Cheney Says Iraqi Violence Linked to US Mid-Term Election

Doubtful. It is not that the Iraqi resistance is not sophisticated but other developments seem to explain the high level of death including Bush Administration concerns about the mid-term elections.
For the Bushies the key to Iraq is Baghdad. In the last few months as the election loomed and events in the capitol city continued to decline the Pentagon put forward a plan called Operation Forward Together launched in June. This plan along with an effort to retake the city of Ramadi in Anbar Province has led to US soldiers leaveing the "comfort" of the Green Zone and showing a very heavy presence in Baghdad in particular. Recently a US soldier was captured, they say kidnapped in the media-not sure why?, and this had led to even more dangerous missions for US troops as they now need to go door to door in areas previously off limits.
Cheney is trying to give excuses to the flac catchers at Fox News so that they can spin the carnage before the election. Don't buy it. The US is losing in Iraq and they will eventually withdraw with a military dictatorship in place. The future is very bleak for the Iraqi people for sure.
Mission Accomplished!

Pino Arrested

Ex-Fascist dictator of Chile finally arrested.

Rodchenko

Alexander Rodchenko. Found this exhibit while perusing the Moscow Times.

Bureacratic Chic

The excess of the bureacracy is on view in Moscow. This phone is one of the many gifts given to Soviet leaders in the good ol' days.

From the article in the Moscow Times:

"The exhibition was conceived by a Cambridge anthropologist, Nikolai Ssorin-Chaikov, and an art historian working at the Kremlin Museums, Olga Sosnina. Together, the two curators searched archives and interviewed museum workers to compile the histories of 500 objects that were given to Soviet leaders from Vladimir Lenin to Mikhail Gorbachev, some of them elaborate official offerings, others deeply personal and somewhat naive."

All Out for Novemeber 7!

A short Q&A, brought to you by the folks at Fair Wisconsin.

Q: Can we defeat the civil unions and marriage ban?

A: Yes. To do so we must get the tens of thousands of people who have already said they will vote "No" to turnout at their polling places on Election Day.

Q: How do we do that?

A: In the last four days of the election, we need to fill thousands of volunteer canvassing and phone shifts. Please sign up here for as many shifts as you can:
http://www.fairwisconsingroups.com/gotv

Q: But is doing this really enough to win?

A: Absolutely. Because it's not a presidential election year, only about 40% of eligible voters get out to vote. But if we meet our volunteer goals, we can have face-to-face conversations with thousands of potential voters to remind them to vote on Election Day. If we do, we can increase turnout by several percentage points, which would be enough to win.

Q: How many volunteers do we need?

A: In Dane County alone, we need to fill over 6,000 shifts. And we need thousands more for Milwaukee and the rest of the state. Please sign up here:
http://www.fairwisconsingroups.com/gotv

Q: But I don't like knocking on doors.

A: Hey, that's not a question! But canvassing for GOTV is different than the canvassing we've been doing. We've already identified the "No" voters, we just need you to get them to the polls.

Q: Will we really be the first state to defeat a ban like this?

A: We really will be. No other state has defeated one of these at the ballot box. This is our chance to make history and to show the nation the tide is turning.

Please sign up today and ask your friends to join us as we get out the vote:
http://www.fairwisconsingroups.com/gotv

Good Career Move

K. Cobain is the leading earner as dead celebrity over taking his highness with John Lennon a distant fourth.

Who Is Trying to Kill Your Cousin in Iraq?

A guide to armed groups in Iraq.

The End of Habeas Corpus

Ralph Nader on how the Democrats gave up on a fundametal principle of liberal society.

By George, It's Never Been Stay the Course!

Bush's latest Orwellian position: "it's never been stay the course." Be sure to watch Geraldo get stoned after the Bush ad, gold, and I'm talking Columbian Gold!

The Legacy of 1956

The Guardian has been running a series on the Hungarian revolution of 1956. This article deals with the impact of the Soviet intervention on British Communism.

Nationalist Corporation Blackmails Workers/Community

Milwaukee based motorcycle maker that markets itself as red, white, and blue and a friend of the workingman calls for a two tiered wage structure and a cut in health and pension benefits or else they will not expand production. This comes at a time when said motorcycle company's exports just topped the domestic market.

Ooppps!

Steve Wynn puts elbow through $139 million Picasso.

Top UK General Says Get Out Of Iraq

In a major break with protocol in Britain the top General says that the US and Uk are making things worse by continuing the occupation of Iraq. I wonder how this will play in the US? I am sure with a yawn.

Over 600,000 Killed By Your Tax Dollar

Death toll in Iraq estimated at over a half a million. Let's not cut and run until say a million?

Brave Odyessy

Both 2001: A Space Odyessy and Brave New World are running on BBC7 this week and next. Good "go to sleep" stories.

2001 explained.

We Can But You Can't

After naming N. Korea, Iran and Iraq the Axis of Evil the two remaining axi are scrambling to get a deterent to forestall the fate of number three. The big powers concur with the US claiming we can have nukes but you can't. And, oh yeah, so can really close allies like Israel, Pakistan, India and in the past South Africa and Brazil.

Normon Solomon's two cents.

This is what deemocracy looks like!

Middle class types in Venezuela and other lackeys say no to any sort of distribution of wealth to those who create the wealth.

I WANT ALL THEIR MONEY!

The Bill Moyers program last night on PBS was stunning! I had followed it somewhat but the depths of this scandal are so far reaching-the entire republican leadership-including the "grass roots" religious leadership-were in on billking anyone they could hustle, including each other! A must watch, why did the Bushies escape this one? Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed, the entire House leadership, the RNC, the Texas RNC and all of their top lobbyists were in on it, AND STILL ARE. I know I am late to this one but Moyers laid it out for the simple folk last night extremely well.

I love this picture. I saw a Daily Show awhile back that had a very witty fashion consultant on and John Stewart was asking her what this or that outfit meant for certain celebrities and when they came to this picture and Stewart said, what does this outfit say, she said, "guilty."

LAs New Revolutionaries

A profile of Bolivia's new Vice President in the Herald Tribune. Alvaro Garcia Linera, a former guerilla leader of my generation, strikes a different pose than Fidel and Che. Will they be more like the former or of the Lula variety?

!Cuidado Companeros!

Nicaragua announces plans for a bigger and better canal linking the Atlantic and the Pacific.

An issue for the last 150 years for the Nicas. The original site was to use Lake Nicaragua as the middle section and has drawn interference from the French, British and US.

Another catalyst for a new Teddy Roosevelt?Some of the sordid history of imperialism in Nicaragua.

Pi...............................................................

Man recites Pi, from memory to 100,000 digits!

Tony Benn

Take a listen to the Benn Tapes, Tony Benn's secret tapes throughout his political career. Check out the tapes on the 1984 coal strike in particular. Also, the discussions of him meeting the royals are gold.

My Hero!

Angry Professor doesn't skip a beat during lecture firing a shot for humanity in our constant struggle against narcissim.

BBC Shills for Military Dictatorship

Read this article on the BBC endorseing the new illegal government of Thailand.