Response to McCains statement that bringing troops home is "not to important"

Iron Man Versus the Imperialists

Heroism, when applied to foreign policy, is a moral vanity that usually prescribes a cure more corrosive than the disease it confronts. It will always be good celluloid for Iron Man to incinerate terrorists who -- living out their own imperial perversions -- overrun villages full of innocents. But the real world does not contain magic suits that kill the bad guys without harming the civilians and let the good guy fly away without a scratch on him. In that world, the actual answer to the Iron Man complex is one of two things. America either needs to submit the Iron Man armor to a series of institutions to govern its just use, or it needs to take off the suit once and for all.

Korean War -Truth about mass killings comes out

Fifty-eight years ago, at the outbreak of the Korean War, South Korean authorities secretively executed, usually without legal process, tens of thousands of southern leftists and others rightly or wrongly identified as sympathizers. Today a government Truth and Reconciliation Commission is working to dig up the facts, and the remains of victims.

How could such a bloodbath have been hidden from history?

Among the Koreans who witnessed, took part in or lost family members to the mass killings, the events were hardly hidden, but they became a "public secret," barely whispered about through four decades of right-wing dictatorship here.

"The family couldn't talk about it, or we'd be stigmatized as leftists," said Kim Chong-hyun, 70, leader of an organization of families seeking redress for their loved ones' deaths in 1950.
Kim, whose father was shot and buried in a mass grave outside the central city of Daejeon, noted that in 1960-61, a one-year democratic interlude in South Korea, family groups began investigating wartime atrocities. But a military coup closed that window, and "the leaders of those organizations were arrested and punished."

Then, "from 1961 to 1988, nobody could challenge the regime, to try again to reveal these hidden truths," said Park Myung-lim of Seoul's Yonsei University, a leading Korean War historian. As a doctoral student in the late 1980s, when South Korea was moving toward democracy, Park was among the few scholars to begin researching the mass killings. He was regularly harassed by the police.

Scattered reports of the killings did emerge in 1950 — and some did not.

British journalist James Cameron wrote about mass prisoner shootings in the South Korean port city of Busan — then spelled Pusan — for London's Picture Post magazine in the fall of 1950, but publisher Edward Hulton ordered the story removed at the last minute.

Earlier, correspondent Alan Winnington reported on the shooting of thousands of prisoners at Daejeon in the British communist newspaper The Daily Worker, only to have his reporting denounced by the U.S. Embassy in London as an "atrocity fabrication." The British Cabinet then briefly considered laying treason charges against Winnington, historian Jon Halliday has written.

Associated Press correspondent O.H.P. King reported on the shooting of 60 political prisoners in Suwon, south of Seoul, and wrote in a later memoir he was "shocked that American officers were unconcerned" by questions he raised about due process for the detainees.

Some U.S. officers — and U.S. diplomats — were among others who reported on the killings. But their classified reports were kept secret for decades.

Intel Mash Maker, Mashups for the Masses

Today, I came across this really interesting mashup built for the site http://mashmaker.intel.com/web/. It is powered by Intel's Mash Maker technology. If you have it installed, you can see the mashup by clicking http://mashmaker.intel.com/bm/?bm=1186.Mash Maker's natural and simplified approach to creating mashups, makes it easier, faster, and fun to create personalized mashups on-the-fly. Mash Maker's inbuilt technology enables you to browse and easily view information the way you want, and presented the way you want. You can even program it. Download it now from http://mashmaker.intel.com.

Bush Tells Isreali Knesset that Obama is like Hitler... WTF?

I really thought things could not get much worse... I thought GWB had done it all and stooped as low as it goes..

Oh, how wrong I was...

"Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," Bush said. "We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: "Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.
"We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."
U.S. President George W. Bush's speech to the Israeli parliament 5/15/08

Bush today broke all the rules of protocol. In front of the Israeli Knesset he said that Obama and the other democrats who want some form of diplomacy instead of the constant saber rattling and arrogance of the bush years... he called them the same as Nazi sympathizers before world war II.

He broke the unwritten rules about talking about US politics in front of foreign audiences.
He broke the long standing protocols against a sitting presidents using their office to partisan ends in the election of their successor.

But worst of all he broke Godwin's Law (also known as Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies)

"As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."

No rational discussion or measured discourse is possible once Godwin's law is breached.

What a maroon.

Letter to WinterBear from Barack Obama

WinterBear --

We may not know the final outcome of today's voting until morning, but the results so far make one thing clear.

When the dust settles from today's contests, we will maintain our substantial lead in delegates. And thanks to millions of people standing for change, we will keep adding delegates and capture the Democratic nomination.

