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The Unknown Candidate

The Unknown Candidate
2008 Presidential Candidate committed to restoring government

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New-Fangled Bank Runs
2007-08-22 03:25:00
The Krug Man reports that "new-fashioned bank runs" are "at the heart of the current financial crisis."It's a Miserable LifeBy Paul KrugmanThe New York TimesLast week the scene at branches of Countrywide Bank , with crowds of agitated depositors trying to withdraw their money, looked a bit like the bank run in the classic holiday movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”As it happens, Countrywide’s customers were overreacting. True, the bank is owned by Countrywide Financial, the nation’s largest mortgage lender — and mortgage lenders are in big trouble these days. But bank deposits up to $100,000 are protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Old-fashioned bank runs just don’t make sense these days.New-fashioned bank runs, on the other hand, do make sense — and they’re at the heart of the current financial crisis.The key to understanding what’s happening is taking a broad view of what constitutes a bank. From an economic perspective, a bank is any institution ...
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Read Between the Lines ...
2007-08-22 01:31:00
US to Give Israel Record Military Aid: "The United States offered Israel an unprecedented $30 billion of military aid over 10 years on Thursday, bolstering its closest Mideast ally and ensuring the state's military edge over its neighbors long into the future. ��The package was meant in part to offset U.S. plans to offer Saudi Arabia advanced weapons and air systems that would greatly improve the Arab country's air force. Israel has said it has no opposition to the Saudi aid. ��The deal represents a 25 percent rise in U.S. military aid to Israel, from a current $2.4 billion a year to $3 billion a year over the next 10 years...."Technorati tags: US Government, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Israel, Saudi Arabia, news
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Take Al Qaeda to Court
2007-08-21 19:19:00
KELLY ANNE MOORE (NYTimes) reports that "the United States does not need a new and untested detention system for terrorists.......... While being held in military custody, Jose Padilla was denied due process for more than three years because of assertions that his case was too difficult or sensitive for the federal courts. His conviction last week demonstrated otherwise. The transfer of his case to a federal court could have and should have occurred much earlier.Many people around the world have come to question America’s commitment to the rule of law. There are few places in the world where that principle is more hallowed than in the United States federal courts. The best course of action now, in dealing with terrorism suspects, is to use these courts — the keystone of American jurisprudence — and show the world that America can protect itself while it respects the rule of law."Technorati tags: New York Times, Kelly Anne Moore, Terrorism, US Justice System, Prisons and Pris...
More About: Al Qaeda , Al-Qaeda , Court , Qaeda

A Not-So-Fond Farewell to Rove
2007-08-19 19:43:00
Bill Moyers bids a not-so-fond farewell to Karl Rove , who "figured out a long time ago that the way to take an intellectually incurious draft-averse naughty playboy in a flight jacket with chewing tobacco in his back pocket and make him governor of Texas, was to sell him as God's anointed in a state where preachers and televangelists outnumber even oil derricks and jack rabbits." For transcript, go to Truthout.org.Technorati tags: Bill Moyers, Bill Moyers Journal, Karl Rove, YouTube, video, news
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News Unreported By "The Most Trusted Name in News"
2007-08-19 18:04:00
Rick Jacobs (The Huffington Post): Blackwater West "...How long before we see Blackwater's trained killers turning up in metropolitan Los Angeles after an earthquake or fire, uninvited, soliciting work? On May 1, 2007, we saw what happens when a well-trained police force gets out of control. Imagine what will happen if a bunch of former special operations soldiers, who are trained to kill show up in an urban setting. And then, say no to Blackwater. We can't have them here. Not now. Not ever.Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency increasingly relies upon corporate research joint ventures, according to agency documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). These corporate partnerships are on the rise as EPA research funding is on the wane, magnifying the effects of diversions of resources away from public health priorities toward regulatory topics that serve commercial bottom lines...."NY Tim...
More About: News , Politics , Bush , Government , Iran

