WOMEN SAY NO TO PALIN

They are getting more and more organized. These are just a few of the sites that have popped up aimed at Sarah Palin:

http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/2008/09/women-say-no-part-8.html

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-81143

http://snoringkatz.vox.com/library/post/how-to-say-what-you-need-to-say---women-say-no-to-palin.html

http://impeccablypiquant.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/women-say-no-to-sarah-palin/

http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/70e7e/women_say_no_to_sarah_palin_with_fury_and_dread/

http://www.notmytribe.com/2008/just-say-no-sarah-palin-84556.html

http://tpzoo.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/women-say-%E2%80%9Cno-sarah-palin%E2%80%9D-speak-out/

http://forums.therandirhodesshow.com/index.php?showtopic=9426

And if ALL THIS isn't enough, you can use the google search engine to find many, many more sites. Click here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=women+say+no+to+palin&btnG=Google+Search

Bill Corcoran, EDITOR: CORKSPHERE: http://corksphere.blogspot.com, a blog devoted to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Presidential race.

WASHINGTON POST: FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS ARE LATEST WAR TACTIC

The war in Iraq is far from over, and indeed may even be on the verge of exploding according to a Washington Post story on Wednesday.

The Republicans, and especially John McCain and his wing men, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham, have been LYING to the American public about how well things are going in Iraq.

The "surge" is about to have the reverse effect on Iraq and there are indications more and more violence will be seen in Iraq in the days and weeks to come and it will all be directed at U.S. troops in Iraq.

One of the methods the insurgents are going to use to inflict death on U.S. troops is female suicide bombers. They have been trained and they are eager to carry out the mission of killing Americans.

FOX NEWS and John McCain and his sidekicks continue to LIE to the American public about conditions in Iraq even after outgoing General David Petraeus told the press he would NEVER USE THE WORD VICTORY in describing the conditions in Iraq.

COMMENTARY BY BILL CORCORAN, EDITOR OF CORKSPHERE

Female Suicide Bombers Are Latest War Tactic

By Sudarsan RaghavanWashington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, September 17, 2008; A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/16/AR2008091603697.html

BAQUBAH, Iraq -- Shortly after the Muslim sunset prayer, the beggar approached Naeem Jabbar as he stepped out of his car. She was no more than 19 years old. He was a leader of the Awakening, a U.S.-backed force that has helped improve security in Iraq. For the past four months, Jabbar had given the young woman food and money, enabling her to survive until the next day.

WATCH VIDEO OF SUSPECTED FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER

"He trusted her," said Jabbar's brother, Muntasar. "We never searched her."
On this evening in July, hidden under her black garments, she wore a vest filled with explosives, nails and ball bearings. As her benefactor greeted her, she triggered the bomb, killing him, four others and herself.

U.S. and Iraqi officials say Sunni insurgent groups, especially al-Qaeda in Iraq, are using religion, money and empty promises to persuade sometimes vulnerable women to conduct suicide attacks, highlighting the movement's desperation at a time when its influence and ranks have declined. Efforts by the U.S. military and Iraq's neighbors have limited the number of Arab fighters reaching Iraq, a flow that was once the major source of recruits willing to commit suicide.

But extremists say the women are acting on their own motives, including ideology and revenge, and describe the female bombers as the latest tactic in a slow-burning war.

Since the 2003 invasion, 53 Iraqi women have either carried out suicide attacks or were apprehended before they could do so, according to the U.S. military. The attacks have killed more than 370 people and injured 650. This year, there have been 31 female bombers, including 17 in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. The youngest bomber was 13, according to U.S. military statistics.

Two weeks ago, police in Baqubah, Diyala's capital, captured a woman with reddish-brown hair wearing what appeared to be an explosives-laden vest. She said that her name was Rania and that she was born in 1993. In an interrogation captured on a police video obtained by The Washington Post, she said a woman had wrapped the vest on her body and told her to take it off at home.

"Why did you come to blow yourself up?" asked Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the chief spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry, who was in Baqubah to help oversee an offensive against insurgents.

"I swear to Allah, they did not tell me to explode myself," Rania replied.

WAR VIDEO: US MARINES GET AMBUSHED ON A ROOFTOP IN IRAQ

The war in Iraq is far from over despite what the Republicans are saying. Before General David Petraeus turned over his command of the multi-national forces in Iraq, he was quoted as saying he would never use the word "victory" to describe what is taking place in Iraq.

President Bush's token removal of 8,000 troops from Iraq is a drop in the bucket because there are still 160,000 young Americans in Iraq and will be there for years to come.

This video shows a US. Marine platoon caught in an ambush. The language is rough and the footage is graphic.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/CNlnIXu0ww8&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

VIOLENT WAR VIDEO: WHAT REPUBLICAN KIDS CAN EXPECT IF McCAIN/PALIN ARE ELECTED: SPECIAL FORCES DOING WHAT THEY DO---HOORAH!

The polls are shifting and it looks more and more like John McCain and Sarah Palin are going to win in November. Both of them are warhawks and have vowed to assist Israel in a war with Iran, or go to war with Russia if Russia attacks a NATO country.

The United States military is stretched to the breaking point and the ONLY way the U.S. could engage in another war is to ramp up the MILITARY DRAFT.

