legislatively, the matter stands behind health care, energy legislation and an overhaul of financial regulatory rules on Obama's first-term agenda.

"It's very important for us to sequence these big initiatives in a way where they don't all just crash at the same time," he said.

On Mexico's turf, Obama backed Calderon and his efforts to take on drug cartels during a spiraling war on drugs and guns. Washington is debating whether to withhold money to help fight the powerful cartels because of allegations that the Mexican military has been guilty of human rights abuses.

Obama said he had great confidence that under Calderon "human rights will be observed."

Calderon said the Mexican government has an "absolute and categorical" commitment to human rights.

Targeting the long and painful recession, Obama said that he and the other two leaders agreed to take "aggressive, coordinated action" to restore growth across North America.

Noting the huge trading partnership among the three neighbors, Obama said that commerce must be expanded, not restricted.

Obama said that a "Buy America" provision in the giant economic stimulus package earlier this year had not hurt trade with Canada. "I do think it's important to keep this in perspective," he said. "This in no way has endangered the billions of dollars in trade taking place between our two countries."

Harper rallied behind Obama on Honduras. "If I were an American, I would be really fed up with this kind of hypocrisy," he said.

Obama said his administration has been clear in its view that Zelaya was forced out of his post illegally, and he said the U.S. is working with international bodies to send that message. "If these critics think that it's appropriate for us to suddenly act in ways that in every other context they consider inappropriate, then I think what that indicates is that maybe there's some hypocrisy involved in their approach to U.S.-Latin American relations," Obama said. He did not name any critics.

Started by George W. Bush in 2005 near his Texas ranch, the North American Leaders Summit has become an annual showcase on trade. Canada is the top U.S. trading partner, while Mexico is number three.

This year, as the U.S. economy struggles out of a crippling recession, the leaders met at the Institutos Cabanas, a 19th century home for poor children that's now a sprawling art museum with 23 arched courtyards filled with grapefruit and mango trees.

Streets around the complex were sealed off by heavily armed federal agents and police in riot gear.

The security stemmed in part from the drug wars that have raged in Mexico since Calderon deployed the army in an effort to crush the country's notorious cartels. Some 11,000 people have perished in the conflict.

In a separate meeting with Calderon, Obama voiced strong support of the offensive, but Calderon expressed concerns about delays in the latest installment of U.S. aid under the $1.4 billion Merida Initiative.

Calderon also pressed Obama on allowing Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways. Mexicans suggest the U.S. limits are less about safety — the stated reason — than protecting American hauling companies from competition under the NAFTA free trade accord.

this is already a bona fide obummer

[click image]

We should be watching like hawks. If they won't take him down, the game is so totally on.

Don't miss Greenwald's take....

let me be clear as soaring mud and make no mistake about it

[click image, video of speech]

Transcript:

Good morning. It is an honor for me to be in Accra, and to speak to the representatives of the people of Ghana. I am deeply grateful for the welcome that I've received, as are Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama. Ghana's history is rich, the ties between our two countries are strong, and I am proud that this is my first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as President of the United States.

I am speaking to you at the end of a long trip. I began in Russia, for a Summit between two great powers. I traveled to Italy, for a meeting of the world's leading economies. And I have come here, to Ghana, for a simple reason: the 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra as well.

This is the simple truth of a time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our connections. Your prosperity can expand America's. Your health and security can contribute to the world's. And the strength of your democracy can help advance human rights for people everywhere.

So I do not see the countries and peoples of Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world — as partners with America on behalf of the future that we want for all our children. That partnership must be grounded in mutual responsibility, and that is what I want to speak with you about today.

We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans.

I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story.

My grandfather was a cook for the British in Kenya, and though he was a respected elder in his village, his employers called him "boy" for much of his life. He was on the periphery of Kenya's liberation struggles, but he was still imprisoned briefly during repressive times. In his life, colonialism wasn't simply the creation of unnatural borders or unfair terms of trade — it was something experienced personally, day after day, year after year.