Iraq? Friedman Doesn't See It
2007-08-19 05:26:00
Seeing Is BelievingBy Thomas L. FriedmanThe New York TimesIs the surge in Iraq working? That is the question that Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker will answer for us next month. I, alas, am not interested in their opinions.It is not because I don?t hold both men in very high regard. I do. But I?m still not interested in their opinions. I?m only interested in yours. Yes, you ? the person reading this column. You know more than you think.You see, I have a simple view about both Arab-Israeli peace-making and Iraqi surge-making, and it goes like this: Any Arab-Israeli peace overture that requires a Middle East expert to explain to you is not worth considering. It?s going nowhere.Either a peace overture is so obvious and grabs you in the gut ? Anwar Sadat?s trip to Israel ? or it?s going nowhere. That is why the Saudi-Arab League peace overture is going nowhere. No emotional content. It was basically faxed to the Israeli people, and people don?t give up land for peace...
More About: Politics , Bush , Government , Foreign Policy

Iraq? Friedman Doesn't See It
2007-08-19 05:26:00
Seeing Is BelievingBy Thomas L. FriedmanThe New York TimesIs the surge in Iraq working? That is the question that Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker will answer for us next month. I, alas, am not interested in their opinions.It is not because I don’t hold both men in very high regard. I do. But I’m still not interested in their opinions. I’m only interested in yours. Yes, you — the person reading this column. You know more than you think.You see, I have a simple view about both Arab-Israeli peace-making and Iraqi surge-making, and it goes like this: Any Arab-Israeli peace overture that requires a Middle East expert to explain to you is not worth considering. It’s going nowhere.Either a peace overture is so obvious and grabs you in the gut — Anwar Sadat’s trip to Israel — or it’s going nowhere. That is why the Saudi-Arab League peace overture is going nowhere. No emotional content. It was basically faxed to the Israeli people, and people don’t gi...

Rove: Gone But Not Forgotten
2007-08-19 05:05:00
He Got Out While the Getting Was GoodBy Frank RichThe New York TimesBACK in those heady days of late summer 2002, Andrew Card, then the president's chief of staff, told The New York Times why the much-anticipated push for war in Iraq hadn't yet arrived. "You don't introduce new products in August," he said, sounding like the mouthpiece for the Big Three automakers he once was. Sure enough, with an efficiency Detroit can only envy, the manufactured aluminum tubes and mushroom clouds rolled off the White House assembly line after Labor Day like clockwork. Five summers later, we have the flip side of the Card corollary: You do recall defective products in August, whether you're Mattel or the Bush administration. Karl Rove 's departure was both abrupt and fast. The ritualistic "for the sake of my family" rationale convinced no one, and the decision to leak the news in a friendly print interview (on The Wall Street Journal's op-ed page) rather than announce it in a White House spo...
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Rove: Gone But Not Forgotten
2007-08-19 05:05:00
He Got Out While the Getting Was GoodBy Frank Rich The New York TimesBACK in those heady days of late summer 2002, Andrew Card, then the president's chief of staff, told The New York Times why the much-anticipated push for war in Iraq hadn't yet arrived. "You don't introduce new products in August," he said, sounding like the mouthpiece for the Big Three automakers he once was. Sure enough, with an efficiency Detroit can only envy, the manufactured aluminum tubes and mushroom clouds rolled off the White House assembly line after Labor Day like clockwork. Five summers later, we have the flip side of the Card corollary: You do recall defective products in August, whether you're Mattel or the Bush administration. Karl Rove 's departure was both abrupt and fast. The ritualistic "for the sake of my family" rationale convinced no one, and the decision to leak the news in a friendly print interview (on The Wall Street Journal's op-ed page) rather than announce it in a White House spo...
More About: Politics , Government

