China or Alabama in the 50's?

The Guardian strikes again!


When Condi went to China she didn't get far with the leadership on the whole be nice to Japan issue which was obvious but,

"what has not been reported in the western media is the reception Rice was given...

One way of taking the temperature in China is the Internet, a very important indicator of public opinion in a country where more traditional media are tightly controlled. The importance of - and recent upsurge in - nationalism, for example, has found powerful expression on Chinese websites. The Internet response to Rice's visit has been revealing...

...Liu Xiaobo, a veteran critic of mass movements in China since Tiananmen...

He says that of 800 messages he has read about her visit, no less than 70 involved racist comments about her color: of these, only two were relatively moderate; the rest were vicious, describing Rice as a "black ghost", "black dog", "black woman" and "black bitch". One stated, "You are not even like a black ghost, a really low form of life," and another, "Her brain is even more black than her skin." One writer said: "I don't support racism, but this black ghost really makes people angry, the appearance of a little black who has made good."

In fact, the reaction is not that surprising. Although it is rarely written about or commented upon, Chinese culture remains deeply racist. For the most part, the Chinese are in denial of their own racism, while white commentators, in their great majority, are either oblivious of it, or simply regard it as unimportant."

If anyone reads book any more, Barbara Tuchman's "Stilwell and the American experience in China" is an excellent book.

She reveals just what a piece of dirt Chiang Kai Chek was. After Wendel Willkie left, after his visit, Chiang said the windows should be opened to the get the smell of the white man out.

The middle kingdom syndrome went as far as to be a hindrance to allied strategy. At the Casablanca meetings, the first time Roosevelt and Churchill met Chiang, the idea of attacking the Japanese before the monsoon, was met with a blank stare from the Chinese side. Chiang had never heard of a monsoon because they didn't have them in China!

There is much more. A very interesting subject and important as China's influence and military grows. Also, it is important to know the history of our relationship with China over the years to get a better idea of why we'll be fighting in the Taiwan Strait at some point.

See also a good description of the China/America relationship.

Iraq's Beslan? And, what is the deal with Camp Bucca? Seriously!

Boy, this sure sounds familiar.

News reports say perhaps a 150 Iraqis in the southern town of Madain have been taken hostage by Sunni militants.

This Sunni/Shia thing in the south seems to have a life of its own. Is it really a part of the larger insurgency or an add-product of it?

The BBC:

"The trouble in Madain, about 30km (20 miles) south-east of Baghdad, began on Thursday when Sunni militants placed explosives inside a local mosque, said Haitham Husseini, a spokesman for the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution (Sciri) - Iraq's largest Shia group.

Mr Husseini told the Associated Press news agency that the rebels returned on Friday to seize the hostages.

"There were about 100 masked men, riding in cars, roaming the city. They took hostages from the Shia youth and old men, and demanded the Shias leave the city," he said."

All quiet on the Iraqi front?

We've benn hearing alot about how after the elections the rate of insuurgent attacks has gone down and the insurgency is peetering out etc.

Of course, if you know anything about war, you know the sping time is always the time when all hell breaks loose. Remember last April in Iraq? The first major attack on Fallujah, a hundred and fifty U.S. troops killed in April? Armies always regroup in the late winter and let loose in the the middle of April.

Newsday reported, just this past few days, never mind all the car bombs earlier on...

"...at least 17 people were killed Saturday in separate attacks nationwide after a week of increased violence in Iraq....

Later Saturday, insurgents fired mortars at a U.S. Marine base near Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, the military said, but no casualties were immediately reported.

Residents said dozens of fighters armed with grenade launchers and other weapons were seen moving through the city after dark and loud explosions were heard as the fighters tried to force their way into Camp Blue Diamond.

Two U.S. soldiers also were reported killed in separate attacks. One soldier from the 42nd Military Police Brigade was wounded and died when his convoy was hit Saturday by an explosive device near Taji, north of Baghdad. Another died of injuries sustained when a coalition military base was attacked Friday near Tikrit. [Current death toll: 1,553.]