That means every Republican who votes for McCain and Palin can expect their little darlings to be drafted and possibly sent to IRAN or RUSSIA to end up in a fight like is shown here in this graphic and brutal VIDEO.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/xrELhu0cRDU&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON: THE PALIN DOCTRINE. WHY NEOCONS ARE SO EXCITED--LIKEABLE ON THE OUTSIDE, BLANK SLATE ON THE INSIDE

She's perfect for the neocons: likeable on the outside, a blank slate on the inside.

To borrow from an old cliché, if Sarah Palin didn't exist, the neocons would have had to invent her.

In fact, this is how one former White House aide describes her: "She's bright and she's a blank page. She's going places and it's worth going there with her."

Arianna Huffington
Posted September 15, 2008 12:47 PM (EST)
The Palin Doctrine: Why the Neocons Are So Excited
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/the-palin-doctrine-why-th_b_126511.html

Sarah Palin may not have known what the Bush Doctrine was, but we're getting a pretty good idea of what the Palin Doctrine is. Or will be -- because it's still currently under construction.

And what is it going to look like? Let's just say, it's going to seem familiar.

According to London's Daily Telegraph, the architects of the Palin Doctrine are a group of people who have been singularly wrong about virtually everything in the last decade -- the neocons, who have been briefing Palin for weeks.

As predicted, the fact that she didn't know anything wasn't a bug, it was a feature.

She's perfect for the neocons: likeable on the outside, a blank slate on the inside. To borrow from an old cliché, if Sarah Palin didn't exist, the neocons would have had to invent her.

In fact, this is how one former White House aide describes her: "She's bright and she's a blank page. She's going places and it's worth going there with her."

Of course, the place her neocon mentors hope she's going is the White House. Given their dismal track record, they're smart enough to figure that the American public wouldn't be too keen on letting them in the front door again, so they are trying to sneak in hidden behind Palin's skirt.
The Trojan Moose approaches.

The Daily Telegraph details how the neocon talent scouts spotted their political Eliza Doolittle back in the summer of '07. The love connection began, appropriately enough, on a love boat:
"Sources in the McCain camp, the Republican Party and Washington think tanks say Mrs. Palin was identified as a potential future leader of the neoconservative cause in June 2007. That was when the annual summer cruise organised by the right-of-centre Weekly Standard magazine docked in Juneau, the Alaskan state capital, and the pundits on board took tea with Governor Palin."

So nice to meet you, Governor. And don't forget, cucumber sandwiches and preemptive invasions on the Lido Deck at four!

Not surprisingly, Palin's biggest fan is Bill Kristol, who describes her as the "specter of a young, attractive, unapologetic conservatism" that "is haunting the liberal elites."

Among her other Henry Higginses is neo-neocon Joe Lieberman, who is reportedly helping prep Palin for the big ball -- her debate with Joe Biden.

She's already passed her first test with flying colors: being willing to link 9/11 with Iraq, something not even the president is still willing to do. Last week, she told a group of Iraq-bound soldiers that they were going to "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans."

By George (Bush), I think she's got it! Congratulations, Professor Kristol, your student is coming along just fine.

Of course, the neocons know they already have an ally at the top of the GOP ticket. McCain may have been a reformer on campaign finance, but when it comes to foreign policy, he has always been solidly in the neocon club. He loves to burnish his foreign policy bona fides by talking about how he wanted to fire Donald Rumsfeld months before Bush did. But he doesn't talk a lot about how, in the days immediately after 9/11, he was part of the neocon crowd itching to get into Iraq.

Just a few days after the attack, McCain was already talking about "some other countries" that helped Bin Laden. Countries like Syria, Iran, and...Iraq. And a few weeks later, during an October 18, 2001 appearance on David Letterman, McCain answered a question about how the war in Afghanistan was going by announcing that the invasion of Iraq would be "the second phase" of the war on terror (how prescient of him to know that Saddam wouldn't give up those nonexistent WMD).

What's more, he tried to buttress the case for attacking Iraq by claiming that the recent spate of anthrax attacks "may have come from Iraq." Or Fort Detrick.

Six years later, demonstrating how little he's learned from the debacle in Iraq, McCain hired Randy Scheunemann, a neocon darling who helped form The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq in 2002, as his campaign's chief foreign policy advisor.

As TPMMuckraker noted in July, "Of all the hawkish Washington foreign-policy types pushing both before and after 9/11 for war with Iraq -- a war that an overwhelming majority of Americans now considers a mistake -- Scheunemann, though not a marquee name, was among the most energetic and influential. And in the invasion's aftermath, he consistently opposed steps that might have helped stabilize the country."

And now, according to the Daily Telegraph, Scheunemann is briefing Sarah Palin.

McCain's selection of Palin may have been reckless, but it was anything but random. The neocons' view of the world may be disastrous, dangerous, discredited, and deadly -- but it's far from dead.

Their patron saint, Dick Cheney, the scowling embodiment of the Neocon Doctrine, had way too much baggage -- and way too low approval ratings -- to mount a run for the White House.

That's why the Palin pick was so brilliant.

On the outside, she's exponentially more likable and talented at connecting with people than Cheney ever was. But on the inside, once she graduates from the neocon finishing school, she'll be a complete and total Dick. Cheney. With lipstick.

Sarah Palin may not have known what the Bush Doctrine was, but we're getting a pretty good idea of what the Palin Doctrine is. Or will be -- because it's still currently under construction.

