British paper: Bush wanted to bomb Al Jazeera | csmonitor.com
British paper: Bush wanted to bomb Al Jazeera | csmonitor.com
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Thursday, November 24, 2005 0 comments

 
Meet the Press: How I See It


Howard Dean and Ken Mehlman, chairmen of the Democrat and Republican parties were guests on Tim Russert's Meet the Press. Ken is eloquent in his denial and Howard needs to work on his bullet points. The media and Republicans are harping on the fact that the Democrats do not stand for anything. In a way they have a point. Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats have scored a few belated points recently by demanding Phase 2 of the Iraq investigation and establishing a republican dominated culture of corruption but the party needs to establish platforms that definitively establish where they stand on the issues.

Since 2006 is such an important mid-term election race for the democrats and the entire nation, the dems should have a summer convention and lay out exactly where they stand on the issues. Democrats need to also press the point to all American voters that abortion, gay marriage and intelligent design have miniscule consequence on the nation as a whole and should not dictate who we put in Congress and the White House. We are letting the likes of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Dobson shape the debate of what is important in electing our leaders with wedge issues that don't mean a damn thing.

The GOP has been in congressional power since 1994. Since the republican coup of the White House in 2000, the country has been on a downward spiral. Republicans will say that no other President has had to deal with a 9/11. I don't think we would have had a 9/11 if Gore had rightfully assumed the presidency. So not only were we kicked in the nuts with 9/11 but Bush has screwed the nation on every single thing else he has done. I really can't think of one good thing the president has done for the nation as a whole. His only accomplishments beside sending the United States into an illegal war on false pre-tenses have been cheap illegal labor, tax cuts that benefit people who don't need them and pro-corporate legislation that has benefited pharmaceuticals, lawyers and oil companies.

I have been following politics since 1984 and have never seen such a culture of corruption and abuse of power. Senate Majority leader Bill Frist is under investigation. Tom Delay had to resign as House Minority leader because he was indicted for criminal conspiracy. Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby was indicted on counts of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements. Further corruption issues remain with Ohio/Florida election fraud, no-bid contracts with Halliburton, negligence with Hurricane Katrina, lies to the nation about WMD's in Iraq, no Bin Laden, no Iraq/9-11 link, high gas prices, high unemployment, low military recruitment, rampant illegal immigration - I can keep going. A GOP Congress + a Neo-Con White House results in a nation under assault from within.

Here is my response to Tim and his guests about going into Iraq from the perspective of a regular citizen. I'm Chaz Atlas and that's how I see it.


Tim,

Post 9/11, after going into Afghanistan and not being able to bring Bin Laden to justice "Dead or Alive" as the President promised, the Bush White House instead of "staying the course" in the hunt for Usama surprisingly decided to "change the course" and instead implicate Hussein and Iraq in connection with 9/11 and also with having WMD's that could result in a mushroom cloud over American skies.

It was reasonable to think that there "could" have been a link between Iraq, 9/11, WMD's and Bin Laden but absolutely wrong to "assume" they did.

I gave Bush the benefit of the doubt that there "could" be WMD's in Iraq but reserved my support for going into that sovereign nation until the international team of weapons inspectors confirmed with indisputable evidence and confidence that weapons had indeed been found. Instead the inspectors said they had not found anything and needed more time. Bush said we could not wait and here we are.

If a 35yo guy and his friends down in Carolina could make the right decision on Iraq, it is a shame and no excuse that both Republicans and Democrats in Congress got it wrong and continue to get it wrong.

Democrats cannot run a presidential nominee in 2008 that voted or supported going into Iraq. What's the point? ANY Republican or Democrat that voted to support Bush going into Iraq should be officially classified as negligent and gullible.

I have voted for both Republicans and Democrats in presidential elections. In 2008, I think Americans could themselves a favor and nominate tickets of McCain/Powell and Gore/Clark. America would win no matter who won.

Chaz Atlas
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Sunday, November 13, 2005 0 comments

 
After School Detention: Bush Staff to take Ethics Classes

After the so-called Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, George W. Bush said he would bring back ethics to the Oval Office(sigh). I knew in November of 2000 when Fmr. Sec. of State & Papa Bush partner James Baker came out of nowhere to head up the Florida recount that something was up. Baker subsequently ended up becoming the attorney for the Saudi's when they were sued by victims of 9/11 for damages. How low can you go James?