What the hell is going at Camp Bucca? Abu Ghraib is a tea party compared to this place!

In southeastern Iraq, 11 detainees angry over their treatment by U.S. captors broke out of Camp Bucca, the military's largest detention center in the nation by climbing through a hole in the fence.

Ten were recaptured, and authorities were searching for the remaining escapee, the U.S. military and Iraqi forces said."

This place seems to be ground zero in Iraq. From day one it has been messed up.
From Psychcentral:

"According to the Taguba report, the Camp Bucca facility is "significantly over [its] intended maximum capacity while the guard force is undermanned and under resourced". The report describes the following "incident of detainee abuse" at Camp Bucca, on May 12, 2003. [And we've got more Iraqis now behind bars than at anytime since the invasion!]

Soldiers from the 223rd MP Company reported to the 800th MP Brigade Command at Camp Bucca, that four Military Police Soldiers from the 320th MP Battalion had abused a number of detainees during inprocessing at Camp Bucca.

An extensive CID investigation determined that four soldiers from the 320th MP Battalion had kicked and beaten these detainees following a transport mission from Talil Air Base.
After the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, many detainees from Abu Ghraib were transferred to Camp Bucca."

And then, during all the mudwrestling and rioting...

["On January 31, 2005, a riot broke out in which detainees reportedly threw rocks and may have fashioned weapons out of tent poles. The riot was dispelled by the use of lethal force. Four detainees were killed and six were injured. As is standard procedure in all cases of prison riots and the use of lethal force, the matter is under investigation by the U.S. Army?s Criminal Investigations Division."]

...apparently a bunch of them decided to dig some tunnels, one of which was "200 metres long and the other 100 metres long...," and get the hell out of "camp crazy."

So rest assured, every thing is under control in the free and sovereign state of Iraq. Freedom is on the march!


[Don't even think about what is going on in Kirkuk and the newly restared war in South eastern Turkey aginst the PKK> That won't effect us, right? See my lengthy mussings on the Kurds and Kirkuk. Some of which is from Feb. 11th. There's more all over this blog, though. I'm all over the Kurdish issue!]

Chinese Government to be "Shanghai'd?"

This can't be good...

The Guardian:

"The Chinese authorities are bracing themselves for further anti-Japanese protests which could become one of the biggest displays of people power there since the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989.

Internet activists are calling for demonstrations in more than a dozen cities this weekend, prompting the US embassy to issue safety warnings to its citizens, and raising doubts whether the communist government is riding or being swamped by the rising wave of nationalism.

A whiff of something old and something new...

In the past few days thousands of army veterans have rallied in Beijing for higher pensions, protesters beat up Japanese students in Shanghai, and villagers with machetes repelled 1,000 riot police in a bloody battle in Zhejiang province.

The US embassy issued a warning to its citizens which said: "The demonstrations are purportedly against Japanese interests, but could involve foreigners in general."

[Sounds like the good old days just before the Chinese government fell apart and the Japanese marched in to the Colonial Consessions.]

New this season on FOX:: "Terrorism in the Hands of Justice."

Didn't Saddam do this?

Herald-Tribune:

"Iraq's wildly popular new television show features a nightly parade of men, most with bruised faces, confessing to all kinds of terrorist and criminal acts.

"Terrorism in the Hands of Justice" is the Iraqi government's slick new propaganda tool. Its televised confessions, the police say, aim to discredit the armed resistance and advertise the government's success at cracking down on gangs.

If it is meant to showcase a brave new Iraq, the television show is disturbingly reminiscent of the bad old Iraq. The show, which appears six nights a week on the state-run Iraqis network, has a strong flavor of Saddam Hussein-era strong-arming.

Since its debut a month ago, "Terrorism" has become a fixture in Iraq's cafes and living rooms."

Coincidently...

