as I live a few more questions

Guardian Report: U.S. drawing up plans to strike Iran in the spring

And the madness continues.  I am speechless. 

US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage, in spite of repeated public denials by the Bush administration, according to informed sources in Washington.

The present military build-up in the Gulf would allow the US to mount an attack by the spring. But the sources said that if there was an attack, it was more likely next year, just before Mr Bush leaves office...

But Vincent Cannistraro, a Washington-based intelligence analyst, shared the sources' assessment that Pentagon planning was well under way. "Planning is going on, in spite of public disavowals by Gates. Targets have been selected. For a bombing campaign against nuclear sites, it is quite advanced. The military assets to carry this out are being put in place."

He added: "We are planning for war. It is incredibly dangerous."

No wonder Bush is pushing for even more troops to be shipped over to Iraq.  Despite the upheaval that is going on in Iraq, it would still be the perfect staging ground for an attack on Iran—right next door.  How on earth does the Bush administration figure they can pull off a surgical strike on Iran's nuclear capability without falling into yet another quagmire, especially given their recent track record?

read the original Guardian news report | digg story

How Much Blood? [a Creative Commons remix]

Today's Anti War Protest in Washington D.C.

Anti War Protest Washington DC, originally uploaded by squinn4420.

Photos speak louder than words.

Sins of Stubbornness: "Because I told them it had to"

"He's tried this two times — it's failed twice," the California Democrat said. "I asked him at the White House, 'Mr. President, why do you think this time it's going to work?' And he said, 'Because I told them it had to.' "

Asked if the president had elaborated, she added that he simply said, " 'I told them that they had to.' That was the end of it. That's the way it is." (source: "Pelosi says she wasn't consulted on Iraq", CBS News)

Boy, if that doesn't sum up Bush's approach to the war in Iraq: "Let's just throw more troops into the killing fields."  Then again, this is the same stubborn administration who still insists that Maher Arar is a terrorist, even after complete exoneration in a public report, a handwritten apology from our prime minister, the resignation of the head of the RCMP, and a $10 million cash settlement. 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday that his government would continue to press the Americans to take Mr. Arar off the watch list.

“The government has sent letters to both the Syrian and American governments firmly objecting to the treatment of Mr. Arar. Canada has removed Mr. Arar from Canadian lookout lists and we have specifically requested that the United States amend its own records accordingly,” the Prime Minister said.

He defended Public Security Minister Stockwell Day's urging of Washington this week to remove Mr. Arar from the list, an action that was criticized by U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins as an attempt by the Canadians to meddle in U.S. affairs.

“The government of Canada has every right to go to bat for one of its citizens when the government believes a Canadian is being unfairly treated by another country,” Mr. Harper said. (Source: Galloway, Gloria.  "Exoneration and an apology, but U.S. won't budge on ban", Globe and Mail, Jan. 26, 2007)

Thank God for people like new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and those Democrats (and some Republicans) who are speaking out about the enduring folly of the Iraq war.  And for people like American Senator Patrick Leahy, who has the opportunity to use his influence to speak out about the terrible injustice that has been done to an innocent man in the name of "homeland security". 

Swearing on the Koran

I am watching radio show host and columnist Dennis Prager attempt to justify his hatred and intolerance on CNN, and I am getting angry.

He is going on and on about how it would undermine American values and society if newly-elected Muslim congressman Keith Ellison uses a Koran instead of a Bible in a second, swearing-in ceremony (which seems to be more of a photo opportunity than anything else, but that's a separate issue).

America is supposed to be a country which honours the separation between church and state.  Many Americans seem to have forgotten that in their zeal to brand America a Christian country run on Biblical principles.  Dennis Prager, for all his TV bluster in maintaining that he is not a religious bigot, is once again showing the rest of the world just how intolerant Americans can be. 

Yes, there can and should be some limits to accommodating religious faiths in government (for example, I did agree with the decision that halted the proposed imposition of Sharia law in family legal disputes in the province of Ontario).  But a person of a non-Christian faith should be free to choose any book she wants in a swearing-in ceremony, without having her patriotism called into question.  It's about the oath itself, not the book used on which the oath is sworn.  In fact, a book is not even required for such a ceremony.  It may have personal meaning to the person being sworn in, but it is essentially a prop to a cermony, nothing more.

