Countdown's Bushed!: Through The Looking Glass Edition
By Nicole Belle Tuesday Jul 01, 2008 3:00pm
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I've alternated between calling life under the Bush administration as some Carrollian absurdity and an Orwellian nightmare. Turns out that we in the liberal blogosphere aren't the only ones making some literary allusions.
First up in our ever-growing list of scandals is Halliburton subsidiary KBR, who will finally be subject to an investigation and hearing over 13 electrocutions deaths in their facilities in Iraq. Despite being notified that the electrical system was not grounded in the shower area way back in 2004, Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth died in January of this year from the improper grounding of the water pump in his barracks. Maseth's family is suing KBR civilly for their negligence in maintaining the facilities for the Department of Defense.
Next scandal du jour comes from an ex-22 year CIA veteran, suing the Bush adminstration to declassify documents that show that they were deliberately suppressing information that he provided that Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Told on five occasions to falsify his report or not to file it at all, the agent, who is fluent in Farsi and Arabic (because those aren't valuable skills in Bush's War on Terror™), was fired, after several attempts to discredit him turned up nothing. Out of curiosity, how many times do we have to have experts tell us the Bush administration is wrong about Iran's nuclear designs before the media stops furthering that narrative?
And finally, we have Huzaifa Parhat, a Chinese-born Muslim who has been detained at Guantanamo for more than six years. The heavily censored judicial review has become public and the Fed's case against Parhat was so flimsy--citing the same source multiple times, the accusations based on "bare and unverifiable" claims that even the judicial panel was compelled to cite Lewis Carroll's nonsensical poem, The Hunting of the Snark:
''We are not persuaded,'' the panel wrote.
"Lewis Carroll notwithstanding, the fact that the government has 'said it thrice' does not make an allegation true.''
Then for the sake of clarity, it disclosed its source:
Through the Looking-Glass author Lewis Carroll's 1876 poem called The Hunting of the Snark, an account of an absurd international voyage by a 10-member crew whose names all begin with `B.'
They include a baker, a beaver, a bellman and a barrister. The ruling went so far as to quote the relevant line, I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true.
Despite this slapdown, the Justice Department has not decided how to move forward with Parhat.
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The PRC government has been treating the Muslim Uighurs worse than the Tibetans for just as long as Tibet has been under occupation. Where's the outrage? If what the PRC does in Tibet to Vajrayana Buddhists is a crime, then so is what it does to Central Asian Muslims. If some people who comment want to complain about the evils of the PRC, they get my blessing, but even as evil as the PRC's oppression of the Uighurs is, the fact that the Bush Administration has been helping the PRC in all likelihood show the average Han that those funny nomads are against them and worship Allah is even worse. It's perfect propaganda to point to a member of an ethnic group you're trying to destroy and point to a member of that group held by another nation for crimes.
Bush's Administration has been doing something unethical, I'd even call it evil, here.
they could have pictures and eye witness testimony from nelson mandella that bush and cheney were kidnapping
and eating girl scouts and they would not be punished. pelosi would ignore the evidence and bust the investigator for kiddie porn!
Speaking of Thru the Looking Glass, heres a nice one:
"Federal Court Dismisses Maher Arar Lawsuit
In other news, a federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Maher Arar, the Syrian-born Canadian citizen who was seized by U.S. officials at Kennedy Airport in New York and rendered to Syria where he was tortured, interrogated and detained in a tiny underground cell for nearly a year. The appeals court ruled that Arar was never technically inside the United States so his claims could not be heard in federal courts. Judge Robert Sack issued a scathing dissent and said the argument that Arar was never in the United States was a “legal fiction.” In a statement Arar described the court’s decision as outrageous. He said "It basically legitimizes what was done to me, and permits the government to use immigration law as a disguise to send people to torture without regard for due process.”
