White blogule to The Best War Ever - Lies, damned lies, and the mess in Iraq

Spread the news folks. The actual news, not the Weapons of Mass Disinformation you've been carpetbombed with for years. If you really believe Lobby Dick when he tells you the US "War on terror" is making the world a safer place and insurgency in Iraq is reaching its "last throes", it's high time for you to activate your brain.
The truth is Iraq is about to collapse and US troops' main mission these days is to prevent this from happening before the mid-term elections. If they manage not to collapse themselves, that is (read the interesting Newsweek paper on the morale of the troops in Baghdad - "Straight to the Heart" - 20060918).
The truth is this war has always been about lies from the Bush Administration, and if you want to understand the propaganda campaign that led to it, you definitely have to read "The Best War Ever"*, by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton who already brought us "Weapons of Mass Deception" or "Banana Republicans".
And remember : if you really want to wake up to the sound of soundness and rediscover a propaganda-free world, the closest thing to a safe haven you can find on the web remains PR Watch / The Center for Media and Democracy, where Sheldon, John and friends are working hard to make this world a truly better place.
America's worst historical mistakes in the past 20 years were this war on Iraq and the 2004 (re)election of George W. Bush. Both happened because the people of America was deliberately kept in the dark by a bunch of liars. You cannot let them go away with it this time again. Read, talk, donate to the CMD and don't forget to activate your brain before voting.

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* also available in France through Amazon : "The Best War Ever".

Red blogule to Stephen Sackur - HARDtalk but softBRAIN

Yesterday's HARDtalk featured a stimulating cast with interesting things to say (Tariq Ramadan, Joseph E. Stiglitz and a brilliant professor from Harvard I never heard of before but would be pleased to hear more often).

Unfortunately, Stephen Sackur kept interrupting each one of them each time they reached the climax of their sentences, as if to deny them the right to oppose the official propaganda. Instead of a journalist, I saw an ambitious man with the pretention of being smarter than his hosts but only reciting the irrelevant and worn out brief from the Bush Administration.

And yes, even if there was no link watsoever between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 in the first place, you cannot dissociate the mess in Iraq from the aftermath of 9/1.

I wish these 3 people had been interviewed by the genuine BBC journalist who had, just a few minutes later, a chat with a scaringly diminished Dan Rather.

Red blogule to the Commander in Thief - The Architect is back

Yes, the Bush camp can still win the 2006 elections. After all, Ken Mehlman remains an ace and Karl Rove the ultimate opponent-destroying-propaganda machine.

The aim of the game, as usual, is to steal the elections by counterfighting where you're supposed to be the weakest. Iraq, for example, about which the Dems are considering the pros and cons of a withdrawal, exposing themselves to an intense guerilla from "Turd Blossom". I wish they instead made clear in the minds of the public the most vital thing for the US is to withdraw from the Bush doctrine. First behave well, then act responsively, sane decisions will come naturally. And they propably won't include a withdrawal of all troops anytime soon. The least America must do is to fix the damage Bush's Amerika has done.

For the moment, the "flip flop" specter is hovering above the Democrats, and Karl will very likely have Bush talk as the boss in charge : we've been waging a nasty war that's true, but we nailed most of 'em bastards and we proved bein' tough could prevent new attacks on our soil. You have the power to decide ; to be either with us or with them - not them Dems, but them terrorist thugs.

The truth should be exposed : right after 9/11, terrorists were the only bad guys around and the whole world was supporting the US, expecting a responsible answer from a model democracy - but this excuse for an Administration managed to damage the image of democracy so badly the US are now considered a rogue state and terrorists heroes. Not only did the US invite terrorists where they weren't (Iraq), they made the World a much less safer place by fueling terror, fanatism and hatred all across the world.

The US need a strong administration all right, but should remain a model democracy as well : you have the choice between supporting fascists and fundamentalists on one hand (those ruling the country these days as well as the terrorists, their supposed enemies), and restoring the values that made America respected on the other (all you have to do is to get rid of these madhatters).

