The BRAD BLOG : Accountability

Spin? CounterSpin! The Alleged British Airplane Bombing Plot, Counterclockwise

A Case Study in the Bush/Rove/Cheney Administration's Agenda, Priorities and Spin Tactics

What A Tangled Web They Weave --- But Not Quite Tangled Enough To Deceive!

By Winter Patriot on 8/15/2006 7:04am PT

Unless you've been under a rock for most of the past week, you already know that people have been arrested in Britain and Pakistan recently, in connection with an alleged plot to bomb flights from Britain to the USA. According to reports of the arrests, the alleged terrorists were allegedly planning to take down 10 or 12 airplanes at the same time, and this grand-scale planning allegedly points to al-Qaeda. You may know quite a bit more than this, of course. Or at least you may think you do. But in point of fact, most of us probably know quite a bit less.

This post attempts to dig beneath the surface, to look at various (mainstream and other) accounts of the events and to try to determine the nature, the scope and the scale of the manipulation that has been going on. It may not point us in the direction of greater truth, but perhaps it can help us to find a direction of fewer lies.

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 54 so far... )

Article Categories: War On Terror

9/11 Truth Movement Gets a Nudge, a Bump and a Jolt

CNN, Westminster John Knox Press, Air America help move the story along

Is The Official Story Falling Apart? Or Are We Seeing An Un-Controlled Demolition?

By Winter Patriot on 8/13/2006 8:22pm PT

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

In the past few weeks the 9/11 Truth Movement has continued to move forward, propelled by a gentle nudge from a mainstream news source, a solid bump from the publishing arm of a major American church, and a full-fledged jolt from Air America.

The Nudge: CNN's Lou Dobbs Wakes Up To 9/11 Lies

In this short clip, Lou discusses the new book Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission, written by 9/11 Commission co-chairmen Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton, who claim that the commission was lied to, not once but consistently, by the FAA and NORAD.

Please watch this video. Among other comments, you will hear the following from Lou Dobbs:

Well, this government doesn't deserve much credibility, does it? In point of fact, if all of the after-action reports are untrue, for whatever reason, that's a lie, because they were asserted as true by people who knew better, or should have.
...
Incompetence and ineptitude on the part of this government, on September 11th and in the weeks and months leading up to it, are established. The fact that the government would permit deception after deception, whether honestly, if you can call it that, honestly intended or not. But the fact that they would continue and perpetuate the lie, suggests that we need a full investigation of what is going on and what is demonstrably an incompetent and at worst deceitful federal government.

The Bump: Official Presbyterian Publisher Issues 9/11 Conspiracy Book

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 71 so far... )

Article Categories: Lou Dobbs, 9/11, War On Terror

An Avalanche Of Bullshit: Republican Attack Dogs Hit Democrats Nationwide Over Lieberman's Loss In CT Primary

Republicans suggest Democrats are soft on terror, weak on national security, friends of Al-Q'aeda, undermining the president, yada, yada

Got that? OK! Now: what --- if anything --- does this have to do with the 'Terrorists' arrested in England?

By Winter Patriot on 8/10/2006 1:42pm PT

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

The Republican Spin-And-Noise Machine has shifted into high gear since Tuesday's Democratic Senatorial Primary in Connecticut, where the moderately anti-war Ned Lamont defeated the rabidly pro-war and pro-Bush "Democrat", Joe Lieberman, in a very close race.

What does this mean? Has the Democratic party eaten itself? Or has it been torn in half? Is this a victory for the liberal bloggers? Or a defeat for the pro-Israeli lobby? Is it a repudiation of everything the Bush administration has ever done or said? Or maybe ... just maybe ... did the Democrats of Connecticut look at the two candidates and decide they liked one just a bit more than the other?

If you listened to the words coming out of Republican mouths lately, you'd never even imagine that the result of the primary could possibly have been a reflection of the wishes of the voters:

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 43 so far... )

Article Categories: Election 2006, War On Terror

Condoleeza Rice: There Is No Civil War In Iraq

Our 'Top Diplomat' Uses A Faulty Analogy To Make A Faulty Case

So what else is new?

