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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (92609)	12/28/2004 2:46:07 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793781

Talk About Fogeys - Reuter Cheerleads for Fascism Roger L Simon Almost jumping for joy, here's a piece of propaganda from Reuters quoting only Sunnis who aren't voting. It shows the news agency at its purest, a propaganda outfit that would rather see America fail at any cost than for democracy to succeed in Iraq. Screw the Iraqi people, if it means that the war worked. Here's an idea--maybe we should rename Reuters. At least the Voice of America calls itself the Voice of America. How about RNA -the Reactionary News Agency? Iraq Sunnis fear bombs not bin Laden on poll day Tue Dec 28, 2004 02:51 PM GMT By Lin Noueihed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Plagued by violence and fearing reprisals, many of Iraq's Sunni Muslims say they had resolved to stay at home on election day long before Osama bin Laden said anyone who voted was a infidel. With only a month to go until Iraq's first free poll, many Iraqis in the Sunni north and west said they would not vote while U.S.-led troops remained on Iraqi soil anyway. Even those who once dreamed of casting their ballot now say they are too busy trying to stay alive to think about the January 30 poll. "It makes no sense to put your life in danger to vote when the Americans will put whoever they want in power anyway," said Mohammed, a Baghdad resident who refused to give his full name, on Tuesday. "Whatever Bin Laden says, people had already made up their minds not to vote. I didn't even register." An audio tape purportedly from the al Qaeda leader was aired on Monday, urging Iraqis to boycott the poll and saying anyone who took part was an infidel. But Iraqis dismissed the Saudi-born militant's threats as outside interference. They had more pressing worries. "I'm not bothered about the election; all I want is to return to Falluja and for violence to stop throughout Iraq," said Said al-Dulaimi, 42, who fled last month's U.S.-led offensive in the western Iraqi city. "Bin Laden knows nothing about Iraq; he is an extremist who lives in caves. He lost 75 percent of his support in Iraq by making everyone who votes in elections an infidel." Most of Falluja's population is still sheltering outside the city after the U.S. attack aimed at crushing foreign fighters led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. U.S. and Iraqi officials admit some Sunni provinces are still not ready for elections. The possiblity that they will be excluded has raised fears over the legitimacy of a poll in which only Iraq's 60-percent Shi'ite majority in the south and Kurds, who already have automony in the north, take part. MARKED FOR ATTACK In Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, extremists have stuck posters up in mosques warning those who vote will be punished. Last month, insurgents overran police stations in the city of three million and most officers deserted. People feel they have no authority to turn to. In Samarra, 100 km (60 miles) north of the capital, rebels have distributed leaflets warning residents to keep away from polling stations because they were marked for attack. Three officials from Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission, which is organising the poll, were dragged from their cars in Baghdad this month and killed in broad daylight. Northern polling stations have been attacked with rockets. "I won't participate in the election because I am scared," said Omar Selham, 29, a businessman from the northern city of Mosul, whose population is mainly Sunni Arab with some Kurds. "Anyway, the American presence in the country gives you the impression that the election is false and unfair." U.S. officials are pushing for Iraqis to give Sunni Arabs, who make up 20 percent of Iraq's population, government posts even if they win few seats in the election because their constituents could not or would not vote. On Monday, Iraq's leading Sunni party said it was pulling out of the election because violence in Sunni areas meant it would not be fair to the minority which dominated the country under ousted president Saddam Hussein. That left even those who were willing to brave bombs and bullets to take part with few choices to vote for. "We would participate if the Muslim Clerics' Association and Iraqi Islamic Party ran, because they are our guidance," said Sheikh Mohammed Abdul Hadi, 55, a preacher from Falluja. "But they pulled out of the election so we will not take part."

To: greenspirit who wrote (92609)	12/28/2004 4:19:59 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793781

Conservatives Scare Us I am getting to the point where I believe that the split in this country is between those that like this country and those that don't.

To: greenspirit who wrote (92609)	12/28/2004 4:45:02 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793781

Michael, this couldn't happen to a more deserving person: House ethics committee to investigate McDermott Tuesday, December 28, 2004 - Page updated at 12:55 P.M. By Alex Fryer seattletimes.nwsource.com Seattle Times Washington bureau Rep. Jim McDermott, a Seattle Democrat The House Ethics Committee announced today that it will investigate a complaint filed against Seattle Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott. The complaint, filed by Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, alleged that McDermott violated "certain laws, rules and standards of conduct" when he released an illegally intercepted cell-phone conversation to reporters in January 1997, according to the committee's statement. An ethics investigative subcommittee will determine whether McDermott upheld congressional rules that require members to act "at all times in a manner which shall reflect creditably on the House of Representatives." McDermott is on vacation, and his office refused to respond. Another Ohio Republican, Rep. John Boehner, sued McDermott over the tapes in 1998. In October, a federal judge ruled in Boehner's favor, contending that McDermott's "willful and knowing misconduct rises to the level of malice in this case." The judge ordered McDermott to pay $60,000 plus Boehner's legal fees, which amount to about $545,000. McDermott appealed the decision last month, and a federal court is expected to hear the case next spring. Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

To: greenspirit who wrote (92609)	12/28/2004 8:03:18 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 793781

Great site, Michael! Here's another TimesWatch Top 10 Distortions report: The Top 10 Distortions by the Times in Campaign 2004 Times Watch Special Report timeswatch.org 1) An Ominous Beginning 2) Misrepresenting the 9/11 Report 3) Suggesting Political Motivation Behind Terror Warnings 4) Same Campaign Tactic, Two Different Takes 5) A Double Standard on Acceptance Speeches 6) Conspiracy Theorizing on Bush's Debate "Bulge" 7) Ron Suskind on Bush's "Intolerance of Doubt" 8) Tarring "Unsubstantiated" Swift Boats Veterans, Plugging False Bush "AWOL" Smear 9) A Slanted Voter Guide 10) "Looted Iraqi Explosives" Scoop: Bombshell or Politically Motivated Dud?