I merely thought he had no sense of direction, and is insular and navel-gazing like most Republicans.criddic3 wrote:Sonic Youth wrote:Sabin wrote:Love the signature, Sonic.
And he gave me permission to use it.
And it's probably a badge of honor for him.
Badge of honor? No, it was a joke about the fact that I had not heard anyone bashing Canadians and it must be because I don't live near the Canadian border. You guys have no sense of humor, except of course when you're making fun of Bush supporters.
New Developments III
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Sonic Youth
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Could someone help me? I fail to see the humor in this post. Other than what it unintentionally evokes.criddic3 wrote:This was exactly my point. First of all, GWB never said anything about Canadians being terrorists that I recall. Second, the Freedom Fries thing is part of what I had in mind with reference to France at the time. I never heard anyone talk ill of Canada after 9/11 for terrorism. In fact the only things I've heard people complain about Canada are its Health Care and Same-sex Unions. Not terrorism. Then again, I don't live in a border state. I am from New York.
And by "someone", I mean someone other than Criddic, the Stephen Glass of the UAADB?
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
Win Butler
Sonic Youth wrote:Sabin wrote:Love the signature, Sonic.
And he gave me permission to use it.
And it's probably a badge of honor for him.
Badge of honor? No, it was a joke about the fact that I had not heard anyone bashing Canadians and it must be because I don't live near the Canadian border. You guys have no sense of humor, except of course when you're making fun of Bush supporters.
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
Petraeus says security crackdown working
CHANGES IN THE IRAQ WAR
By César G. Soriano, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — When Gen. David Petraeus drives through the streets of Iraq's capital, he sees "astonishing signs of normalcy" in half, perhaps two-thirds of Baghdad.
"I'm talking about professional soccer leagues with real grass field stadiums, several amusement parks — big ones, markets that are very vibrant," says Petraeus, commander of the roughly 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The scenes provide a sign that the new strategy in Iraq is working, although many problems remain, he told USA TODAY in an interview Wednesday.
Five months after President Bush ordered an increase of 20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, data suggest that sectarian violence in Baghdad has declined. Other tentative signs of progress have included a rise in Iraqi army enlistments and some quality-of-life improvements such as fewer electricity blackouts in the capital.
[Q&A: Petraeus on Iran's, al-Sadr's influence in Iraq
RELATED: General says shrine attack may light fuse]
However, U.S. military casualties have jumped to record-high levels as more troops are put in harm's way. Violence has surged in some areas outside the capital. Iraq's government has yet to pass any of the major legislative changes that Bush said were necessary for an enduring peace between the Sunni and Shiite sects.
"If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people — it will lose the support of the Iraqi people," Bush said in a televised address on Jan. 10, when the new strategy was announced. "Now is the time to act."
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked for patience, saying that new security plan — officially named Operation Fardh al-Qanoon, Arabic for "Enforcing the Law" — still needs time to take hold after its official launch on Feb. 14.
Meanwhile, U.S. commanders have urged the American public not to pass judgment on the plan's effectiveness until after all U.S. troops are fully deployed. That is due to happen Friday. In September, Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are to present a report on the plan's effectiveness to leaders in Washington.
Petraeus did not specifically say what subjects he might address in his evaluation. Here is a look at some of the changes in Iraq since February.
Possible signs of progress
•Iraq's army. The Iraqi army currently has 152,500 trained and equipped soldiers, nearly 20,000 more troops than were on the rosters in January, according to the U.S. State Department. Another 20,000 soldiers will be added to the ranks this year, the U.S. military says.
The Army now has its own Iraqi-run basic training and leadership schools. "The Iraqi army has, in general, done quite well in the face of some really serious challenges," Petraeus says. "In certain areas it really is very heartening to see what it has done."
•Anbar province. This area in the heart of the Sunni Triangle has been held up by the U.S. military as a model for Iraq. "The progress in Anbar has actually been breathtaking," Petraeus says.
Commanders credit much of the success to the U.S. military's decision to arm, train and organize Sunni provincial militias that have turned against al-Qaeda militants operating in the area.