The Daily Texan Online reports:

"Iraqi state television aired a video [A pentagon VNR?] Wednesday showing what the U.S.-funded channel said was the confession of a captured Syrian officer who said he trained Iraqi insurgents to behead people and build car bombs to attack American and Iraqi troops.

The video comes at a time when the Bush administration has stepped up pressure on Syria to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs by allowing insurgents to cross into the country to fight coalition troops and by harboring former Iraqi regime members. Syria has denied the charges."

[How strange. It turns out no one knows where this video originated. It's good the Iraqis don't just play videos they get from strangers and play them on their station like al-Jazeera does.]

"We received all the instructions from Syrian intelligence," al-Essa, 30, said on a video broadcast by state-run Iraqis TV, which can be seen nationwide.

Iraqis TV is believed to be widely watched by Iraqis - mainly those who cannot afford satellite dishes offering the Gulf-based Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya stations.

But the station, which went on the air in May 2003 with help from the Pentagon, is viewed by many Iraqis as an American propaganda tool having a pro-American slant..." [Is that Iraqyia or FOX?]

Another coincidence? (I see a pattern emerging here.)

al-Jazeera reported back in February:

"Alleged Sudanese, Egyptian and Iraqi fighters have confessed on television to being trained by Syrian intelligence officers to bomb Iraqi security forces and behead police officers and civilians."

[You don't think the U.S. is using Iraqiya to further its own agenda against Syria, do you? This isn't all a bunch of propaganda is it?]

David Horowitz needs my help!

I just got this urgent appeal from well known right wing nut David Horowitz asking for "a contribution of $25, $50, or even $100 if possible today to our National Campaign for Academic Freedom."

Seems the American college campus of today is crawling with left wing fascists!

Seems he was ATTACKED at Butler University with a PIE!!!! (Where's my checkbook?}

He says,

Dear Bushmeister Zero:

"Let me tell you what happened at Butler. As I stepped to the podium, a group of four students -- juvenile delinquents, really -- rushed the stage and slammed a chocolate cream pie into my face.

Fortunately my glasses weren’t broken." [Thank God!]

[And would you believe?]

"At Texas -- where 20 radicals were arrested! -- the thugs got a surprise. Supporters of our National Campaign for Academic Freedom rose and shouted back. The radicals were stunned but not silenced, and with each slanderous epithet they underscored our point:

We need an Academic Bill of Rights to break the radical left’s grip on our campuses".

Amen to that crazy man!

Now, whereas David, my buddy, says of the pie incident "Officials caught and arrested three of the students," an article at Indymedia says different.

"Horowitz's croneys followed the "enemies"
out of the hall, and confronted them with
what a witness called "pushing and shoving."

But alas, says neocon americanthinker.com ,
the attackers got away."

I don't know, whatever the story, I need to rattle through my penny jar and get something to David right now!

Afghanistan! Our new "partner.".

Well, isn't this interesting. Hamid Karzai wants a security arrangement with us. Now that Afghanistan is all "sovereign" and everything they can make their own decisions, right?

The WaPo:

KABUL, Afghanistan -- President Hamid Karzai said Wednesday he is preparing a formal request to President Bush for a long-term security partnership that could include a permanent U.S. military presence.

At a joint news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Karzai said he had consulted many of his country's citizens in recent weeks about "a strategic security relationship," with the United States that could help Afghanistan avoid foreign interference and military conflicts."

Rummy said the idea of bases was up in the air but,

?What we generally do when we work with another country is what we have been doing. We find ways we can be helpful, maybe training, equipment or other types of assistance. We think in terms of what we are doing rather than the question of military bases and that type thing."

Riiiiight.

But I read in the Asia Times on the 30th of March that:

"The United States is beefing up its military presence in Afghanistan, at the same time encircling Iran. Washington will set up nine new bases in Afghanistan in the provinces of Helmand, Herat, Nimrouz, Balkh, Khost and Paktia.

Reports also make it clear that the decision to set up new US military bases was made during Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Kabul last December.