Does the President plan to attend these refresher courses? Plunging a nation into war with such weak evidence seems to be unethical to me. How about former FEMA Director Mike Brown who is still a paid consultant for the White House after his unconscionable lack of performance in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. What about Vice President Dick Cheney? Do these ethics classes reference no-bid contracts to friends of administration officials? I thought Bush was supposed to bring ethics back to the White House. To think we almost removed a President (Clinton) because of an office fling, the Oval Office albeit. The 8 year Clinton witch-hunt seems a little petty and minuscule now doesn't it? I'm Chaz Atlas and that's how I see it.
ABC News: Bush aides sent to ethics classes
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Tuesday, November 08, 2005 1 comments

 
Bush White House paid Chalabi $340,000 per month for bad intel.

George W. Bush has rolled out the red carpet for Ahmed Chalabi. Most of you may be wondering just who in the hell is Chalabi or what's the big deal about his visit. Let's just say he is directly implicated to why the United States is stuck in the quicksand of Iraq. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1152AP_US_Chalabi.html

Bush used Chalabi as one of his main sources for "intelligence" in going to war in Iraq. Chalabi's "people" were the ones insisting that weapons of mass destruction were in Iraq. It was more like weapons of mass deception at the White House. We, the taxpayer paid for this chatter to the tune of $340,000 per month to Chalabi and his group. Chalabi was already cited for milking $60 million from an African Bank. I wonder if Chalabi was adding insult to injury when he helped cook up the notion that Iraq was trying to buy "yellow cake" from Niger?

Regardless, we have paid for Chalabi's research with over 2000 dead American soldiers, over 100,000 Iraqis and billions of taxpayer dollars that could be at work here at home. Well after all this deceit by Chalabi, Bush has invited Chalabi back to the scene of the crime - the White House. This welcome is as outrageous as giving former CIA Director George Tenet and the new-Iraq architect Paul Bremer the Congressional Medal of Honor. Republicans please wake up. I'm Chaz Atlas and that's how I see it.
HoustonChronicle.com - Pentagon pays Chalabi group for dubious data
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Tuesday, November 08, 2005 0 comments

 
The Stench of Deceit : Chalabi, Oil and U.S. Short Term Memory

Here is more information that I posted last May on the stench of deceit from Chalabi, Oil and short term memory in the United States. I'm Chaz Atlas and that's how I see it.
The Stench of Deceit
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Tuesday, November 08, 2005 0 comments

 
GOP Plans More Outreach to Blacks.

Just a few weeks prior to Hurricane Katrina, the GOP Executive Director Ken Mehlman said the republican party would be reaching out to more Blacks. President Bush's late response and former FEMA Director Mike Brown's lackadaisical rescue and recovery effort was a grand example of what compassionate conservatism is all about.

Instead of keeping those displaced close to home, Blacks were dispersed to all 50 states to various shelters. While they were on the way out, cheap labor illegal immigrants were being brought in on government issued, white school busses with tinted windows to take construction jobs that should have gone to locals. That practice was a direct result of Pres. Bush waiving the Davis-Bacon Act which guaranteed a minimum age to local workers. This would benefit Bush's developer buddies who can make a lot more money hiring illegal immigrants under the table.

The "liberal" media ignored the fact that around 40 GOP, labor friendly senators joined democrats in over-riding Bush in getting Davis-Bacon reinstated. Don't let right wing mouth pieces tout how the Bush Administration has appointed more Blacks & minorities to high level positions than any other President. It's not about who an administration appoints, its about the policies they propose and implement. If Bush appointed Blacks that supported policies that improved the quality of life and opportunity for Blacks nationally, then Blacks should consider voting for republicans. But this White House has only implemented policies that have been detrimental to both middle & working class Americans of all racial persuasion. While Mehlman planned on outreach to more Blacks, he might want to think about reaching out to all Americans as his party and leadership is nothing but a playground of arrogance, deceit and hypocrisy.
GOP Plans More Outreach to Blacks, Mehlman Says
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Tuesday, November 08, 2005 0 comments

 
Alabama governor calls for Aruba boycott: Enough Natalee OK?!

