Where Were You On September 11th, 2001?

September 11th, 2001 is our generation’s D-Day or Pearl Harbor, to name a few, a catastrophic event which is remembered by asking people where they were when it happened.

Today marks the 6th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. There’ll be demonstrations and there’ll be remembrance events. Will there be another terrorist attack? Probably not. Too obvious. Today is most likely the safest day to fly in America. Then there’s all the conspiracy theories of the events of 9/11. Do you believe in any of them? Was 9/11 an inside job? If you know any “credible” theories of 9/11 on the net, add the link with a small description below in the comments section!

Six years ago today I was a senior in high school in Hungary, on a bus with the other seniors, heading to Bovec, Slovenia for fall trips. Around the half point of our 12-hour bus ride, our school director paused the movie we were watching and announced that there’s been an incident in New York. It was around the time that people knew that it wasn’t an accident. Naturally, blame was immediately attributed to several powers, such as Muslims, Palestinians, and Americans. Someone even suggested the Japanese… Obviously, none of us had any clue as to what had really happened. We were on a bus with barely any means of communication to the outside world, with the exception of the school director calling the school a few times to get updates and one student’s Nokia Communicator from which was somewhat broken as only about one word out of four were legible from the screen. What he managed to decipher from one piece of news was that in the region of 50,000-100,000 had died. What was left out was that that number was the number of people working in the Twin Towers on a normal day. You can imagine the panic that some people went through. There were some 35ish of us on the bus from many different nationalities, mainly Americans. Upon reaching our destination, most of us retreated into our hotel rooms to watch the news on TV. Spending the trip in a room with two Americans, what was surprising was that I was the one who stayed up until 2am to watch President Bush’s speech to the nation and the rest of the world… The next evening, we got drunk on Slovenian wine.

So, where were you on September 11th, 2001? What did you do that day? Where were you when you first heard about the attacks? Please reply in the comments section below!



Signs Of Success? Iraq Ranked Second On Failed States Index

For the past three years, Foreign Policy magazine and the non-profit Fund for Peace have ranked 177 states to create a “Failed State Index”.

In the latest report card, which ranks the nations in order of their “vulnerability to violent and internal conflict and societal deterioration”, Iraq found itself taking home the silver, losing only to Sudan.

And all this “despite billions of dollars in development and security age and the continued presence of U.S. troops”.

Last year, Iraq ranked fourth place, and has seen its position in the Index fall for a third consecutive year. And the U.S. troops have been there for what, 4 and a bit years now…

Quick look at Afghanistan, another war-torn country, and another “important” front in the War on Terror. Where was Afghanistan on the Failed States Index? In eighth place… So a little better, but not too much.

Sudan, where the United States doesn’t have a substantial number of soldiers (are there any American military personnel there?), ranked first on the list. This is attributable to the violence in the Darfur region, violence that has killed at least 200,000 people and displaced a further 2-3 million people. And this is a place that could potentially benefit from a prolonged U.S. military presence, unlike Iraq and Afghanistan where things keep going from bad to worse each year.

The violence in Darfur is worrying because it’s pulling Sudan’s neighbouring countries down with it. Actually, with the exception of Iraq and Afghanistan, all the countries in the top 10 on the list were found in sub-Saharan Africa…

So there are the facts. Now let’s spin in towards the White House…

The Bush Administration has repeatedly argued that U.S. troops are necessary in Iraq to prevent the country from becoming a failed state (well done there, maybe next year…), and also to stop Iraq from becoming a breeding ground for international terrorists.

Overall levels of violence in Iraq have actually increased throughout the country, shifting away from Baghdad to the previously “peaceful” provinces.

Does that mean that the surge is working? The main point of the surge was to clear Baghdad of insurgents, right? So having them move out to the countryside to do as they please without much interference should be considered a success, right?

“Political reconciliation has almost entirely stalled, suicide bombing have more than doubled between January and April, secretarian deaths have increased beyond pre-[surge] levels, and U.S. troop deaths are spiking.

Sound like success to you?

Let’s hand the mic to White House spokesman Tony Snow for a second to hear his thoughts on the success of the surge:

“…it does fit a pattern that we see throughout the region, which is that when you see things moving towards success, or when you see signs of success, that there are acts of violence. …we’ve seen that in Lebanon…”

On the Failed States Index, Lebanon experienced the biggest slide, ending up in 28th place. 16-17 years of progress made since the end of its 15-year-long civil war 1990, bombed to rubble (quite literally actually) by Israel last summer, driving 700,000 people out of their homes.

