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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (59573)	10/10/2004 11:30:19 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

US denies Tariq Aziz death reports Saturday 09 October 2004, 16:43 Makka Time, 13:43 GMT The US military has said it has absolute confirmation that Tariq Aziz, Iraq's former deputy prime minister, is still alive. "I can absolutely confirm that he is still alive," Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnston, spokesman for detainee operations in Iraq, said on Saturday, after reports on Arab television stations that he had died. "He was alive five minutes ago," he said at about 0310 pm (1210 GMT). Dubai-based al-Arabiya television said Aziz had died in custody, quoting sources in the International Committee of the Red Cross in Iraq. Vatican confirmation Al-Arabiya did not immediately give more details, but Aljazeera quoted sources at the Vatican as confirming the death of Aziz, who was the only Christian member of Saddam's cabinet. "We cannot confirm the death of Tariq Aziz. We have no information on the matter" Red Cross spokeswoman One of 55 former Iraqi officials posted on a most-wanted list by US-led forces after their invasion, Aziz, 68, surrendered in April last year and has been in US custody since then. In Amman a spokeswoman for the Red Cross said: "We cannot confirm the death of Tariq Aziz. We have no information on the matter." Meanwhile, Aziz's son told a contact in Rome his father was alive, the Italian news agency Ansa said. The son, Ziad, got in touch with a French monk and friend of the family, Jean Marie Benjamin, from Amman to say his father was still alive, Ansa added. Benjmain is understood to have good contacts with the family. If he is indeed alive, it will be the second time that Aziz has wrongly been reported killed. In March 2003 reports saying he had been shot dead while trying to enter the Kurdish north of the country were quashed when he appeared on TV to tell the world he was alive and well. english.aljazeera.net

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (59573)	10/10/2004 11:36:30 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

EXCLUSIVE! Bush's Interpreter Says Bush Uses Earpiece Sunday October 10, 2004 1:46 AM [Editor's Note: I received a copy of the e-mail below on Friday, and requested (and received) permission to publish it. I found independent confirmation that Fred Burks worked as an interpreter for George W. Bush comes in an article in the Los Angeles Times in January 2004.] From: Fred Burks As a deep insider myself, I have independent confirmation of President Bush using an earpiece to assist him in communicating intelligently with others. I've worked as a contract Indonesian language interpreter with the US State Department for over 18 years. I first started interpreting at the presidential level in 1995 at a White House meeting for President Clinton and President Suharto of Indonesia with their top advisors. You can read a short story of the many small miracles that led me to interpret for presidents at www.gcforall.org/inspirations (scroll down to Issue #1, where it is the second story). On September 19, 2001, just eight days after 9/11, I was in the White House interpreting for an important 90-minute meeting between President Bush and President Megawati Soekarnoputri of Indonesia. This meeting made national news on all the TV networks, as at the time, the administration wanted to show they were supportive of our Muslim friends. Indonesia has the largest population of Muslims in the world. Over 80% of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslim. This was my first time interpreting for Bush. The previous day, I had been given the 22 points Bush would be covering in this meeting in order to familiarize myself with the topics to be discussed. About half of these "talking points" had to do with terrorism, which was to be fully expected given what had just happened. The other points, however, involved many details of Indonesian politics which even I would have had a tough time addressing, let alone Bush, who I assumed had limited knowledge of Indonesia. During those 90 minutes, President Bush not only covered all the points, he covered them quite well and without any notes! Not once during the entire meeting did he look at any notes or receive cues from anyone present in discussing the Indonesian political situation with depth and intelligence. I was astonished! "How could this be?" I asked myself. It was a huge surprise. I concluded either that Bush was much more intelligent than we had been led to believe, or that somehow someone was feeding answers to him through a hidden earpiece. At the time, I really didn't know which of these was true. Having worked directly with President Bush twice since then, and having additionally talked with many of my fellow interpreters who have worked directly with him, I am now certain that he could not have had that much knowledge of Indonesia. He doesn't even read the daily newspaper to keep up with what's being reported in the press. I am convinced that he must have been using some sort of earpiece through which someone was telling him what to say. Having interpreted for media guests touring large TV studios, I've seen how the news anchors all have hidden earphones, and how the news producers are feeding them all sorts of information even as they talk live on TV. "20 seconds to a commercial," "15 seconds of filler here," "wrap it up quick " etc... This is standard practice for live TV shows. The "let me finish" comment made by Bush in the debate was only confirmation of something I already knew. I will also mention that a number of months ago a colleague of mine was in the room with President Bush and his advisors when Bush threw a full blown temper tantrum filled with foul language and all. He ranted and raved at his advisors for a number of minutes to the shock and dismay of my colleague who was standing unseen in the refreshment corner. When he finally finished blowing off steam, Bush turned towards the refreshment table only to see my colleague standing there. He instantly switched into his "good ol' boy" friendly demeanor and said, "Hey, how ya doin' buddy?" Politics is not a pretty business. I have many stories from my experiences interpreting at international conferences and secret meetings attended only our leaders and their interpreters. I have seen a number of our world's leaders (not just Americans) acting like high school boys playing power games. But for now, I just wanted to confirm my own strong belief that President Bush is often fed what he is supposed to say at important events. Though he can truly be a friendly guy, I have not found him to be particularly bright or competent. To be fair, I must admit that I tend to be of a more liberal persuasion, but I thought you all would appreciate knowing some of what goes on behind the scenes. You take care and have a great day! With best wishes, Fred PS Though I am still on contract with the State Department, I greatly reduced my work with them two years ago. I saw how important it was for me to devote my time to getting the word out through the websites I manage, and through email lists like this. I have done only three weeks' worth of paid work this year. Thankfully, I am able to draw on money I had set aside for retirement to support me in focusing full time on this important work. I want to invite you to look carefully at what you can do in your life to help build a better world in these important times. You might start by sharing this email with your friends and colleagues. Explore these empowering websites coordinated by Fred: www.momentoflove.org - Every person in the world has a heart www.WantToKnow.info - Revealing major cover-ups & working together for a better world www.gcforall.org - Building a Global Community for All www.weboflove.org - Strengthening the Web of Love that interconnects us all Together, we are building a better world based on love and cooperation community.democrats.com