BLOOD THIRSTY WOMAN: THE TRUTH ABOUT SARAH PALIN

All of the stories contained in this link about SARAH PALIN have been documented and are true. This is a look at the REAL Sarah Palin, the "huntress" who likes to hunt wolves and moose and has been known to even go on a helicopter ride over Alaska terrain killing animals from the air.

http://www.grizzlybay.org/SarahPalinInfoPage.htm

VIDEO: McCAIN'S HEALTH RECORDS. WHY WON'T HE RELEASE ALL OF HIS HEALTH RECORDS?

This video takes an in depth look at the cancer John McCain has had in the past and various medical experts describe what problems John McCain could encounter because of his past bouts with cancer.

FOR ANYONE THINKING OF VOTING FOR McCAIN THEY SHOULD WATCH THIS VIDEO:

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/lvesa49zSIM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE THIS VIDEO

MUST SEE VIDEO: U.S. MARINES ENGAGE ENEMY NEAR GAS STATION IN IRAQ: EXTREMELY ROUGH LANGUAGE

In the eyes of John McCain, Sarah Palin, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham the war in IRAQ is almost over, but not for this unit of U.S. Marines who engage the enemy near a gas station in IRAQ.

WARNING: THE LANGUAGE IS VERY, VERY GRAPHIC.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/yzNxppKAH8M&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN CENTER OF PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS VIDEO: HELO'S FROM HELL: POUR IT ON GUYS

This video shows the massive firepower of US helicopters during the war in IRAQ as one scene after another depicts the devastation the helos inflict on the enemy in IRAQ.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/BgAcwRLusM4&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

GRAPHIC VIDEO: 8 US TROOPS KILLED IN KIRKUK--VIDEO OF DESTROYED US VEHICLES

John McCain continues to say "victory" is within the grasp of the U.S. military in Iraq, but General David Petraeus, supreme commander of multi-national forces in Iraq, says the word "victory" is NOT a word he would ever use in describing Iraq because of the continuing violence that takes place on a daily basis in IRAQ.

This graphic video shows the remains of Humvees and other U.S. military vehicles which were destroyed killing 8 U.S. soldiers in Kirkuk, Iraq

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/mk2_cAQqsOA&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO ACTIVATE THIS VIDEO

CNN's LOU DOBBS BOUGHT RACIST "OBAMA WAFFLES" AT VALUES VOTERS SUMMIT

This has become a minor story, getting substantial coverage in the blog world.

However, the AP version of the story does not mention that the creators of Obama Waffles had a photo on their Web site of CNN's Lou Dobbs, a speaker at the Values Voters Summit, purchasing them and reported that he said "My wife will love this."

The photo and story has been removed from the site but bloggers were able to take screen shots before it was taken down.

At the Values Voters Summit in D.C. last weekend, Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss were selling boxes of "Obama Waffles" for $10 per box. The box of waffle mix features a caricature of Obama reminiscent of stereotypical racist cartoons.

Submitted by AmyW on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 3:36pm.

Alerts A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERTby Amy Weiss
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/alerts/481

The Family Research Council (FRC), the group that runs the conference, stopped the selling of the waffles and said they didn't realize before that they contained "offensive material."The AP describes the waffles:

While Obama Waffles takes aim at Obama's politics by poking fun at his public remarks and positions on issues, it also plays off the old image of the pancake-mix icon Aunt Jemima, which has been widely criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Obama is portrayed with popping eyes and big, thick lips as he stares at a plate of waffles and smiles broadly.Placing Obama in Arab-like headdress recalls the false rumor that he is a follower of Islam, though he is actually a Christian.On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for "Open Border Fiesta Waffles" that says it can serve "4 or more illegal aliens."

The recipe includes a tip: "While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?"The novelty item also takes shots at 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, Obama's wife, Michelle, and Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.While the creators claim their product is satirical and not racist, the FRC felt strongly enough to stop sales. A black pastor and member of the FRC, Harry Jackson, wrote a column on the conservative site Town Hall about the dangers of allowing people such as Whitlock and Moss a voice in this election:


There is one thing that could torpedo McCain's efforts - a sense that McCain is playing the race card against his opponent instead of using a legitimate political strategy. If the race is determined by the content of the candidates' character and a sportsman like contest, Americans will have realized Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream. Therefore, even if Senator Obama is not elected president, the nation will acknowledge this as a watershed moment for the entire country. On the other hand, if racial slurs and prejudice are used by McCain supports it could cause a backlash among undecided voters that will cause the McCain/Palin ticket to lose.

The only negative thing that came out of the Values Voter's Summit was that two men from Franklin Tennessee (Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss) sold a product called "Obama Waffles" at the event until the conference leaders shut them down on Saturday.

The Family Research Council issued a statement on behalf of all of the sponsors of the summit that we "strongly condemned the tone and content of the materials" of the product's packaging. As far as HILC is concerned, the so-called political "satire" on the boxes of waffles is racist and makes fun of all African Americans - not to mention unfairly demeaning Barak (sic) Obama.

Two hundred and six newspaper articles carried the story of the waffles this weekend. Newspapers from Jerusalem to China felt that this story was newsworthy. If this last seven weeks of the campaign becomes a referendum on race, it will hurt race relations and the McCain campaign.

AP: PETRAEUS: MORE THAN TROOPS NEEDED IN AFGHANISTAN: VICTORY IS NOT A WORD HE WOULD USE ABOUT IRAQ

General David Petraeus, the outgoing head of multi-national forces in Iraq, basically said John McCain, George Bush, Lindsay Graham and Joe Lieberman are lying when they say "victory" is at hand in Iraq.

Over the weekend, Petraeus said he would NEVER categorize any gains in Iraq as "victory" and "victory" may NEVER be achieved in Iraq.