We knew from the day we began this journey that the road would be long. And we knew what we were up against.

We knew that the closer we got to the change we seek, the more we'd see of the politics we're trying to end -- the attacks and distortions that try to distract us from the issues that matter to people's lives, the stunts and the tactics that ask us to fear instead of hope.

But this time -- this year -- it will not work. The challenges are too great. The stakes are too high.

Americans need real change.

In the coming weeks, we will begin a great debate about the future of this country with a man who has served it bravely and loves it dearly. And we will offer two very different visions of the America we see in the twenty-first century.

John McCain has already dismissed our call for change as eloquent but empty.

But he should know that it's a call that did not begin with my words. It's the resounding call from every corner of this country, from first-time voters and lifelong cynics, from Democrats and Republicans alike.

And together you and I are going to grow this movement to deliver that change in November.

Thank you,

Barack


Paid for by Obama for America
This email was sent to: WinterBear Westerberg at blogspot.com

OBAMA

OBAMA

Winterbear has figured out over the years that he is a "Centrist" but he defines that differently than most people.

As a Texan he is indorsing Obama in todays Primary elections and tonights caucuses for the following reasons.

1) I want a balanced supreme court. If we dont elect a democrat, the republicans will pack the court for the rest of my life.

2) I want every neo-con to get fired on Jan 20, 2009

3) I do not want the clintons to get another 8 years (although I think they would do a passable job on 1 and 2)

So this website and WinterBear Westerburg are indorsing Barac Obama for President.

And if your in Texas remember you get to vote twice today! Vote once in the priamary before 7pm and go to your local caucus meeting and vote again!

Viva Tejas...

Univ. Michigan Electoral US results map 2004

Very interesting map that shows the mathematics behind the 2004 voting and where the population and the votes for both Republicans and Democrats were cast.

Amazing stuff...

Your doing a heck of a job, bushie

Our Currency is Collapsing. The Euro passed 1.50 to one dollar for the first time today. It was 1 to 1 with the dollar when George took office.

Heck of a job

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/27/business/econ.php

The Legacy of GW Bush's Presidency

http://zaiusnation.blogspot.com/2008/01/legacy-of-george-w-bushs-presidency.html

Who is to blame for poor Republican turnout?

While Obama gets credit for bringing in most of the new voters, Clinton is solidly bringing in hers (some say the real Dem base). Part of my Obama support comes from my fear that if Hillary is the nominee the GOP base, with no one to vote for, will come out in droves just to defeat Hillary. While I think that still is true, the turnout numbers for the Dems have me believing that even an energized GOP base will not be able to counter this Democratic surge. Yes, it's possible that some of Obama's supporters won't show up, but once you get the voting bug it's hard to shake it. Once you get the idea stuck in your head that government can actually work, that incompetence does not have to rule, that a Republican does not have to win, the motivation to vote will be there. Everyone will show up in November and the numbers will be huge.

And who do we have to thank for this revival? George W. Bush. Who would have thought one man could motivate so many? He's like Obama with the motivating, except different.

George W Bush's Resume

from http://fablog.ehrensteinland.com/2008/01/29/resume/

“This person needs a job. This individual seeks an executive position. He will be available in January 2009, and is willing to relocate.

RESUME: GEORGE W. BUSH, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20520

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
Law Enforcement: I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine , in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver’s license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been “lost” and is not available.

Military: I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam .

College: I graduated from Yale University with a low C average. I was a cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE: I ran for U.S. Congress and lost.
I began my career in the oil business in Midland Texas , in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn’t find any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock. I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a deal that took land using taxpayer money. With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas .

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS : I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.

I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.

I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history.

With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida , and my father’s appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President of the United States , after losing by over 500,000 votes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT: I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.

I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.

I spent the U.S. surplus.

I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.

I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.

I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.

I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market.

I’m proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My “poorest millionaire,” Condoleezza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.

I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President.

I am the all-time U.S. and world record -holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.

My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. history, Enron.

My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.

I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution.

More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history.

I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history. I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

I appointed more convicted criminals to my administration than any
President in U.S. history.

I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States Government.

I’ve broken more international treaties than any President in U.S. history.

I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.

I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.

I refused to allow inspector’s access to U.S. “prisoners of war” detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.

I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 US election).

I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.

I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period.

After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history.

I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.

I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to
simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.

I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. Citizens and the world community.

I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime.

In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.

I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.

I am supporting development of a nuclear “Tactical Bunker Buster,” a WMD.

I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES:All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father’s library, sealed and unavailable for public view.

All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

I specified that my sealed documents will not be available for 50 years.”