The ongoing onslaught of tv time devoted to missing teen Natalee Holloway is driving me nuts. It has to be one of the most overblown, undeserving stories I can ever remember. It is unfortunate she went missing. But an 18yo girl who was supposedly brought up right and has quality friends, does not get drunk and leave a bar with 3 guy strangers in a foreign land. Period. You play with fire and you get burned. Now the Governor of Alabama is calling for Alabama citizens to boycott Aruba until we can get to the truth. He will be calling for other Governors to join the Aruba boycott at an upcoming Governors conference.

As of this writing two months after the fact, there are still approximately 1,300 children either missing or not reunited with their families after Hurricane Katrina. Do you know any of their names? Any of their faces? No. So why does Natalee get all the special treatment? What makes Natalee Holloway more important than, say, Reyna Alvarado-Carerra?

In the United States alone, more than a million people are reported missing each year. The majority of these cases involve minors. The majority of those cases are runaways, but there are also significant numbers of abductions at the hands of both relatives and strangers. This brings us to the case of Reyna Gabriella Alvarado-Carerra.

Have you ever heard of her?

I certainly hadn't until I started doing research for this story. Reyna is a 13 year-old Hispanic girl who is believed to have been abducted by a stranger in Norcross, Georgia. She was abducted just a few weeks before Holloway. A Google search on her name yields a grand total of 6 results.

The same search for "Natalee Holloway" turns up 276,000 results.

But Natalee doesn't just get more Google search results. She's getting airtime, baby. As I mentioned in the intro, American news outlets are awash with a veritable cornucopia of Natalee fever. She also gets assistance from the Dutch Marines and special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who apparently already have enough resources at work battling mundane things like terrorism.

Here's the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, and the reason I am writing this treatise: CNN is now reporting that Holland is sending three F-16 warplanes to assist in the search for Natalee. I was given pause by thinking about the sheer cost of this endeavor. My brother-in-law is a recruiter for the Air National Guard, and I have a rough idea of how much money it costs to even get one of those things off of the ground. How much do you suppose is being spent to equip these planes with the special search equipment and then actually get them to Aruba?

The disproportionate response of Aruban, Dutch, and American authorities to the disappearance of this girl can only be attributed to the disproportionate amount of media coverage. CNN, MSNBC, and (especially) Fox News feature hourly updates on the status of the investigation. They interview family members, law enforcement personnel, and representatives of the Aruban government. The case even features prominently on right-wing talk radio shows, such as the Sean Hannity Show and Bill O'Reilly's Radio Factor. This is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the coverage: What could possibly be political about this case? Why would Hannity and O'Reilly be interested in taking away airtime from discussions about the immorality of Democrats and spend it on Natalee Holloway instead?

I can guess, and will spend the next couple of paragraphs doing so. This is mere speculation on my part; you have been warned.

The initial Fox News coverage of the story was pretty transparent, particularly on O'Reilly's show. The incident was portrayed as a lesson: "See, this is what happens when you vacation outside of America in nations with swarthy peoples." Initially, two former security guards were arrested in connection with the disappearance. O'Reilly called these two men "slugs" and lamented the fact that Aruba does not have a death penalty that they could be threatened with. Of course, it later turned out that the two had nothing to do with the abduction, and they were released. (As far as I've seen, there was no retraction or apology from O'Reilly, a man who constantly reminds us that he does not "engage in speculation" on his show.)

Things changed when the focus of the investigation shifted to 17 year-old Dutch boy Joran van der Sloot. Since the new culprit was now Whitey, the initial political spin was invalidated. Fox briefly attempted to make the story into an argument for the juvenile death penalty (even going so far as referring to van der Sloot as a "17 year-old Dutch man.") This fizzled, however, and the current focus of the coverage, at least on Fox, is the supposed ineptitude of Aruban law enforcement. O'Reilly's new favorite pastime is lambasting the Aruban authorities for not giving the media enough information about the case and for not having recovered her body yet. This despite the fact that it took over a year to find the body of Chandra Levy (and Washington, D.C. is smaller than Aruba.)

