Author: Nag

Were Christiane Amanpour’s telephone calls illegally intercepted by the NSA?

In a recent interview with the author of the CIA tell all book,“State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration” NBC’s Andrea Mitchell pointedly asked James Risen if the NSA is sweeping up information about US reporters in it’s illegal spy operation. Risen didn’t seem to know the answer to that question. then she asked a doozie out of the blue:

“MITCHELL: You don’t have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, Christiane Amanpour, might have been eavesdropped upon?”

Risen hadn’t heard about that. Apparently, neither has Amanpour or CNN.

Well, what do we make of this? Just a misplaced rumour? There are 21 members of Congress who seem to think that there just could be something to the report. They have written a letter to the President demanding any information on the matter.

This is just the type of thing we all expected to discover from the NSA spy scandal. Perhaps, if true, it will give the media a good jolt into reality and result in deeper and more truthful reporting of the NSA mess.

The big media companies are still under the influence of the Bush administration, but if reporters begin to feel that thrill of personal fear at the prospect of being under top secret surveillance perhaps we will begin to see more spurts of real reporting.

Raw has this story under “developing” and I’m sure glad that they picked it up. We need to watch this story closely. While Dubya lured all those ex government officials to the White House to “listen” to their advice, (yeah, right) things just may be heating up over the NSA scandal. Stay tuned.

Update [2006-1-5 22:8:50 by Nag]: The Bush government apparently has so many enemy lists and spy programs that they are categorized into subcategories. Thanks to Rumi who mentioned this list and Dada who found the link for me, here’s the info about the list of journalists identified for evesdropping:

“The journalist surveillance program, code named “Firstfruits,” was part of a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) program that was maintained at least until October 2004 and was authorized by then-DCI Porter Goss. Firstfruits was authorized as part of a DCI “Countering Denial and Deception” program responsible to an entity known as the Foreign Denial and Deception Committee (FDDC).”

Here’s an article from Capitol Hill Blue about Dubya’s extensive dossiers on political enemies that could number 10,000! I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceburg.

Update [2006-1-6 8:36:56 by Nag]: “Firstfruits”

When I first tried to search the term “Firstfruits”, the term given to the surveillance of reporters, all I could find were religious references. I have since gone back and looked at some of those links and have discovered that “Firstfruits” refers to the Jewish feast day that takes place the day after Sabbath during the week of Unleavened Bread, or Passover. The offering of firstfruits consisted of the first juice and ripe produce of the season, and the firstborn of every household was to be offered to God.

Firstfruits is third of seven feasts of Isreal said to be “shadow prophecies”; firstfruits foreshadows the resurrection of Jesus, the Lamb of God, the ultimate Passover sacrifice.

Now why would a secret surveillance program involving journalists be called “Firstfruits”? Are the journalists to be offered as sacrifices in order to form a Christian government in the US? The more I think about this the more bizarre it seems. If anyone has any ideas on this, fire away. I think that the connection is not accidental and could be another perversion of faith by the wacko Christian right that is operating out of the White House.

The Bush legacy is one that just keeps on giving… or handing out punishment, depending on your point of view. There have been some pretty well documented accusations that Bush has quietly set up militias in Iraq to deal with the insurgency, a la El Salvador in the 80’s. These government militias are death squads, plain and simple, funded, trained and equipped by the US. The plan was supposedly that these militias could go in and brutally root out members of the insurgency by the hundreds where they live and operate. The fact that this technique often misses the mark and hits innocent Iraqis is obviously an acceptable glitch to US planners. Government militias pick up hapless Sunnis, whisk them away to be tortured, and hundreds then turn up dead in Iraqi rivers, alleys, and countryside. These troops trained by the US use electric shock, skin their victims alive and use electric drills, among other lovely techniques.

This nasty plan has taken a turn for the worse in Iraq.

Reportedly, Iran is investing millions in southern Iraq in the form of aid to charity orginizations and political parties in order to influence the elections. What the US isn’t saying is that these militias were originally set up to be death squads to go after insurgents and now the Iranians have taken over the operations to murder Sunnis and further their own interests.
So, as Bush keeps cranking out propaganda in the form of speeches on Iraq, and the upcoming election is put forward as a victory in itself, the fact is that another major blunder by the US has virtually guaranteed that Iran will be firmly imbedded in Iraq’s government and affairs from day one.