Red blogule to Amerika's "Freedom Agenda"

I listened to Dubya's I have a dream press conference yesterday. It's good to hear again about the need for an independant and free Palestine, but it's getting harder and harder to stand this voice and that surrealistic propaganda rap of empty keywords repeated on and on (blah blah terror blah blah freedom blah blah Iran nuke blah blah liberty blah blah freedom of worship blah blah strategy of freedom blah blah universal desire for liberty blah blah democracy blah blah tyranny blah blah unstoppable power of freedom blah blah amen). While munching their pizzaz, mesmerized Joe Sixpacks musta understood Hezbollah helped Saddam and Bin Laden destroy the Twin Towers back on 9/11. With such efficient History Bis 101 lessons, no wonder 50% of US adults now think Iraq had WMDs when the US invaded that country, up from 36% back in February 2005 (Harris polls mentioned by the CMD).
Freedom will prevail, yeah... Hezbollah, a state sponsored terrorist group, will be replaced by Qaeda wannabes, a cloudy mist of irresponsible people far more dangerous for the region, but that's OK because Israeli hardliners need a bigger threat at their doors. Olmert will be replaced by a madhatter even worse than Benjamin Netanyahu but that's OK because that's what Amerika needs too. The utterly successful Iraki model will be replicated in Lebanon but that's OK because that was the aim of the game... Sorry Beirut but Bush's speech is yet another bring'em-on-invitation to terrorists from all over the world to visit your country.
But the most surrealistic speech of the day was pronounced by Ehud Olmert himself : admitting his own failure, he dared say next time - because there will be a next time - , he'll handle war better. Talking about flattened Lebanon as a learning curve...
Last throes of sanity, anyone ?
More than ever, it's time for a regime change in both the US and Israel... but for the better, please.

Red blogule to Dubya - "Islamo-fascists" don't enjoy a monopoly

Once again, George W. Bush uttered the "islamic fascist" expression. This time, it was all about a Heathrow plot uncovered at the most convenient time : Bush and Blair are said to have talked about this issue a couple of days earlier but didn't warn their partners, which means either they didn't care for them, or the emergency wasn't that critical. Anyway, Bush and Blair clearly needed a terror fix to go back up in the polls and to give some support to Olmert, also going down for his military failures. The message : war on terror is difficult but it has to be lead whatever the cost ; it's a noble cause, a moral one. Significantly, Jacques Chirac just used the term "immoral" to warn the US : not reaching a ceasefire agreement would be "immoral"... a clear echo to the messianic War on Terror propaganda.
This is not the first time Bush uses the "Islamic fascism" expression* ; in a typically Karlrovish move, he's counterattacking with the very words that are being relevantly** used against his Administration and now protégés.


* see "Red blogule to the first amendment - Land of Opportunity for Nazis, Land of Plenty for fascism" (20051016).
** see "Let's face it they're fascists" (20040527)

Red blogule to Dadullah's Warholian 15 minutes

And the winner is... Mullah Dadullah Akhund, the new bad guy at the top of Amerika's Most Wanted list. After one-eyed Mullah Omar, one-legged Dadullah prepares the next wave (a one-balled mullah ?) with a truly ugly reputation. Moreover, the choice of Pentagon Channel reassesses the central role of Afghanistan in its (last)breathtaking "War On Terror" drama.
You don't want to miss Season IV.

Red blogule to the US CENTCOM - paint it black

Sick and tired of listening to CENTCOM briefings with daily claims of a dozen so-called Qaeda members (half of which under 7 year-old "terrorists"), the US audience cheered the death of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, a genuine thug with a fake al Qaeda label.
Now the propaganda experts feel strange : the non-event of this death exposes a disgraceful vacuum. The top bad guy (Osama Broadcasting Laden) remains at large and the US army in Iraq lacks a marketable target... Unless the Pentagon decides to go after al Sadr and thus officialize the civil war.
They'd better sponsor some other suicidal wannabe, give some other thug his Warhol's 15 mn of fame. Prime time, live or dead.

Pink blogule to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Persian Letters to George W. Bush

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's words are softer on paper than at an anti-zionist tribune. I definitely cannot award a white blogule to this man, but one has to admit he gave quite a lesson to Our Dear Compassionate Leader Lord Dubya : History 101, Religion 101, Politics 101, Economics 101, Communication 101, Social Sciences 101... a one way casual conversation from a radical fundamentalist to a radical and autistic fundamentalist. Too bad L. Ron Hubbard couldn't join : his noxious insights about Battlefield Earth would perfectly complete the picture.
"Is there no better way to interact with the rest of the world ?" Indeed.
We're not evil, see ? Neither you nor me. We've got so much in common. Let's talk and read some verses together.
"Those in power have specific time in office, and do not rule indefinitely, but their names will be recorded in history and will be constantly judged in the immediate and distant futures. The people will scrutinize our presidencies." How true.
I'm scrutinizing all right. And I guess it's time for both peoples to get rid of these fundamentalists.


=> The letter (Le Monde website) : http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-727571,36-769886@51-677013,0.html.

Red blogule to "America Supports You"

Every now and then (when in Seoul), I tune to AFN Korea. Fifteen years ago, it was still called AFKN (Air Force Korea Network) and the proportion of news and personals related to the US bases in Korea would be much higher. BBQ at Camp Casey and that kind of stuff, any Korean resident could learn about the boys' lifestyle beyond what they could see from their own eyes (GIs leaving their Yongsan lairs only to cruise Itaewon's red light district). Back then, I would have my own pass to the Army base, a vast island of quietness in the heart of the city of traffic lights.
Now da boyz are about to leave the area and Korea to recover this precious land. A public park was already created back in 1993, and from the new and ugly (but for its contents) National Museum you can see what's left of the base. The Dragon Hill lodge is still there but there's not much greenery left, nor much space for breathing. I hope Korean developpers will make something nice out of this... (I think I may need a dream break Condi, is this possible ?)
Anyway... AFN Korea is now AFN Asia Pacific flavored with a few local insights. Instead of commercials, troops are still carpet bombed with Weapons of Mass Distraction (all major sports, series, games...), pearls of wisdom (don't pick your nose, brush your teeth and keep ready for war), morale lifting injections (you serve a great country, learn more about things that shaped Amerika in your public library), and Pentagon Propaganda.
"America Supports You" belongs to the last two categories. People from the street tell their love of what you guys are doin' and like in Sesame Street, they come in all shapes and colors because they are the American melting pot. Here, it's very easy being green, especially a green beret or a Vietnam vet, provided you support Rummy's doctrine with a smile on your face.
I don't know how the said troops react to these shorties. To me they sound like a compulsory long distance feelgood call, a sad farewell - thank you for taking the bullets overthere, we sure do appreciate what you do even if we don't quite get why you do it, but we're much better safe at home, thank you. I'll put a flag on my lawn right away to keep the bad luck outta my place - praise God my son is not among you.
The program is supposed to bring America closer to its military but it exposes how Dubya's Amerika is far away from its own troops. I tell you what Don : America doesn't support you.

White blogule to David Gregory - Welcome to the House of Fun

NBC News' chief White House correspondent denounced Operation Swarmer in Iraq as a political show made up as a military action. 40 so-called Qaeda members were caught but released a few hours later, and witnesses doubt seriously about the violence of the offensive. I must confess I was a little bit surprised by the target (an area without any previous history of intense rebellion), the images of the Iraqi soldiers preparing for the battle (all smiles), the publicity made around the Operation and its timing. To me, this looks like vintage War Propaganda, Fallujah style*. Look how swiftly did the Red Army react, carpet bombing poor David "Stretch" Gregory with all their Weapons of Mass Disinformation and lobbying for his firing. For them, the mother of all battles since march 2003 isn't "Operation Swarmer" but "Saving Private Bush".
Just like Michael Moore, David Gregory can be a clown and his caricatural attacks can be used by the defense to turn around the proof of credibility gap. But I don't like the idea of the palace's buffoon being sacrificed as a scapegoat. The joke should remain on the Bush Administration.


* remember that old 2004 blogule "Red blogule to the bombing of Fallujah - Bombing, for image's sake - Bush is only targeting the US audience" (20040429) ?

Red blogule to the imPOTUS - America vs Amerika class action lawsuit

Since nobody dares impeach the man who put the shame on his country, lied to his people, waged an illegal war, implemented illegal taping and abductions, promoted torture, replaced scientists with revisionists..., (and so on and so forth*), I suggest the good citizens of Louisiana to launch a class action lawsuit against George W. Bush.
As Michael Brown puts it, the tapes of the FEMA briefing about Katrina speak for themselves : thousands of people died and this man is guilty.
Let's not wait for the elections, nor for the Dems to wake up. The US citizens must stand up and right now. Let's call this case America vs Amerika.


* see all previous blogules since 2003.

Red blogule to W's preemptive counterstrikes

"43" said he was open to a debate over Iraq... provided it only did "bring credit to our democracy, not comfort to our adversaries".
So only he has a right to wage a dirty war at home, using all the illegal tools one dictator could dream of. And he denies politicians as well as medias the right to investigate, to use such terms as illegal eavesdroppings, abduction, torture or all of the above ?
This isn't what I call an open debate. Nor even a debate, for that matter. Actually, it rather looks like the denial of a genuine debate, the refusal to confront democracy, and once again, a shame for America.
I don't think history will "bring credit" to Dubya's democracy*. And I do think democracy's adversaries find a lot of "comfort" in seeing Amerika turn its back to its own values.


* Mercifully enough, Iraq will eventually move towards democracy. But this far, all major steps have been reached thanks to a lack of Bush doctrine : the UN made the first elections possible and the talks with insurgents are the only way of kicking Al Qaeda out of the country (yeah, those very foreign terrorists who came in after the US invasion).

Red blogule to CENTCOM pictures incorporated

At last ! The US Army liberating from evil treatments hundreds of detainees, including 13 needing hospitalization. And this time, we are not responsible for the torture : it's that nasty Iraqi regime we put at the head of the new and improved Iraq. We've got bad guys within our ranks but look : torture is an Iraqi thing. It's embedded in their DNA ! Who knows, it could be Saddam's WMDs and nerve gases attacking the very souls of every single person living there !
The US have nerves, all right. This telegenic bravado is supposed to remind the audience Amerika is not the only country fighting this nasty war, but it should remind everybody this war wasn't necessary. There were other ways of castrating Saddam Hussein, and there were certainly other things to do to truly fight terror.

Red blogule to The Lincoln Group - painting Iraq green

Behind the stage, where the Commander in Thief gave a vibrant state of the disunion, the Bush Administration are focusing on their core know-how : pre-election propaganda. This time, they need to win the war in Iraq (that is, get the hell outta there or at least set a positive timetable before next mid-term US elections).
A DC-based PR firm, Lincoln Group, got the $6M contract. We already knew from Odwyer PR News they'd been hiring "Senior PR help" for their Iraqi operations, now we know for sure they're paid by the US, as the NYT put it, "to plant articles in Iraq papers".
How charming. Planting, without the help of Monsanto ? Karen Hughes could make sure these six millions are taken from the environment budget : after all, The Lincoln Group are working for a better environment for US troops in Iraq.
Abductions, torture, usage of WMDs, and now plain propaganda... Iraqi certainly feel the difference between Uncle Saddam and Unkle Sam...

Red blogule to Dubya's Believe It or Not! museum in Bakersfield, CA

After Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Dubya's visit it or bust.
A new Bush museum will open in 2007 in the house 41 & 43 inhabited for 3 months back in 1949. The owner, a Republican, intends to add a reading center for kids in the backyard. No doubt the cornerstone of 43's Prez Library... that is, unless the College Station, TX based Bush The Elder's Presidential Library decides to keep "My Pet Goat".
The royal family enjoyed sunny California as well as Yankee New England : Bakersfield, CA hosts California State University and a few country clubs. Back then, Coast-to-Coast Dubya wasn't a newborn Texan yet but the Official Propaganda already unhearthed a couple of pictures of the young John Wayne lookalike dressed in a cow boy suit.
They're supposed to refurbish the place the way it was in the late forties. I suggest to spray some petrol around to make it even more realistic.

Red blogule to Halliburton and the 40 thieves

Remember last sunday, when George W. Bush was criticized for not acting quickly enough in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath ? To the contrary, the Prez proved to show a lot of compassion for his most beloved citizens, Halliburton management : on monday, The Houston Business Journal noticed Kellog Brown & Root had already begun work on a $500 M U.S. Navy contract in the Gulf (the Hurricane Katrina damaged Gulf of Mexico, that is*).
No wonder both the Administration and Cheney Inc set the same priorities : earlier this year, the company subsidiary hired Joe Allbaugh, Bush's former campaign manager. A man who would know all about spotting a potential jackpot since he chaired the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) after leading Dubya to the crown in 2000.
Wars and natural disasters meant as business opportunities. Budget deficits built for big corporation profits. An again, please don't show any picture of these dead bodies, will you ? Let the official Propaganda celebrate the 4th anniversary of the destruction of the Twin Towers and The Pentagon by Saddam Hussein. Welcome to the Banana Republic of the Divided States of Amerika.
Impeachment ? No way, unless the Reps flunk badly next year, which I doubt since The Architect, the ultimate Intelligent Designer of smear campaigns, the very Karl Rove who should be charged for treason, is at work too.