With all due respect Nicole it is more proper to suggest that Iran has suspended it's nuclear weapons program. The plants still exist and can be reactivated any time. I do not believe that they never had such a program for the simple reason that a country awash in gas and oil had to need to pursue enrichment technology. They could simply have signed on to international monitoring and purchased a complete advanced reactor system and fuel from several different sources. There may no longer be any fire here but there was sufficient smoke to warrant a good look.
earl @ 3:
The Maher Arar case is one of the ugliest things the US has done, in addition to things like the Parhat case. Much US action here in this GWOT betrays the sort of arrogance across the world the USSR displayed in the Warsaw Pact.
Peter G @ 4:
If people had bothered to do their research, they'dve known Ayatollah Khameini has forbidden the use of nuclear energy for weapons purposes. He holds the actual power in Iran, so even if there had been fire, any enterprising Persian or Qashquai that had violated the rules laid out by the Ayatollah probably would have had a little...accident.
"Out of curiosity, how many times do we have to have experts tell us the Bush administration is wrong about Iran’s nuclear designs before the media stops furthering that narrative?"
ask obama...
he's already using iran's 'nuclear ambitions' as a scapegoat
to allow the spying on citizens to continue.
General_Rennenkampf @ 5:
It's one of the ugliest things the US has done.....that we know about. God only knows how many similar cases are out there that haven't come to light yet.
pissed off patricia @ 8:
Yes, indeed. I think the Administration had best remember that treating most of the world like a glorified colonial empire ruined the last people who tried it. Looking at the economic situation in the UK after the fall of the Empire...
I'm not so sure they understand that most of the UK's problems have come from colonialism, not despite it.
I had a dream about Bush last night....me and him were chillin...and though I don't remember much about the dream, I do remember that he seemed smaller than I imagined he would be...and he was kinda actin like a spoiled kid used to getting his way, that just found out that everything does not, in fact, revolve around him, and was sad about it.
Sad because he no longer was able to get whatever he wanted...not because he'd been bad...then I woke up.
Does that mean I hate America?
Read General Taguba's report on Abu Ghraib if you're interested in learning about the ugliest thing we have done. Raping and torturing kids in front of their parents tops the list in my opinion.
We are now officially the nazi's.
General_Rennenkampf @ 6:
And yet the scale of the centrifuge arrays that they proposed (and publicly announced) that they would build vastly exceeded what was necessary for the moderate enrichment needed for nuclear power plants of any design. They have suspended the construction of those plants and retain only pilot plant scale operations. It may be true that Khameini was instrumental in that decision but to clarify he did not say that the possession of those weapons was wrong merely the use of them and that is a familiar justification indeed.
halliburton and kbr......no-bid contracts, over charging for services, immunity from any crimes employees may be involved in(rape,selling weapons),avoid taxation.......
just in your face policy and what are you going to do about it..........bush doesn't have to answer for one thing
Unfortunately for the family of the electrocuted soldier, Bush CYA'd all the contractors before we went into Iraq.
Bush signed an Executive Order in either '02 or '03, (I think its Executive Order #13303), that flatly stated that ALL Americans, individuals and corporations, were completely immune from prosecution - no matter what they do. And that includes whether they do it to Iraqis or other Americans.
I'll garuntee that lawyers representing the Federal government will file an amicus brief denying the plaintiffs right to sue on the grounds that the defendants are immune from prosecution.
Besides which, active duty soldiers are government property. They and their families have no legal recourse against anything that happens to them while on active duty, especially on an American military installation.
Sad but true.
Peter G @ 12:
pffft @ 11:
@ Peter G: Yes, Khameini stated the use of them was wrong, which is a wise move considering the ever-trigger happy Israeli Army-of-the-400-nukes. Had he not, Israel would have already bombed, and likely expanded the war.
@Pffft: No, the Nazis did things a little differently when they tortured. Nobody spoke up about the crimes, they gloried in them and would brag about them. We speak up, and we condemn them. Nobody would have spoken up negatively in Hitler's Germany.
