Brains Over Bombs

Vote for Barack Obama, No Thank You!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 14:51:00 +0000

Obama to AIPAC: Won't rule out nuking Iran

The Iranian "regime is a threat to all of us," Obama said.

Well, I am sad about this one because I liked Obama the most out of any of the candidates. Looks like I will be voting for Nader again.

Original Source

Vote for Duncan Hunter, No Thank You!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 01:34:00 +0000

Duncan tells all in this 2 second video clip:

DownWithTyranny! has a great article on Republican Presidential Candidate Duncan Hunter, from his ties to the Duke Cunningham scandal and defense contractors, to the blocking of Congressional investigations into Abu Ghraib and 9/11.

More recent info, direct from Condoleezza Rice and Dick Cheney's favorite news channel, Fox News:

Hunter was a close ally of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a California Republican who was sentenced to more than eight years in prison this year for accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. Hunter has accepted $46,000 in campaign donations from the same contractors at the center of the Cunningham scandal, Brent Wilkes and Mitchell Wade.

Vote for Hillary Clinton, No Thank You!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:05:00 +0000

So I was doing research for a school paper, and I ran into this interesting link on Google. The page is titled: "Senator Clinton's Remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)." This is straight from Hillary Clinton's Senate website, and is dated February 1, 2007. This speech pretty much sums up what to except in terms of her foreign policy if elected President, so if you want the United States to move towards peace around the world in the next few years, you might want to start looking at another candidate.

Her comments about Iran sound like they came from Fox News or some other right-wing nut case:

"Israel is a beacon of what's right in a neighborhood overshadowed by the wrongs of radicalism, extremism, despotism and terrorism. We need only look to one of Israel's greatest threats: namely, Iran. Make no mistake, Iran poses a threat not only to Israel, but to the entire Middle East and beyond, including the U.S."

She also mentions that the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has:

"...called for Israel to be wiped off the map."

To this day, I still have not seen the evidence that he has said that. If someone has a transcript of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech using that line, please post it in the comments. More on Iran:

"But Iran is a threat not only because of the hateful rhetoric spewed by its president, not only because of its nuclear ambitions, but because it uses its influence and its revenues in the region to support terrorist elements that are attacking innocent Israelis; and now we believe attacking American soldiers. Hezbollah's attacks on Israel this summer using Iranian weapons clearly demonstrate Iran's malevolent influence even beyond its borders."

It sure seems like someone wants a war with Iran badly (and I'm not talking about William Kristol).

Explosions in Lebanon vs. Wintry Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:41:00 +0000

Yes, wintry weather and eleven feet of snow in New York is a story, but it isn't the only story. Same goes for Anna Nicole Smith. If I want to hear about it, I will watch E! or some other lame entertainment show. I have had the tv on quite a bit today, and have not heard one mention of the explosions that rocked Beirut, Lebanon. Two buses were destroyed, with at least 3 reported dead and 20 wounded. One is to wonder, if this tragedy took place inside of Israel, would the American media have reported on it? And if so, how much coverage would it receive?

Media Hypocrisy, Yet Again

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 18:03:00 +0000

The media has been reporting on the comments of Australian Prime Minister John Howard today about Barack Obama and the Democrats, with not one ounce of criticism:

"If I were running al-Qa'ida in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama but also for the Democrats"

I remember a few months back, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made comments calling President Bush the devil, and he was pulverized by the American media.

At least Obama's campaign people seem to have backbones (so far); an Obama spokesman fired back at the Prime Minister's comments calling them: "cowboy rhetoric."

Conflict in the Niger Delta

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 15:00:00 +0000

The other day CNN ran a two part story on the on-going conflict in the Niger Delta. The Nigerian government and oil companies have been exploiting the people of the Delta for years, stealing the oil and not giving any of the profits to the locals that live in poverty. At this point you can guess what was going to happen. A rebel group called MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) formed to fight the oil companies, disrupting the oil production.

CNN reports: "Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer. In 2005, it was the world's sixth largest exporter of oil, but the conflict there has cut distribution by an estimated 500,000 barrels per day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy."