This should be huge, but probably won’t see the light of day in the major media outlets. The Bush blunders that have been publicised are the tip of the iceburg, a few scratches on the surface of the nightmare that is Bush’s true legacy.

George W Bush has high hopes that history will judge him to be one of the world’s greatest leaders. Well,you can stand on a pile of dung and declare it to be granite but eventually it will start to stink. The fact is that the United States of America has condoned, taught and practiced torture as part of its arsenal since the Viet Nam era. Many in Bush’s administration have been around long enough to be thoroughly desensitized to violence and torture as a state tool. They can’t accept the fact that it is still considered wrong. Bush has consciously made many torture techniques legal, so he thinks he’s safe when he says “We don’t torture”. Bush and his administration can manipulate what is legal, but they can’t seem to tell the difference between right and wrong.

Is it any wonder why no one in their right mind believes Condi Rice’s explanations of extrordinary rendition done under the noses of the Europeans?

The “America is Good” fantasy that is so pervasive in this country has been a flagwaving whitewash for decades. Under Bush that layer has been stretched to a thin vaneer of lies that is so very easy to see through. What is on the other side isn’t pretty, or noble, or even necessary. If America follows the conservative lead on torture and allows it to become widely accepted, what will be the results? How many Americans would be willing to wave flags for a country that thinks it’s ok to indefinetely imprison and torture its citizens for shadowy reasons that never see the inside of a courtroom? Will Grandma someday be waterboarded for running a stopsign? Will every prison have a torture room? A rape room? Conservative thought is rife with harshness and violence against others… from their merciless economics to their twisted religious fears of anything or anyone different from them. I really don’t care why their world view is so selfish, violent, and extremely repulsive . I don’t want to understand conservatives, I want to get them the hell out of government.

Now that American torture is out in the open, this is the time to rid ourselves of it once and for all, not the time to embrace and expand such horror.
Bush’s policies, arrogant, steeped in violence, bereft of conscience, if allowed to continue, will signal the beginning of the end of our grand Democratic experiment. Only a national debate on our torture policies can save us. Not a parsing of words as to what’s legal, an honest discussion of who we are and what is right. We as a nation must decide if we are to be America the beautiful or America the great satan.

When I was in parochial gradeschool, we learned all about the place that unbaptized babies go when they die: Limbo. Over the years we learned that the church sent any holy unbaptized soul to Limbo, kind of like that can where you throw all your spare change. Baptism had to have top billing and is the only way one can get into heaven, so they had to come up with this Limbo schtick.
Oh, woe is me, I have discovered that the Church is about to do away with Limbo for good. Limbo is one of those concepts that we laughed about even in gradeschool and it got me to thinking. Lately, the Church is just no fun anymore, what with abusive priests, anti-gay proclamations, Santorum… you know, no fun. Why can’t it be like the old days when church stuff was a hoot?

I recall when giving to the missions was our reason to be. The absolute best was “pagan babies”. We forked over our nickels and dimes to the nuns and received little certificates for each pagan baby we bought. I think most of my pagan babies now play in the NBA.
When I got to high school, still under the thumb of the nuns, there was still plenty of schtick to go around. When I was a senior our English teacher, Sister Mary Frederick, mysteriously sent the boys to the library. Turns out she was going to prepare us young women for the wicked world of men and sex. Some of Freddie’s biggest hits:

* NEVER sit on a man’s lap without the thickness of a Sears and Roebuck’s catalogue between you

* NEVER use a white tablecloth… it reminds men of bedsheets

* NEVER wear a necklace… it draws a man’s attention to your chest

* NEVER EVER wear black patent leather shoes because it reflects your underwear

She held these “sex education” classes for an entire semester and there was little or no absenteeism among the senior girls on those days. Sister Mary Frederick was sweet and as old as the hills and we loved her dearly. Years later, when she passed on, one of my friends and I held an Irish wake and toasted her all night long. Sister Mary Frederick most assuredly is not in Limbo.

Anyone else have silly memories of growing up in the throes of religious schtick?

Update [2005-12-1 9:26:53 by Nag]:Oops, I forgot to include the original article because I just know this Limbo thing is so earthshattering, I’d better be able to substantiate it.