"If you've got folks who say, 'Hey, this is my hometown, and I'm tired of the violence and if you simply train and equip me, I'll protect my hometown.' We ought to jump on that like a duck on a June bug," says Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.
Commanders elsewhere in Iraq are studying lessons that can be learned from Anbar, although Petraeus said that each area of Iraq has "unique circumstances." Anbar is mostly Sunni and does not have the volatile sectarian mix that stokes violence in other parts of the country.
•Sectarian violence. The number of unidentified bodies found in Baghdad — an indicator of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims — dropped from a high of 1,782 in October to 411 in April, according to an Interior Ministry official who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The body count spiked to 726 in May. So far this month, the numbers are again on a "downward trend," Petraeus says. Although the bombing Wednesday of a major Shiite shrine in Samarra raises the risk of a new outbreak of sectarian violence, he says.
Areas of concern
• U.S. casualties. As U.S. forces spread deeper into insurgent-held territories, they are paying the price in blood. At least 230 soldiers were killed in April and May, the highest two-month death toll since the war began. This month, at least 32 soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
Roadside bombs — improvised explosive devices — remain the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops. Sixty-five percent of May casualties were caused by IEDs, up from 32% in February, according to a study by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
• Iraqi police. Iraq's 135,000-strong police force continues to be plagued with problems, U.S. commanders say. Up to 70% of Iraqi police leaders have been replaced because they had ties to sectarian violence, Petraeus says.
About 5,000 police deserted the force in the 18 months before January, Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey said at a Pentagon news conference Wednesday. Another 7,000 or 8,000 police officers are unaccounted for.
"I have great concerns about the police," Lynch says. "There are large areas in (central Iraq) where there are no police. And in areas where we do have police, we have corrupt police."
• Political unity. Al-Maliki's government has been unable to push any major initiatives through Iraq's parliament, including a law on how to share the country's oil revenues.
"I think everyone, including the government of Iraq, is impatient with the rate of progress in a variety of different areas," Petraeus says. "They are trying to do it in a reasonably democratic way … in a government that is comprised of representatives from ethno-sectarian interests."
CHANGES IN THE IRAQ WAR
By César G. Soriano, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — When Gen. David Petraeus drives through the streets of Iraq's capital, he sees "astonishing signs of normalcy" in half, perhaps two-thirds of Baghdad.
"I'm talking about professional soccer leagues with real grass field stadiums, several amusement parks — big ones, markets that are very vibrant," says Petraeus, commander of the roughly 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The scenes provide a sign that the new strategy in Iraq is working, although many problems remain, he told USA TODAY in an interview Wednesday.
Five months after President Bush ordered an increase of 20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, data suggest that sectarian violence in Baghdad has declined. Other tentative signs of progress have included a rise in Iraqi army enlistments and some quality-of-life improvements such as fewer electricity blackouts in the capital.
[Q&A: Petraeus on Iran's, al-Sadr's influence in Iraq
RELATED: General says shrine attack may light fuse]
However, U.S. military casualties have jumped to record-high levels as more troops are put in harm's way. Violence has surged in some areas outside the capital. Iraq's government has yet to pass any of the major legislative changes that Bush said were necessary for an enduring peace between the Sunni and Shiite sects.
"If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people — it will lose the support of the Iraqi people," Bush said in a televised address on Jan. 10, when the new strategy was announced. "Now is the time to act."
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked for patience, saying that new security plan — officially named Operation Fardh al-Qanoon, Arabic for "Enforcing the Law" — still needs time to take hold after its official launch on Feb. 14.
Meanwhile, U.S. commanders have urged the American public not to pass judgment on the plan's effectiveness until after all U.S. troops are fully deployed. That is due to happen Friday. In September, Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are to present a report on the plan's effectiveness to leaders in Washington.
Petraeus did not specifically say what subjects he might address in his evaluation. Here is a look at some of the changes in Iraq since February.
Possible signs of progress
•Iraq's army. The Iraqi army currently has 152,500 trained and equipped soldiers, nearly 20,000 more troops than were on the rosters in January, according to the U.S. State Department. Another 20,000 soldiers will be added to the ranks this year, the U.S. military says.
The Army now has its own Iraqi-run basic training and leadership schools. "The Iraqi army has, in general, done quite well in the face of some really serious challenges," Petraeus says. "In certain areas it really is very heartening to see what it has done."
•Anbar province. This area in the heart of the Sunni Triangle has been held up by the U.S. military as a model for Iraq. "The progress in Anbar has actually been breathtaking," Petraeus says.
Commanders credit much of the success to the U.S. military's decision to arm, train and organize Sunni provincial militias that have turned against al-Qaeda militants operating in the area.
"If you've got folks who say, 'Hey, this is my hometown, and I'm tired of the violence and if you simply train and equip me, I'll protect my hometown.' We ought to jump on that like a duck on a June bug," says Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.
Commanders elsewhere in Iraq are studying lessons that can be learned from Anbar, although Petraeus said that each area of Iraq has "unique circumstances." Anbar is mostly Sunni and does not have the volatile sectarian mix that stokes violence in other parts of the country.
•Sectarian violence. The number of unidentified bodies found in Baghdad — an indicator of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims — dropped from a high of 1,782 in October to 411 in April, according to an Interior Ministry official who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The body count spiked to 726 in May. So far this month, the numbers are again on a "downward trend," Petraeus says. Although the bombing Wednesday of a major Shiite shrine in Samarra raises the risk of a new outbreak of sectarian violence, he says.
Areas of concern
• U.S. casualties. As U.S. forces spread deeper into insurgent-held territories, they are paying the price in blood. At least 230 soldiers were killed in April and May, the highest two-month death toll since the war began. This month, at least 32 soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
Roadside bombs — improvised explosive devices — remain the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops. Sixty-five percent of May casualties were caused by IEDs, up from 32% in February, according to a study by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
• Iraqi police. Iraq's 135,000-strong police force continues to be plagued with problems, U.S. commanders say. Up to 70% of Iraqi police leaders have been replaced because they had ties to sectarian violence, Petraeus says.
About 5,000 police deserted the force in the 18 months before January, Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey said at a Pentagon news conference Wednesday. Another 7,000 or 8,000 police officers are unaccounted for.
"I have great concerns about the police," Lynch says. "There are large areas in (central Iraq) where there are no police. And in areas where we do have police, we have corrupt police."
• Political unity. Al-Maliki's government has been unable to push any major initiatives through Iraq's parliament, including a law on how to share the country's oil revenues.
"I think everyone, including the government of Iraq, is impatient with the rate of progress in a variety of different areas," Petraeus says. "They are trying to do it in a reasonably democratic way … in a government that is comprised of representatives from ethno-sectarian interests."
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
I saw a t-shirt the other day: "I Hated Bush Before It Was Cool To Hate Him."Mister Tee wrote:...and Bush hits 28%, a new low, in the Quinnipiac poll. Earlier excursions into the 20s seemed flukes (though amusing ones). Now, however, they're starting to mount up, and must be taken seriously. This is a historically unpopular presidency.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
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Mister Tee
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Mister Tee
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...and Bush hits 28%, a new low, in the Quinnipiac poll. Earlier excursions into the 20s seemed flukes (though amusing ones). Now, however, they're starting to mount up, and must be taken seriously. This is a historically unpopular presidency.
And don't be sure the right-wing take ("It's conservatives abandoning him, for being insufficiently hostile to Mexican immigrants") is correct. At least one pollster has reported the latest erosion came right after Bush's supposed "victory" in getting his Iraq war funding. (Yeah, that hurt Democrats, too, but there continues to be underestimation of just how suicidal it is for Bush and his party to be identified with something so manifestly loathed by the populace)
And don't be sure the right-wing take ("It's conservatives abandoning him, for being insufficiently hostile to Mexican immigrants") is correct. At least one pollster has reported the latest erosion came right after Bush's supposed "victory" in getting his Iraq war funding. (Yeah, that hurt Democrats, too, but there continues to be underestimation of just how suicidal it is for Bush and his party to be identified with something so manifestly loathed by the populace)
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Sonic Youth
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Sonic Youth
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Colin Powell agrees with you.Damien wrote:I can't imagine anyone, even -- dare I say it -- criddic not wanting to sign this petition to restore habeas corpus,
http://www.defendhabeas.org/
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
Win Butler
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Speaking of enemy combatants...
Court Rules in Favor of Enemy Combatant
Jun 11, 1:58 PM (ET)
By ZINIE CHEN SAMPSON
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Bush administration cannot legally detain a U.S. resident it suspects of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent without charging him, a divided federal appeals court ruled Monday.
"To sanction such presidential authority to order the military to seize and indefinitely detain civilians, even if the President calls them 'enemy combatants,' would have disastrous consequences for the constitution - and the country," the court panel said.
In the 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that the federal Military Commissions Act doesn't strip Ali al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident, of his constitutional rights to challenge his accusers in court.
It ruled the government must allow al-Marri to be released from military detention.
He is currently the only U.S. resident held as an enemy combatant within the U.S.
Jose Padilla, another U.S. citizen, was held as an enemy combatant in a Navy brig for 3 1/2 years before he was hastily added to an existing case in Miami in November 2005, a few days before a U.S. Supreme Court deadline for Bush administration briefs on the question of the president's powers to continue holding him in military prison without charge.
Al-Marri has been held in solitary confinement in the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., since June 2003. The Qatar native has been detained since his December 2001 arrest at his home in Peoria, Ill., where he moved with his wife and five children a day before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to study for a master's degree at Bradley University.
Al-Marri's lawyers argued that the Military Commissions Act, passed last fall to establish military trials after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, doesn't repeal the writ of habeas corpus - defendants' traditional right to challenge their detention.
Court Rules in Favor of Enemy Combatant
Jun 11, 1:58 PM (ET)
By ZINIE CHEN SAMPSON
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Bush administration cannot legally detain a U.S. resident it suspects of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent without charging him, a divided federal appeals court ruled Monday.
"To sanction such presidential authority to order the military to seize and indefinitely detain civilians, even if the President calls them 'enemy combatants,' would have disastrous consequences for the constitution - and the country," the court panel said.
In the 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that the federal Military Commissions Act doesn't strip Ali al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident, of his constitutional rights to challenge his accusers in court.
It ruled the government must allow al-Marri to be released from military detention.
He is currently the only U.S. resident held as an enemy combatant within the U.S.
Jose Padilla, another U.S. citizen, was held as an enemy combatant in a Navy brig for 3 1/2 years before he was hastily added to an existing case in Miami in November 2005, a few days before a U.S. Supreme Court deadline for Bush administration briefs on the question of the president's powers to continue holding him in military prison without charge.
Al-Marri has been held in solitary confinement in the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., since June 2003. The Qatar native has been detained since his December 2001 arrest at his home in Peoria, Ill., where he moved with his wife and five children a day before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to study for a master's degree at Bradley University.
Al-Marri's lawyers argued that the Military Commissions Act, passed last fall to establish military trials after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, doesn't repeal the writ of habeas corpus - defendants' traditional right to challenge their detention.
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
Win Butler
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Enemy by whose definition? Just because the President says they're enemy combatants doesn't make it so. Technically, he could lock up his harshest critics calling them enemy combatants. The only difference is if those "enemy combatants" were black or white, I'm sure there would be the biggest stink you've ever heard over them. Especially if they were black or white Americans. He keeps these people away from justice because he can. They deserve access to the court system where people who aren't biased decide if they really are enemy combatants or injustly incarcerated. If you disagree, then you don't give two shits about the constitution or the freedom purportedly being brought to the world.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
Doesn't have much "zing" because of just what you said. The law is there for NON_ENEMY combatants. Most of those held at Guantanamo are considered enemy combatants. You can't have it both ways.
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
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Sonic Youth
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The front page of that web-site is misleading. H.C. is still the law for all non-enemy combatants, no matter how much Gonzalez doesn't want it to be. The Supreme Court upheld the law several years ago. I guess "Restore Habeas Corpus for Guantanamo Prisoners" doesn't have much zing these days.
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
Win Butler