President Hamid Karzai accepted the Pentagon diktat. Not that Karzai had a choice: US intelligence is of the view that he will not be able to hold on to his throne beyond June unless the US Army can speed up training of a large number of Afghan army recruits and protect Kabul.

Even today, the inner core of Karzai's security is run by the US State Department with personnel provided by private US contractors."

You mean, Karzai is just doing what he's told?

[I mean, the poor guy couldn't even go out to campaign in the presidential elections. The only time he attempted it, someone shot a rocket at his helicopter.]

John Kerry was right!

But as the president said, the reason we can't find Osama is because he's hiding. Maybe he meant to say "bribing."

The NY Times:

BERLIN, April 12 - The head of the German intelligence agency, in an interview published here Tuesday, said Osama bin Laden had been able to elude capture after the American invasion of Afghanistan by paying bribes to the Afghan militias delegated the task of finding him.

"The principal mistake was made already in 2001, when one wanted bin Laden to be apprehended by the Afghan militias in Tora Bora," the intelligence official, August Hanning, said in an interview with the German business newspaper Handelsblatt.
"There, bin Laden could buy himself free with a lot of money," Mr. Hanning said.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Hanning confirmed the accuracy of the newspaper's account. She said Afghan forces had told Mr. bin Laden they knew his whereabouts and he would be arrested, but they allowed him safe passage in exchange for a bribe."

Kill them. Kill them all.

Maybe he should have gotten the treatment 3000 Taliban got at the beginning of the Afghan invasion when they were shoved into storage containers and shot.

In March of 2003 a German TV station "presented fresh evidence implicating US troops in the massacre of Taliban prisoners during the 2001 war in Afghanistan. Shown on the ARD channel, the programme presented footage, including interviews with two Afghan government ministers who confirmed the presence of American troops during the transportation and killing of surrendered Taliban prisoners.

"Hundreds of prisoners died of suffocation in the course of transportation in closed containers to the prison of Shibarghan. The transport finally ended in a stretch of desert known as Dasht-i-Leili, near Mazar-i-Sharif, where dead bodies were unloaded and several hundred prisoners who were still alive were shot to death.

And who was mother's little helper in all this? Why it was "forces loyal to the commander of the Northern Alliance, General Rashid Dostum," who is now the defense minister of Afghanistan. See picture of his American counterpart Rummy below shaking hands with another killer.

Now that the Taliban are defeated, or all dead....

Crime wave hits Afghanistan.

The Guardian reported last month "Armed robbery, kidnapping and intimidation have displaced the Taliban as the principal security problem. The line between cops and robbers is becoming increasingly blurred.

Demobilized Mujahideen fighters, underpaid policemen and corrupt officials are behind the lawlessness, according to Afghan officials, western diplomats, and victims.

Thousands of newly Demobilized mujahideen fighters have been inducted into police ranks. Many have retained their criminal sidelines.

The crime wave has heightened worries that a culture of impunity has taken root in the Karzai administration."

Hmmm...that's fine by us. More money for dodgy contractors like Custer/Battles.

The dope on Afghanistan.

Of course, the most successful part of our little excursion into Afghanistan is the drug trade, which accounts for over 40% of the economy. Smashing!

A report by the State Dept. given to congress said Afghanistan is "on the verge of becoming a narcotics state." That's cool. It's worked for us in Vietnam and Columbia.

But women are better off right?

Laura Bush was over there a few weeks ago and brought 23 million dollars for women and children.

Of course, Rummy went over there with 83 million for new bases, but hey. This is a man's world.

The Chicago-Tribune :

WASHINGTON - (KRT) -Human rights organizations criticized the Bush administration Wednesday, saying in the three years since the Taliban was ousted from most of Afghanistan, the United Stateshas not fulfilled promises of safety, freedom, education and health care for Afghan women.

"They have failed, misguided and betrayed Afghan women by giving them false hope," said T. Kumar, an Amnesty International advocacy director for Asiaand the Pacific, at a news conference addressing Afghan women's issues. "Three years later, they are still dreaming, and it may be a pipe dream..."