We must have the stupidest military of all ages, Do they even know the money they make patrolling and occupying Iraq and Afganistan is blood money.
General_Rennenkampf @ 9:
And people wonder why the Canadian Government has the US on its list of countries that are dangerous for Canadian citizens to travel to.......
Rush to War @ 16:
judging by this comment, we might have the stupidest citizenry.
rooth honky cracker hussein @ 17:
I don't we invaded you guys in 1812, after all. ;)
George W. Bush could get caught with Dick's dick in his mouth and the media would be up in arms about (I'm just spitballing here folks) that Obama kissed two different girls in high school.
General@15 I concur that that is almost certainly the reason that the program was suspended. Given the rhetoric coming out of that mouthpiece Ahmadinejad I wouldn't blame them.
What I found interesting was a conversation with my sister this weekend. She's a Staff Sargent in the Army, on leave between duty stations. She was in Germany for the last 3 years. We were discussing the all things military as we often do (I was an Corporal in the Marine Corps).
One thing that came up that is relevant to this post, and still gets me angry. She never heard or read a report of the electrocution deaths due to faulty wiring while she was stationed in Germany. Censorship at it's best...
The topic came up because of our mutual hatred for contractors and hiring civilians to perform duties that were once performed by people in the service. We can't figure out what is to be gained, other than profit for cronies, by providing diminished service at higher costs
Hey Nancy, you C**T, wake the fuck up! Unless, of ocurse, you have something really nasty in that closet.
Peter G @ 21:
Yes, but Ahmadinejad is less popular than Bush and probably thinks a war would do wonders for his next election.
The situation between the secular US and the theocratic Iranian government is so similar it almost boggles the mind.
http://digg.com/world_news/U_S_already_at_war_with_Iran
Would you believe we're already at war with Iran?
"President Gerald Ford signed a directive in 1976 offering Tehran the chance to buy and operate a U.S.-built reprocessing facility for extracting plutonium from nuclear reactor fuel. The deal was for a complete 'nuclear fuel cycle'."[15] At the time, Richard Cheney was the White House Chief of Staff, and Donald Rumsfeld was the Secretary of Defense. The Ford strategy paper said the "introduction of nuclear power will both provide for the growing needs of Iran's economy and free remaining oil reserves for export or conversion to petrochemicals."
rooth honky cracker hussein @ 17:
I'm sorry but this is not true. There is no official warning regarding travel to the U.S. beyond a listing of entry documents required. http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=308000
General_Rennenkampf @ 24:
That is the best reason I can think of for leaving them to sort out their own politics. They will unite against a common threat but without that threat Ahmadinejad looks totally ineffectual.
General_Rennenkampf @ 24:
We're secular? When did this happen?
McCain is McBush, now more than ever. Rovian protege and doughy clone Steve Schmidt takes over McTaint's campaign.
What's next? Cindy buying a ranch out in Crawford??
StirFry @ 30:
we better be on our toes no sleeping at the switch the NEOCONS are going to put this in high gear/smear strategy....they are close to achieving their goals obama is in the way.......now there is chatter that cheney is rationalizing attacking iran because we will be blamed for it anyways......this is nothing short of a nightmare...i think most of us are numb and some are dumb....scary
ThunderMonkey @ 29:
Peter G @ 28:
@ Peter G.: Yep. The US is giving him everything he needs to grow more popular and powerful if we invade. It would be an EPIC FAIL to invade Iran, to use Netspeak.
@ Thundermonkey: Cute, but not funny. We became secular after the ratification of the 1st Amendment. If the Theocratic Right doesn't like it, this Christian says to them "Go take a nice jump off that big waterfall on the Canadian border." The last thing the US needs is for the Christian Fascists to try to create a super-Geneva.
karl @ 31:
The parazoid schizophrenia prevalent in the current WH must be eliminated.
Dr. Acula @ 33:
I'm in. What's the plan?