To begin with who signs an armistice? There are so many elements fighting in Iraq there isn't one group representing ALL of Iraq so the word "victory" does not apply as it has in other wars.

Petraeus is also very cautious about events in Aghanistan and had this to say about Afghanistan:

Petraeus: more than troops needed in Afghanistan

By KIM GAMEL Associated Press Writer

http://tinyurl.com/5ua7ys

BAGHDAD (AP) -- U.S. Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday that experience in Iraq shows it will take political and economic progress as well as military action to tackle increased violence in Afghanistan.

"You don't kill or capture your way out of an industrial strength insurgency," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

His comments come as a debate over the need to redeploy troops from Iraq to Afghanistan has become a central issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.

Petraeus, who is widely credited with pulling Iraq back from the brink of civil war, is taking over as chief of U.S. Central Command, the headquarters overseeing U.S. military involvement throughout the Middle East, as well as Afghanistan and the rest of Central Asia.

He'll hand over the reins in Iraq to Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno Tuesday during a ceremony at the U.S. military headquarters at Camp Victory on the western outskirts of Baghdad.

Petraeus' counterinsurgency strategy has paid off in Iraq, where the number of attacks has dropped to its lowest point in more than four years. But he will face a new challenge with violence rising in Afghanistan.

It will be a delicate balancing act to tackle a resurgent Taliban enjoying refuge in the lawless border areas of Pakistan without losing ground in Iraq.

"We've got a situation in Afghanistan where clearly there have been trends headed in the wrong direction," Petraeus said. "Military action is absolutely necessary but it is not sufficient."
"Political, economic and diplomatic activity is critical to capitalize on gains in the security arena," he said.

The 55-year-old general assumed control of U.S. forces in Iraq about 19 months ago after President Bush ordered some 30,000 additional American forces to Iraq as part of a so-called surge aimed at stopping spiraling Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence.

The reason for the decline in violence is hotly debated, but the U.S. military cites the troop buildup, along with a Sunni revolt that saw former insurgents turn against al-Qaida in Iraq and a Shiite militia cease-fire ordered by a strident American foe Muqtada al-Sadr.

Petraeus also acknowledged the military's dual role, calling U.S. troops "builders and diplomats as well as guardians and warriors" in his farewell letter posted on the military's Web site.

"The progress achieved has been hard-earned," he wrote. "There have been many tough days along the way, and we have suffered tragic losses. Indeed, nothing in Iraq has been anything but hard."

Petraeus stressed it was premature to discuss strategy but suggested he will carry over lessons from his playbook in Iraq - including possible outreach to try to bring hostile players into the political process.

Petraeus, however, stressed the ultimate decision to reach out to militants would be up to the Afghan government.

"We did reaffirm in Iraq the recognition that you don't kill or capture your way out of an industrial-strength insurgency," he said.

"Clearly there are so-called irreconcilables who must be killed or captured or run out of the country," he added. "But reconciliation with some of those who are currently part of the problem and making them part of the solution is something that I know is being examined as an option."

Bush announced last week that one Marine battalion and one Army brigade would be shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan this fall and winter - far fewer than the 10,000 troops U.S. commanders there had requested. Meanwhile, about 8,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by February
.
George Friedman, the head of Stratfor, an independent intelligence risk assessment agency based in Austin, Texas, said Petraeus faces a more organized enemy in Afghanistan with the Taliban and must consider reaching out to them along with tribal chiefs.

"He's struggling with the question of limited forces and a political climate that's much different than Iraq," he said. "But it's impossible to imagine how the United States can create an Iraqi-style solution without the Taliban because they're getting stronger every day."

Petraeus and other military leaders have consistently warned that the security gains in Iraq are reversible and need continued U.S. attention - a point underscored by persistent bombings that bear the hallmarks of Sunni insurgents.

And while security gains have been remarkable, the Iraqi government has largely failed to take advantage of the calm to make political progress.

Petraeus said the new challenges in Iraq include stalled provincial elections that are expected to redistribute power among Iraq's deeply divided groups, growing tensions between Arabs and Kurds over disputed territory in the north and the need to provide new employment for Sunnis fighters currently on the U.S. payroll.

He also warned al-Qaida and "residual militia elements" remain a threat.

"There are still very significant challenges and there will be for the foreseeable future," he said, warning against an overly rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.

"What we're wary of doing in a country that has had a surprise around every corner is unduly jeopardizing the gains for which our soldiers and our Iraqi partners have fought so hard," he said.
---

VIDEO: JON STEWART POINTS OUT DOUBLE STANDARD AT FOX NEWS

FOX NEWS is notoriious for shading the truth, or worse yet only telling ONLY one side of the story.

The sad part of it is there are millions of Americans who get their news from FOX NEWS not ever realizing FOX NEWS is NOT a news outlet, but a propaganda branch of the Bush White House, the GOP and now the McCain/Palin campaign.

In this video Jon Steward, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," cleverly shows how FOX NEWS speaks out of both sides of their mouth in a never-ending attempt to mislead the poor saps who watch FOX NEWS thinking they are actually getting "news" when ALL they are getting is right wing spin.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card

WASHINGTON POST: AS MAYOR OF WASILLA, PALIN CUT OWN DUTIES, LEFT TRAIL OF BAD BLOOD

WASILLA, Alaska -- On Sept. 24, 2001, Mayor Sarah Palin and the City Council held their first meeting after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The council condemned the attacks and approved a $5,000 gift to a disaster relief fund. Palin said she would try to obtain materials from both attack sites to include in the town's "Honor Garden."