In military jargon it’s called Willy Pete. It’s contained in many everyday items: fertilizers, soft drinks, toothpaste, pesticides, cleaning compounds and fireworks, to name a few. The military applications are many: smoke screens, marker shells, incendiaries, hand grenades, smoke markers, colored flares, and tracer bullets.

It’s the incendiary form of white phosphorus that was used in Fallujah, killing civilians and insurgents alike.

The battle for Fallujah took place in November 2004. Ever since the battle, there have been reports of victims with horrific burns, bodies burned to the bone, the city almost flattened along with it’s inhabitants. These stories have been largely ignored in the US media, but they refused to die. The flames were fanned recently when RAI TV in Italy aired its documentary, “Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre,” and the deffication has finally hit the oscillating circulator.
“In the film, eyewitnesses and ex-US soldiers say white phosphorus bombs were used in Fallujah. Rai says this amounts to the illegal use of chemical weapons and says they were used indiscriminately against civilian populations.”

The accusations have been flying that what happened in Fallujah in November 2004 amounted to the use of chemical weapons against the people of Iraq.

When finally confronted with eyewitnesses, photos and testamony of US soldiers, the US military at first lied through their teeth:

““Suggestions that U.S. forces targeted civilians with these weapons are simply wrong,” U.S. Marine Major Tim Keefe said in an e-mail to Reuters on Tuesday. “Had the producers of the documentary bothered to ask us for comment, we would have certainly told them that the premise of the programme was erroneous.”“

Less than a week later:

White phosphorus is not banned by international law per sae. The minute the US used it against people as a weapon, that changed everything:

I expect that this story will not go away anytime soon. The military insists that white phosphorus is legal, period. The truth is, we used a chemical weapon on Iraqis. Under Bush we torture, we lie, we rape, and now we burn the flesh off of children. That’s Bush’s moral highground.

Democracy Now! transcript from Nov 8 2005: U.S. Broadcast Exclusive – “Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre” on the U.S. Use of Napalm-Like White Phosphorus Bombs
Democracy Now! transcript from Nov 17, 2005: Pentagon Reverses Position and Admits U.S. Troops Used White Phosphorous Against Iraqis in Fallujah.

Amy Goodman

Joyce Marcel penned this Ode to Amy Goodman which is posted over at CommonDreams.org. Amy is the voice of Democracy Now!, a talk show produced at Pacifica in NYC.

What kind of radio show is Democracy Now!? Amy’s own words describe it the best:
“This is a daily national grassroots news hour with a very strong international focus. We are a global community, bringing out the voices of people who are often not heard, that I think represent a majority of people on many different issues. And it is a forum for serious debate, dialogue, and discussion – what an international news hour should be.”
Amy and a colleague were once beaten senseless by Indonesian soldiers. She didn’t quit, she didn’t sit and cry about it, she got up, brushed herself off and went on.

There was a period of time when Democracy Now! left Pacifica radio and broadcast from an old fire station. Did Amy shrug and give up? No, in fact, her radio show still originates from that fire station, even though Pacifica welcomed her back long ago.

Does Amy think of the popularity of her radio show as a comment on her own popularity? Hell no, Amy feels that all the popularity is a result of people thirsting for alternative news and discussion. All this from a woman who apparently has never sat for a publicity photo. Jeeze, as far as I know, she still doesn’t even color her graying hair.

Recently I went through some dark days. I imagine that we all go through some form of emotional anguish from time to time directly resulting from our involvement in politics. I take things personally. Ah, but that’s where I get into trouble. I needed a few lessons in humility and sheer determination.

I’m back from that abyss, again. This time, I’m ready for the fight like never before.

Thank you, Amy Goodman.

Democracy Now! homepage

Some articles/transcripts by Amy Goodman
WaPost 2003 article about Amy via Common Dreams

In case you missed it, Dover, Pennsylvania has become one of the hotbeds of controversy involving the teaching of intelligent design in our schools.

“Dover’s school board adopted a policy in October 2004 that requires ninth-graders to hear a prepared statement about intelligent design before learning about evolution in biology class.“

After Dover adopted this policy, eight families with children in the system sued on the grounds that the policy violated the concept of seperation of church and state. A ruling is expected by late January in the case.

