'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Baron Dave Romm
Admiral John Poindexter
By Baron Dave Romm
Political scandals never seem to go away but worse scandals take their place in memory. We still remember Watergate which, we now know 30 years later, was worse than we thought and Nixon was a crook who did order the break in personally. Gerald Ford screwed up by pardoning Nixon before the whole truth was uncovered. Iran-Contra was allowed to happen because the oversights that were in place after Watergate never had much teeth and the Attorney General at the time, Ed Meese, was allowed to limit the investigation. Democratic "scandals" under Clinton were wholly made up by lying partisan Republicans who cynically misused the few Watergate-era oversights to hound a guy who turned out to be far more honest than any of his accusers... and who could satisfy all of his women. A public tired of dragging non-scandals into the headlines have let the current amoral scumbag off the hook... so far. The cowardly conservatives set the bar for impeachment, and George W. should be impeached for several issues. Naturally, anytime you bring up Bush Lite's crimes, the subject gets changed to Clinton... who was declared Not Guilty by a Republican-controlled Senate. The moral relativism of the right is disgusting. The Republicans are soft on crime... when it's theirs.
The GOP is so soft on crime it rewards those who lie under oath and get away with it. The current case in point is Admiral John Poindexter. A brief recap of the current scandal and his past sleaze is worth reminding people.
On July 29, 2003, the Pentagon announced it would "abandon plans to create a futures trading market to help predict terrorist attacks and assassinations in the Middle East". Somehow, convicted-felon-but-off-on-a-technicality Poindexter had been given the job of running this program under tha auspices of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA is the military offshoot and technical ally of ARPA. ARPA was created in response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik, and when it became useful for academics and needed to be open with few constraints (which is why, among other things, you can download unlicensed soundfiles from peer-to-peer servers), a more secure way to communicate was needed and so DARPA was twinned from the more public agency. (DARPA's news release about the cancellation of the FutureMap project is a .pdf file you can download here.)
The oily Bush administration is so full of disreputable characters with no integrity that Poindexter's appointment to DARPA was largely ignored by the conservative news media here in the US. In Britain, they tried to raise some alarm. As the Guardian article from Nov. 14, 2002 put it, "Imagine a huge, absolutely huge, central database containing both the official and commercial data of every single citizen, run by the US military ostensibly for anti-terror and Homeland Security purposes, and all of it under the direction of a convicted felon."
Convicted felon... but off on a technicality. We know he's an amoral scumbag who lied to Congress, obstructed justice and in generally tried to get around the Constitution. We know this because he admitted his evil deeds on national television in front of millions of people. But he got off on a technicality. The technicality was... he had admitted his evil deeds on national television in front of millions of people. Therefore, the immunitity he was promised (his admission of guilt to Congress was not admissable at his trial) might (might!) have influenced witnesses.
This kind of tactic is used by common criminals as well: blurt out your guilt before your lawyer gets there (but after you've asked for one) and the police can't use what you said. Ever. At least, that's the theory used by the criminals as they play the system. Usually, that doesn't work very well for the petty criminals, but rich Republicans can afford expensive lawyers and have powerful political allies.
Poindexter and Ollie North got off on a technicality, but they were only part of the criminal conspiracy and cover up. As the Federation of American Scientists site sums up the Iran-Contra indictments. "After Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh's appointment in December 1986, 14 persons were charged with criminal offenses. Eleven persons were convicted, but two convictions were overturned on appeal. Two persons were pardoned before trial and one case was dismissed when the Bush Administration declined to declassify information necessary for trial. On December 24, 1992, President Bush pardoned Caspar W. Weinberger, Duane R. Clarridge, Clair E. George, Elliott Abrams, Alan D. Fiers, Jr., and Robert C. McFarlane." (It would be kind of fun to do a Where Are They Now for all the 14 charged... wonder how many are working for the bin Ladens and/or the Bushs... Extra did this article in 2001, and I suspect its gotten worse.)
But just who is this felon? How did someone with so few morals get to be so highly placed in two Republican administrations? How did he get to be an admiral? How can a guy who didn't know how to delete e-mail get to be a computer big shot?
You can Meet Big Brother here, to get you started. To dig further, you have to go to warblogging.com's Poindexter bio There we learn that he graduated at the top of his class from the US Naval Acadamy in 195 and earned a PhD in nuclear physics from the California Institute of Technology. He rose through the ranks and eventually left the sea for the Pentagon in 1983, the week that 241 marines were killed in a terrorist attack in Lebanon and a week before the wag-the-dog invasion of Grenada, where Poindexter's credibility was immediately called into question. In December of 1984, National Security Advisor Robert McFarland left to "spend more time with his family". Poindexter was promoted to his bosses job, and promoted to Admiral.