Commerce, Treasury Funds Helped Boost GOP Campaigns
2007-08-18 04:37:00
More corruption, folks....Marisa Taylor and Kevin G. Hall (McClatchy Newspapers) report:"Top Commerce and Treasury Departments officials appeared with Republican candidates and doled out millions in federal money in battleground congressional districts and states after receiving White House political briefings detailing GOP election strategy.Political appointees in the Treasury Department received at least 10 political briefings from July 2001 to August 2006, officials familiar with the meetings said. Their counterparts at the Commerce Department received at least four briefings — all in the election years of 2002, 2004 and 2006.The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether the White House's political briefings to at least 15 agencies, including to the Justice Department, the General Services Administration and the State Department, violated a ban on the use of government resources for campaign activities...." Thanks to Al B. for the heads up.Technorati tags: U.S. Commer...
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Commerce, Treasury Funds Helped Boost GOP Campaigns
2007-08-18 04:37:00
More corruption, folks....Marisa Taylor and Kevin G. Hall (McClatchy News papers) report:"Top Commerce and Treasury Departments officials appeared with Republican candidates and doled out millions in federal money in battleground congressional districts and states after receiving White House political briefings detailing GOP election strategy.Political appointees in the Treasury Department received at least 10 political briefings from July 2001 to August 2006, officials familiar with the meetings said. Their counterparts at the Commerce Department received at least four briefings ? all in the election years of 2002, 2004 and 2006.The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether the White House's political briefings to at least 15 agencies, including to the Justice Department, the General Services Administration and the State Department, violated a ban on the use of government resources for campaign activities...." Thanks to Al B. for the heads up.Technorati tags: U.S. Commerce...
More About: Elections , Bush administration , Corruption

FBI Director's Notes Contradict Gonzales's Version Of Ashcroft Visit
2007-08-17 21:14:00
You won't be surprised by this:Dan Eggen (WAPO) reports:"Then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft was "feeble," "barely articulate" and "stressed" moments after a hospital room confrontation in March 2004 with Alberto R. Gonzales, who wanted Ashcroft to approve a warrantless wiretapping program over Justice Department objections, according to notes from FBI...."Update:Judges May Release Wiretap DocumentsEric Lichtblau of the New York Times reports that a secret intelligence court may consider an "unprecedented" request by the American Civil Liberties Union to unseal highly classified terrorist surveillance documents. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ordered the government to respond on the issue by August 31. NYTimes: The Founders Had an Idea for Handling Alberto Gonzales Matt Renner | Notes Show Ashcroft Kept in Dark on Spying: "Notes from FBI Director Robert Mueller, released Thursday by Congress, revealed that Bush administration officials may have prevented Attorney Ge...
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FBI Director's Notes Contradict Gonzales's Version Of Ashcroft Visit
2007-08-17 21:14:00
You won't be surprised by this:Dan Eggen (WAPO) reports:"Then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft was "feeble," "barely articulate" and "stressed" moments after a hospital room confrontation in March 2004 with Alberto R. Gonzales, who wanted Ashcroft to approve a warrantless wiretapping program over Justice Department objections, according to notes from FBI...."Update:Judges May Release Wiretap DocumentsEric Lichtblau of the New York Times reports that a secret intelligence court may consider an "unprecedented" request by the American Civil Liberties Union to unseal highly classified terrorist surveillance documents. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ordered the government to respond on the issue by August 31. NYTimes: The Founders Had an Idea for Handling Alberto GonzalesMatt Renner | Notes Show Ashcroft Kept in Dark on Spying: "Notes from FBI Dire ctor Robert Mueller, released Thursday by Congress, revealed that Bush administration officials may have prevented Attorney Ge...
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Reality Based Solutions
2007-08-17 18:54:00
The Krug Man warns that "the housing slump will probably be with us for years, not months." What can we do about it? Read on.Workouts, Not BailoutBy Paul Krugman The New York TimesIn April, Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary, declared that all the signs he saw indicated that the housing market was ?at or near the bottom.? Earlier this month he was still insisting that problems caused by the meltdown in the market for subprime mortgages were ?largely contained.?But the time for denial is past.According to data released yesterday, both housing starts and applications for building permits have fallen to their lowest levels in a decade, showing that home construction is still in free fall. And if historical relationships are any guide, home prices are still way too high. The housing slump will probably be with us for years, not months.Meanwhile, it?s becoming clear that the mortgage problem is anything but contained. For one thing, it?s not confined to subprime mortgages, which are ...
More About: Politics , Economy , Government , Reality