I am constantly reminded of the Woody Allen quote from the 1986 movie Hannah and Her Sisters: "If Jesus came back and saw what's going on in His name, He'd never stop throwing up."

Voters Bitchslap George W. Bush, HARD.

Yay!  I think this picture (which was posted in the comments at the liberal U.S. blog DailyKos) sums up last night perfectly.

 

For the first time in my life, I spent the whole evening watching CNN as the American election results poured in across that country.  And the best news came today, Donald Runsfeld was fired. 

Congratulations to you Americans for finally coming to your senses.  Let's hope that Bush will finally learn how to admit that he made a terrible mistake in launching this Iraq war.

Ted Haggard, the Rentboy, and some Meth = De-NIII-al

It's not often you burst out laughing before you even finish the first paragraph of a Reuters news report:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - Embattled evangelist Ted Haggard admitted on Friday to buying the drug methamphetamine and seeking a massage from a gay male prostitute but denied he had sex with the man or used the stimulant.

I mean, just how stupid can this minister be?  He's going to rentboy for a massage?  Must not be that picky about what kind of massage he gets--or maybe he's very, very picky :-) ooh that was evil. 

I mean, honestly, according to Global national news just on (yes, it made Canadian news too!), this man is apparently a key link between Bush and his conservative, homophobic Christian base. 

How appallingly bad does your judgment have to be, just days before a key mid-term election already embroiled in a gay scandal or two, to go buy crystal meth from a gay prostitute?  I can only assume that Rev. Haggard is a secret spy from the Meth Mothers of America (*rolls on the floor in laughter*) and the... the... the Rentboy Republican Values Coalition.  Yeah, that's the ticket.

I'm just surfing through the blogs via Technorati, seeing that the blogosphere has to say.  Here's a sample of good ones:

• Okay, we get it, he didn't inhale. And, of course, a man who made a career out of preaching discrimination against gays is going to make sure that the massage he receives is from a male prostitute. It all makes perfect sense. (scootmandubious)
  


• The fact that he was seeing a gay prostitute isn't the issue. That's just a symptom of the problem. No, the issue is this toxic faith that reeks havoc in so many lives. It's toxic faith that pushed him into cumpulsory heterosexuality, it's toxic faith that pushed him to preach that gay people are going to hell (while getting fucked on the side). It's a faith that places utmost importance on appearance rather than action.  It's a faith that gives a sense of pride, self-importance, and entitlement. 
  
  It's true that Christ forgives us. But forgiveness doesn't mean that we won't face earthly consequences. These things needed to be brought to light. Maybe this will encourage Evangelicals to look more closely at their positions on homosexuality. (lizzypaul)



• I find it very funny that the people who are for banning gay marriage and gay rights - let me rephrase that... People behind denying anyone their rights as human beings just because of a difference in appearance, lifestyle, culture or religion are the same people who have these hidden lives that they are ashamed of.

  Shame on you for projecting your self loathing onto the rest of us. We are all residents of society and as such we should all be treated the same way and have the option of getting married. (Andy)




• So here is the thing for me Ted, can I call you Ted? I am happy for you if you are "steady" with your wife. I hope that you two have a strong, happy marriage. I hope that the two of you go on to have a really wonderful life together into ripe old age and that the current drama you are embroiled in doesn't adversely effect your relationship. I don't think that dabbling with a prostitute, or even using meth* NECESSARILY makes you a bad person, a bad husband or a bad father.

  I am not going to judge you for the things you have done, I have not walked in your shoes, I don't know why you may have done any of this - as long as you own them, take responsibility and make amends where necessary. I have no problem with you getting a little back door action from Mr Jones if that was the case.

  Where I do have a problem is you getting up and denouncing me and mine. Saying that my life, the loves that I have found, are not of equal value to yours is not your place or your right. Particularly if its a cover for your own guilt as it appears to be.

  Time and again it seems the most rabid fag haters turn out to actually be hiding some inclinations of their own; Mr Foley, the onetime chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children and accused peadophile, is a sad case in point; and as you appear to be Ted. (robert)

And of course, the digging begins.  Channel 9 News in Denver (NBC I believe) has a report on voicemail messages Haggard left for his "massage buddy".  Here's an example:

Jones provided two voice messages to 9NEWS he claims are Haggard calling him.