My father grew up herding goats in a tiny village, an impossible distance away from the American universities where he would come to get an education. He came of age at an extraordinary moment of promise for Africa. The struggles of his own father's generation were giving birth to new nations, beginning right here in Ghana. Africans were educating and asserting themselves in new ways. History was on the move.

But despite the progress that has been made — and there has been considerable progress in parts of Africa — we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled. Countries like Kenya, which had a per capita economy larger than South Korea's when I was born, have been badly outpaced. Disease and conflict have ravaged parts of the African continent. In many places, the hope of my father's generation gave way to cynicism, even despair.

It is easy to point fingers, and to pin the blame for these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense bred conflict, and the West has often approached Africa as a patron, rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants. In my father's life, it was partly tribalism and patronage in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is a daily fact of life for far too many.

Of course, we also know that is not the whole story. Here in Ghana, you show us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or the need for charity. The people of Ghana have worked hard to put democracy on a firmer footing, with peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. And with improved governance and an emerging civil society, Ghana's economy has shown impressive rates of growth.

This progress may lack the drama of the 20th century's liberation struggles, but make no mistake: it will ultimately be more significant. For just as it is important to emerge from the control of another nation, it is even more important to build one's own.

So I believe that this moment is just as promising for Ghana — and for Africa — as the moment when my father came of age and new nations were being born. This is a new moment of promise. Only this time, we have learned that it will not be giants like Nkrumah and Kenyatta who will determine Africa's future. Instead, it will be you — the men and women in Ghana's Parliament, and the people you represent. Above all, it will be the young people — brimming with talent and energy and hope — who can claim the future that so many in my father's generation never found.

To realize that promise, we must first recognize a fundamental truth that you have given life to in Ghana: development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. That is the change that can unlock Africa's potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans.

As for America and the West, our commitment must be measured by more than just the dollars we spend. I have pledged substantial increases in our foreign assistance, which is in Africa's interest and America's. But the true sign of success is not whether we are a source of aid that helps people scrape by — it is whether we are partners in building the capacity for transformational change.

This mutual responsibility must be the foundation of our partnership. And today, I will focus on four areas that are critical to the future of Africa and the entire developing world: democracy; opportunity; health; and the peaceful resolution of conflict.

First, we must support strong and sustainable democratic governments.

As I said in Cairo, each nation gives life to democracy in its own way, and in line with its own traditions. But history offers a clear verdict: governments that respect the will of their own people are more prosperous, more stable and more successful than governments that do not.

This is about more than holding elections — it's also about what happens between them. Repression takes many forms, and too many nations are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top, or the head of the port authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny, and now is the time for it to end.

In the 21st century, capable, reliable and transparent institutions are the key to success — strong parliaments and honest police forces; independent judges and journalists; a vibrant private sector and civil society. Those are the things that give life to democracy, because that is what matters in peoples' lives.

Time and again, Ghanaians have chosen Constitutional rule over autocracy, and shown a democratic spirit that allows the energy of your people to break through. We see that in leaders who accept defeat graciously, and victors who resist calls to wield power against the opposition. We see that spirit in courageous journalists like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who risked his life to report the truth. We see it in police like Patience Quaye, who helped prosecute the first human trafficker in Ghana. We see it in the young people who are speaking up against patronage and participating in the political process.

Across Africa, we have seen countless examples of people taking control of their destiny and making change from the bottom up. We saw it in Kenya, where civil society and business came together to help stop postelection violence. We saw it in South Africa, where over three quarters of the country voted in the recent election — the fourth since the end of apartheid. We saw it in Zimbabwe, where the Election Support Network braved brutal repression to stand up for the principle that a person's vote is their sacred right.

Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans and not with those who use coups or change Constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.

America will not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation — the essential truth of democracy is that each nation determines its own destiny. What we will do is increase assistance for responsible individuals and institutions, with a focus on supporting good governance — on parliaments, which check abuses of power and ensure that opposition voices are heard; on the rule of law, which ensures the equal administration of justice; on civic participation, so that young people get involved; and on concrete solutions to corruption like forensic accounting, automating services, strengthening hot lines and protecting whistle-blowers to advance transparency and accountability.

As we provide this support, I have directed my administration to give greater attention to corruption in our human rights report. People everywhere should have the right to start a business or get an education without paying a bribe. We have a responsibility to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't, and that is exactly what America will do.

This leads directly to our second area of partnership — supporting development that provides opportunity for more people.

With better governance, I have no doubt that Africa holds the promise of a broader base for prosperity. The continent is rich in natural resources. And from cell phone entrepreneurs to small farmers, Africans have shown the capacity and commitment to create their own opportunities. But old habits must also be broken. Dependence on commodities — or on a single export — concentrates wealth in the hands of the few and leaves people too vulnerable to downturns.

In Ghana, for instance, oil brings great opportunities, and you have been responsible in preparing for new revenue. But as so many Ghanaians know, oil cannot simply become the new cocoa. From South Korea to Singapore, history shows that countries thrive when they invest in their people and infrastructure; when they promote multiple export industries, develop a skilled work force and create space for small and medium-sized businesses that create jobs.

As Africans reach for this promise, America will be more responsible in extending our hand. By cutting costs that go to Western consultants and administration, we will put more resources in the hands of those who need it, while training people to do more for themselves. That is why our $3.5 billion food security initiative is focused on new methods and technologies for farmers — not simply sending American producers or goods to Africa. Aid is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance must be creating the conditions where it is no longer needed.

America can also do more to promote trade and investment. Wealthy nations must open our doors to goods and services from Africa in a meaningful way. And where there is good governance, we can broaden prosperity through public-private partnerships that invest in better roads and electricity; capacity-building that trains people to grow a business; and financial services that reach poor and rural areas. This is also in our own interest — for if people are lifted out of poverty and wealth is created in Africa, new markets will open for our own goods.

One area that holds out both undeniable peril and extraordinary promise is energy. Africa gives off less greenhouse gas than any other part of the world, but it is the most threatened by climate change. A warming planet will spread disease, shrink water resources and deplete crops, creating conditions that produce more famine and conflict. All of us — particularly the developed world — have a responsibility to slow these trends — through mitigation, and by changing the way that we use energy. But we can also work with Africans to turn this crisis into opportunity.

Together, we can partner on behalf of our planet and prosperity and help countries increase access to power while skipping the dirtier phase of development. Across Africa, there is bountiful wind and solar power; geothermal energy and bio-fuels. From the Rift Valley to the North African deserts; from the Western coast to South Africa's crops — Africa's boundless natural gifts can generate its own power, while exporting profitable, clean energy abroad.

These steps are about more than growth numbers on a balance sheet. They're about whether a young person with an education can get a job that supports a family; a farmer can transfer their goods to the market; or an entrepreneur with a good idea can start a business. It's about the dignity of work. Its about the opportunity that must exist for Africans in the 21st century.

Just as governance is vital to opportunity, it is also critical to the third area that I will talk about — strengthening public health.

In recent years, enormous progress has been made in parts of Africa. Far more people are living productively with HIV/AIDS, and getting the drugs they need. But too many still die from diseases that shouldn't kill them. When children are being killed because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in childbirth, then we know that more progress must be made.

Yet because of incentives — often provided by donor nations — many African doctors and nurses understandably go overseas, or work for programs that focus on a single disease. This creates gaps in primary care and basic prevention. Meanwhile, individual Africans also have to make responsible choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public health in their communities and countries.

Across Africa, we see examples of people tackling these problems. In Nigeria, an interfaith effort of Christians and Muslims has set an example of cooperation to confront malaria. Here in Ghana and across Africa, we see innovative ideas for filling gaps in care — for instance, through E-Health initiatives that allow doctors in big cities to support those in small towns.

America will support these efforts through a comprehensive, global health strategy. Because in the 21st century, we are called to act by our conscience and our common interest. When a child dies of a preventable illness in Accra, that diminishes us everywhere. And when disease goes unchecked in any corner of the world, we know that it can spread across oceans and continents.