Reality Based Solutions
2007-08-17 18:54:00
The Krug Man warns that "the housing slump will probably be with us for years, not months." What can we do about it? Read on.Workouts, Not BailoutBy Paul KrugmanThe New York TimesIn April, Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary, declared that all the signs he saw indicated that the housing market was “at or near the bottom.” Earlier this month he was still insisting that problems caused by the meltdown in the market for subprime mortgages were “largely contained.”But the time for denial is past.According to data released yesterday, both housing starts and applications for building permits have fallen to their lowest levels in a decade, showing that home construction is still in free fall. And if historical relationships are any guide, home prices are still way too high. The housing slump will probably be with us for years, not months.Meanwhile, it’s becoming clear that the mortgage problem is anything but contained. For one thing, it’s not confined to subprime mortgages...
More About: Reality , Solutions , Ality

Kucinich Sounds the Alarm
2007-08-17 03:13:00
“An Attempt to Deceive Americans Into Yet Another War”John Nichols (The Nation) reports:Dennis Kucinich may not be a front runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.But the congressman from Cleveland has succeeded in distinguishing himself from the other contenders when it comes to speaking those truths that are self-evident.And in an era of mass delusion and denial on the party of leaders in both major political parties, stating the obvious can be a radical act.Such is the case with Kucinich's appropriate answer to the latest move by the Bush-Cheney administration to ramp up hostilities with Iran. That move -- the unprecedented attempt to label Iran's 125,000-strong Republican Guard as a "specially designated global terrorist" group -- is, as the congressman says "nothing more than an attempt to deceive Americans into yet another war -- this time with Iran."No one who has paid even the slightest attention to the Bush-Cheney administration's approach to Mi...
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Kucinich Sounds the Alarm
2007-08-17 03:13:00
?An Attempt to Deceive Americans Into Yet Another War?John Nichols (The Nation) reports:Dennis Kucinich may not be a front runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.But the congressman from Cleveland has succeeded in distinguishing himself from the other contenders when it comes to speaking those truths that are self-evident.And in an era of mass delusion and denial on the party of leaders in both major political parties, stating the obvious can be a radical act.Such is the case with Kucinich's appropriate answer to the latest move by the Bush-Cheney administration to ramp up hostilities with Iran. That move -- the unprecedented attempt to label Iran's 125,000-strong Republican Guard as a "specially designated global terrorist" group -- is, as the congressman says "nothing more than an attempt to deceive Americans into yet another war -- this time with Iran."No one who has paid even the slightest attention to the Bush-Cheney administration's approach to Middle...
More About: Sounds , Alarm , The Alarm , The A