By Winter Patriot on 8/9/2006 4:57pm PT

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

As reported here last Friday, General John Abizaid, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, sent shock-waves through the administration and the press when he admitted to Congress on Thursday that "Iraq could move toward civil war".

This nearly frozen blogger filled in a few of the missing details, explaining that there is already a civil war in Iraq, and that it is happening largely because the Pentagon has been so busy setting up death squads there. The Iraqi death squads are modeled after the death squads set up in El Salvador in the early 1980s, in what has been described --- I am not kidding --- as our "democratization" of that unfortunate Central American country. And now Iraq is unfortunate enough to be the newest victim of our so-called "democratization".

The administration is not about to admit that creating a Civil War in Iraq was part of the plan, nor will it admit that it never had any intention of winning a war in Iraq. But actions speak louder than words, and now it has become abundantly clear that their goal all along was to become embroiled in a long and difficult war there. In case you hadn't noticed, this is exactly what has happened.

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 28 so far... )

Article Categories: Iraq War

Cindy Sheehan Opens Camp Casey III in Crawford, Texas

The new camp sits on land Sheehan now owns, so the legal difficulties she had last year are 'history'

Lone Star Iconoclast again provides coverage

By Winter Patriot on 8/8/2006 7:27pm PT

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

Cindy Sheehan has once again established herself as an anti-war presence in Crawford, Texas. She has a new campsite near the palatial estate that "president" Bush calls his "ranch", and she is inviting people to join her.

Our friend Leon Smith of the The Lone Star Iconoclast has more. Here's a sample:

Camp Casey III: It’s All About Peace

Sheehan explained Sunday that during their rallies last Easter, "We had about 300 people and it (Camp Casey II) wasn’t big enough and since they (the McLennan County Commissioners’ Court) passed the ordinances that we can’t camp at Camp Casey I, we needed to either rent abigger property or buy something. We were having trouble finding something for rent so I decided to buy something. When we don’t need Camp Casey III (located on the outskirts of Crawford) anymore and when the troops are home and after we use it as a peace camp I’m going to donate the property to the town of Crawford to use as a park. We’re going to build a playground and put in some picnic benches and we’re going to name it the Specialist Casey Sheehan Memorial Peace Park."

When asked whether local residents were resentful about the way the property was purchased, through a third party, Sheehan said, "A lot of people have a third party buy land for them. I could have hired a lawyer, but it would have cost me more. I think they should be more resentful to a president that lied to the American public and lied to the world.

"I think Camp Casey III will be safer than where we were before, and we won’t be in the way as much as we were before. We are good neighbors. We were good neighbors out there. If they can’t put up with our presence for a few weeks, when our soldiers and the people of Iraq are suffering constantly because of what our other neighbor George Bush did, then I think they need to learn to relax a little bit and learn to live with us because, I promise you, I love Crawford and we will be good neighbors."

Leon is promising more coverage and we will try to keep you posted.

All the plans have been changing so fast! This recently-published interview is already way out of date, but still worth a read:

Return to Camp Casey: An Interview with Cindy Sheehan

	Tweet

( 20 so far... )

Article Categories: Iraq War, Cindy Sheehan

OHIO: Bob Ney Quits Race!! Soon-To-Be-Indicted GOP Influence Peddler, HAVA Author, Maintains He Has Done Nothing Wrong

Had Vowed To Fight On, Even If Indicted; Now Says He's Quitting For The Good Of His Family

Flip-Flopper?? ... In the meantime, with DeLay and Ney gone, Tom Feeney is the only remaining congressman to have accompanied Jack Abramoff to Scotland!

By Winter Patriot on 8/7/2006 9:57am PT

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

According to ABC News and AP: Bob Ney Won't Seek Re-Election

COLUMBUS, Ohio Aug 7, 2006 (AP)— U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, dogged by an influence peddling probe in Washington, will not seek re-election, state Sen. Joy Padgett said early Monday.

