Mon - April 17, 2006
This blog has moved!
NervousFishblog has now moved. Please update your
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http://homepage.mac.com/thenervousfishdown/
http://homepage.mac.com/thenervousfishdown/
Posted at 12:22 AM Read More
Sun - April 9, 2006
HERSH: THE IRAN PLANS
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/060417fa_fact
THE IRAN PLANS
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb?
Issue of 2006-04-17
Posted 2006-04-10
The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. The officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium.
Click 'Read More' for the rest of the article...
THE IRAN PLANS
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb?
Issue of 2006-04-17
Posted 2006-04-10
The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. The officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium.
Click 'Read More' for the rest of the article...
Posted at 10:52 AM Read More
Thu - February 16, 2006
CT: Administrators should ban CIA in interest of 'Principles of
Community'
Collegiate
Times
February 15th, 2006
Nicholas Kiersey, guest columnist
http://collegiatetimes.com/print.php?a=6486
This January, the University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Mark McNamee sent a letter to over 30 Virginia Tech professors and instructors. His letter replied to several points made by these faculty members in an open letter they had published in the Collegiate Times late last fall.
February 15th, 2006
Nicholas Kiersey, guest columnist
http://collegiatetimes.com/print.php?a=6486
This January, the University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Mark McNamee sent a letter to over 30 Virginia Tech professors and instructors. His letter replied to several points made by these faculty members in an open letter they had published in the Collegiate Times late last fall.
Posted at 02:00 PM Read More
Thu - January 12, 2006
Garçon! Un Coca-Cola, S'il Vous Plaît
http://www.slate.com/id/2134151/
Europeans hate America these days. So, why are they still buying our stuff?
By Daniel Gross
Posted Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006, at 4:54 PM ET
It is an article of faith among marketing types, Bush administration critics, and even awkward practitioners of public diplomacy, like Karen Hughes, that the unpopularity of U.S. foreign policy in Europe and the Middle East could hurt American economic interests.
Europeans hate America these days. So, why are they still buying our stuff?
By Daniel Gross
Posted Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006, at 4:54 PM ET
It is an article of faith among marketing types, Bush administration critics, and even awkward practitioners of public diplomacy, like Karen Hughes, that the unpopularity of U.S. foreign policy in Europe and the Middle East could hurt American economic interests.
Posted at 11:30 AM Read More
Fri - December 23, 2005
Iran's victory revealed in Iraq election
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/12/21/EDGU6GAM691.DTL
- Robert Scheer, Creators Syndicate
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
- Robert Scheer, Creators Syndicate
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
FOR the Bush White House, the good news from Iraq
just never stops. But the joy that President Bush has expressed over the
country's latest election, though more restrained than his infamous "Mission
Accomplished" speech, will similarly come back to haunt him.
Soon after Bush spoke of the Iraqi election as "a
landmark day in the history of liberty," early returns representing 90 percent
of the ballots cast in the Iraq election established that the clear winners were
Shiite and Sunni religious parties not the least bit interested in Western-style
democracy or individual freedom -- including such extremists as Muqtada al-Sadr,
whose fanatical followers have fought pitched battles with U.S.
troops.
Posted at 09:57 AM Read More
Sunnis, Shiites threaten to boycott Iraq's new legislature
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051222.wiraq22/BNStory/International/
Thursday, December 22, 2005 Posted at 10:47 AM EST
Associated Press
Baghdad — Dozens of Sunni Arab and secular Shiite groups threatened to boycott Iraq's new legislature Thursday if complaints about tainted voting are not reviewed by an international body.
A representative for former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi described the Dec. 15 vote as "fraudulent" and the elected lawmakers "illegitimate."
A joint statement issued by 35 political groups that competed in last week's elections said the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, which oversaw the ballot, should be disbanded.
It also said the more than 1,250 complaints about fraud, ballot box stuffing and intimidation should be reviewed by international organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the Arab League.
Thursday, December 22, 2005 Posted at 10:47 AM EST
Associated Press
Baghdad — Dozens of Sunni Arab and secular Shiite groups threatened to boycott Iraq's new legislature Thursday if complaints about tainted voting are not reviewed by an international body.