MEND also started kidnapping foreign oil workers. They are believed to have 30 hostages now, one of them an American. CNN's international correspondent Jeff Koinange traveled to the Niger Delta to uncover this story, being shot at while trying to do so. It is definitely worth a read to see what is going on. Jeff Koinange's video should also be up on CNN's website.

Link to Jeff Koinange's report.

Come Back

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 02:05:00 +0000

I am on break this week and am trying to get back into blogging more. There are a bunch of under reported stories recently that I think deserves some attention, so hopefully I can find time to work on that.

I leave with another classic quote:

"The best way to defeat the totalitarian of hate is with an ideology of hope -- an ideology of hate -- excuse me -- with an ideology of hope." -President Bush

No Memory Expert for Libby Trial

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:30:00 +0000

"Judge Reggie Walton, in an opinion Thursday, wrote the testimony of memory export, Dr. Robert Bjork, chairman UCLA's psychology department, would be a "waste of time," and could mislead and confuse a jury."
...Also...
"Libby lawyers have argued that a key to their defense is their client simply did not remember "snippets of conversations" with three reporters about how he learned or what he knew about CIA employee Valerie Plame. Libby's defense team has said the pressure of Libby's White House job, "could have easily caused him to confuse or misremember minor details of conversations about his former [Ambassador Joe Wilson's] wife and her job at the CIA - topics Libby did not consider significant at the time."

At a hearing last week, Libby's defense team brought out the first witness in their case, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, a professor at the University of California at Irvine, who tried to persuade Judge Walton that a memory expert was essential in the Libby trial."

Click here for the full article from MSNBC.

Weatherman, TV Host, Author. Doocy Does it All.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:11:00 +0000

Fox News' weatherman and GOP loyalist Steve Doocy has a book out. That completes the circle, all three Fox and Friends hosts now have their own books out. You have the dud "Sports Guy" Brian, the trailer trash favorite Edie, and now the giant doofus Steve. I enjoy making fun of these three idiots, but they do a much better job of it themselves everyday on national tv.

Well, here is the part everyone is waiting for; The Doo-sters new book, titled "The Mr. & Mrs. Happy Handbook: Everything I Know About Love and Marriage (with corrections by Mrs. Doocy)."

What is really funny about this is when I first heard about the book yesterday morning on Fox and Friends, the three idiots were going after Madonna for promoting her new children's book with her new kid, and after that segment it went to Doocy doing the weather and then the weather map turned into a large photo of his new book which he was promoting. Do they realize how embarrassing they really are?

One last thing, in Doocy's thank you note, he mentions how his book made the New York Times best seller list. That's interesting, I thought only "liberal" books were listed there. That is what I hear at least from Mr. O"Reilly.

Classic

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 22:23:00 +0000

And one of the things we've got to make sure that we do is anything.
--George w. Bush

Washington, DC
05/07/2002
discussing the Middle East after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

Full Transcript of Hugo Chavez's UN Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 16:51:00 +0000

Unfortunately, the source is Fox News for this one.

Here is the transcript in it's entirety.

Lack of Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:27:00 +0000

Sorry for the lack of updates. I am going back to school and it is consuming most of my time. I am hoping to change my schedule around so I have more time to update this blog.

In the meantime, here is a classic Bush quote from 2001:

"For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do something about it."

-George w. Bush

Fox News Criticizes Harry Anderson for Leaving N.O.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 12:55:00 +0000

Last night, Harry Anderson was a guest on "Real Time with Bill Maher", and was talking about why he is leaving New Orleans. Anderson mentioned how he couldn't believe that Mayor Ray Nagan was re-elected among other things.

This morning on "Fox and Friends", the weekend idiots were talking about Harry Anderson leaving New Orleans. They mentioned how Anderson criticized Nagan, like that was a bad thing. Wasn't the media, including Fox News, critical of Ray Nagan and the local governments after Hurricane Katrina? The best part was near the end of the segment, where the idiots from Fox News went off and said how the housing market is booming in New Orleans and how Anderson is making good money off of selling his house. Leave it to Fox News to try and smear someone for leaving a disaster zone.

Kristen Breitweiser’s Wake Up Call

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 12:45:00 +0000

This is going to be an interesteing read. Crooks and Liars has more on the book, including a part of the five page letter to Ann Coulter.

Read the full story here.