How Secure is Your Vote?
2007-08-16 04:25:00
'DAN RATHER REPORTS' to Present Conclusive Evidence of Touch-Screen Voting Machine Failures:DAN RATHER REPORTS presents conclusive evidence of the failure of touch screen voting machines across the country. The episode below, “The Trouble with Touch Screens,” is an entire hour devoted to new information on this story. From scientists involved in testing the equipment to manufacturers in third-world countries who shipped these defective voting machines to the United States, DAN RATHER REPORTS presents new information showing that these defective machines may have altered the outcome of multiple elections.For more information, click here and here.Watch Dan Rather's "The Trouble with Touchscreens" below. Hat tip to bradblog.com.Technorati tags: Diebold, ES&S, Election Irregularities, Sequoia Voting Systems, Voting System Certification, Touch-Screen Vote Hopping, FL-13, Vote fraud, Dan Rather, Video, Documentary, film
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How Secure is Your Vote?
2007-08-16 04:25:00
'DAN RATHER REPORTS' to Present Conclusive Evidence of Touch-Screen Voting Machine Failures:DAN RATHER REPORTS presents conclusive evidence of the failure of touch screen voting machines across the country. The episode below, ?The Trouble with Touch Screens,? is an entire hour devoted to new information on this story. From scientists involved in testing the equipment to manufacturers in third-world countries who shipped these defective voting machines to the United States, DAN RATHER REPORTS presents new information showing that these defective machines may have altered the outcome of multiple elections.For more information, click here and here.Watch Dan Rather 's "The Trouble with Touchscreens" below. Hat tip to bradblog.com.Technorati tags: Diebold, ES&S, Election Irregularities, Sequoia Voting Systems, Voting System Certification, Touch-Screen Vote Hopping, FL-13, Vote fraud, Dan Rather, Video , Documentary , film
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CIA Analyst Discusses Possible Cheney 9/11 Stand-down Order.
2007-08-15 05:48:00
Retired CIA Analyst Ray McGovern discusses the possibility of vice president Cheney issuing a stand-down order that allowed the 9/11 attacks to succeed, on a national talk radio program. Thanks to OpenYourMindsEye for the original post.Technorati tags: Ray McGovern, CIA, 9/11, Cheney, Conspiracies , news, video
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CIA Analyst Discusses Possible Cheney 9/11 Stand-down Order.
2007-08-15 05:48:00
Retired CIA Anal yst Ray McGovern discusses the possibility of vice president Cheney issuing a stand-down order that allowed the 9/11 attacks to succeed, on a national talk radio program. Thanks to OpenYourMindsEye for the original post.Technorati tags: Ray McGovern, CIA, 9/11, Cheney, Conspiracies, news, video
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U.S. Controller General Says U.S. May Fall
2007-08-15 01:18:00
MUST READ:Raw Story reports: "The US comptroller general David Walker issued a report last week in Chicago in which he likened the present situation in the United States to the Roman Republic or an organization that fails to adapt and 'may not survive.' Nobody reported it. The first report of the speech came today in London's Financial Times...." Cosmic Iguana's response: "Why report that? After all, the big story is Michael Vick's dogfighting thing again."Excepts from the FT's:"The US government is on a ?burning platform? of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country?s top government inspector has warned.David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his country?s future in a report that lays out what he called ?chilling long-term simulations?.These include ?dramatic? tax rises,...
More About: News , Economy , Government , General , Controller

Rove Leaves Bush Brainless
2007-08-14 05:26:00
For Rove , Last Disrespects: Tobin Harshaw and Chris Suellentrop report in the Times blog, The Opinionator: "The good must have been interred with Karl Rove 's resignation letter, because there's not a lot of love for him in blogland today, nor much respect for his reputation as a political mastermind...." Continue reading and follow the links for more.My own opinion is that Rove will wave an official bye bye for the benefit of the unquestioning media while he continues to cook up his own special brand of dirty tricks from some black hole in the universe, never more than a cell phone or email away from his ol' buddy boy Bush . Sabotage of the 2008 election would be right up his alley. My fear is that he'll be working quietly and clandestinely on something far more sinister -- while the media pays no attention, instead obsessing over their latest and greatest breaking murder, catastrophe, rape, missing person, or polar bear story. Ain't America fun?Cartoon: Crooksandliars.comAl...
More About: White House , Bush administration