By Alec MacGillisWashington Post Staff WriterSunday, September 14, 2008; A01
http://tinyurl.com/5vahfj

And then the council and mayor returned to their normal business: approving funds to upgrade the public well, issuing a restaurant permit and taking up a measure forbidding residents from operating bed-and-breakfasts in their homes. After a lively debate, the bed-and-breakfast measure lost, 4 to 1.

Since joining the Republican ticket, Palin has faced questions about whether she is qualified to be vice president or, if necessary, president. In response, the first-term Alaska governor and Sen. John McCain point to the executive qualifications she acquired as Wasilla mayor, a six-year stint from 1996 to 2002 that represents the bulk of her political experience.

Palin says her time as mayor taught her how to be a leader and grounded her in the real needs of voters, and her tenure revealed some of the qualities she would later display as governor: a striving ambition, a willingness to cut loose those perceived as disloyal and a populist brand of social and pro-growth conservatism.

Read more http://tinyurl.com/5vahfj

BREAKING NEWS: US-NATO AIR STRIKES ARE KILLING CIVILIANS IN AFGHANISTAN

WASHINGTON -- Ramped-up U.S. and NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan are causing an increased civilian death toll, raising concerns about the fallout from civilian deaths on the war effort against the Taliban insurgency, according to a major new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released here Monday.

Report: U.S.-NATO Airtrikes Over Afghanistan Are Killing Innocent Civilians

By Ali Gharib, IPS NewsPosted on September 12, 2008, Printed on September 14, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/98619/

The 43-page report, "Troops in Contact: Airstrikes and Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan," warned that the cost in civilian casualties caused by the increase in bombings goes well beyond the loss of human life and could put the nearly seven-year U.S.-NATO war effort at risk.

"The harm caused by airstrikes is not limited to the immediate civilian casualties," said the report, which also cited the destruction of homes and property and the displacement of their civilian occupants caused by the bombing.

"Civilian deaths from airstrikes act as a recruiting tool for the Taliban and risk fatally undermining the international effort to provide basic security to the people of Afghanistan," said Brad Adams, HRW's Asia director of HRW.

BUFFALO NEWS: PALIN ACCUSED OF LYING OVER STATED VISIT TO IRAQ

Lt. Col. Dave Osborn, commander of the 3d Battalion, 207th Infantry of the Alaska National Guard, who was in charge of the 570 local troops serving in Kuwait and Iraq, said Palin did not cross into Iraq.

“You have to have permission to go into a lot of areas, and [the crossing] is where her permissions were,” Osborn told the newspaper Friday.


Palin accused of lying over stated Iraq visit

By Glen Johnson - ASSOCIATED PRESSUpdated: 09/14/08 6:58 AM
http://www.buffalonews.com/nationalworld/national/story/438736.html

WASHINGTON — The question of whether Sarah Palin has ever been to Iraq pushed Obama aides Saturday to accuse the McCain campaign of outright lies, distortions and distractions to the American people.

Since Republican presidential nominee John McCain tapped the Alaska governor to be his running mate on Aug. 29, questions about her experience have been fueled by her relatively brief tenure in office, as well as a dearth of foreign travel.

Palin made a well-documented trip to Kuwait and Germany last year to visit U. S. troops, and over time, the governor and her staff have revealed she also visited Canada and Mexico.

Meanwhile, her aides clarified that a purported visit to Ireland was little more than a refueling stop during her trip to the Middle East.

On Saturday, a Palin aide told the Associated Press the governor also set foot in Iraq during her July 2007 trip to see members of the Alaska National Guard, although the campaign has not emphasized it since the visit was brief.

The aide, who demanded anonymity before answering the question, said Palin visited a “military outpost” on the Iraq side of the Kuwait/Iraq border.

That answer appears to contradict one provided to the Boston Globe, which reported Saturday that McCain-Palin aides had twice revised their description of Palin’s visit to Iraq.

The newspaper said unnamed aides initially explained that Palin had visited a “military outpost” inside Iraq. The Globe said campaign aides and members of the Alaska National Guard subsequently explained that she did not venture beyond the Iraq/Kuwait border when she visited the Khabari Alawazem Crossing on July 25, 2007.

VIDEO: JOHN McCAIN'S WANDERING EYES---McCAIN LEAVES NO DOUBT HE IS A BUTT MAN AS HE GAPES AT SARAH PALIN'S POSTERIOR

This video explains why so little vetting of Sarah Palin was done. All John McCain had to know about Sarah is she has a great butt. In this video, McCain can't take his eyes off Sarah Palin's posterior while McCain is seen twisting his wedding ring.

Check out Cindy McCain standing behind her husband. If looks could kill.....

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/1RN5xbWtNSU&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN CENTER OF PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

IRAQ: VIOLENCE IS DOWN, BUT NOT BECAUSE OF AMERICA'S "SURGE"

If fewer US troops and Iraqis are being killed, it is only because the Shia community and Iran now dominate

By Patrick CockburnSunday, 14 September 2008

http://tinyurl.com/5tgp9d

As he leaves Iraq this week, the outgoing US commander, General David Petraeus, is sounding far less optimistic than the Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, about the American situation in Iraq. General Petraeus says that it remains "fragile", recent security gains are "not irreversible" and "this is not the sort of struggle where you take a hill, plant the flag and go home to a victory parade... it's not a war with a simple slogan."