This is another case of politicians getting too personally involved in a personal issue, i.e. Terry Schiavo. Look, the notion is noble but the precedent is dangerous. If they went into Terry Schiavos hospice room, they will go into yours. There are thousands of people who have gone missing overseas and they have not received any press, much less a boycott from their home state Governor. Enough is enough. More time has been devoted to finding Natalee Holloway than Osama Bin Laden. Fuck that. I'm Chaz Atlas and that's how I see it.
CNN.com - Alabama governor calls for Aruba boycott - Nov 8, 2005
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Saturday, November 05, 2005 0 comments

 
Strange Bedfellows: The Small World of DC Politics


Class if you do your modern history homework you will see that there was a republican uproar when former Pres. Clinton pardoned a guy by the name of Marc Rich right before leaving office in early 2001. Just one month after the pardon, Marc became a middleman for several of Iraq's suspect oil deals in 2001 after a UN investigation.

I'm not sure why Clinton pardoned Rich. I do not know their history or connection and actually it is irrelevant. Not giving my favorite President a pass but right is right and wrong is wrong, so if Bill was wrong then he should not have pardoned him. Regardless, Rich ended up procuring oil deals. It's so Cheney. Speaking of Cheney, here is the odd footnote. Guess who Mark Rich's lawyer was that brokered and handled the details of his pardon? None other than I. "Scooter" Libby. The "I" stands for indicted. I'm Chaz Atlas and that's how I see it.
ABC News: Americans' Role Eyed in U.N. Oil Scandal
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Friday, November 04, 2005 0 comments

 
Another Lawyer in Saddam Trial Gunned Down: My Hussein Prediction

Another lawyer was gunned down in Iraq involved with the Iraq vs. Hussein trial. Earlier this year The Sun newspaper which happens to be owned by FOX News Owner & Bush buddy Rupert Murdoch, released "secret" photographs of Saddam Hussein in his underwear. I guess this was supposed to be a big joke or something. Haha. There was never an investigation launched as to who took these pictures. The Bush Administration, Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon claim they don't know who did it. I would hope that only a few, select military people would be in charge of protection, security and access to Hussein.

Here is my prediction. Saddam Hussein will be killed before his trial concludes. Killed because he will potentially talk too much about his business dealings with Donald Rumsfeld who sold him the chemical weapons he used on the Kurds back in the 80's. He will explain how he did not have any WMD's and how unbeknownst to the American public how the US started bombing Iraq 2 months before we invaded to see if we could provoke him into war. See Hussein is no fool. He understands that he won't get a fair trial or even if he did get a fair trial he knows he is not going to walk or be set free. So he will use the trial as a bully pulpit to embarrass the Bush Administration. And the Bush White House will not have that.

So when things get really bad for the White House (excuse me, worse than they are) they will once again divert America's attention in a major way, i.e. the London Tunnel Bombing. This calculated diversion will be the murder of Saddam Hussein. Who will do it? Some Kurd or Iraqi military person "pawn" who works at the undisclosed facility they are holding Hussein. This pawn's family will have directly suffered at the hands of Hussein. Maybe his father was tortured or his whole family was killed, Rove will think of something. The pawn will assume that with the trial possibly being moved that Hussein might try to escape and Allah told him to take justice into his own hands. The killer will probably be killed in a shoot out with other guards before he can tell his story, i.e. Lee Harvey Oswald.

Call me a left-wing wacko, conspiracy nut if you want to. This whole Administration is nothing but a conspiracy. I'm Chaz Atlas and that's how I see it.
ABC News: Another Lawyer in Saddam Trial Gunned Down
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Friday, November 04, 2005 0 comments

 
Brown joked in e-mail as Katrina churned.

Just as I knew it. Mike Brown is a bitch. While people were stranded and dying in New Orleans after Katrina, FEMA Director Brown was more concerned with his wardrobe for his television interviews and who his dog sitter was going to be. What a bitch. Any punk ass republicans still want to support this punks performance? An investigation produced Brown's pathetic e-mails during Katrina. This is an outrage. I'm Chaz Atlas and that's how I see it.
Brown joked in e-mail as Katrina churned - Hurricanes' Aftermath - MSNBC.com
- posted by Chaz Atlas @ Thursday, November 03, 2005 0 comments