After Iran-Contra -- no jail time for him -- he went into the private sector for many years before returning to government service in the oily Bush administration. If you wish to acquaing Adm. Poindexter with his Total Information Awareness program, look at the info on him at cryptome.
You decide: Brilliant technical researcher who has served his country in uniform and in politics, or sleazy lying fanatic who will do anything except be held accountable for his unamerican activities?
Or... both. With the era of extreme partisanship ushered in by Karl Rove, the two can be one with the proper spin control. Too many on the far right think the ends justifies the means, and the ends involve electing radical right Republicans who care less about American than they do about their own money and power games.
The rise and fall and rise and fall of Admiral John Poindexter is a shameful reminder of past Republican scandals and how uncaring Republicans are about the ongoing scandals involving 9/11 and the failed war on terror. Prediction: He will be back.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E here, and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio here (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air, and I'm collecting extra-weird stuff for a possible CD compilation.
He's Been Busy Again!
The Worried Shrimp
Reader Link
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
The Wall Street Poet
Three Local Government Limericks
Three Local Government Limericks
They stand at a critical nexus,
The folks who now govern old Texas,
They can play the old way,
Or do a DeLay,
And end up in total dyslexus.
In New Jersey they dumped the state poet,
Though in truth itıs unlikely youıd know it,
Cause the few who might care,
Bout a poetry seer,
Are much too embarrassed to show it.
The way they treat states just ainıt fair,
Making them pay their bills evıry year,
In D.C. they fudge it,
The annual budget,
And nobody seems much to care.
© 2003
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Weather is much improved.
Have gotten behind with mail - will work on it.
The Alaskan grandmother will be dropping by for inspection - er, I mean a visit later this week.
Tonight, Monday, CBS begins the evening with a RERUN 'Yes, Dear', followed by a RERUN 'Still Standing', then a
RERUN 'Raymond', followed by a RERUN 'King Of Queens', then a RERUN 'CSI: Miami'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Kate Hudson and a performance from the movie "Camp".
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are David Alan Grier, Lisa Dergen, and Steadman.
NBC opens the evening with a RERUN 'Fear Factor', followed by a FRESH 'For Lu$t Or Money', then a FRESH
'Who Wants To Marry My Dad'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Sen. Hilary Clinton, Jay Mohr, and Rascal Flatts.
On a RERUN Conan are Joshua Jackson, Grant Rosenmeyer, and the Datsuns.
On a RERUN Carson Daly are Newt Gingrich and Longwave.
ABC rolls out 'NFL Preseason Football', where the Packers meet the Chiefs in Canton, Ohio. Left coast fends for itself with local programming in prime time.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Jeff Richards and Hall & Oates, with this week's guest co-host Macy Gray.
The WB offers a RERUN '7th Heaven', followed by another RERUN '7th Heaven'.
Faux has a FRESH 'Anything For Lu$t', followed by 'Stupid Behavior Caught On Tape', then a FRESH 'Parasite Hotel'.
UPN has a RERUN 'The Parkers', followed by another RERUN 'Parkers', then a RERUN 'Girlfriends', followed by a
RERUN 'Half & Half'.
A&E has 'Biography' (Lana Turner), 'Cold Case Files', and 'City Confidential'.
AMC has the movie 'Reversal Of Fortune', followed by the movie 'Charade', and then the movie 'To Catch A Thief'.
BBC -
[7pm] 'Ground Force' - Churchdown;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Winchester;
[8pm] 'Jonathan Creek' - The Wrestler's Tomb - Part 1;
[9pm] 'Red Cap' - Cold War;
[10pm] 'Red Cap' - Cover Story;
[11pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Steve Irwin;
[11:30pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Joan Collins;
[12am] 'Red Cap' - Cold War;
[1am] 'Red Cap' - Cover Story;
[2am] 'Jonathan Creek' - The Wrestler's Tomb - Part 1;
[3am] 'So Graham Norton' - Steve Irwin; and
[3:30am] 'So Graham Norton' - Joan Collins. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has the movie 'Crazy In Alabama', followed by the movie 'True Confessions'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Denis Leary.
History has 'Modern Marvels', followed by 'Klondike: Quest For The Gold'.
SciFi is all 'Stargate SG-1' all night.
