Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
"I wish I could be done with it even before the end of this term," ...::::::::
Excerpted from: http://www.truthout.org IRAQ PRIME MINISTER WISHES TO QUIT http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307R.shtml Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has made clear he dislikes being the country's leader and would prefer to leave the job before his term ends. --- William Fisher | This Strategy Is New? http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307J.shtml William Fisher writes: "Bush is taking a hard look at economic initiatives as he prepares to let the nation in on his new strategy for Iraq. But he faces two huge problems. The first is that he's been here before - and his Coalition Provisional Authority, under the aegis of Viceroy Jerry Bremer, botched this job, as he did most others back in 2003 and 2004. The second is that, whatever economic development projects Bush may try to put in place, it may just be too late for any of them to be effective." --- Bush "to Reveal Iraq Troop Boost" http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307S.shtml President Bush intends to reveal a new Iraq strategy within days. The speech will reveal a plan to send more US troops to Iraq, rather than training Iraqi forces. --- VIDEO | Keith Olbermann | Special Comment About "Sacrifice" http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307A.shtml Keith Olbermann states: "If Mr. McCain truly said that [the 'surge' would help the 'morale' of the troops in Iraq], and truly believes it, he has either forgotten completely his own experience in Vietnam ... or he is unaware of the recent Military Times poll indicating only 38 percent of our active military want to see more troops sent ... or Mr. McCain has departed from reality." --- Bush Tipped to Talk Tough on Energy but Snub Kyoto http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010307EA.shtml Energy will be a central theme of President Bush's state of the union speech this month, but his critics doubt that he will do much more than call for more spending on alternative fuels, and again fail to embrace international efforts to agree a post-Kyoto regime to tackle greenhouse emissions. --- FBI Details Possible Detainee Torture http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307K.shtml Documents released Tuesday by the FBI offered new details about torture and the harsh interrogation practices used by military officials and contractors when questioning so-called enemy combatants. The documents were released in response to a public records request by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is suing Rumsfeld and others on behalf of former military detainees who say they were abused. --- Arlen Parsa | Torture, Lies, and Videotape http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307B.shtml Arlen Parsa writes: "Not long before Christmas Day 2002, a young man was being held in a US facility known as the Bagram Collection Point, in Afghanistan. Like many other Afghan nationals, he had only one name: Dilawar. He led a simple, quiet life. He had a wife, a young daughter, and one friend. He was 22 years old, and weighed only 122 pounds. Most of his captors believed he was not guilty of anything and had 'simply driven his taxi past the American base at the wrong time.' He died on December 10th. The incident was covered up by the Pentagon." --- The New York Times | Protecting Internet Democracy http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307D.shtml The editors of the New York Times write: "One of the big winners in the last election may turn out to be the principle, known as net neutrality, that Internet service providers should not be able to favor some content over others. Democrats who are moving into the majority in Congress - led by Ron Wyden in the Senate and Edward Markey in the House - say they plan to fight hard to pass a net neutrality bill, and we hope that they do. It is vital to preserve the Internet's role in promoting entrepreneurship and free expression." --- Death of Zarqawi Only Inflamed Violence http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307E.shtml When US forces killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi, six months ago in a village near here, they hoped security would improve in this strategic province just north of Baghdad. Instead, security has collapsed in Diyala province, which now ranks as one of Iraq's most troubled regions. Insurgent attacks have more than doubled in the last year. --- Activists Seek Bolder Approach to War, Spying http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307L.shtml Activists will greet the new Congressional leaders at the Capitol tomorrow demanding a ban on torture, an end to warrantless domestic spying, and a restoration of curbed civil liberties. The