For those who don't know who Kristen Breitweiser is, here is some more info.

Americans More Critical of DA in JonBenet Case than Bush/Iraq

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 16:27:00 +0000

I was watching the Press Conference about the JonBenet case at noon today, and the District Attorney started out by saying that she has been getting phone calls from angry people in regards to the case. She said one man left a message that said she should actually be tarred and feathered for her failures. How come people didn't get that mad when the facts were out on how the Bush Administration lied us into war? Or how Bush handled Hurricane Katrina? Or how Bush didn't want to form a 9/11 Commission? The list goes on.

It's not just stupid Americans, it's also the media. Where were they when the Bush Administration was on the 'march to war' with Iraq? The media was too busy cheerleading for war. No one questioned it. They kept putting the crooks (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell) on TV after 9/11, so they could try and sell us their war. They got their war, but where is the media now?? They jump on to stories like the JonBenet case, and try and turn the suspected person into a criminal. I am not sticking up for this Karr guy, but the media tends to criminalize any suspects in a high profile case.

Remember the Elizabeth Smart story? The police took in to custody the Smart family's handyman, Richard Ricci, and the media was all over him. They had their experts on TV saying how he did it. I even remember Sean Hannity talking down Ricci, and calling him a scumbag. Well, it turned out that Ricci DIDN'T do it, and he ended up dying of a brain hemorrhage in a Salt Lake City prison. After Elizabeth Smart was found alive and her kidnappers were arrested, I was sickened. It was good news that she was found alive and unharmed, but an innocent man died in prison. I did some research and found that Ricci's wife actually filed a lawsuit against the Salt Lake City Police Department and settled the case for $150,000. In my opinion, the media should have been held accountable too. They tricked everyone into believing that Ricci was the bad guy. When will the media learn? Never, because they are despicable.

USA Flag Pin Not Cool Anymore?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 18:04:00 +0000

After 9/11, almost every politician that appeared on television wore a USA flag pin on their lapelle. But last night on "Real Time with Bill Maher", Christopher Hitchens appeared to be wearing an Iraqi flag pin on his lapelle.

Also from last night, Hitchens seemed to be very frustrated by the audience. He flipped off the crowd on two occasions. I captured one of those flips and uploaded it to YouTube.

UPDATE: The flag pin on his lapelle was a Kurdistani flag, not Iraqi. He talks about it in this interview. Thanks to the annonymous person who left a comment on this post.

Number of U.S. Troops in Iraq Climbs

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:00:00 +0000

I thought the number of troops in Iraq has been declining. I thought Iraq was getting better. What is going on?

Our troops have been through so much over the last couple of years, and the military has the nerve to order the troops back to active duty, with the first involuntary recall since the beginning of the war. If the military recruiters can't get the job done, then too bad. We should stop the involuntary recall and just let the soldiers that have served go home. That way, when all the soldiers serve their time on active duty, we will have all the troops home. It's not the best plan to get our troops home, but it's better than to stay the course.

GOP Senator: "Could I see your green card?"

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 22:03:00 +0000

Here's a real quote from Senator Conrad Burns:

"The other day, the little fella who does our maintenance work around the house, he's from Guatemala, and I said, 'Could I see your green card?'" Burns said at a June meeting recorded by Democrats. "And Hugo says, 'No.' I said, 'Oh gosh.'"

Sources: MyWay News | The Huffington Post.

KBR Gets Contract to Build Detention Centers in US

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 19:55:00 +0000

How many government contracts has Halliburton received under this Administration? I guess the bigger question is, why is Halliburton building detention centers inside the US? They claim it's for "Immigration & Customs Enforcement" facilities in an event of an emergency.

It looks like the writers of The Simpons had it right; the government is going to start locking away anyone that says anything remotely bad about America. Here is the wiki link to the episode "Bart-Mangled Banner".

Rick Santorum & the Missing (But Now 'Found') Iraqi Chemical Weapons...Again

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 01:30:00 +0000

Senator Rick Santorum was one of tonight's guest on Hardball with Chris Matthews. Matthews questioned Santorum on Bush's comments from today about Iraq and 9/11, as well as Cheney's past comments. Santorum went off on the normal garbage about Islamo-Fascists and so on, and then had this to add about us finding chemical weapons in Iraq:

This is really sad. This isn't the first time he has said this either. He was on Hannity and Colmes when he first said this. Here is the original video. Once Hannity heard, he was all over the story. It is funny how these two people are the only ones on national television that have ever made this claim. Don't you think if real chemical weapons were found that the Bush Administration and the republicans would be all over it?