A representative for former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi described the Dec. 15 vote as "fraudulent" and the elected lawmakers "illegitimate."
A joint statement issued by 35 political groups that competed in last week's elections said the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, which oversaw the ballot, should be disbanded.
It also said the more than 1,250 complaints about fraud, ballot box stuffing and intimidation should be reviewed by international organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the Arab League.
Posted at 09:43 AM Read More
Making Sense of the Abramoff Scandal
By Geov Parrish,
AlterNet
Posted on December 20, 2005, Printed on December 23, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/29827/
The ever-widening scandal surrounding Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff threatens to take down at least a half-dozen Congressmen in 2006, more of their aides, Executive Branch employees, and untold numbers of other members of the Republican Beltway hierarchy. At least four dozen lawmakers from both parties are documented as having taken actions favorable to Abramoff clients around the time they received large donations from Abramoff and/or his clients.
It's a sordid tale of Washington corruption, and of crony capitalism at its worst, and it is so dizzyingly complex that few media outlets and even fewer members of the public have yet appreciated just how thoroughly it indicts not just Republican leadership, but the entire bipartisan way of crafting public policy that masquerades as 21st century American democracy.
Posted on December 20, 2005, Printed on December 23, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/29827/
The ever-widening scandal surrounding Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff threatens to take down at least a half-dozen Congressmen in 2006, more of their aides, Executive Branch employees, and untold numbers of other members of the Republican Beltway hierarchy. At least four dozen lawmakers from both parties are documented as having taken actions favorable to Abramoff clients around the time they received large donations from Abramoff and/or his clients.
It's a sordid tale of Washington corruption, and of crony capitalism at its worst, and it is so dizzyingly complex that few media outlets and even fewer members of the public have yet appreciated just how thoroughly it indicts not just Republican leadership, but the entire bipartisan way of crafting public policy that masquerades as 21st century American democracy.
Posted at 09:31 AM Read More
Wed - November 30, 2005
Al Qaeda Killed Kenny!
Is it me or is this a completely daft
interpretation of South Park? I have a friend in the marine corps who loves
South Park and Team America. He thinks it makes fun of the fictional people of
Durkadurkastan. Sadly, however, he seems incapable of seeing how the movie makes
fun of the protagonists by pushing their stereotypical perceptions of their
enemies to an extreme. There is an irony then, because when he laughs at those
extreme stereotypes, he doesn't see that the movie is using these stereotypes to
make a commentary on America's 'heroes' (who accept these stereotypes
unquestioningly and are thereby revealed to be incapable of sophisticated
thought and seeing nuance).
I first starting reading the article below hoping it might say something to help me understand my marine friend better. However, all it seems to do is reproduce a slightly more intelligent version of the same cognitive dissonance. The argument below basically suggests that we should ship shit loads of South Park videos over to the Middle East so that people will see how ridiculous Saddam Hussein really was! Are you kidding me???
Wouldn't that be a candidate for the most counter-productive propaganda strategy in the history of propaganda? Rest assured, this move would do NOTHING to undermine the Iranian regime. Instead, it would do just the opposite. Can you imagine 1000s of kids across the Middle East laughing their heads of at 'those stupid Americans and their ridiculous stereotypes of us'?
Upon watching South Park and Team America, I think there is only one thing an Iranian would want to do. That is, join Al Queda right away in order to better defend all right thinking human beings against those gun-toting buckaroos...
~N
http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/comment/woolsey200511290838.asp
November 29, 2005, 8:38 a.m.
Al Qaeda Killed Kenny!
Carting Cartman off to war.
By R. James, Suzanne, Robert, Daniel, and Benjamin Woolsey
I first starting reading the article below hoping it might say something to help me understand my marine friend better. However, all it seems to do is reproduce a slightly more intelligent version of the same cognitive dissonance. The argument below basically suggests that we should ship shit loads of South Park videos over to the Middle East so that people will see how ridiculous Saddam Hussein really was! Are you kidding me???