rally will be followed by an evening forum calling for the president's impeachment, led by the Center for Constitutional Rights, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, and a pro-impeachment group called World Can't Wait. --- Ann Wright | Arrested on the Golden Gate Bridge http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307M.shtml Retired colonel Ann Wright writes: "We must bring extraordinary pressure on the new Congress to stop the funding to this war and bring our troops home. Join us in Washington, DC, January 3 and 4 and January 27-29 to tell Congress: Stop This War and Bring Our Troops Home!" --- Feds: Crisis Communications Sub-Par in US http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010307O.shtml Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will release the findings of a new report Wednesday that finds that five years after 9/11, many US cities still have ineffective disaster communications plans. --- Poll Shows Support for Democrats' Goals http://snipurl.com/16hxz --- Alain Faujas | World Bank Chastised http://snipurl.com/16hy3 --- Tom Engelhardt | Doubling Down on the Imperial Mission in 2007 http://snipurl.com/16hy7 --- Olmos Criticizes US Navy for Polluting Puerto Rico http://snipurl.com/16i1j --- What the Public Needs to Know About Biotech Risks http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010307HA.shtml In her new book, "Intervention," former New York Times technology columnist Denise Caruso talks about the risks of life on a genetically engineered planet. --- Coal Mine Deaths Spike Upward http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010307LC.shtml --- Women's Rights Heroes and Zeros of 2006 http://snipurl.com/16i1v _________________________________ Excerpted from: http://english.aljazeera.net MEDIA BIAS ' THREAT ' TO IRAQ ... By Ahmed Janabi Al-Hashimi says Western media speak of Sunni Arabs in the same breath as terrorists [EPA] Information about Iraq propagated by Western media is often woefully inaccurate or downright wrong, according to leading Arab figures, and such distortions are damaging any chance of peace in the country. Tariq al-Hashimi, Iraq's Sunni Arab vice-president, says that one idea - widely accepted in the West as true but which lacks evidence to support it - has upset the balance of power in Iraq to such an extent that violence was an inevitable outcome. Western media often refer to Iraq as being "overwhelmingly Shia", or use other phrases to imply a large Shia majority. This, he says, is wrong - and it has resulted in over-representation of Shia parties in the Iraqi government at the expense of Sunni Arabs. Al-Hashimi said: "The false allegations promoted by Western media have resulted in an [inappropriate] political process, and everyone is paying the price for its wrong foundations." .................snip...................... ... we really do not know how to let them realise that everybody got his share in ruling Iraq across history. "Western media and politicians are still defining this community [Sunni Arabs] as a troublesome group, whose motives are incomprehensible by the West. "Western media always put question marks around this community and speak of it in the same breath as terrorism. They portray it as a community that is still incapable of comprehending the new Iraq; hence, it is not qualified to play a role in a democratic process. Such allegations are backed by lobbies whose aim is to undermine Iraqi nationalism." ...................snip.................. "Actually, sect was never an issue in Iraq. I am a Shia and I have been a senior Baath official ... No Baath party official - no Iraqi official - ever asked me about my sect. "When the US army occupied Iraq they issued a list of 55 wanted top Iraqi officials, starting with President Saddam Hussein; half of those senior officials were Shia. "The Committee of Debaathification issued a list of 100,000 senior Iraqi Baathists who would not be allowed to enjoy governmental posts, 66,000 of them were Shia - so how is the Baath party a Sunni party? "It is a character assassination campaign instructed by Western lobbies and carried out by Western media." Who is fighting? [snip] Full article >> http://snipurl.com/16i4s _________________________________ No Religion And An End To War: How Thinkers See The Future People's fascination for religion and superstition will disappear within a few decades as television and the internet make it easier to get information, and scientists get closer to discovering a final theory of everything, leading thinkers argue today. http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/link.php?id=28329 _________________________________ http://www.rafahtoday.org/index.htm _________________________________ Excerpted from: http://mediamatters.org Media figures warned incoming Democratic majority against aggressive oversight Read