The deadliest year for US troops in Iraq

post from AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth on 06 November 2007 08:02:00 AM. © AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

It's now official that 2007 has been the deadliest year for US troops since the start of the war.

5 troops killed just in the past day.

I hate to state the obvious but more troops = more targets for those who want to kill us.

The statistics are alarming and disturbing. Especially in regard to the Iraqis.

2.3 million have been displaced because of this illegal war and an average of 56 are killed each day. Two-thirds of those displaced in Iraq are children under the age of 12.

How does the US military plan to help the situation? By conducting another major military operation in Iraq.

Did it ever occur to the idiots who started this war and continue it that military force has proven time and time again to be not only a failure but a contributor to this entire chaotic mess ?? Apparently not.

I'll bet that one of Bush's lackeys like Dana Perino will conduct a press conference sometime today to promote the continued success of the "surge."

I guess they think they can put whipped cream on shit and expect that to taste good too ?? There is no way to sugarcoat this.

I hate being lied to , but when you insult my intelligence it just ads insult to injury -- probably speaking for us all.

The right-wing will tell me that posts like this are bad for morale. That I have my facts wrong. That I'm drinking "kool-aid." That I can't support the troops without supporting their mission. Give me a break.

I wonder how good it is for the morale of US soldiers who will open up the Army Times just to read that after 5+ years of war we are losing more troops then ever in a ravaged war-torn country that they are told they are liberating.

The bottom line: US troop deaths have hit a record high and the Iraqis have no freedom. Only death, destruction, displacement, sectarian civil war, and misery -- courtesy of George W. Bush.

It's a tragic time in American history when the people look at their Commander in Chief as a fraud with no honor.

John Bruhns
Iraq Veteran

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Americablog/~3/180665881/deadliest-year-for-us-tro
ops-in-iraq.html

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Toobin Explains Clarence Thomas' Anger

post from TalkLeft on 06 November 2007 08:00:00 AM. © TalkLeft

Jeffrey Toobin reviews Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' autobiography , My Grandfather's Son, in the New Yorker this week.

Like most judicial conservatives, Thomas criticizes liberal Justices for using the Constitution to promote their “policy preferences.” But, as Thomas’s book clearly demonstrates, he has sought to enshrine in the Constitution his own policy preferences—the ones he learned from his grandfather.

This is especially true on the question of race.

It's a long review and Toobin has put a great deal of thought into it making it a good read.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/180667762/741

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Question of the Day - From Here to There

post from My Left Wing - Front Page on 06 November 2007 07:57:44 AM. © My Left Wing - Front Page

Some mornings it is really hard to come up with an original question, so I just type babbling run on sentences like this hoping that a thought might enter my mind, or my keyboard will take over and spit something out.

.
.
........
Nope, nothing yet. I guess I could riff of the Treetop Flier reference and talk about travel, but thats been done. (Vacations, favorite places etc...)

How about travel & methods thereof?

Thats a little different. Lemme run some random thoughts and see if this will work.

I never got my Pilot's license, but it may not be a bad idea to refresh my flying skills. Hell it been at least 15 years since I've flown a plane. Still, I am fairly certain I could get a Cessna off the ground, get where I wanted to go more or less by VFR dead reckoning, and probably land it with only minor burns and contusions.... heh. The landing is always the rub, isn't it?

Commercial flights actually make me a wee more bit nervous than single engine ones. Probably a control freak thing.

I know Steve Farnell is a boat captain. Hey, I can pull skiers quite fine on any inland lake boat, but at Sea? Scary thought. You have to wonder how brave people have to be to get in a small boat and try & cross to America, many with little or no knowledge of that method of travel. I mean, I get a little creeped out on the Great Lakes when I can no longer see land, even with experienced people piloting the boat.

My husband tells the story of going out in a Zodiak with his friend in the Pacific, and his buddy didn't give him any clue where they were going. He got nervous when they no longer saw land, and even more nervous when the whales came up to the boat. They evidently like their barnacles picked off. So thats what they did. He says its unsettling feeling the boat rise straight up from the push of water from the mammoth creatures, then an eye as big as your face rolls up to check you out. But they scratched them & petted them.

When his buddy got OUT of the Zodiak (which was way smaller than the whales), he said it was the last thing he wanted to do. He said there was no way in hell, even with wet suits, he was going to have both of them out of the boat that far at sea, surrounded by whales. I would. I am so jealous. I would definitely want to. I think.

So far this is disjointed babbling, huh? Sorry bout that. They can't all be golden, lol.

I've never been on a train. Or a helicopter. Or a kayak.

I've only traveled by bus when we chartered them to go white water rafting. (God, traveling with a band, and a whole bar full of waitresses, bartenders & customers. The poor bus driver had to have a contact buzz!)

Hey, I can travel by raft quite well! Canoe too, does that count? I suck at snow skiing.

Aw, fuck it, I got nothing so here's your question(s):

Whats the furthest you have traveled?

What method of travel do you love/hate?

What is the strangest method of travel you have used, or do you have any special skills in operating any method of travel.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=19607

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Republican Sex Crimes Continue, But this Time the
Republicans are Learning

post from All Spin Zone on 06 November 2007 07:49:00 AM. © All Spin Zone

Washington State Republicans are dropping like flies to sex scandals. Jim Dunn hasn't resigned as yet, but it appears the Washington Republican Party wants to distance themselves from his sexual harrassment charges.