Wouldn't that be a candidate for the most counter-productive propaganda strategy in the history of propaganda? Rest assured, this move would do NOTHING to undermine the Iranian regime. Instead, it would do just the opposite. Can you imagine 1000s of kids across the Middle East laughing their heads of at 'those stupid Americans and their ridiculous stereotypes of us'?
Upon watching South Park and Team America, I think there is only one thing an Iranian would want to do. That is, join Al Queda right away in order to better defend all right thinking human beings against those gun-toting buckaroos...
~N
http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/comment/woolsey200511290838.asp
November 29, 2005, 8:38 a.m.
Al Qaeda Killed Kenny!
Carting Cartman off to war.
By R. James, Suzanne, Robert, Daniel, and Benjamin Woolsey
Posted at 09:45 PM Read More
Wed - November 16, 2005
Roanoke Times Blog Mentions VT CIA Protest
College life reporter for the Roanoke Times, Greg
Esposito, mentions tomorrow's protest of the CIA at Virginia Tech
here:
http://blogs.roanoke.com/campuswatch/archives/2005/11/cia_recruiting.html
http://blogs.roanoke.com/campuswatch/archives/2005/11/cia_recruiting.html
Posted at 09:04 PM Read More
Mon - November 14, 2005
Peace Through Strength?
Twisted reasoning on the McCain Amendment, as
published in the Clarion
Ledger...
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051104/OPINION/511040317/1009
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051104/OPINION/511040317/1009
Posted at 09:31 PM Read More
Forward Observer: Tortured Logic
DAILY BRIEFING
November 14, 2005
By George C. Wilson, CongressDaily
This document is located at http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1105/111405fo.htm
If Vice President Dick Cheney and his allies in the Bush administration manage to kill an amendment by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would forbid the CIA or other U.S. government entities from torturing captives, brutal foreign governments will be less inclined than ever to observe the narrow firebreak between life and death when abusing U.S. prisoners.
That cause and effect has been cited by McCain and others who have felt and seen the dark side of vengeance while held prisoner by another nation or an enemy.
By George C. Wilson, CongressDaily
This document is located at http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1105/111405fo.htm
If Vice President Dick Cheney and his allies in the Bush administration manage to kill an amendment by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would forbid the CIA or other U.S. government entities from torturing captives, brutal foreign governments will be less inclined than ever to observe the narrow firebreak between life and death when abusing U.S. prisoners.
That cause and effect has been cited by McCain and others who have felt and seen the dark side of vengeance while held prisoner by another nation or an enemy.
Posted at 09:27 PM Read More
PRESS RELEASE: Virginia Tech Students Protest Intelligence Agency
Recruitment on Campus, Submit Letter To President Steger
*** PRESS RELEASE *** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
***
PLEASE FORWARD
HEADLINE: Virginia Tech Students Protest Intelligence Agency Recruitment on Campus, Submit Letter To President Steger
CONTACT: Nicholas Kiersey or Devin Stone
EMAIL: nkiersey@vt.edu; devins@vt.edu
PHONE: (540) 250-3056; (540) 250-0939
Blacksburg, VA November 13, 2005 - A coalition of concerned graduate students and campus organizations at Virginia Tech are this Thursday staging a 'teach in' to protest CIA recruitment on campus. Planned events also include the protest of a 'career information' session to be held by the CIA later that evening.
[Click 'Read More']
PLEASE FORWARD
HEADLINE: Virginia Tech Students Protest Intelligence Agency Recruitment on Campus, Submit Letter To President Steger
CONTACT: Nicholas Kiersey or Devin Stone
EMAIL: nkiersey@vt.edu; devins@vt.edu
PHONE: (540) 250-3056; (540) 250-0939
Blacksburg, VA November 13, 2005 - A coalition of concerned graduate students and campus organizations at Virginia Tech are this Thursday staging a 'teach in' to protest CIA recruitment on campus. Planned events also include the protest of a 'career information' session to be held by the CIA later that evening.
[Click 'Read More']
Posted at 09:21 PM Read More
Fri - November 11, 2005
A Deadly Interrogation: Can The CIA Legally Kill a Prisoner?