So, are those signs of success? Didn’t think so…

Snow also suggested that the increased violence in Iraq is a by-product of “pro-democracy movements…making some progress…”

Meanwhile, security forces in Baghdad have stated that only 40 % of Baghdad is very safe on a routine basis, with about 30% lacking control and a further 30 % suffering a high level of violence.

Signs of success, maybe?

Jordan’s King Abdullah predicted last November that three civil wars could erupt in the Middle East in 2007. He’s top three?
Palestine (check)
Lebanon (check)
Iraq (check)

I said check to all three for one simple reason: call it what you will, Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq are for all sakes and purposes experiencing civil war. Wars and civil wars are named and typically classified as such by subsequent generations, not by the one fighting it. World War I, at the time, was referred to as the Great War, as it was seen as the war to end all wars.

Point is, the only reason “there is no civil war in Iraq” is because the Bush Administration doesn’t want it to be called that. Having aided in the birth of a civil war wouldn’t look so good on Bush’s legacy, would it?

Oh wait, too late…

I’ll leave you with a Q & A between reporters and White House spokesman Tony Snow:

QUESTION: “Has the war in Iraq has helped push the peace process forward in any way…?”

SNOW: “Don’t know. I mean, what I don’t think is — quite often people say, well you can’t — you’re not focusing on the Middle East because you’re focusing on Iraq. They are all related.”

QUESTION: “But before the war the president said that taking out Saddam Hussein would help stabilize the Mideast. Do you think that’s turned out to be true?”

SNOW: “Hard to say…”

Where did they find this guy…? Seriously…

For the complete Failed States Index 2007, click here.

Sources:
Salon.com: We’re No. 2!
DailyKos: On The Bright Side…
ThinkProgress.org: Iraq ranks #2 on failed state index
Reuters: Iraq now ranked second among world’s failed states
Yahoo! News: Pentagon: Iraqi violence still rising (via Digg)
Yahoo! News: US: 60 pct. of Baghdad not controlled (via Digg)
ThinkProgress.org: Snow: Intense New Levels Of Viole In Iraq Are “Signs Of Success”
Huffington Post: Iraqis Assure Bush Progress Being Made
ThinkProgress.org: Snow: “I Don’t Know” If Iraq War Has Helped Stabilize Middle East, It’s “Hard To Say”

President Bush “On The Frontlines Of War”

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow seems to be the man for the job, being this skilled at avoiding questions. Here’s a snippet of his skills:

Reporter at White House press conference:
“Are there any members of the Bush family or this administration in this war?”

Tony Snow:
“Yeah, the President. The President is in the war every day.”

Then there’s Bush, acknowledging his detachment during a press conference in February:
“I can only tell you what people on the ground, whose judgment — it’s hard for me, living in this beautiful White House, to give you an assessment, firsthand assessment. I haven’t been there; you have, I haven’t.”

And First Lady Laura Bush claiming that “no one suffers more than their President and I do.”

So the bigger question here is, Does Bush sleep at night?

Or did the reporter touch upon a touchy issue?

Think Progress has a video of the press conference in question.

Source:
ThinkProgress.org

Don’t forget to take part in the polls of “Who Will Be Elected President In 2008?“!

Iran To Execute Porn Stars, Distributors, Directors, etc…

“…producers of pornographic works and main elements in their production are considered corrupter of the world and could be sentenced to punishment as corrupter of the world.”

Iran’s parliament has voted in favor of a bill that could lead to the death penalty for persons convicted of working in the production of pornographic movies.

That applies to producers, directors, cameramen and actors who contribute to the making a porn film.

In addition, distributors of the movies and admins of web sites in which the films appear could face from a one year imprisonment to a death sentence.

Oh, and not just videos. All pornographic material, such as DVDs and CDs, magazines, books are, or will be banned under Iranian law.

It is said that the bill came about because of a sex tape scandal last year when a private video of an Iranian actress having sex with an unidentified man became available in Iran.

The actress, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, who calls the video a fake, is under an ongoing official investigation and very likely faces fines, whip lashing or worse for her violation of Iran’s morality laws.

The unnamed man on the tape has been charged with breach of public morality laws and remains in jail.