Read The Full Article:
http://allspinzone.com/wp/2007/11/06/republican-sex-crimes-continue-but-this-time
-the-republicans-are-learning/

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US in Iraq to release 9 Iranians

post from The Newshoggers on 06 November 2007 07:40:00 AM. © The Newshoggers

By Cernig

The US military in Iraq has said it is to release 9 Iranian detainees, including two of those arrested in Irbil in January and alleged to be members of the Quods Force.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari hailed the announcement, saying it was a confidence-building measure that would encourage more productive talks between Iran, Iraq and the United States on improving security in Iraq.

"We have tried very hard with the American military and the embassy to release them. We are very pleased now that a decision has been made," Mr Zebari told Reuters by telephone.

The detention of the five Iranians in Arbil in January contributed to a significant rise in tensions between Iran and Iraq, as well as between Tehran and Washington.

"It is our intent to release nine Iranians currently in custody in the near future. They will be released in the coming days," Smith told a news conference. "Two of them were detained in Arbil in January of this year."

US forces have said the five detained in Arbil were held on suspicion of being members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Qods force. Iran insists they are diplomats and has demanded their release.

"These individuals have been assessed to be of no continuing value, nor do they pose a further threat to Iraqi security," Smith said.

Which means the military didn't have squat on these people. There have been no trials, no public explanations of evidence or guilt, no details - no nothing. Just innuendo and unproven accusations that will be taken as gospel fact by the loyal pro-war base.

Read The Full Article:
http://cernigsnewshog.blogspot.com/2007/11/us-in-iraq-to-release-9-iranians.html

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Morning Thread

post from Eschaton on 06 November 2007 07:38:00 AM. © Eschaton

Dear Chuck Schumer,

You don't represent me and you have absolutely no moral standing with me.

Love,
Molly I.

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/180537003/2007_11_04_archive.html

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John Edwards for a Progessive Foreign Policy

post from MyDD on 06 November 2007 07:33:40 AM. © MyDD

It seems, according to Matt Yglesias, via a NY Times article, that Barack Obama has better team of foreign policy insiders than Hillary Clinton. Obama has picked up, basically younger and somewhat more liberal insiders than Hillary Clinton's. The point[...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mydd/~3/180538070/9011

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Privacy and Net Neturality

With the world erupting, it is easy to forget more subtle but nevertheless important issues on the home front, privacy and net neutrality being prime among these. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and other concerned organizations are actively lobbying against telco wiretapping immunity and for the creation of an Internet "do not track" list equivalent to the current "do not call" list imposed on telemarketers. Where there is no privacy, there is no freedom and no democracy. Equally urgent: the longterm formalization of net neutrality rules. From today's Boston Globe:

A series of controversial actions by telecommunications companies hasgiven new life to a political movement that would force telecomproviders to treat all data transmissions the same.
Senator Olympia Snowe, Republican of Maine, and other members ofCongress are renewing their drive for "network neutrality" legislation.A bill cosponsored by Snowe and Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of NorthDakota, failed to pass last year. No action has been scheduled since itwas reintroduced in January.
But Snowe and Dorgan want the SenateCommerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to hold new hearings onthe issue, after several incidents in which AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, and Comcast Corp. restricted or blocked Internet communications carried on their networks.
"Itbasically would be no different if you had a telephone companyinterrupt your telephone conversation because they didn't like what youwere talking about," said Snowe. ...

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ejr/~3/180528378/privacy-and-net.html

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Think Green, Vote Blue

Don't forget to get out and vote today! More than any single thing you could do individually, voting for environmentally-conscious candidates is the best thing you can do to fight global warming. Elected officials have the power to implement policies and use the state's purchasing power to drive rapid change.

Here in Arlington, we're lucky enough to have plenty of candidates who understand the threat posed by global warming. But generally speaking in statewide elections, unless you're lucky enough to have a strong Green Party candidate running in your district, if you're going to be green, you have to vote Democratic. While some individual Republican candidates may be friendly to the environment, their party leadership long ago chose to back big business and fossil fuels over our environment and public health.

It's something the Sierra Club didn't get when it endorsed Lincoln Chafee last year, prompting Kos to say, "This may very well be the most moronic move by any organization this election cycle." And it's apparently something the Virginia League of Conservation Voters doesn't get either as it endorses a long line of Republicans.

For example, I understand Republican Del. Bob Marshall takes good stands on environmental issues. But Marshall is in a close race against Democratic challenger Bruce Roemmelt. Let's say Democrats pick up eight other seats in the House and this race decides control. Marshall's individual positive environmental vote could not outweigh his party's ability to kill environmental legislation in committee before it ever reaches the House floor. Even though he's not as strong on environmental issues in general, you'd clearly want Roemmelt in that case to give you a much more environmentally friendly House leadership.

So if you'd want the Democrat in that case, why wouldn't you want the Democrat in every case?

Read The Full Article:
http://thegreenmiles.blogspot.com/2007/11/think-green-vote-blue.html

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Major Civil Rights groups, Labor unions and HRC
announce support for ENDA. House vote tomorrow.

post from AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth on 06 November 2007 06:55:00 AM. © AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

After thirty years, the U.S. House will finally vote on ENDA tomorrow. Several leading groups announced support for H.R. 3685 sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank. Now that the vote is real, more are joining on including the Anti-Defamation League. This vote is historic. And, the anti-gay religious right groups are going to go even more insane when it passes.

Click on each page of the letter for a larger version.