Friday, November 11th,
2005
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/11/157256
We speak with journalist Jane Mayer of The New Yorker as the Senate rejects demands for an independent commission on torture and the US military. We look at whether CIA agents are being allowed to kill detainees in their custody. [includes rush transcript]
The Republican-led Senate has rejected a Democratic effort this week to establish an independent commission to investigate the U.S. military for its interrogation practices. The 55 to 43 vote was split largely along party lines.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/11/157256
We speak with journalist Jane Mayer of The New Yorker as the Senate rejects demands for an independent commission on torture and the US military. We look at whether CIA agents are being allowed to kill detainees in their custody. [includes rush transcript]
The Republican-led Senate has rejected a Democratic effort this week to establish an independent commission to investigate the U.S. military for its interrogation practices. The 55 to 43 vote was split largely along party lines.
Posted at 09:43 PM Read More
Agamben: Preacher of the profane
http://print.signandsight.com/features/399.html
2005-10-17
Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben is a beacon for an entire generation of young intellectuals across Europe - and a flighty eclectic.
By Daniel Binswanger
With his collarless shirts and dark suits, he comes across like something of a cleric. In fact the newest rage among philosophers at German universities is not lacking in prophetic aura, even if his thinking is not exactly Catholic. On the contrary, his ideas are more like present day pessimism, reminiscent of the Gnostics, with their mystic counter-utopias and disdain for the world, according to whom Creation was the reprehensible work of an evil God. But regardless where the theological, mystical, philosophical and other roots of Giorgio Agamben's thinking are to be found, the Italian philosophy professor has become a remarkable fashion phenomenon.
2005-10-17
Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben is a beacon for an entire generation of young intellectuals across Europe - and a flighty eclectic.
By Daniel Binswanger
With his collarless shirts and dark suits, he comes across like something of a cleric. In fact the newest rage among philosophers at German universities is not lacking in prophetic aura, even if his thinking is not exactly Catholic. On the contrary, his ideas are more like present day pessimism, reminiscent of the Gnostics, with their mystic counter-utopias and disdain for the world, according to whom Creation was the reprehensible work of an evil God. But regardless where the theological, mystical, philosophical and other roots of Giorgio Agamben's thinking are to be found, the Italian philosophy professor has become a remarkable fashion phenomenon.
Posted at 09:29 PM Read More
Barnett: Empire Made Easy
This article is permanently archived at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2379/
[On Thomas Barnett and his imperial mapping ~ NiK]
By Phyllis Eckhaus
November 4, 2005
Banish those nasty guilt twinges over America's ambitions to empire. Getting a jump on the holidays, Thomas P.M. Barnett is marketing a feel-good guide to conquest and capitalism, a sequel to his bestseller, The Pentagon's New Map. In Blueprint for Action, the Esquire editor and former Defense Department strategist declares that we're doing the world a favor by bombing our way to global free enterprise.
Brash and breezy, Barnett's plan for world conquest comes complete with its own video game vocabulary: The industrialized West is the Core. The Third World is the Gap. The aim of the game is to "shrink the Gap" by deploying the Leviathan, America's "high-speed, high-lethality and high-precision" warfighting capacity, "a force for global good that ... has no equal."
[On Thomas Barnett and his imperial mapping ~ NiK]
By Phyllis Eckhaus
November 4, 2005
Banish those nasty guilt twinges over America's ambitions to empire. Getting a jump on the holidays, Thomas P.M. Barnett is marketing a feel-good guide to conquest and capitalism, a sequel to his bestseller, The Pentagon's New Map. In Blueprint for Action, the Esquire editor and former Defense Department strategist declares that we're doing the world a favor by bombing our way to global free enterprise.
Brash and breezy, Barnett's plan for world conquest comes complete with its own video game vocabulary: The industrialized West is the Core. The Third World is the Gap. The aim of the game is to "shrink the Gap" by deploying the Leviathan, America's "high-speed, high-lethality and high-precision" warfighting capacity, "a force for global good that ... has no equal."
Posted at 09:25 PM Read More
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Published On: Apr 17, 2006 12:22 AM
Published On: Apr 17, 2006 12:22 AM