TCM has 24-hours of Joan Crawford (wire-hangers optional) -
[6am] 'This Modern Age' (1931);
[7:15am] 'Laughing Sinners' (1931);
[8:30am] 'Reunion In France' (1942);
[10:15am] 'Susan And God' (1940);
[12:15pm] 'Humoresque' (1946);
[2:30pm] 'Above Suspicion' (1943);
[4:30pm] 'Possessed' (1947);
[6:30pm] 'Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star' (2002);
[8pm] 'Mildred Pierce' (1945);
[10pm] 'The Women' (1939);
[12:30am] 'Flamingo Road' (1949);
[2:30am] 'The Bride Wore Red' (1937); and
[4:30am] 'The Boob' (1926) (silent). (ALL TIMES EDT)
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
'Smokin Bacon' jumps off a six meter (yard) ramp into the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park, central London at the Red Bull Flugtag event, August 3, 2003. The event saw Hyde Park turned into a makeshift airport hangar as forty hopeful pilots launched homemade manpowered flying machines off the ramp in the hope of making it at least someway across the Serpentine below.
Photo by Sinead Lynch
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
'The Daily Show'
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart could barely contain himself.
A congressman had publicly called a colleague a "fruitcake" and, since it happened on a Friday night, Stewart couldn't joke about it on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" until three days later.
"I do believe we need to go to a 24-hour fake news channel," he said. "Fox can't be the only fake news channel out there!"
Stewart and "The Daily Show" are up for five Emmys next month, and the Television Critics Association gave him two awards last month. The critics even nominated "The Daily Show" for best achievement in news, along with "60 Minutes" and "Nightline."
During unfunny times, viewers have responded to Stewart's ability to make fun. The show's average nightly audience has nearly doubled from 427,000 in 1999, the year he took over, to 788,000 so far this year.
For the rest, Jon Stewart
A Chinese worker cleaning a glass roof is silhouetted in the afternoon sun in Beijing, China, Sunday, Aug 3, 2003. Air pollution in the Chinese capital often leaves a layer of grim and dust that requires regular cleansing by groups of cleaners scaling along the walls of skyscrapers or stepping cautiously over glass roofs.
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Rises Like a Phoenix
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The Edinburgh Fringe rose triumphantly from the ashes on Sunday to stage what it proudly billed as the world's biggest arts festival.
Eight months after a blaze swept through Edinburgh's historic Old Town and ravaged some of the top Fringe venues, the anarchic festival is back in business with a vengeance.
"It is the biggest Fringe festival there has ever been," Fringe director Paul Gudgin told Reuters as 13,000 artists launched into three weeks of mayhem in the Scottish capital.
The Fringe catalog alone runs to 200 pages, offering fans everything from "I'm sorry I ran over your Quintuplets" to "The Whale: a one-man Moby Dick."
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Licensed to Pack Pistols
New York City
Actors Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, radio host Howard Stern and developer Donald Trump are among the New Yorkers licensed to carry a loaded gun, according to police records.
But some stars including Joan Rivers, action-movie star Steven Seagal and conservative commentator William F. Buckley were rejected when they applied to have their gun licenses renewed by New York City police this year, the New York Post reported Sunday.
About 3,600 New Yorkers are authorized to carry a loaded weapon, down from 4,500 at the end of 2001. Police have been re-examining records to make sure gun owners have up-do-date licenses and clean criminal records.
New York City
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Faces Assault Charge
Vince Neil
Former Motley Crue singer Vince Neil has been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly attacking a prostitute at a brothel last month, a prosecutor said.
Neil, 42, allegedly grabbed prostitute Andrea Terry by the throat on July 10 and threw her against a wall at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch just east of Carson City, according to the criminal complaint.
If convicted, the rocker could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. No date has been set yet for Neil's initial appearance in Dayton Justice Court.
Neil's lawyer, Robert Shapiro of Los Angeles, did not immediately return a phone call to his office Saturday.
Vince Neil
A Nepalese boy seeks blessings after worshipping the snake God 'Nag' at the Nagpokhari Kathmandu temple during the Nagpanchami festival in Kathmandu August 3, 2003. The festival is observed to pray for protection from rain, floods, lightning and reptile bites, all of which are dangers during the annual monsoon season.
Photo by Gopal Chitrakar
Gay Pride Parade Draws 300,000
Amsterdam
Some 300,000 people took part in Amsterdam's Gay Pride parade aboard festooned river boats that wound along the city's canals, police said.
In the Dutch capital, under beating sunshine, the 80-boat procession snaked along the city's picturesque canals, watched by crowds of curious onlookers.
Organisers had launched an appeal for "more nudity" at the parade, to send a cheeky message to the city authorities, which some gays criticise as prudish.