more >> VIDEO: http://mediamatters.org/items/200701030002?src=other --- USA Today ignores prewar evidence in claiming that Saddam's lack of WMD was "learned too late" Read more >> http://snipurl.com/16ga9 --- CNN's Henry and Malveaux: Does John Edwards want to "give up" in Iraq? Read more >>VIDEO: http://mediamatters.org/items/200701020005?src=other --- Woodward disclaimed knowledge of prewar WMD doubts, despite his own reporting of them Read more >> http://mediamatters.org/items/200701030001?src=other --- Despite New Year's resolution to be "open-minded," Matthews suggested Sen. Clinton can't win in Midwest Read more >> VIDEO: http://snipurl.com/16gah --- Media myths and falsehoods to look out for as Dems launch "100 hours" plan Read more >> http://mediamatters.org/items/200701020003?src=other --- Willard Scott suggested weather "in Denver and Colorado" casts doubt on global warming Read more >> http://mediamatters.org/items/200701020002?src=other _________________________________ [NEWSDISSECTOR] The Day They Drove Saddam Down http://www.newsdissector.com/blog/2007/01/03/the-day-they-drove-saddam-down/ _________________________________ Ehud Olmert, the current Israeli prime minister, seems to be more popular and influential with European and American politicians than he is among his own constituents. After the disastrous and illegal invasion of Lebanon, which he foolishly provoked and prosecuted, an Israeli poll found that 63 per cent of Israelis wanted Olmert to resign. Read more >> http://snipurl.com/169f2 ..............snip.................. Dissecting the Big Lie "If we ever pass out as a great nation we ought to put on our tombstone 'America died from a delusion that she had moral leadership'." ---Will Rogers [snip] _________________________________ An estimated five percent of the rarest, most expensive wines in the world could be fake, typically showing up through auctions of "trophy wines," and not through retail sales, according to Palm Beach Post. Some common cases include, counterfeits of Canadian ice wines showing up in China and blending cheap wine into pricier Bordeaux. Full Story >> http://snipurl.com/16i8y _________________________________ http://www.antiwar.com | http://www.tompaine.com | http://www.salon.com/index.html _________________________________ ~~~~~ YOUR DOCS ONLINE In case you haven't heard, programs are moving from the desktop to the Internet. And many are free. You can write letters and put your budget in a spreadsheet. Store your documents online so you can access them anywhere. You can even share them with others. So why wait around for Office 2007 when you can use Google's Docs & Spreadsheets? Google's programs aren't as advanced as Office. But you'll have everything you need without all the confusion. To get started with Google's programs, simply log in using your Google account. If you don't have one, you can create one in mere minutes. TO VISIT TODAY'S COOL SITE, GO HERE: http://www.google.com/accounts ----- Site publishes writings from death row Death Row Speaks is a Web site dedicated to increasing awareness of the death penalty. It posts writings by death row inmates. Visitors to the site can ask the inmates questions. It also includes art created by inmates. http://snipurl.com/116gl --- Google fixes flaw Google has fixed a recently discovered vulnerability. The flaw allowed sites to harvest information from Gmail's contact list. Once a user logged in to Gmail, the contact list was accessible to other sites the user visited. Google took about 30 hours to fix the problem. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/01/02/HNgmailscripting_1.html Be sure to listen to me Monday through Friday. Use my map to find me near you http://www.komando.com/listen/index.aspx _________________________________ eHEALTHY NEWS A Novel Way to Scare Americans Away From Canadian Drugs - Evil marketing geniuses write a spy thriller intended to scare Americans away from buying cheaper Canadian drugs. http://snipurl.com/16gd0 ----- Simple Tricks to Improve Your Memory - Wouldn't you like to have a better memory? Well, these tips will surprise you in their ability to improve your memory. http://snipurl.com/16gd8 _________________________________ VIDEO: Mormon on Mormon (4:45) WARNING: Adult Content The movie "Mormon on Mormon" is causing all kinds of controversy. Is it sublime satire, or blasphemous? http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/mormon_on_mormon _________________________________ NationalGeographic.com http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/pod/ _________________________________ NASA Astronomy picture of the day http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html _________________________________ When I believe in nothing I do not want to meet you when you believe in nothing. ~ Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin
