On Tuesday night, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and Newshour with Jim Lehrer presented two telling examples of how omitting information shapes public perception with regard to civilian casualties.

With Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel, Williams explored the possible outcome of a U.S. or Israeli strike against Iran:

WILLIAMS: Despite all the denials, what happens if a military strike takes place?

ENGEL: Well, it all has to do with geography. Iran is in an incredibly strategic location. The Straits of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes. Iran has threatened to disrupt traffic in the Straits of Hormuz. In Iraq, the situation has been somewhat calmer recently, but Iranian-backed militias in Iraq could quickly destabilize the situation there. And in Israel, Iran has allies in both in Lebanon - Hezbollah - and in the Gaza Strip. Iran is talking about creating a line of fire from Tehran all the way to Jerusalem. Full Story »

Part 1

In a post titled “Why Johnny Can’t Google,” Rafe Colbun blogs about John McCain’s indifference to computers: “It’s tempting to. . . assume that. . . old guys just aren’t computer users. [But] in 1997 I worked for an IT consulting firm [among whose] clients was the George [H.W.] Bush Presidential library. [Part of our job was] setting up email accounts for President Bush and his friends (folks like Brent Scowcroft), generating PGP keys, and teaching them how to use them. President Bush has a good 12 years on John McCain, and he had his own laptop, email account, and PGP key ten years ago.” Full Story »

After critics questioned the appropriateness of John McCain’s chief strategist, Charlie Black, saying a terrorist attack on American soil would benefit his candidate, yesterday Black took that notion one step farther.

Appearing on Today, Black told co-host Matt Lauer, “With Wednesday’s Quinnipiac University poll showing Senator Obama leading in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, we’ve redoubled our efforts regarding terror attacks here at home, from mere wishful thinking to targeted planning.”

Lauer asked, “Just to be clear, you’re not suggesting you’re involved in orchestrating attacks on these states?”

“No, I’m not suggesting that, Matt. I’m telling you flat-out, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida can expect to be hit by the McCain campaign sometime between now and Election Day. Full Story »

I know that I speak for all Americans. We’ll do everything necessary to try and rebuild their lives.

— Republican presidential candidate John McCain while inspecting flooding in Columbus Junction, Iowa, a town of 1,900 people; June 20; emphasis added.

The country stands with you. We’ll do all in our power to help you.

— President Bush, addressing residents of the Gulf Coast at the end of a Rose Garden press briefing on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; Aug. 31, 2005; emphasis added.
Full Story »

Yow. If you missed the story, US PsyOps personnel are using music as a torture tactic on captives in Iraq. How silly, you say? Torture someone with music? Well, check out the playlist.

1. “Fuck Your God” - Deicide
2. “Die MF Die” - Dope
3. “Take Your Best Shot” - Dope
4. “White America” - Eminem
5. “Kim” - Eminem
6. “Barney Theme Song” - Barney Full Story »

The Cheney tag team is in the ring at the same time versus Iran.

In recent days we’ve seen headlines from Bush’s European farewell tour like this from the London Times: “President George Bush starts talking language of a dove.” Also, in an apparent admission that his beef with Iran might not be settled during his presidency, Bush, as reported by Agence France Press, said: “I’ll leave behind a multilateral framework to work this issue.” Full Story »

[Ed. Note: More than half of this satire somehow disappeared during my cross-posting. It's all there now. My apologies!]

In a stunning turn of events Thursday, the Son of God endorsed Barack Obama for President while rejecting and distancing himself from presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

Outside an Applebee’s off the New Jersey Turnpike in Paramus yesterday, Jesus Christ told reporters, “Look, it’s been a very divisive primary season between Barack and Hillary. I thought my support would aid the healing process and help unify the Democrats.”

Asked if he was a registered Democrat, Jesus replied, “I’m actually registered with the Green Party. But no amount of faith and prayer will get their candidate elected.” Christ clarified, “I perform miracles, but there are limits.”

Why come out against John McCain?

“You don’t have to be the Son of God to prophecy McCain wants to carry out Bush’s third term,” said Jesus, wearing a flag pin affixed to his traditional white robe. “Incidentally, maybe one of you guys can tell David Brooks there isn’t a salad bar at Applebee’s. Schmuck.” Full Story »

It was one of this election season’s most surreal moments. Right about the time the other night that Barack Obama was clinching the Democratic nomination, a reanimated corpse Sen. John McCain took the podium in Kenner, Louisiana to regale an audience of literally several on the virtues of … change?

Full Story »

“Deadly hawks come in many styles. Some have polished talons.” - Norman Solomon

Fareed Zakaria debuted his new show for CNN this past Sunday. Introducing his program, called Fareed Zakaria GPS (as in Global Public Square, not Global Positioning System, though the latter might also apply), he explains:

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, “GPS”: Welcome to the very first edition of “Global Public Square.” I’m Fareed Zakaria. For the last 20 years, I’ve been writing about the world. And now I have an opportunity to bring all of you along with me on what has been a fascinating adventure.

I know that right now to a lot of people, the world looks like a grim place. Almost every day you’re bombarded with frightening headlines, stories of out-of-control governments and terrorists who want to kill you.

But beyond those headlines, the picture is actually much brighter. Economic growth and technology are raising people out of disease and poverty every day.

On this program, we’ll try to understand the new forces shaping our world, both the good and the bad. And I’ll talk to some of the world’s great thinkers and doers — people like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will be joining me in a few minutes.

So, let’s get started on what’s going to be a hell of a ride.

My “built-in bullshit detector,” to borrow Ernest Hemingway’s phrase, was triggered by the words “some of the world’s great thinkers and doers — people like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.” But nothing could prepare me for what followed. Full Story »

Got hot links if you want ‘em.

In a New York Times article on Memorial Day, “The Wars We Choose to Ignore,” David Carr writes: “Even as we celebrate generations of American soldiers past, the women and men who are making that sacrifice today in Iraq and Afghanistan receive less attention every day. . . . Given public indifference to a war that refuses to end, perhaps a third statue should be added: America at peace with being at war.” Yes, we’ve grown accustomed to the face of war. Full Story »

The Bush administration and its surrogates are stepping up attacks against former press secretary Scott McClellan over his explosive White House memoir.

Ari Fleischer, President Bush’s first press secretary and McClellan’s old boss, elaborated this morning on previous statements from several current and former Bush administration officials that “this is not the Scott I know.”

Speaking with NBC Today co-host Matt Lauer, Fleisher said, “You know, Matt, the guy we all knew seemed completely willing to disseminate lies about a war of choice that would lead to the senseless deaths of over one million Iraqis and 4,000-plus American soldiers. In other words, we knew him as a loyal, soft-spoken and honorable man. Scott led us to believe that he, like us, was little more than a soulless husk of a human being. A ruthless, unethical, democracy-killing zombie. Sadly, that’s apparently not the case.”

“So you’re saying he lied to you, Ari?” asked Lauer. “That he misled the administration and the American people?”

“Yes. I’m saying he was not the doughy-faced Goebbels comfortable with seeing his country irrevocably slip into the grip of murderous fascists that he presented himself to be,” Fleischer clarified. “And I think it’s incredibly dishonorable for Scott to do this now. He could’ve at least waited until President Bush left office. But,” Fleischer said, shaking his head in disgust, “I guess that vestige of decency is gone. I’m heart-broken. It makes me wonder if Scott ever believed the propaganda he said from the podium.” Full Story »

Exxon Mobil is acting like a dinosaur now, not adopting to a changing environment.

— Stephen Viederman, a New York shareholder, after “Exxon Mobil’s chairman and chief executive, Rex W. Tillerson, defeated a shareholder effort … to take away one of his jobs at an annual meeting punctuated by a debate of the company’s policy toward renewable energy and global warming”; May 28.

Despite significant challenges in the U.S. market, we continue to reshape our business for long-term success. This attrition program gives us an opportunity to restructure our U.S. work force through the entry-level wage and benefit structure for new hourly employees.

— from a statement by Troy A. Clarke, the president of G.M.’s North American operations, announcing that “19,000 hourly workers — a quarter of a unionized work force that already has been drastically pared down — have accepted buyouts“; up to 16,000 of these $28-an-hour workers may be replaced by “entry-level” non-assembly workers making $14 an hour; May 30; emphasis added.
Full Story »

You’ve probably noticed a relatively new phenomenon in American politics: The Never-Ending Presidential Campaign. (Might make a good animated flick, eh?)

And you’ve likely thought Gee, this has been going on for-evuh. Well, it has: The 2008 presidential election campaign began as the mid-term elections ended in 2006. By February of the next year, look at all the Democrats who had tossed in the proverbial hat — Sen. Joe Biden, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chris Dodd, former Sen. John Edwards, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Sen. Barack Obama, Gov. Bill Richardson, Gov. Tom Vilsack and former Sen. Mike Gravel. All but two were sitting governors or members of Congress.

And the Republicans: Sen. John McCain, Sen. Sam Brownback, former Gov. Jim Gilmore, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, Rep. Duncan Hunter, three-time Senate race loser Alan Keyes, Rep. Ron Paul, former Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Tom Tancredo, and the Thompson twins, former Sen. Fred and former Gov. Tommy. All but seven were sitting office holders.

This invites comment along the lines of Good god, what have we wrought? regarding Big Money and Running for a New Job While Not Doing the Current Job.
Full Story »

President Bush, who recently revealed he gave up playing golf on Aug. 19, 2003 because it “sends the wrong signal” during a time of war, has ended his near five-year sacrifice. The Wounded-Courier has obtained a rush transcript of the president’s discussion to air tonight on Fox News’ Special Report with Brit Hume. The following is an excerpt from that interview:

BRIT HUME: Mr. President, why did you decide to take up golf again?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, Brit, I’ve proven my solidarity with our troops and their families. I haven’t hit the links for longer than the longest tours of duty of any of our brave fighting men and women. And, quite frankly, I think this country has sacrificed enough. Full Story »

[P]erhaps the most compelling evidence against the existence of a boys’ crisis is that men continue to outearn women in the workplace.

— from a report by the American Association of University Women, “whose 1992 report on how girls are shortchanged in the classroom caused a national debate over gender equity,” that debunks the notion of a “boys’ crisis,” saying, “Girls’ gains have not come at boys’ expense”; May 20.

I would say the president really has a choice here to show how much he values military service.

— Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who has led the Senate’s efforts to expand education benefits for veterans, on President Bush’s threat “to veto a bill that would pay tuition and other expenses at a four-year public university for anyone who has served in the military for at least three years since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001″; May 22.
Full Story »

Hhaing The Yu, 29, in rain falling on the ruins of his home, in a township outside Yangon, Myanmar.

This is not about politics; it is about saving people’s lives. There is absolutely no more time to lose.

— United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, pressing the military junta in Myanmar to accept international assistance as hundreds of thousands of its citizens reel from the effects of a devastating cyclone earlier this month; May 14.
Full Story »

About 10 months have passed since the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River during afternoon rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145. Construction of the bridge’s $234 million replacement may be finished in mid-September, three months ahead of schedule, earning builders a $20 million bonus. The Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty have agreed on a $38 million state fund to help compensate the victims of the Aug. 1 disaster.

All’s well, eh? Perhaps for this bridge in this city. But nationwide, all is not well. Road, bridge and other important public-works infrastructure continue to age and deteriorate as Congress dithers elsewhere. Only disasters move our representatives to act — and in an election year, even those actions seem spotty at best and disingenuous at worst.

The United States has much more than failing bridges to find, fund and fix. The proposals of the remaining presidential candidates do little to inspire faith that they understand the breadth of the problem or have the political skill, will and courage to address it forthrightly.
Full Story »

After the National Intelligence Estimate last November which reported that Iran had no nuclear program since 2003, many of us breathed a sigh of relief. It was official: When it came to attacking Iran, the administration hadn’t a leg to stand on.

But, as with Iraq, it was used to that. Once anointed lame duck, it didn’t skip a beat and continued to stumble forward. Full Story »

Got hot links if you want ‘em!

In “Mr. Cool’s Intensity” in the Washington Post, David Ignatius writes of Obama’s reluctance to write off Rev. Wright. There’s “an instinctive American fondness for people who don’t rat out their friends, even when their friends are creeps. That’s why a Wright-based strategy may backfire for the Republicans, just as it did for Hillary Clinton.”