But most gay and lesbian participants ignored the request, eager to show there is another side to their community than flesh-baring provocativeness.
Amsterdam
Jailhouse Informant Talks
Jam Master Jay
Rap innovator Jam Master Jay, who was born Jason Mizell, had a gun on him the day he was murdered, according to a jailhouse informant.
Ronald "Tinard" Washington, a long time friend of Jam Master Jay, who is presently incarcerated for robbing a hotel clerk in Floral Park, Long Island, told New York's Daily News that he saw his friend before he was killed on October 30, 2002 and that Jam Master Jay had a .45 caliber gun.
Washington explained, "That was the first time I ever saw Jay with a gun. He was scared. He didn't say it, but I know Jay. He was scared." Police would not confirm if a weapon was recovered at the murder scene but they did confirm that two .45 caliber shells were found in the studio lounge where the Run-DMC deejay was killed. Washington maintains that Jam Master Jay gave him $200 to buy ammo for his .45 caliber gun just hours before he was killed.
Police aren't sure how credible Washington's account of that night is because circumstances that led authorities to suspect Washington of being the killer's lookout.
Jam Master Jay
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
New Law Allows Drunks to Vote
Norway
It will be two pints of lager and a ballot, please, in Norway this year after a change in the law allowing voters to get drunk and then go out to vote.
"The election board can no longer refuse anyone to vote because they are intoxicated," an adviser at the Local Government Ministry said Thursday.
Until now, Norway's election law has denied entry to polling stations anyone with "seriously impaired judgment" or "reduced consciousness" from booze, but that law has been scrapped, adviser Steinar Dalbakk told the Bladet Tromsoe newspaper.
The new law will however not take effect until after September's local government polls.
Norway
A herdsman carries a 125 kg (275 pounds) stone during a stone carrying match in Damxung County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2003. During the match, the one who walks furthest by carrying the weight will be the first-place winner.
Photo by Suolang Luobu
The CA Recall
AM Hate Radio
Talk radio played a key role in igniting the recall drive. But talk-show hosts stake competing claims about who was there first.
Just before dawn, downtown was empty and quiet--except for a couple guys sitting at a table under a tent lit by construction floodlights, as speakers broadcast their voices into the darkness. Radio talk-show host Eric Hogue, with his first guest, was about to start his broadcast from the sidewalk across the street from the secretary of state's office, a couple blocks from the glowing Capitol dome. In front of the tent, an older couple unfolded lawn chairs and sat down. Then, a few other people showed up to catch the 5 a.m. start of the show. As the sky lightened, more listeners showed up--a dozen, two dozen, three dozen--including a guy from Granite Bay who'd skipped work to be there. They carried noisemakers and handmade signs that read "Dump Davis" and "Toast."
The remote broadcast doubled as a rally and coincided with other pro-recall events scheduled there that day. The point was to call on Secretary of State Kevin Shelley to certify the signatures collected by recall proponents. (At the end of the day, Shelley announced that he would.) Hogue had newspapers and articles spread out in front of him, along with the latest Newsweek cover story: "California in Crisis: Will Gov. Davis be Recalled?" A CNN crew showed up. When Hogue had Republican Senators Rico Oller and Tom McClintock on the air with him, Los Angeles talk-show host Mark Larson picked up the feed live and aired it on his show on KRLA 870 AM and other stations in San Diego and the Inland Empire.
"I don't think we'd be here today if it wasn't for talk radio," said Dave Gilliard, the political consultant who runs Congressman Darrell Issa's Rescue California group.
For the rest, AM Hate Radio
Hosted Navy Change of Command Ceremony
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres hosted a combined change of command ceremony Friday on the third-base line at Qualcomm Stadium.
The ceremony included Capt. James W. O'Connell, USN, relieving Capt. Robert S. Howard, USN as Commander, Naval Special Warfare Group One; and Capt. Loren R. Bremseth, USN, relieving Capt. Walter S. Puller, USN, as Commander, Naval Special Warfare Group Three.
Harward and Puller asked the Padres to host the joint change of command ceremony on the field because of the team's dedication to the military.
The Padres bill themselves as the "Team of the Navy and Marine Corps." Once a year, the Padres wear camouflage jerseys as a salute to the armed forces.
San Diego Padres
Giraffes : A mother giraffe stands over her newborn youngster at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. With a six-foot drop to the ground, Baringo giraffe calf, Shaba, was born to first-time mom, Shani.
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'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
The Group finally comes face-to-face with Satan, himself.
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 5
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