AP writer Joe Danborn has some other details, including:

The six-term congressman from Heath in central Ohio had insisted he would not resign even if indicted over his dealings with now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In his first primary test in a decade, Ney won 68 percent of the vote May 2 against a little-known opponent.

However, he faced a tough challenge in November from Democrat Zack Space, who had made the Justice Department's investigation into Ney a focus of his campaign.

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review has more, including some quotes from an exclusive interview with Ney: Ney drops out of fall race

Ney has not been charged with a crime, and he insists he did nothing wrong. But his former chief of staff, Neil Volz, who left to join Abramoff's team, pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to use gifts and trips to influence Ney's official activities. Volz said he and other Abramoff associates provided Ney and members of his staff with free or reduced-price trips to England, Scotland and the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.

Who went on that trip to Scotland? Let's see ...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 12 so far... )

Article Categories: Ohio, Bob Ney, Jack Abramoff, Tom Feeney

USA Swings Both Ways: Pentagon Backs Both Sides in the Iraqi Civil War

It's Nothing Less Than Treason If It's True...

... and by all accounts it appears to be true!

By Winter Patriot on 8/4/2006 2:00pm PT

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

USA Today has the "latest":
U.S. commander expresses fear about possible civil war in Iraq

The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East told Congress on Thursday that "Iraq could move toward civil war" if the raging sectarian violence in Baghdad is not stopped.

Much as I hate to disagree with the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, I have to question this assertion. Waddaya mean: "move toward civil war"? How many civilians have to get blown to bloody smithereens every day to qualify this mess as a civil war? How many death squads have to roam the country simultaneously before we can all just can the sleazy rhetoric and admit that the Iraqi Civil War is here now?

And as the Washington Post reported recently, some of our guys are starting to get the impression that they are simply 'Waiting to Get Blown Up'.

The commanders in Baghdad and the Pentagon are "looking at the big picture all the time, but for us, we don't see no big picture, it's just always another bomb out here," said Spec. Joshua Steffey, 24, of Asheville, N.C. The company's commanding officer, Capt. Douglas A. DiCenzo of Plymouth, N.H., and his gunner, Spec. Robert E. Blair of Ocala, Fla., were killed by a roadside bomb in May.

Steffey said he wished "somebody would explain to us, 'Hey, this is what we're working for.' " With a stream of expletives, he said he could not care less "if Iraq's free" or "if they're a democracy."
...
"My personal opinion, I don't speak for the rest of anybody, I just speak for me personally, I think civil war is going to happen regardless," Steffey responded. "Maybe this country needs it: One side has to win. Be it Sunni, be it Shiite, one side has to win. It's apparent, these people have made it obvious they can't live in unity."

Did you ever wonder why they can't live in unity now even though they could live in relative peace before the Americans came to destroy their country?

Did you ever wonder why American soldiers in Iraq are considering the possibility that maybe the country "needs" a civil war?...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 16 so far... )

Article Categories: Iraq War

Raw Story: United Nations Human Rights Committee Report Amounts To 'A Moral Indictment' of USA

Report cites 'Treaty Violations', 'Hubris', and 'Willful Disregard For International And Domestic Law' ... and even at that, it just scratches the surface!

WAKE UP, AMERICA! Your shame is world-wide.

By Winter Patriot on 8/4/2006 6:01am PT

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

From Larisa Alexandrovna of RAW STORY:

UN report a 'moral indictment' of US

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has released its final report after a series of hearings in Geneva last week, which RAW STORY has learned amounts to a moral indictment of US treaty violations, as well as what some attendees and delegates described as US hubris, willful disregard for international and domestic law, and contempt for the Committee itself.

Anybody surprised? I didn't think so.

I can't quote the whole article but I can encourage you to read it!

	Tweet

( 13 so far... )

Article Categories: Iraq War, Rights And Freedoms, U.S. Constitution, ITMFA, United Nations, Accountability

Chris Floyd: 'Belief and Betrayal: The New Jahiliyyah'

The Great Religions Have All Been Betrayed ... Welcome To 'The Time Of Ignorance'

By Chris Floyd on 7/28/2006 8:00am PT

Guest blogged by Chris Floyd

A slightly expanded version of the column appearing in the July 28th edition of The Moscow Times, as posted at Empire Burlesque.