Compare this with Sarah Palin's belief that "victory in Iraq is wholly in sight" and her criticism of Barack Obama for not using the word "victory". The Republican contenders have made these claims of success for the "surge" – the American reinforcements sent last year – although they are demonstrably contradicted by the fact that the US has to keep more troops, some 138,000, in Iraq today than beforehand. Another barometer of the true state of security in Iraq is the inability of the 4.7 million refugees, one in six of the population, who fled for their lives inside and outside Iraq, to return to their homes.

Ongoing violence is down, but Iraq is still the most dangerous country in the world. On Friday a car bomb exploded in the Shia market town of Dujail, north of Baghdad, killing 32 people and wounding 43 others. "The smoke filled my house and the shrapnel broke some of the windows," said Hussein al-Dujaili. "I went outside the house and saw two dead bodies at the gate which had been thrown there by the explosion. Some people were in panic and others were crying."

Playing down such killings, the Iraqi government and the US have launched a largely successful propaganda campaign to convince the world that "things are better" in Iraq and that life is returning to normal. One Iraqi journalist recorded his fury at watching newspapers around the world pick up a story that the world's largest Ferris wheel was to be built in Baghdad, a city where there is usually only two hours of electricity a day.

Continue reading: http://tinyurl.com/5tgp9d

AN IRAQ WAR VET SPEAKS OUT ABOUT SARAH PALIN: "I CAN'T STAND HER IGNORANCE."

This article comes from Brandon Friedman, an Iraq War veteran who writes for Veterans Voice http://www.vetvoice.com/and expresses what many of us who are veterans feel about Sarah Palin.


I Can't Deal with Sarah Palin's Ignorance

by: Brandon Friedman
http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1883

Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 16:21:05 PM EDT

I've pretty much been stunned into silence the last couple of days with regard to Sarah Palin. I've had several people ask me to weigh in from a military perspective on her confounding lack of foreign policy knowledge, but thus far, I've literally been at a loss for words.

There's just too much material.

I wanted to blast her saber rattling over Russia--as Ilan Goldenberg did so eloquently. But when I started writing, I found that the only way to really combat such an insane suggestion would be to break out dry, straightforward facts and figures on why such talk could prove disastrous.

Saying that Sarah Palin could potentially start a nuclear war just seemed too clichéd.

I wanted to skewer her for equating 9/11 with the Iraq War--as she did yesterday while speaking to troops in Alaska. But I figured that wouldn't resonate, because--after six years--we're all so desensitized to hearing the same accusations about the Bush administration. Plus, as of last year, 41 percent of Americans believed it anyway.

I was amazed that a Vice Presidential candidate like Palin could have no idea what the Bush Doctrine was--even though it's why we went to Iraq in the first place. But I mentally deflated when I thought about the fact that most Americans probably don't know what it is, either.

To Joe or Jane America, her answer probably sounded fine.

So I'm left sputtering--like much of America, horrified by the prospect that this national nightmare of ignorance could continue for another four years unabated.

Brandon Friedman :: I Can't Deal with Sarah Palin's Ignorance

VIDEO: WATCH AS McCAIN ATTEMPTS TO DEFEND PALIN

This video is an example of how the mainstream media should be asking questions of John McCain instead of the disgusting way the mainstream press is letting Sen. John McCain off the hook.

WATCH VIDEO INTV OF JOHN McCAIN HERE:

http://www.wcsh6.com/video/default.aspx?maven_playerId=immersiveplayer&maven_referralObject=850878100

WHY SOLDIERS RAPE

An alarming number of women soldiers are being sexually abused by their comrades-in-arms, both at war and at home. This fact has received a fair amount of attention lately from researchers and the press -- and deservedly so.

But the attention always focuses on the women: where they were when assaulted, their relations with the assailant, the effects on their mental health and careers, whether they are being adequately helped, and so on.

That discussion, as valuable as it is, misses a fundamental point. To understand military sexual assault, let alone know how to stop it, we must focus on the perpetrators. We need to ask:

Why do soldiers rape?

By Helen Benedict, In These TimesPosted on September 13, 2008, Printed on September 13, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/98603/

Editor's note: This article is adapted from "The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq," to be published by Beacon Press in April 2009.


Rape in civilian life is already unacceptably common. One in six women is raped or sexually assaulted in her lifetime, according to the National Institute of Justice, a number so high it should be considered an epidemic.

In the military, however, the situation is even worse. Rape is almost twice as frequent as it is among civilians, especially in wartime. Soldiers are taught to regard one another as family, so military rape resembles incest. And most of the soldiers who rape are older and of higher rank than their victims, so are taking advantage of their authority to attack the very people they are supposed to protect.

Department of Defense reports show that nearly 90 percent of rape victims in the Army are junior-ranking women, whose average age is 21, while most of the assailants are non-commissioned officers or junior men, whose average age is 28.

This sexual violence persists in spite of strict laws against rape in the military and a concerted Pentagon effort in 2005 to reform procedures for reporting the crime. Unfortunately, neither the press nor the many teams of psychologists and sociologists who study veterans ever seem to ask why.

Read more here http://www.alternet.org/story/98603/

WASHINGTON POST: STRIP OF IRAQ 'ON VERGE OF EXPLODING'

Kurds Extend Role Beyond Autonomous Borders, Angering Arabs

By Amit R. PaleyWashington Post Foreign ServiceSaturday, September 13, 2008; A01

http://tinyurl.com/4j9n82

JALAWLA, Iraq -- Kurdish leaders have expanded their authority over a roughly 300-mile-long swath of territory beyond the borders of their autonomous region in northern Iraq, stationing thousands of soldiers in ethnically mixed areas in what Iraqi Arabs see as an encroachment on their homelands.