And in the Western world, if a celebrity sex tape is leaked to the public, they become famous and get movie parts, record deals, TV shows, book deals, etc…

What a world of a difference…

Then again, I don’t think this would add to Bush’s visions of attacking Iran. You know there are some conservatives in the United States who are (possibly quietly) applauding the anti-obscenity measures in Iran…

Source:
CNN: Iran moves to execute porn stars

GOP Chief: More Terrorist Attacks On U.S. Soil, Please. ¿Que?

In an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the new head of the Arkansas Republican Party, Dennis Milligan stated that he is “150 percent” behind Bush on the war in Iraq.

Milligan also said that America needs more terrorist attacks on its soil.

That’s not a misprint. He actually said that. Here, see for yourself:

At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country.”

Wow… What the hell?

Maybe what Milligan said about President Bush’s latest immigration bill shines some light on his state of mind:

“That is between the president and Congress, and I am just going to let them hash it out and work it out. I just think that is something for probably smarter people than me to figure out. It is a tough situation either way, but something definitely needs to be done.”

Yup, he said it. There’s smarter people than him. BIG surprise…

Sources:
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: GOP chief: New strategy key

Nature Strikes Back: Bird Poops On President Bush During Press Conference [Video]

At a White House Rose Garden press conference in May, while President Bush was answering questions about the scandals surrounding his Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, nature gave him a piece of its mind.

An outdoor news conference in perfect spring weather, with birds chirping loudly in the magnolia trees, is not without its hazards.

As Bush told the assembled press that “I’ve got confidence in Al Gonzales doin’ the job”, a sparrow flew overhead and left a present on the President’s sleeve, which Bush tried several times to wipe off.

The Deputy White House Press Secretary was quick to spin the incident in a positive manner, stating that: “It was his lucky day…everyone knows that’s a sign of good luck.”

It is unknown whether the incident was merely an accident, or if it was politically driven. It is possible that the delinquent sparrow was an environmental activist, protesting Bush’s record on environmental issues and global warming.

The sparrow in question has not been reached for questioning and no one is pressing charges.

Video of the incident is available here and here.

Sources:
ABC News (video available)
Crooks and Liars (Video Available)
(Via Huffington Post)

U.S. Calls Global Warming Satellites Too Expensive

The United States seems to be consistently hampering global warming measures.

In a new round of political/bureaucratic pencil-pushing, the U.S. has began to drastically cut back on the tools its scientists use to measure global warming from space.

Anything President Bush says in trying to convince the rest of the world that the United States are ready to pick up the slack and have some responsibility is just words.

A satellite initiative, begun in 1994, is the newest victim. The initiative would have provided American scientists with the tools to measure the long-term effects of greenhouse gases more accurately.

Instead, due to technology glitches and a near-doubling of the original $6.5 billion cost, the Defense Department has decided to downsize and launch four satellites paired into two orbits, instead of the originally planned six satellites and three orbits.

Only a slight difference then?

Because of the reducing of the system, the four satellites will now focus on weather forecasting, instead of measuring global warming. Most of the climate instruments needed to collect more precise data over long periods are being eliminated under the new plans.

The biggest irony? The forces behind the satellite initiative, the Pentagon, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA will rely on European satellites for most of the climate data.

And finally, some doubletalk, courtesy of George W. Bush:
Mr. Bush has repeatedly cited his administration’s record on researching global warming as a response to criticism of his opposition to forced reductions in the greenhouse gases blamed for it. The administration has been spending about $5 billion a year on global warming: $2 billion on climate research and $3 billion on technologies for combating it.

Cutting back funding and cancelling initiatives is always the best way to boost research into global warming, isn’t it?

Source:
CBS News: U.S. Says Climate Satellites Too Costly

Bushism

“Fool me once… Shame on… Uhh… Me. Uhhh… Fool me twice… Shame on … Ummm … We shall not be fooled!”
-George W. Bush

You might remember that quote from the end of Michael Moore’s ‘Fahrenheit 9/11′. He’s new documentary, ‘Sicko’, will be another controversial topic of conversation. Well, in addition to the controversy about shooting the film in Cuba without the proper permits that’s already upping the ante and the hype about the film.

Sources:
Celebrity Wit

Bush Hires Halliburton/KBR To Build Detention Camps… IN AMERICA

Houston-based KBR, Halliburton’s former engineering and construction subsidiary, was awarded an initial, one-year $385 million contingency contract by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to build detention facilities within the continental United States.

History lesson: during World War II, the United States Government maintained detention camps within America to house American citizens of Japanese descent.

These detention facilities which Bush has authorized are a part of the new “National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive”, to be used in the event of a national emergency, a mass migration crisis or a natural disaster.