The history of almost every religion is a tragedy of betrayal: the betrayal of the radical, egalitarian vision of its founders by generations of powerful elites, who twist and pervert the original principles in order to augment their own status, wealth and dominion. It has always been thus, but is nowhere more marked than among the "People of the Book" – Christians, Muslims and Jews – whose elites have for centuries steadily led their followers away from the sparks of light that shone in their beginnings, dragging them deeper into darkness, into error, until today the world finds itself mired in a new Jahiliyyah: "the time of ignorance."

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 24 so far... )

Article Categories: War On Terror

Feds Investigating Ney, Abramoff, HAVA Negotiations!

Case Links Ney and Abramoff, a Tribe, a Casino, Millions of Dollars and a Transparent Lie!

So ... What's Wrong With This Picture??? Hold out BOTH hands, Mr. Ney!! Book 'em, Danno!

By Winter Patriot on 7/26/2006 10:33pm PT

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

We've been reading some very interesting news today from John Stanton at Roll Call.

Justice Department investigators have begun a review of Senate Rules and Administration Committee records relating to negotiations over the Help America Vote Act, involving then-Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and former House Administration Chairman Bob Ney (R-Ohio), as they wrap up their investigation into Ney's connections to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate sources said Tuesday.

Senate aides familiar with the review said Justice officials indicated the inquiry was not focused on Dodd, who now serves as the committee's ranking member, and the type of information investigators were seeking - while not specific enough to indicate they were looking for a smoking gun - appear to point directly at Ney.

The full text is available to Roll Call subscribers only, but we have a few more excerpts after the fold.

Regular BRAD BLOG readers will have have seen this coming a long time ago.

So here's a big hat tip to Brad for being way-ahead-of-the-curve on this...

and now back to our story:

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 27 so far... )

Article Categories: Bob Ney, Jack Abramoff

You're Not A Terrorist? Well, Too Bad! I Gotta Meet My Quota!!

Innocent Travelers Deliberately Snagged in Terror Net

Chris Floyd has the details, courtesy of Denver's 7NEWS and Buzzflash

By Winter Patriot on 7/24/2006 11:12am PT

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

Not for nothing is Chris Floyd one of my favorite journalists. He's one of my favorite bloggers too.

Why? Because he cares so much, because he writes so well, because he pays such close attention. And because he never fails to mention things like this:

Marshals: Innocent People Placed On 'Watch List' To Meet Quota

Want to know why the government shouldn't have overweening, unrestrained, unchallengeable "unitary executive power" to act as it pleases, even in the name of "national security?" Here's why – because such powers are always, always, always going to be abused, in ways large and small. This is an absolute, unalterable given of human nature, like the requirement for oxygen or the need for food: unchecked power will be abused, and innocent people will suffer. Only a cast-iron, gold-plated, copper-bottomed fool would think otherwise. Unfortunately, such specimens are swinging from the rafters in every branch of the government these days.

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 7 so far... )

Article Categories: War On Terror

Democracy in Crisis - An Exclusive BRAD BLOG Interview with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

By Joy Williams on 7/18/2006 6:17am PT

An Exclusive Interview for The BRAD BLOG as Guest Blogged by Joy and Tom Williams...

"The Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, has been using old-fashioned, Jim Crow, apartheid-type maneuvers to steal the last two national elections."
-- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., (bio) , wrote the article: "Was the 2004 Election Stolen" where he examined the election fraud in Ohio that took place during the last Presidential Election. He also has written a book "Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush & His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking our Democracy". Mr. Kennedy, along with Mike Papantonio have filed a "qui tam" lawsuit against some of the voting machines companies, in an effort to save our Democracy.