The assertion of greater Kurdish control, which has taken hold gradually since the war began and caused tens of thousands of Arabs to flee their homes, is viewed by Iraqi Arab and U.S. officials as a provocative and potentially destabilizing action.


"Quickly moving into those areas to try and change the population and flying KRG flags in areas that are specifically not under the KRG control right now -- that is counterproductive and increases tensions," said Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, referring to the Kurdistan Regional Government, which administers the autonomous region.

The long-cherished dream of many of the world's 25 million ethnic Kurds is an independent state that encompasses parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. All but Iraq adamantly oppose Kurdish autonomy, much less a Kurdish state. Iraqi Kurds continue to insist they are not seeking independence, even as they unilaterally expand the territory they control in Iraq.

VIDEO: JOHN McCAIN'S WANDERING EYES---McCAIN LEAVES NO DOUBT HE IS A BUTT MAN

This video explains why so little vetting of Sarah Palin was done. All John McCain had to know about Sarah is she has a great butt. In this video, McCain can't take his eyes off Sarah Palin's butt.

Check out Cindy McCain standing behind her husband. If looks could kill.....

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/1RN5xbWtNSU&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN CENTER OF PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

PALIN USED TO CHARGE RAPE VICTIMS FOR RAPE EXAMS WHEN SHE WAS MAYOR

When Sarah Palin was mayor, Wasilla used to charge rape victims for their forensic exams. It's abhorrent, especially when you note that as mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin had no problem raising money to build a sports center, but drew the line at paying for rape exams.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

But there are two points that are worth underscoring. First, this would have been bad enough if it was just a matter of being decent to women who have been raped. But it's not. Unless the police catch the guy in the act, forensic exams provide some of the best evidence against a rapist.

Not collecting this evidence means significantly lowering your chances of convicting the man who did it. That means that the people who pay for this idiotic policy are not just the rape victims whose tests are not done, but any women their rapists might go on to rape in the future.

Not collecting the evidence that would put rapists behind bars means more rape victims in the future.

You'd think that $5,000 to $14,000 a year would be a small price to pay for putting violent sex offenders behind bars. Apparently, Sarah Palin disagrees.

Second, Alaska had to ban this practice in order to qualify for funding under the Violence Against Women Act, which was, of course, sponsored by Joe Biden:

"SEC. 3262. RAPE EXAM PAYMENTS.
(a) No State or other grantee is entitled to funds under title XXXII of the Violence Against Women Act of 1993 unless the State or other grantee incurs the full cost of forensic medical exams for victims of sexual assault. A State or other grantee does not incur the full medical cost of forensic medical exams if it chooses to reimburse the victim after the fact unless the reimbursement program waives any minimum loss or deductible requirement, provides victim reimbursement within a reasonable time (90 days), permits applications for reimbursement within one year from the date of the exam, and provides information to all subjects of forensic medical exams about how to obtain reimbursement.

(b) Within 90 days after the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Victims of Crime shall propose regulations to implement this section, detailing qualified programs. Such regulations shall specify the type and form of information to be provided victims, including provisions for multilingual information, where appropriate."

One Vice Presidential nominee turned her back on past and future rape victims. Another was looking out for them.

Oh, and guess who voted against the Violence Against Women Act? John McCain.

I used to work in battered women's shelters. I knew women whose husbands stabbed them all over with dinner forks, women whose husbands used to asphyxiate them for fun, women whose husbands ran over them four times, backwards and forwards, with a truck, and kids who managed to find the presence of mind to run to the nearest house and call the police while their father was trying to bash their mothers' heads in on the sidewalk -- unfortunately, all real examples. So even without the part about requiring funding for rape exams, that vote makes me very, very, very angry.

LATEST U.S. CASUALTY REPORTS FROM IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

The following is a list of the latest causualty reports from Iraq and Afghanistan. Click on the name of the GI for more information.

Casualty Reports:Army 1st Lt. Brian Brennan, 23, lost his legs to amputation and suffers from an acute brain injury. He was critically injured while on a mission in the 2nd Platoon Delta Company, 506th Infantry Division, 101st Airborne, patrolling villages in Afghanistan. According to information provided by his family, "On March 20, improvised explosive devices blew up the Humvee in which Brian was riding, splitting the vehicle in half and hurling Brian and the driver, Spc. Ryan Price of California, a distance of 40 feet in separate directions. The second explosion killed the three young men in the back of the Humvee."

Corporal Mark Sutcliffe, from Peterborough, who has served in conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone lost his left leg in a terrorist attack.

Charles "Chas" Shaffer, 23, had his right leg amputated above the knee as a result of the blast that hit the armored vehicle he was driving on Aug. 31. Shaffer also suffered shrapnel injuries to his left leg as well as bruises to his lungs. After the attack, Shaffer, a combat engineer with the U.S. Army, was flown to Landstuhl, Germany, for treatment."They had to do several clean-up surgeries on his left leg, but I guess he's doing as well as can be expected given the circumstances," said Charles "Chip" Shaffer, the 23-year-old soldier's father, who is currently in Washington with his son. "The good news is that the left leg is going to be OK. He was on a ventilator until Saturday when they were finally able to take him off it. He'll be in intensive care for a couple of more days.