“The idea of the KBR contract is to support the Army Corp of Engineers in case we experienced a sudden mass immigration and we had to respond quickly. We would need immediate detention facilities in the form of temporary housing that would enable us to determine if the large numbers of illegal immigrants were political or economically motivated, or if they were criminals or terrorists.”

Is this a possible indication that the Bush Administration is considering closing down Gitmo?

What could possibly be meant by a “sudden mass immigration”? There are only a few possible nations around the United States where an exodus to America could originate from.

Canada? Very unlikely. It’s a big country, capable of dealing with a disaster on it’s own.

Mexico? With current immigration trends and geopolitical issues in mind, only a catastrophic natural disaster would result in a mass immigration from Mexico to America.

Russia? To Alaska? Yeah, not gonna happen.

Cuba? Now this scenario is possibly conceivable. A coup, overthrowing Castro (Fidel or Raul) could force some people on the run towards America, other Caribbean Islands, or Latin America. A natural disaster would drive people away from the island nation, yet the United States wouldn’t be the number one choice for a lot of Cubans.

Other Caribbean Islands? America is essentially either too far or politically not very inviting.

Scratch “sudden mass immigration” from the list then. Natural disaster? The temporary housing of displaced residents from disaster areas has been FEMA’s job, placing them “temporarily” in trailers. A detention camp would probably be a worse choice than the pitiful arrangement in place today.

Which brings us to the vaguely specified “national emergency”, in the event of which the President assumes dictatorial powers over the nation. If you add an element of terrorism to this concuction, you’ve got yourself a plan. Anyone suspected of terrorist activities will have a new home, so to speak.

And you know these detention facilities would exist outside judicial accountability, just like Gitmo.

Or is the Bush Administration planning something more sinister, such as rounding up every person of Arab descent within America for “national security reasons”?

Just speculating here… It’s getting harder and harder to distinguish the truth from the lies, the unthinkable from the possible…

Sources:
WorldNetDaily.com: THE NEW WORLD DISORDER (via Digg)

Bush Designates Himself As Dictator (In The Event Of A Catastrophic Event)

There’s talk about President Bush having entered the lame duck period with 19 months left of his presidency, as demonstrated by the ongoing quest to pass new immigration laws.

Apparently, Bush doesn’t really need congressional approval to get his way.

On May 9th, Bush signed the “National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive”, a double-bill designated as NSPD-51 (National Security Presidential Directive) and HSPD-20 (Homeland Security Presidential Directive).

Seeing as that last paragraph doesn’t really say much, let’s take a closer look:

The “National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive” is a directive granting extraordinary powers to the office of the president in the event of a declared national emergency, apparently without congressional approval or oversight.

Translation: should some kind of emergency occur, the President of the United States automatically assumes sole control over the nation and all branches of government, without accountability to anyone.

The directive establishes under the office of the president a new national continuity coordinator whose job is to make plans for “National Essential Functions” of all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president’s directives in the event of a national emergency.

Although the president is in control in the event of an emergency, he (or she) grants a coordinator a lot of power to oversee the stability and functioning of government and private sector organizations. The national continuity coordinator in question would be the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, currently Frances Fragos Townsend.

What exactly constitutes a “catastrophic emergency” that the directive suggests?

It is loosely defined as “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions.”

Doesn’t that pretty much mean that anything goes? “Any incident, regardless of location…affecting the U.S. population…” So anything, anywhere? Oh dear…

The president can assume the power to direct any and all government and business activities until the emergency is declared over.

And who has the authority to declare the emergency being over? The President.

Remember me mentioning that the President doesn’t need congressional approval? The signing of this particular directive practically annuls the National Emergency Act, which requires that this kind of proclamation “shall immediately be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register.”

Anyone tell Bush that?

The National Emergency Act sets up Congress as a balance empowered to “modify, rescind, or render dormant” such emergency authority if Congress believes the president has acted inappropriately.

The directive makes no reference to Congress and essentially states that there’s no requirement for the president to submit to Congress a determination that a national emergency exists.

So, to summarize, the President can declare a national emergency, making him a de facto dictator over the entire nation until the national emergency is declared over, a declaration which is up to the President to make at his will.

Sound like a democracy to you?

Have you noticed that although America attempts to spread democracy around the world, they themselves employ a completely different type of democracy. From now on we’ll call it Democrazy.

Sources:
WorldNetDaily.com: LAW OF THE LAND
(via Digg)