The voice mails are from a man who calls himself "Art."

It should be noted Haggard's middle name is Arthur.

The first voice message, left on August 4 at 2:18 p.m., says:

"Hi Mike, this is Art. Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply. And I could pick it up really anytime. I could get it tomorrow or we could wait till next week sometime and so I also wanted to get your address. I could send you some money for inventory but that's probably not working, so if you have it then go ahead and get what you can and I may buzz up there later today, but I doubt your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. Okay, I'll check in with you later. Thanks a lot, bye."

The second voice message, left on August 4 at 5:10 p.m., says:

"Hi Mike, this is Art, I am here in Denver and sorry that I missed you. But as I said, if you want to go ahead and get the stuff, then that would be great. And I'll get it sometime next week or the week after or whenever. I will call though you early next week to see what's most convenient for you. Okay? Thanks a lot, bye."

Jones claims Art is referring to methamphetamine in the messages.

9NEWS had a nationally known voice recognition expert, Richard Sanders, listen to the voice mails to determine if it is Haggard.

Sanders has previously worked on such high profile cases as the Oklahoma City bombing trial, the Columbine High School shootings, the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation and the Kobe Bryant case.

"This certainly sounds like the same person," said Sanders.

Ted, you are SO busted.

Anti-Gay Idaho Senator Outed as Homosexual

Mike Rogers, the gay activist blogger who outs those closeted gay men who vote in favour of anti-gay proposals, has just outed Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho. 

I fully support the outing of closeted queer people who use their position of power to support anti-gay causes and block equal rights legislation.  In the case of Larry Craig, he has voted in favour of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, as well as voting against expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation (for more details see here).  Larry Craig has had this coming for a while.  Reap what you sow, baby.

It's not about the sex; it's about the goddamn hypocrisy.

I look at the almost unimaginable mess going on down in the U.S. federal government, and the growing tide of dissent with respect to the war in Iraq, and I think that it's very possible that voters are going to use the mid-term elections to "throw the bums out".

read more | digg story

Yeah, well, good luck with that one.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he told President George W. Bush yesterday the United States needs to come clean and acknowledge its inappropriate handling of the Maher Arar security case.

Mr. Harper said he telephoned Mr. Bush to tell him Canada is upset about the findings of an independent commission of inquiry that "American officials had not been candid and truthful in their dealings with Canadian officials in the case."

Canada will lodge an official protest through formal diplomatic channels and expects a response, Mr. Harper said. Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay will write to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"What I would like to see, obviously, is the United States government to come clean with its version of events, to acknowledge, I would hope to acknowledge, the deficiencies and the inappropriate conduct that occurred, particularly vis-à-vis its relationship with the Canadian government," Mr. Harper said at a news conference in Calgary. (Sallot, Jeff.  "Canada unhappy about U.S. handling of Arar", The Globe and Mail, October 7, 2006)

Maher Arar was the Canadian citizen who was wrongly targeted as a terrorist on a connecting flight through the U.S., and was shipped off to Syria and tortured in prison, without the Canadian government's knowledge or consent.  This was and is a very high profile case in Canada, where Arar recently received a public apology from to the head of the RCMP (whom many thought was going to lose his job over this scandal).  It's hard to summarize this complex case in a single paragraph, but one thing is clear: both Canada and the U.S. failed Maher Arar, badly.  God knows Canada's not a perfect country, but the arrogance of the Bush administration's foreign policy, in their zeal to pursue the "war on terror", is breathtaking.  I for one will be very surprised if Maher Arar ever gets the apology he clearly deserves from the American government.

Let the dominoes fall

And now the man who promised ABC News an exclusive on Mark Foley's resignation, if they didn’t run the instant message transcripts, has himself resigned. 

Let the dominoes fall.

UPDATE OCT. 5: Turns out that the man says the deal-making accusation is false, AND that he told the House Speaker about Mark FOley's predilictions three years ago.  Watching the American Republicans throw each other to the wolves is getting to be quite entertaining.