Thanks Nicole. I had never read The Hunting of the Snark, so I have spent the last hour or so reading it online. It's fun to read.
Exotic Blue Lensman @ 34:
Count me in!
Clandestine activities by the US against Iran are not new, but the scale and the scope of the operations, involving the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command, have now been expanded, according to current and former officials quoted by Hersh.
"Senior Democrats in Congress told me that they had concerns about the possibility that their understanding of what the new operations entail differs from the White House's," the article says.
At a time when Israeli officials and experts have been raising the prospect of a military strike against Iran before it fully masters the technology of enriching uranium to weapons grade, The New Yorker also highlighted resistance by the US military to bombing Iran. "The Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose chairman is Admiral Mike Mullen, were 'pushing back very hard' against White House pressure to undertake a military strike against Iran," the article says.
this administration lies to the legislative branch.....i don't think people realize what this paper thin majority congress is up against...they were had six years of shxt and now their suppose create miracles with a president who turns it's back on the legislative branch...signing statements,veto,filibuster, trying to blame gas prices on this congress is nothing short of ridiculous...wow so much of this is the theatre of the absurd
cheney wants this fight.....four u.s. bases on iraqi/iran border
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=61437§ionid=351020201
Exotic Blue Lensman @ 34:
That's the $64 TRILLION question!
maybe this?
http://www.vanityfair.com/poli.....ideo200808
clark trumped charlie black's comment about what a terror attack would do for mcBush....NEOCONS don't like it he had balls to give that opinion......and obama did the right thing......he knew how it would play out...the(R)
wanted obama to agree with clark..he knows this nasty linguistic game...know the counter move before the opposition makes that move
republican = insanity!
Killing soldiers aids the enemy.
Giving the enemy aid is one of the few truly treasonous actions (down in section 3) laid out in that GDPoP (aka the Constitution)
It is overt because the shoddy work was specifically allowed by KBR to increase profits. Any war profiteering, by implication, could be considered treason, IMO, because money taken away from the armed forces aids the enemy by reducing the amount of materiel available to the troops. A soldier caught being paid to destroy medical supplies, armor, ammunition, etc would surely be prosecuted for treason.
The corporate "citizen" KBR must be put on trial and, if found guilty, executed.
E Pleb Neesta
GODISNOWHERE
Blessed are the cheese makers.
K.O. lost me after the ridiculous non-condemnation condemnation of B.O.s cave on FISA.
Good night now, Keith.
Hey marko/ I've been using the analogy of roasting babies on their desk and nothing happening. Your eating girl scouts is good but love your pelosi investigating the whistle blower for kiddy porn. Nice touch
I love Keith's show, and the Bushed! series is consistently one of the best parts of every broadcast. BUT.....all too many of these Bushed! bits cry out for more in-depth coverage. Since the rest of MSNBC's programming consists of endless political rumination, why does Keith have to spend the first 10 or 15 minutes of every show obsessing over McCain's and Obama's every inhalation and exhalation with the same old tired faces and tell us more about the actual war, these electrocutions, etc. etc.
jnratliff @ 42:
No: Neo-Conservative/Neo-Liberal=Insanity. Republican/Democrat= weak-minded party-follower.
I’ve alternated between calling life under the Bush administration as some Carrollian absurdity and an Orwellian nightmare
Sorry, but what about Kafka? You cant have Gitmo without Kafka.
Dr. Acula @ 40:
Link was truncated....but was it Hitchens getting waterboarded?
Johnny2Bad @ 44:
Good night 2bad........you won't be missed.
I wonder if the sudden resignation of the Pentagon's Inspector General, another die-hard Republican ideologue, has anything to do with the electrocutions of all of these soldiers since 2004 due to faulty KBR wiring in shower stalls?
Any competent, non-criminal Inspector General would have been on this case from the beginning, making certain that no more of our soldiers would die due to faulty wiring, instead of an Inspector General apparently covering up for a company with links to the Vice President.
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