[See article on narco state.]

All in all, a very "liberating" experience. Iraq is all settled, now on to Iran!

Jewish looney toons.

WaPo:

"JERUSALEM - Israeli police sealed off a Jerusalem shrine on Sunday to foil a march by ultranationalist Jews which Palestinian militants had warned could scupper their cease-fire.

Israel banned the march, intent on derailing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to pull troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip, and security forces blocked approaches to the Old City holy site revered by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and Jews as Temple Mount."

So, let me get this straight. The Palestinians have declared a cease fire, Ariel Sharon, of all people is advocating pulling out of Gaza, [Even if it is just a smoke screen to take most of the west bank] peace seems to be on the march and now here comes REVAVA!

They just have to get a holy war started this week!

That'll keep the pull out from happening! Well, this is what Sharon gets for coddling these people for so long.

There is one thing, despite all this hate and religeous lunacy, that all faiths can agree on though. They all hate the queers!

The Revava site reports besides the move on the Temple Mount to piss off Muslims around the world:

"Another event which is the topic of much media attention is the planned 10 day international gay festival to be held this summer in Jerusalem.

In a rare move, Jewish Christian and Muslim religious leaders all came together , discussed the issue and issued a joint statement condemning the festival explaining that it is an affront to the holiness of Jerusalem and is extremely offensive to the followers of all 3 faiths..."

Violence, naturally, isn't any kind of affront to the holiness of Jerusalem!

Why don't these people just go desecrate Rabin's grave and leave the rest of us alone?

Oh, they already did?

"Yitzak Rabin's grave desecrated,"

Sunday Times:

"One of the slogans written on the grave in Jerusalem's Mount Herzl cemetery read "Murderous Dog" of a man who came to be hated by the extreme right for signing the Oslo autonomy accords with the Palestinians.

Political leaders have voiced fears that the atmosphere of incitement which marked the build-up to the killing of Rabin is being replicated by opponents of the plan to pull Jewish settlers out of the occupied Gaza Strip."

Hmmm....

See Non Sum Dignus for more on our own homegrown jewish terrorist groups. The fact that pisses me off the most about these religeous types, is that most of them are from the U.S. Thye're all about the bible giving them the whole Middle East, but they were born in brooklyn and they want people who have been living in Palestine for 2000 years to pick up and move.

It's all better now. Here's twenty bucks. Very humane.

Okay, these guys are really getting on my nerves!

AP

"Minuteman Volunteer Dismissed Over Photo."

Organizers of the Minuteman Project said that although authorities determined the man [Bryan Barton] had not illegally detained the immigrant, he still violated the group's procedures. [Procedures? They're a bunch of yahoos running around playing border patrol!]

They added that the volunteer had given the immigrant $20 and fed him during Wednesday's encounter. (Whoa! $20 bucks American!)

"The volunteer's actions were admirable, justified and undeniably humane," Chris Simcox, a project official, said in a news release, "but unfortunately they jeopardized our established procedures and overall purpose of passively monitoring the border."

On its Web site, the Minuteman Project said the volunteer believed the man was in distress from lack of food and fluids and gave him cereal and milk. [Not cookies and milk?]

He then posed for a picture next to him while holding up a T-shirt and gave him $20 as a federal agent arrived to take the man into custody.

The shirt read, "Bryan Barton caught an illegal alien and all I got was this lousy T-shirt."

The immigrant who complained he was held illegally remained [Fucking crybaby!] in custody Friday."

"The Minuteman Project didn't identify the volunteer, but authorities had previously identified the man in the incident as Bryan Barton of San Diego."

See yesterday's post. It is that asshole from the "Koala!

Follow the link. Check out Mr. Barton's essay on Mexican whores!

Why do they call them "Minutemen" again? Do they have little guns?

democracynow.org reported today:

"Three volunteers from the so-called Minutemen Project patrolling the Arizona border for undocumented immigrants are being investigated after a man told authorities he was held against his will and forced to pose for a picture holding a T-shirt with a mocking slogan.