In the meantime, eight of the nine board members who pushed intelligent design on the district were up for reelection yesterday. All eight are proud Republicans; all eight were ousted and replaced with Democrats.

Nothing will change in the district until the upcoming ruling on the court case, but the people of Dover have spoken, and loudly.

Another ruckus is underway in Kansas, where intelligent design is rearing its ugly head:

“A similar controversy has erupted in Kansas, where the state Board of Education on Tuesday approved science standards for public schools that cast doubt on the theory of evolution. The 6-4 vote was a victory for intelligent design advocates who helped draft the standards.“

Republicans this morning are having to face the fact that bullying the public with extremism just won’t work any more. The Kansas School Board had better take note. The American electorate is mad as hell and yesterday’s elections have put Republicans everywhere on notice: no more bullshit.

Washington Post article

The Register article; interesting look from the UK

All the (Vice) President’s Men

Now that we are getting closer to the truth about who led the “fixing” of intel in the runup to the Iraq war, perhaps it is time to look at who is the mastermind behind torture, rape and murder becoming official policy of the Bush Whitehouse.

Get a load of this potentially explosive tidbit:

“Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, then the secretary of state, told National Public Radio he had traced a trail of memos and directives authorizing questionable detention practices up through Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s office directly to Cheney’s staff.”

Bush is such a weak, lazy leader, leaning on those around him to prop him up, that he has allowed Cheney to be become the most powerful Vice President in US history. Is seems that not only have Rumsfeld and Cheney been in collusion, but that Cheney has been the real driving force behind the most despicable fall from morality our country has ever seen.

David Addington, Cheney’s new chief of staff, is one of the staunchest supporters of unlimited presidential powers. Apparently, Cheney also ran an “alternate national security staff” that spied on and sought to undermine the real National Security Council. So Cheney’s shadow government consisted of the WHIGS, meant to fix intelligence, and an alternate national security staff, meant to fix policy.

These people believe their own lies. They obviously believe in what they are doing. They believe in torture. They believe in murder. They proudly reflect the personality and beliefs of their leader Bush.
I’m praying that before all is said and done, nothing short of a presidential pardon will protect all of them from serious jail time.

This shows how neocon ideology has turned into an evil malignancy on the US Presidency, threatening the foundations of our democracy. It’s time to tear the roof off of the White House and let the sun shine in. Even that may not be enough. Anyone know of a good exorcist?

International Herald Tribune article

People love to speculate. When the subject of the speculation relates to Dear Leader’s trials and tribulations, well, I’m hooked. The following stories come with a warning label: “For Amusement Only”. Our first story is perhaps the only one that is not gossip, but made me smile anyway.

* Polls says that majority of Americans want Bush impeached. Discontent in America is underreported, downplayed and covered up. People who identify themselves as Republicans are a minority in this country. Yet they are in charge and ruling with an iron fist. Something’s gotta give. full story here

The real dirt follows.
* * *
* Bush’s temper is getting worse by the day. Seems as if Baby Bush is really a baby. These rumours are very persistent and in my humble opinion, are probably true. Heh. full story here

* Bush and Darth Cheney fighting? Ha! According to Philiadelphia’s Attytood, Cheney is tired of cleaning up Dubya’s messes. See? I told you this would be fun. full story here

* Andy Card and others come together to oppose Karl Rove. Or, “Those on Fitz’s Short List vs. The Survivors”. This fun item comes to us from a Chris Matthews interview of newsweek’s Howard Fineman. full story here

Take the gossip with a grain of salt, believe it or not. It sure seems that Bush’s administration is in the throes of some in-fighting and upheaval. And that makes me smile.

Update [2005-10-12 10:53:26 by Nag]: Carole Coleman, the Irish reporter who REALLY interviewed Bush and prompted an official protest to the Irish government, was so disgusted with him that she “wanted to slap him” during the interview. Heh. I love this stuff. I found Carole’s excellent article. full story here

[Update] The first 2 photo links at the top of this diary are now mysteriously missing from the internet. Let’s try this one.

Froggy Bottom Photography Fair October 8 and 9

There is no real theme to my diary, I just chose my favorites. Adversity followed me throughout the making of this diary; my dial up connection is acting up royally. It took me 4 hours to upload my 10 pictures today, I’m fried.
In keeping with the concept of being dial-up friendly, my larger images are only 600 pixels wide.