Source: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

WASHINGTON POST: PALIN LINKS IRAQ TO 9/11 IN TALK TO TROOPS IN ALASKA

This is now at the stage that it is frightening.

Sarah Palin earlier on Thursday told a group of troops in Alaska that are being deployed to Iraq that Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Palin also met with ABC's Charley Gibson and said the U.S. should go to war with Russia if Russia attacks any NATO country.

We are not making this stuff up.

Palin Links Iraq to Sept. 11 In Talk to Troops in Alaska

By Anne E. KornblutWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, September 12, 2008; A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/11/AR2008091103789.html

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Sept. 11 -- Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans."

The idea that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda plan the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a view once promoted by Bush administration officials, has since been rejected even by the president himself. But it is widely agreed that militants allied with al-Qaeda have taken root in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion.

"America can never go back to that false sense of security that came before September 11, 2001," she said at the deployment ceremony, which drew hundreds of military families who walked from their homes on the sprawling post to the airstrip where the service was held.

Continue reading here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/11/AR2008091103789.html

SUICIDE ATTEMPTS FOR VETS JUMPS 500% IN FIVE YEARS, AND GOVERNMENT IGNORES IT

This year, in recognition of National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 7-13), the Army chose the theme "Shoulder-to-Shoulder: No Soldier Stands Alone," "to emphasize the strength of the Army Family when it works together to tackle tough problems."

By Penny Coleman, AlterNetPosted on September 11, 2008, Printed on September 11, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/98315/

It has not been a good week for the Army Family in spite of the special attention.

On Sept. 8, an altercation between a 22-year-old Fort Hood soldier and his commanding officer, a 24-year-old lieutenant, ended when the soldier first shot and killed his officer and then turned his gun on himself. Both were assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, which had returned from a 15-month tour in Iraq in December. The division is currently in training to redeploy back to Iraq this winter for another 12 months -- which in all probability will turn out to be the as good an explanation as any for the tragedy.

Then on Sept. 9, a VA report acknowledged that suicide rates for young male Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans hit a record high in 2006, the last year for which official records are available. Last week, the Portland Tribune reported that in 2005, the last year for which complete Oregon data has been compiled, 19 Oregon soldiers died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. That same year, 153 Oregon veterans of all ages, serving in various wars, committed suicide.

After five years of war in Iraq, Marine suicides doubled between 2006 and 2007, and Army suicides are at the highest level since records were first kept in 1980. Reported suicide attempts jumped 500 percent between 2002 and 2007.

Continue reading this shocking story here: http://www.alternet.org/story/98315/

WASHINGTON POST: WHAT BUSH DIDN'T TELL AMERICANS ABOUT COALITION FORCES IN IRAQ

Most Members of Iraq Coalition Preparing to Pull Up Stakes

By Michael AbramowitzWashington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 10, 2008; A03

http://tinyurl.com/6xl4q8

The Coalition of the Willing appears to be going out of business.

President Bush tucked a little extra news yesterday into a speech largely devoted to informing the public that he plans to withdraw 8,000 more troops from Iraq: He also announced that most of the countries that have been partnering with the United States in Iraq over the past five years will be pulling their troops out as well.

"Australia has withdrawn its battle group, the Polish contingent is set to redeploy shortly, and many more coalition nations will be able to conclude their deployments to Iraq this year -- thanks to the skill of their troops and the success of their missions," Bush said in a speech to the National Defense University.

The presence of other countries in Iraq, even if the troop contribution was modest, has long been used by the Bush administration as a way of deflecting criticism that its actions in Iraq were "unilateral." Now, Bush is portraying their departure as a sign of "return on success," his policy of bringing home troops as conditions improve in Iraq.

It's also a sign that the U.N. mandate permitting foreign troops to operate in Iraq expires at the end of the year. Any country that remains will have to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the Iraqi government, as the United States is now trying to do.

According to Bush, 41 countries -- and more than 140,000 foreign troops -- have participated in the Iraq conflict, but that number has been dwindling for some time. The Web site for Multi-National Force-Iraq says there are 21 countries still participating in the war effort in addition to the United States, including such contributors as Australia, Japan, Britain, Albania and Estonia.

A senior administration official, briefing reporters on background about Bush's speech, said the number of coalition members will shrink to a "handful" in the next few months. He declined to say which countries will remain, saying that decision should be up to the Iraqi government to announce. After the United States, which has 146,000 troops in Iraq now, the British have the largest remaining foreign presence, with about 4,000 troops, he said.

Australia has about 1,000 troops and Poland has 900 troops, but they will be drawing down, as Bush said. "We're going to reshape the coalition," said the senior administration official.

VIDEO; CNN'S MICHAEL WARE: "McCAIN HAS NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON IN IRAQ"

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) constantly touts his support of the “surge” of U.S. troops in Iraq, how it has “succeeded” and that “we are winning in Iraq.” Last night on CNN, Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware took issue with McCain’s concept of “winning” and said if McCain’s believes that increasing troops was the only factor in reducing violence in Iraq, “then he has no idea what is going on” there.

WATCH VIDEO HERE;

http://www.youtube.com/v/P04vq7Dz_eI&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

NEW VIDEO: WHAT HAPPENED IN SADR CITY

The Real News Network and Alive In Baghdad produced this illuminating video which tells what happened in the Sadr City neighborhood in Baghdad after U.S. forces moved into the area.

Several civilians talk about what happened and how the U.S. forces virtually destroyed their city.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2275