* Regarding the other Gulf, more about "Ali Burton and the forty thieves" in my 2003-2004 hand-made blogules.

Red blogule to Freedom Walk - the Grey Pride

Strange. America Supports You's Freedom Walk website isn't working today.
As if it weren't such a good idea to link the war in Iraq and 9/11 anymore.
As if it sounded like a sick Grey Pride : keep walking with us folks, we brought you war, we brought you social collapse, and we sure have lotsa good ideas for the years to come.
As if they suddenly feared no one would turn out. Don Rum can't even mobilize army people : he needs them to fish corpses in Iraq and Louisiana.
So because the site is down, people cannot register or enroll to enjoy their Freedom to Walk. America supports you, but who is supporting Bush's Amerika ???

Red blogule to Karen Hughes

If you managed not to punch your TV set each time this most iritating Bush passionaria would comment on her Texas pal's crushing victories in last year's prez debates, get ready for it : Karen Hughes's now in charge of sweetening US' world image. Within the US State Department, she will manage "rapid response" teams to counter all foreign liars, the "liars" being people who lie about the Bush Administration's policies (Hughes even dared taking the so called "flushed Quran scandal" as the ultimate example), people who defend Geneva Conventions or the freedom of journalism, people who are "against us", people who voted Kerry, people who said the Iraqi invasion was poorly planned, people who demonstrate their un-Americanness because they lost their kid at the market the other day (the Baghdad market, not your average Iraqi-village-sized Wal-Mart)...
So the best response to your own failing policies is not to change them but to change the background music with which you advertize them. The best answer to fair foreign criticism is to strenghten US unfair propaganda. The best way to cure Amerika's sickness is to send a spin doctor. The best way to make up for your own lies is to put more make up on them and lie even further, be it at the cost of turning unpopular USA into masquerade-ugly unpopular USA.
According to the NYT, Hughes isn't even dealing with the 80% who are already questioning US policies but focusing on the last 20% who are not among the "insurgents" yet. But Karen, how many will sing along with you : "I see your face, I'm a believer" ?

Red blogule to US - Japan erasers

As they celebrated the 60th anniversary of liberation from Japan and listened to Koizumi repeat the same empty excuses for an excuse as his predecessor ten years ago, Koreans learned why they couldn't get the proof of major wartime atrocities committed by Japan.
They knew the proof was in the US, they now know why it landed there in the first place : the US purchased all data related to Japan's sick medical experiments on civilians of occupied countries. Actually, they bribed the perpetrators to get the exclusivity and even granted them immunity for this favor. This completed the scandalous Hiroshima-Nagasaki cleanup : you don't sue us for using weapons of mass destruction against your civilians, we don't sue you for committing atrocities on civilians from other countries. The 1951 San Francisco Treaty put an ultimate lid on this sick stew between one of History's most fascist regimes and the World's most cynical country.
Sixty years have passed and Japan is just realizing it may have to postpone its claim for a permanent seat at the UN council. Ten years from now, all witnesses and survivors to their atrocities will have vanished. Japan's radical old guard too, but they've made sure younger generations got overwhelmed by their forgetful propaganda and textbooks.
The US ? Don't worry about them : they know propaganda by heart. Hell : it didn't take them sixty years to have most people believe they defeated the Nazis singlehandedly (if it weren't for another master in propaganda - Vladimir Putin - who would remember the lighter side of Uncle Joe ?). And if you ask US citizens about the use of WMDs or torture against civilians, they point the finger to some far away Evil.

Red blogule to semantic transfusions

A recent recent NYT article quoted by the Center for Media and Democracy explains how "Terror War Gets New Slogan" : "A new emphasis on reminding the public of the broader, long-term threat to the United States may allow the administration to put into broader perspective the daily mayhem in Iraq and the American casualties" as "global struggle against violent extremism" replaces "global war on terror".
Could this also mean the "last throes of neocons against World peace" (did Dick dig that one ?) or an end to the "global destruction of the American ideal by warmonger fanatics" ? No way Jose : they're talking about "violent extremism", which is so much unlike White House extremism. When a "violent extremist" performs torture, he is attacking civilization. When a White House extremist makes torture legal, he is protecting the nation.
It took them four years to realize the solution was "more diplomatic, more economic, more political than it is military" ? It won't take long for the World to remember diplomacy and economy are in the hands of Lobby Dick Cheney while politics remain in the pristine claws of Karl Rove.