That is why my administration has committed $63 billion to meet these challenges. Building on the strong efforts of President Bush, we will carry forward the fight against HIV/AIDS. We will pursue the goal of ending deaths from malaria and tuberculosis, and eradicating polio. We will fight neglected tropical disease. And we won't confront illnesses in isolation — we will invest in public health systems that promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children.

As we partner on behalf of a healthier future, we must also stop the destruction that comes not from illness, but from human beings — and so the final area that I will address is conflict.

Now let me be clear: Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at war. But for far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes.

These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck. We all have many identities — of tribe and ethnicity; of religion and nationality. But defining oneself in opposition to someone who belongs to a different tribe, or who worships a different prophet, has no place in the 21st century. Africa's diversity should be a source of strength, not a cause for division. We are all God's children. We all share common aspirations — to live in peace and security; to access education and opportunity; to love our families, our communities, and our faith. That is our common humanity.

That is why we must stand up to inhumanity in our midst. It is never justifiable to target innocents in the name of ideology. It is the death sentence of a society to force children to kill in wars. It is the ultimate mark of criminality and cowardice to condemn women to relentless and systematic rape. We must bear witness to the value of every child in Darfur and the dignity of every woman in Congo. No faith or culture should condone the outrages against them. All of us must strive for the peace and security necessary for progress.

Africans are standing up for this future. Here, too, Ghana is helping to point the way forward. Ghanaians should take pride in your contributions to peacekeeping from Congo to Liberia to Lebanon, and in your efforts to resist the scourge of the drug trade. We welcome the steps that are being taken by organizations like the African Union and ECOWAS to better resolve conflicts, keep the peace, and support those in need. And we encourage the vision of a strong, regional security architecture that can bring effective, transnational force to bear when needed.

America has a responsibility to advance this vision, not just with words, but with support that strengthens African capacity. When there is genocide in Darfur or terrorists in Somalia, these are not simply African problems — they are global security challenges, and they demand a global response. That is why we stand ready to partner through diplomacy, technical assistance, and logistical support, and will stand behind efforts to hold war criminals accountable. And let me be clear: our Africa Command is focused not on establishing a foothold in the continent, but on confronting these common challenges to advance the security of America, Africa and the world.

In Moscow, I spoke of the need for an international system where the universal rights of human beings are respected, and violations of those rights are opposed. That must include a commitment to support those who resolve conflicts peacefully, to sanction and stop those who don't, and to help those who have suffered. But ultimately, it will be vibrant democracies like Botswana and Ghana which roll back the causes of conflict, and advance the frontiers of peace and prosperity.

As I said earlier, Africa's future is up to Africans.

The people of Africa are ready to claim that future. In my country, African-Americans — including so many recent immigrants — have thrived in every sector of society. We have done so despite a difficult past, and we have drawn strength from our African heritage. With strong institutions and a strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in Nairobi and Lagos; in Kigali and Kinshasa; in Harare and right here in Accra.

Fifty-two years ago, the eyes of the world were on Ghana. And a young preacher named Martin Luther King traveled here, to Accra, to watch the Union Jack come down and the Ghanaian flag go up. This was before the march on Washington or the success of the civil rights movement in my country. Dr. King was asked how he felt while watching the birth of a nation. And he said: "It renews my conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice."

Now, that triumph must be won once more, and it must be won by you. And I am particularly speaking to the young people. In places like Ghana, you make up over half of the population. Here is what you must know: the world will be what you make of it.

You have the power to hold your leaders accountable and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, end conflicts and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can. Because in this moment, history is on the move.

But these things can only be done if you take responsibility for your future. It won't be easy. It will take time and effort. There will be suffering and setbacks. But I can promise you this: America will be with you. As a partner. As a friend. Opportunity won't come from any other place, though — it must come from the decisions that you make, the things that you do, and the hope that you hold in your hearts.

Freedom is your inheritance. Now, it is your responsibility to build upon freedom's foundation. And if you do, we will look back years from now to places like Accra and say that this was the time when the promise was realized — this was the moment when prosperity was forged; pain was overcome; and a new era of progress began. This can be the time when we witness the triumph of justice once more. Thank you.