The best political comment I have ever seen was the man that threw his shoes at W in Iraq, in 2008. The MSM was unable to ignore that story, and none of their bias could undermine the basic truth we all witnessed.
This blog is dedicated to the People's Right to Know.
Dedicated to Terry Anderson
The story of Terry Anderson is central to understanding the dynamics of the Mid-East. He is Christian, an ex Marine who served in Viet Nam, and a professional journalist, and was the longest held hostage during Lebanon's attempt to drive US Military out during the lebanonese Civil War. Two weeks before his release I spoke publically with the wife of an important Lebanese Official. My blog, shoe08, affirms Terry Anderson's experience, and is an attempt to explore the search for truth.
Despite the non-news, the Western media continue to milk this “story” by molding it into Chinese government crack-downs of dissent and confrontations with Western journalists. Even the supposedly cream of the crop, NPR, continued the assault; their latest piece from the Associated Press, “China Rolls Back Press Freedoms Amid Protest Calls.”
When there is no protest, the “crackdowns” become news. When the “crackdown” news become dry, they will vacillate on something else, and you can bet money it will be about “freedom” or “democracy” through some other spin. They all employ this strategy. As I have said before, there need not be any sort of conspiracy. Once a certain spin is in the public, they all take hint and echo one another.
Chinese react to fake western media coverage of Jasmine revolution FAIL in China
Folks, look at the media!! don't they look like sharks at a media frenzy?
However, Al Jezeera, gets the story about how US media reported the Davis shooting news in concert with the US government, while it was being reported in wild exageration in pakistan. US feared this would put US security at risk. Al jazeera failed to report that dozens of US "special americans" then left pakistan. (their cover blown?) Al Jazeera does question if the Guardian would have published the "real" news if a British agent had been involved.
Al Jazeera rightly points out that a country may request news media to hold back when national security of lives may be at risk.
Then unbelievably, Al Jazeera shows a video taken in Hong Kong, and makes it look like it was taken in China. In fact, anti-CNN netizens caught world wide media mis reporting the "Jasmine Rallies" in China, using fake photos, and thereby "selling" misleading stories that fit the ideology their "audience" expects.
In fact, there were two Sundays involved, and after the fake stories were published after the first Sunday, China implemented new rules, and reminded journalists that in China they protect "The People's Right To Know," not western media's wild west version of the "Free press" where anything goes as long as it sells.
I have watched the AP video, that shows no reporter was "roughed up," another video that shows the reporter telling a lie that he was 'hit" while trying to report, and video showing the police politely explaining the requirement that the permited area had been expended.
In fact, one of the protesters in Hong Kong, and Wu'er Kai Shi in Taiwan were the ones who lied to journalists about witnessing a massacre that never occured, and who were actually at a restaraunt eating dinner at the time. Just the same, the journalists, hungry like sharks for a sensational story that would sell in the west, reported the massacre that never occured, and later, when the truth was revealed, balked and squirmed ther way out of any mea culpa whatsoever, leavving mant to believe the lies they printed. Now the same liers are back at it, and the same sharks eagerly eat it up without vetting the facts?
PLEASE! STOP THE SPREAD OF PROPAGANDA!
take care, and remember, vet the news, ALL THE NEWS. Do not swallow any news whole, be sure to chew it over in your most sceptical mind, and vet all facts!
Many videos have beem made, and many news reports have been broadcast, documenting the naked truth of our many wars. Hillary Clinton testified before Congress in defense of her so called "human rights" budget, claiming that Congress shouldn't cut her propaganda budget, due to Al Jazeera, Russian TV and Chinese multi language international news winning the "information war." She claimed that USAID and propaganda should be considered as part of the US defense strategy and that the DOD agreed. Many on Huffington Post missed the point completely, and thought she was supporting "real news" and Free Speech. If so, why is Bradley Manning in solitary confinement bare naked, totally inaccessable to journalists who cannot interview him?
No Bravery by James Blunt who served in Kosovo
There are children standing here, Arms outstretched into the sky, Tears drying on their face. He has been here. Brothers lie in shallow graves. Fathers lost without a trace. A nation blind to their disgrace, Since he's been here.
And I see no bravery, No bravery in your eyes anymore. Only sadness. .................... President Obama expressed OUTRAGE over the killing of US Airmen in Frankfort, Germany, who were on their way to Afghanistan, but he has remained silent on the killing of 9 little boys gathering firewood, who were 7, 8 9 an 12 years old, and who were shot down by a US helicopter in Afghanistan. Nor have I heard him comment on the holding of Bradley Manning, who reportedly leaked the video "Collateral Murder" to WikiLeaks in solitary confinement for almost a year, and is now reported to being required to be naked in his cell at night, and stand naked at attention outside his cell in the morning, while guards search his room. Ironically, he is under 24/7 video survailence.