According to law enforcement officials, the 26-year-old Mexican man told agents he was physically restrained and forced to hold a shirt while his picture was taken and he was videotaped. The shirt read: "Bryan Barton caught an illegal alien and all I got was this T-shirt."

So much for old grannies with binoculars!

[I don't know if this is the same Bryan Barton, but it sure fits his M.O.]

DeLay is all about checking the balance.

I came across an interesting letter from senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey from April 1st to Tom DeLay.

Some calmer heads are prevailing in the senate. Who is listening to them though?

"April 1, 2005
Tom DeLay

Majority Leader
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Majority Leader DeLay,

I was stunned to read the threatening comments you made yesterday against Federal judges and our nation?s courts of law in general. In reference to certain Federal judges, you stated: ?The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior.?

As you are surely aware, the family of Federal Judge Joan H. Lefkow of Illinois was recently murdered in their home. And at the state level, Judge Rowland W. Barnes and others in his courtroom were gunned down in Georgia.

Our nation?s judges must be concerned for their safety and security when they are asked to make difficult decisions every day. That?s why comments like those you made are not only irresponsible, but downright dangerous. To make matters worse, is it appropriate to make threats directed at specific Federal and state judges?

You should be aware that your comments yesterday may violate a Federal criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. ?115 (a)(1)(B). That law states:

?Whoever threatens to assault?. or murder, a United States judge? with intent to retaliate against such? judge?. on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished ?
Threats against specific Federal judges are not only a serious crime, but also beneath a Member of Congress.

In my view, the true measure of democracy is how it dispenses justice. Your attempt to intimidate judges in America not only threatens our courts, but our fundamental democracy as well.

Federal judges, as well as state and local judges in our nation, are honorable public servants who make difficult decisions every day. You owe them ? and all Americans ? an apology for your reckless statements.

Sincerely,
Frank R. Lautenberg"

[Thanks to Democratic Underground.]

Okay, here's the apology.

"WASHINGTON- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, stepped up his attack on federal judges Thursday, telling a gathering of religious conservatives that the judiciary has "run amok" and demanding that Congress assert authority over the courts.

The judiciary branch of our government has overstepped its authority on countless occasions, overturning and in some cases just ignoring the legitimate will of the people," DeLay said. "But I also believe the executive and legislative branches have neglected the proper checks and balances on this behavior ... Our next step, whatever it is, must be more than rhetoric."

Intervention by the Congress, however, does not sit well with some conservatives.

John J. Pitney Jr., a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College and a former Republican congressional aide, said: "A lot of conservatives may strongly disapprove of what the courts are doing but don't think it's proper to punish judges for the decisions. They regard that as a breach of separation of powers."

Even Congress' attempt to influence the Schiavo case prompted a strong rebuke by one of the judges deciding the matter. Circuit Judge Stanley F. Birch Jr., appointed to the court by President Bush's father, said, "Congress chose to overstep constitutional boundaries into the province of the judiciary. Such an act cannot be countenanced."

Republican lawmakers too are splintered over whether to take on the judicial branch of government. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., distanced himself from DeLay, saying he thought the judges in the Schiavo case had given her case a "fair and independent look."

Wow, even the spineless jellyfish is backing away from DeLay!

Here's the corruption!

Maybe, it has something to do with the stench of corruption waffting off of DeLay.

The WaPo reported DeLay took money from Russian business men trying to influnce the U.S. governemnt.

The NY Times reported on DeLay's family getting half a million dollars from his PAC.

And then, as if all this and the threat of an indictment in Texas hanging over his head wasn't enough, there is the Indian casino scandal involving one of his "closest and dearest friends" Jack Abramoff.

I hope the republicans in congress keep pushing this fight against the judiciary. Just ride that train straight out of power!!!

Even David Brooks for christsake thinks DeLay and his buddy on K-Strret Grover Norquist have gone too far!