At the end of the Hardball interview, Matthews asked Santorum what he thought about Hardball hosting a debate for his Senate campaign with his opponent. Santorum lashed out and went after Matthews saying how the debate would help his opponent because Matthews has a background working for democrats (as President Carter's speechwriter).

It's funny, because if Chris Matthews was a democrat (or even a real journalist), he would have disputed or at least questioned Santorum's claim of chemical weapons being found in Iraq.

I have always thought that most republicans were mentally insane, and Rick Santorum is helping me make that case. A United States Senator is making false claims about a very serious subject, and no one questions or criticizes him over it. It's one thing to parade your dead 20 week old fetus around for your family to see, but do you have to continue with the distortion of the chemical weapons that were found in Iraq? They were from the 1980's (remember the Gipper). Our depleted uranium shells that we use in Iraq now do much more harm than these old weapons could have done if Saddam tried to use them. So give it up you right-wing nutjobs, you invaded the wrong country! Bush was looking in the wrong direction; or should I say, no direction....

JonBenet is Dead. Move On!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:13:00 +0000

There I said it. Yes, this case needs to be solved, but we do not need 24/7 coverage of this on national televsion. I can't believe a story like this one hasn't made it to American TV: "Kurds flee homes as Iran shells Iraq's northern frontier".
Here is the first paragraph from the article:

Turkey and Iran have dispatched tanks, artillery and thousands of troops to their frontiers with Iraq during the past few weeks in what appears to be a coordinated effort to disrupt the activities of Kurdish rebel bases.

This has been going on for a few weeks?? Where has our media been? I would say this is a pretty big story seeing how our government/media has been trying to make the case for war with Iran, and not to mention that we have over 100,000 troops still inside Iraq.

Anti-Suicide Bomber PSA Starts Airing in Iraq

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 18:03:00 +0000

There was news of this a couple of months ago, but it appears it is final. The Anti-Suicide Bombing Public Service Announcement has started airing on Iraqi television. It was shot in downtown Los Angeles by two film companies; one from Los Angeles and the other from Lebanon. The 60 second PSA features Matrix-style effects during the explosion. There is no mention of the cost of the PSA, but Newsweek reported in June that it would cost over $1 million to produce.

Video Link to YouTube.

Bill O'Reilly Muslim-Bashing...Again

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:35:00 +0000

Last night on The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly had this to say about Muslims:

So all young Muslims should be subjected to more scrutiny than Granny. And we should blend some Israeli screening procedures with our own.

For example, trained security people should receive the passenger list on every flight and interview those people most likely to be terrorists, folks who have traveled to Muslim countries, people who have criminal records. Passengers who are Muslims ages 16 to 45 all should be spoken with. And if the ACLU doesn't like it, tough. This isn't racial profiling. This is criminal profiling.

Maybe O'Reilly should rethink what he said. If he got his way and all Muslims ages 16 to 45 were taken aside at the airport, then someone like Osama Bin Laden could easily slip through security since he is 49 years of age!

Could you imagine Bill O'Reilly going on the FX show '30 Days' where he had to live with a Muslim family for 30 whole days? Now that would be interesting.

Fox News Airs Call for 'Muslim-Only' Line

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:14:00 +0000

You can't stop looking at the photo can you? He is both hideous and funny looking at the same time, like most republicans. But seriously, how can this idiot be allowed to say this on national television? These rightwing nutjobs can say whatever they want and don't get criticized for it.

Even Bill O'Reilly got in on the Muslim-bashing last night. He said all Muslims ages 16 to 45 should be singled out at the airport. I am going to try and get more on this from last night, so stay tuned for updates.

Daily Show on Republican Propaganda

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:58:00 +0000

The Daily Show reports on the new Republican slogan for the war in Iraq. Instead of "Stay the course", it's now "Win by adapting".

Video link to YouTube.