Honeymoon May Be Over for Ron Paul
2007-08-14 05:08:00
Ron Paul's recent speech should be no surprise to those 'progressive' fans who have examined Paul's voting record. He's always been anti-abortion, pro guns, weak on civil rights, and for small government at the expense of the vulnerable. Truthdig reports:Ron Paul may have soured his antiwar appeal among progressives with a speech Saturday at the Iowa straw poll. Paul referred to Roe v. Wade as ?that horrible ruling,? called for the abolition of the Departments of Energy and Education and the IRS, and attacked welfare and immigrants. But the most bizarre moment came when he suggested airline passengers should be allowed to carry guns, saying: ?I think 9/11, quite frankly, could have been prevented if we had had a lot more respect for the Second Amendment.?Watch it:Hat tip to Al Buono.Technorati tags: Truthdig, Ron Paul, Abortion, 9/11, 2008 Presidential Election, Libertarian, Politics , Republican , Iowa, news, youtube
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The Next Narcissist-in-Chief?
2007-08-13 05:03:00
It's All About ThemBy Paul Krugman The New York TimesAsk not what your country can do for you ? ask what you can do for your father?s political campaign.Last week, at one of Mitt Romney?s ?Ask Mitt? forums, a woman in the audience asked Mr. Romney whether any of his five sons are serving in the military and, if not, when they plan to enlist.The candidate replied with a rambling attempt to change the subject, but near the end he let his real feelings slip. ?It?s remarkable how we can show our support for our nation,? he said, ?and one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping to get me elected, because they think I?d be a great president.?Wow. The important point isn?t the fact that Mr. Romney?s sons aren?t in uniform ? although it is striking just how few of those who claim to believe that we?re engaged in a struggle for our very existence think that they themselves should be called on to make any sacrifices. The point is, instead, that Mr. Romney apparently ...
More About: News , Politics , Government , Chief

A Lesson From The Soviet Union
2007-08-13 04:56:00
Delaying the InevitableBy Nicholas D. KristofThe New York TimesAs we struggle to extricate ourselves from Iraq , it?s useful to look at how the Soviet Union handled a similar position in the 1980s. Then we should do the opposite.The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 based partly on an intelligence failure analogous to our own in Iraq: they believed that their poorly behaved puppet in Kabul was poised to switch loyalties to the United States.By 1986, the Soviets wanted to end the Afghan war, and tried some of the same approaches that we have tried or talked about: a new constitution, a new leader, a policy of ?national reconciliation.?These worked as well for them as they have for us.Many Soviets just wanted to cut their losses and pull out. But other officials raised counterarguments that may sound familiar:If we simply pull out, we?ll destroy our influence around the world for a generation. And if we leave, the country will fall apart, and there?ll be a bloodbath focusing on our f...
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Be A Part of 'The Shift'
2007-08-13 04:39:00
With all the destruction and negativity and pessimism in the world today, here is something positive you can be a part of:The ShiftA massive worldwide phenomenon is in progress, offering seeds of great hope for the future. Millions of individuals, organizations and corporations around the world are waking up and embracing a new outlook with an emphasis on their responsibility to contribute positively to our collective future. We are in the middle of the biggest social transformation in human history, The SHIFT. At this critical point, it is imperative we make the masses aware of this global movement quickly. This evolutionary phenomenon is broader and deeper than the most visible SHIFT, the environmental movement. It involves our very understanding of who we are as human beings, and our responsibility to the world and to life itself. THE SHIFT movie raises awareness to the story of our roles in an evolutionary shift in our collective consciousness. As it chronicles the faces, the st...
More About: Video , News , Global Warming , Environment , Films

Bush's Terror Propaganda: Take Two
2007-08-12 19:19:00
Frank Rich warns those gullible few who still can't see the truth through the forest of Bush ie lies that the "White House?s public relations strategies for the war in Iraq are again gathering steam to America?s peril." As always, Rich is a MUST READ.Shuffling Off to Crawford, 2007 EditionBy Frank RichThe New York TimesTHE cases of Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch were ugly enough. So surely someone in the White House might have the good taste to draw the line at exploiting the murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. But nothing is out of bounds for a government that puts the darkest arts of politics and public relations above even the exigencies of war. As Jane Mayer told the story in last week?s New Yorker, Mariane Pearl was called by Alberto Gonzales with some good news in March: the Justice Department was releasing a transcript in which the long-incarcerated Qaeda thug Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to the beheading of her husband. But there was something off about ...
More About: News , Military , Terror , Propaganda

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