In spite of the apology released by the DOD claiming that the killing of unarmed civilians, children is rare, a Youtube search demonstrates it happens all too often. But, as Hillary notes, and while people around the world may know this, Americans still wonder "Why do they hate us?" If Bradley Manning were not held incommunicato, perhaps Al Jazeera, Russian TV or CRI could interview him? As it is, US Congressmen cannot get permission to visit him!
According to Bismarck's best known maxim on Europe's most troublesome region, the Balkans are not worth the bones of a single Pomeranian grenadier. Americans could be forgiven for harboring similar sentiments after the murder of two U.S. airmen in Germany by a Kosovar Muslim.
Remember Kosovo? Me neither. But it was big at the time, launched by Bill Clinton in the wake of his Monica difficulties: Make war, not love, as the boomers advise. So Clinton did – and without any pesky UN resolutions, or even the pretense of seeking them. Instead, he and Tony Blair and even Jacques Chirac just cried "Bombs away!" and got on with it. And the Left didn't mind at all – because, for a modern Western nation, war is only legitimate if you have no conceivable national interest in whatever war you're waging. Unlike Iraq and all its supposed "blood for oil," in Kosovo no one remembers why we went in, what the hell the point of it was, or which side were the good guys. (Answer: Neither.) The principal rationale advanced by Clinton and Blair was that there was no rationale. This was what they called "liberal interventionism," which boils down to: The fact that we have no reason to get into it justifies our getting into it.
According to investigators familiar with the case, Uka appeared to have acted alone and said he was motivated to carry out the attack after seeing a video the day before that he claimed showed U.S. soldiers raping a girl in Afghanistan. ....................
RAF LAKENHEATH, England — The 12 uninjured survivors of Wednesday’s shooting at Frankfurt international airport that left two U.S. airmen dead and two severely wounded are recuperating at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, their wing commander said Friday.
A lone gunman opened fire Wednesday afternoon on a U.S. Air Force bus carrying 15 airmen from England’s RAF Lakenheath who were en route to Afghanistan.
Senior Airman Nicholas J. Alden, a security forces member of Lakenheath’s 48th Fighter Wing, was killed, as was as Airman 1st Class Zachary Cuddeback, the bus driver from Ramstein’s 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron.
Staff Sgt. Kristoffer Schneider was wounded in the shooting, as was another as-yet-unidentified airman.
During a news conference at Lakenheath, wing commander Col. John T. Quintas said he hopes to have his uninjured airmen back at Lakenheath in the next few days.
They are receiving aid and counseling at Ramstein’s deployment transition center, where airmen returning from the war zone often get help, he said.
“They have the resources to deal with this type of grieving and this type of trauma,” Quintas said.
When the 12 return, they will be monitored and given any aid they need, he said, adding that their Afghanistan deployment has been postponed. .........................
In fact, the record indicates Manning would be far better off today – possibly on the lecture circuit rather than in solitary confinement – if he'd killed those men in Baghdad himself.(instead of exposing the war crimes)
Hyperbole? Consider what happened to the U.S. soldiers who, over a period of hours – not minutes – went house to house in the Iraqi town of Haditha and executed 24 men, women and children in retaliation for a roadside bombing.
“I watched them shoot my grandfather, first in the chest and then in the head,” said one of the two surviving eyewitnesses to the massacre, nine-year-old Eman Waleed. “Then they killed my granny." Almost five years later, not one of the men involved in the incident is behind bars. And despite an Army investigation revealing that statements made by the chain of command “suggest that Iraqi civilian lives are not as important as U.S. lives,” with the murder of brown-skinned innocents considered “just the cost of doing business,” none of their superiors are behind bars either.
Now consider the treatment of Bradley Manning. On March 1, the military charged Manning with 22 additional offenses – on top of the original charges of improperly leaking classified information, disobeying an order and general misconduct. One of the new charges, “aiding the enemy,” is punishable by death. That means Manning faces the prospect of being executed or spending his life in prison for exposing the ugly truth about the U.S. empire.
A few minutes later, I had a chance to ask a question. “Are you on the record?” I would not be writing this if he’d said no. There was an uncomfortable pause. “Sure.” So there we are.
STATEMENT BY PHILIP J. CROWLEY The unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a serious crime under U.S. law. My recent comments regarding the conditions of the pre-trial detention of Private First Class Bradley Manning were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership. The exercise of power in today’s challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values.
Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Spokesman for the Department of State.
I am enormously grateful to President Obama and Secretary Clinton for the high honor of once again serving the American people. I leave with great admiration and affection for my State colleagues, who promote our national interest both on the front lines and in the quiet corners of the world. It was a privilege to help communicate their many and vital contributions to our national security. And I leave with deep respect for the journalists who report on foreign policy and global developments every day, in many cases under dangerous conditions and subject to serious threats. Their efforts help make governments more responsible, accountable and transparent. ...............................
Folks, PJ Crowley standing tall, does not back away from his and our American values!
Those who support Manning as a victim do so in no uncertain terms with a variety of arguments.
Under the headline "Why Bradley Manning is a patriot," writer and New York attorney Chase Madar strongly defends Manning's alleged behavior. Madar's piece first appeared on TomDispatch, but was reposted on the CBS News Web site in early February.
Madar wrote the conditions under which Manning is being held "have been sufficiently brutal for the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on Torture to announce an investigation." The classified records "allegedly downloaded by Manning revealed clear instances of war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan," widespread torture committed by Iraqis with full U.S. knowledge "and the massive Iraqi civilian death toll caused by the American invasion," Madar said.
"Pfc. Manning has been treated not as a whistle-blower, but as a criminal and a spy," he added.
Citing the Nuremberg trials, Madar said a "long line of (U.S.) Supreme Court cases, from Mitchell vs. Harmony in 1851 all the way back to Little vs. Barreme in 1804, established that soldiers have a duty not to follow illegal orders. In short, it is a matter of record and established precedent that these Nuremberg Principles have meant something in our courts. (Manning's) will not be the first court-martial to apply these principles, fought for and won with American blood, nor will it be the last."
Private Bradley Manning has provided a great service to his country by exposing the fallacy of the normalcy of America’s imperialistic wars. He has given the light of day to the truth, upon which justice and restitution and normalcy for all depend. He has sought to protect, not endanger, America’s national security by informing the people that the greatest threat to their security is the treasonous behavior of war-instigating and –accommodating members of their own government. The real threat his behavior poses is to the normalcy of endless US wars and support of repressive regimes.
Private Manning’s patriotism is powerfully expressed by attorney and member of the National Lawyers Guild Chase Madar, who writes,
The records allegedly downloaded by Manning reveal clear instances of war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, widespread torture committed by Iraqi authorities with the full knowledge of the U.S.military, previously unknown estimates of the number of Iraqi civilians killed at U.S. military checkpoints, and the massive Iraqi civilian death toll caused by the American invasions. (“Why Bradley Manning Is a Patriot, Not a Criminal,” TomDispatch.com, Feb. 10, 2011)
Who are “the enemy” Private Manning is charged with “aiding?” The international anti-war women’s group CODEPINK responds to that key question this way:
Who exactly is “the enemy” anyway? The cables that Bradley Manning is accused of leaking have helped spark democratic uprisings across the Arab world. They have brought us the truth about the brutality and atrocities of our continued wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they have given us a critical look at the underpinnings of our own government. They have created transparency beyond any we had before, and allow us as citizens to make more educated decisions. Of all the beneficiaries of the leaked cables, Democracy itself is the greatest. . . .With the leaked video”Collateral Murder,” Bradley put us in the back of a helicopter gunship in Iraq to show us how our wars are really fought. In his own words, he did it because “I want people to see the truth regardless of who they are . . . because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.” Now he is being charged with telling the truth, and it may cost him his life. (“Who’s the enemy?,” Mar. 4, 2011)
The American government, of course, insists that such treatment does not rise to the level of torture. In fact, Col. T. V. Johnson, a Quantico spokesman, characterized charges that Manning has been mistreated as "poppycock." After all, Manning is not being starved, beaten or waterboarded. He's merely been denied human interaction and the most basic attributes of civilized imprisonment. Yet as surgeon Atul Gawande points out in a 2009 article for the New Yorker, solitary confinement rises to the level of torture: "A U.S. military study of almost a hundred and fifty naval aviators returned from imprisonment in Vietnam, many of whom were treated even worse than [John] McCain, reported that they found social isolation to be as torturous and agonizing as any physical abuse they suffered."
UPDATE IV: Crowley now confirms the accuracy of these reports, but tells Foreign Policy's Josh Rogin: "What I said was my personal opinion. It does not reflect an official USG policy position. I defer to the Department of Defense regarding the treatment of Bradley Manning." This seems to be one of those exceedingly rare moments when a high-level administration official unintentionally spoke with candor and conviction about the repellent acts of the government of which he is a part.