I've long had a deep respect for Robert F. Kennedy for his dedicated work as an environmental advocate. Tom and I enjoyed interviewing him and were moved by his passion and dedication to our country and our Democracy. We spoke to him via phone at his office at Pace University's Environmental Litigation Clinic in White Plains, New York, which he founded, about the election of 2004. This was an experience to remember...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 134 so far... )

Article Categories: Diebold/Premier, RFK Jr., Election Reform, Bob Ney, Jack Abramoff

The Declaration of Independence

If You Haven't Done So Lately, Please Read It...It May Suprise You...

And Happy 4th...

By Brad Friedman on 7/4/2006 12:10pm PT

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---

	Tweet

( 135 so far... )

Article Categories: Rights And Freedoms, U.S. Constitution, Accountability

Staffers of Ohio's Soon-to-be-Indicted Rep. Bob Ney All Quit on Same Day...

HAVA Author, Abramoff Buddy, Diebold's Best Friend in Congress, Apparently in Dieb Dieb Doo Doo...

By Brad Friedman on 7/1/2006 7:38pm PT

Just one of the many recent, yet notable, items I was unable to cover over the past week...

On Thursday, Roll Call reported that all three of the major staffers for Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), the lead author/co-sponsor of the disastrous Help America Vote Act (HAVA), are running for the hills.

The departures are described as "the latest sign that Ney’s legal and ethical troubles stemming from the Jack Abramoff scandal are growing worse with each passing day."

Josh Marshall covered the exits of his "troika" --- his Chief of Staff, Legislative Director and Communications Director --- all scramming on the same day.

We first referred to Ney as "the soon-to-be-indicted" back in January when we published our exposé connecting the dots between Ney, Abramoff, Diebold, HAVA and Ney's even-more-former chief of staff, David DiStefano, who became Diebold's main congressional lobbyist. That exposé has been wholly ignored by the mainstream media ever since. (Except for Matt Taibbi who referenced the info, but without attribution, in an April Rolling Stone piece on Abramoff.)

	Tweet

( 92 so far... )

Article Categories: Diebold/Premier, Ohio, Bob Ney, Jack Abramoff

VIDEO - Iraq Logs Record Civilian Killings in May

By David Edwards on 6/6/2006 11:44am PT

Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

Video in Streaming Flash format...
Video in Windows Media format...

In Iraq, the month of May saw the largest number of Iraqi civilian deaths since the war began 3 years ago. The Baghdad morgue reported over 1400 dead in May. Over 400 of the dead Iraqis could not be identified. Some journalists, like veteran reporter Robert Fisk, claim that the officials are under-reporting the actual number of deaths. In addition, many more bodies can never be counted because explosions and road side bombs often leave little evidence of human remains.

What's clear is that the violence in Iraq is increasing at a pivotal time for the fledgling Iraqi government. Even the shell-shocked Iraqis are stunned by the new level of violence. For example, over a two day period, 18 severed heads wrapped in plastic have been discovered. The likely cause are the escalating sectarian revenge killings.

In this video, an Iraqi woman cries,

Where is the government?

Where is Bush who occupied our country?

Why did they kill us?

ADDENDUM FROM BRAD: Good timing for David Edward's post here. I was about to do one of my own, pointing out this report that 6,000 Iraqi corpses have been discovered in the last 5 months. Given Iraq's population of appx. 25 million, compared with the US's population of 300 million. The equivalent of 6000 deaths in Iraq over the past five months would be some 72,000 in America. If we had 72,000 murders via "sectarian violence" in America in just five months, would that be considered a civil war? Or would we criticize the media for not reporting all the "good news" in our country?

	Tweet

( 14 so far... )

Article Categories: Iraq War

Total Pages (122):
« Newest ... « 108 109 110 111 112 [113] 114 115 116 117 118 » ... Oldest »

NATIONWIDE STUDY FINDS ALMOST NO VOTER FRAUD Just 10 cases of in-person impersonation in all 50 states since 2000...
VIDEO: 'Rise of the Tea Bags' Brad interviews American patriots...	'Democracy's Gold Standard' Hand-marked, hand-counted ballots...

ONE TIME ONLY any amount you like... $	MONTHLY SUPPORT any amount you like... $
Or by Snail Mail Make check out to... Brad Friedman 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028