Hilary is NOT Lying about Bosnia and Snipers

I don't like Hilary. I see her as yet another corporatist candidate who will not only not end the war, but start new ones on behalf of the oligarchy for whom she toils. Obama is probably the same, don't expect much (like a quick end to the occupation of Iraq) and you will be happy with him.

I say that I don't like Hilary because I want to defend her. She was not lying when she "misspoke" about landing under fire in Bosnia. Hilary knows, very very well, that everything she says gets fact checked, so when she told that story it seems probable that she did not realize that that the "incident" never happened.

More likely she confabulated the memory. No doubt she was told repeatedly that the trip was dangerous and received lots of warnings about how she might come under sniper fire, etc. Over time these warnings, and her memories, melded into a false narrative -- this phenomenon is called confabulation. Confabulation is common, we all do it, most of us don't get caught.

Hilary subconsciously wanted to make herself the hero, and over time, in her own mind at least, she was. She confabulated. She did not lie.

John Dean got caught too. See the link...

http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/11/john_deans_memory_and_scooter.html

Iraq Occupation vs German Occupation of Poland

• Depending on who you talk to, Iraq has lost between 60,000 and 1.2 million killed.

  A good comparison is Poland. The population prior to the war was roughly the same as Iraq, @ 34,849,000 compared to Iraq in 2003, which was according to the UN, 25,175,000. By the end of the occupation, which again is roughly about as long as America has been occupying Iraq, they had lost 5,600,000 people or 16.07% In contrast Iraq has lost 4.7 % of its population if one assumes 1.2 million extra deaths is correct.
  

  The Germans killed 5 times as many people as the Americans. One could compare Iraq with occupied Norway, who lost "only" .042 of their population but then the Germans considered them fellow Aryans.

  France lost 562,000 -- a "mere" 1.35% of their population, but then they, despite the fact that after the war, every second Frenchman claimed to have been a Maquis, did not resist to the extent that the Iraqis have.

  If the low number is true, then, in historical terms, the Iraqi occupation has been kind indeed, even the higher number does not approach the Germans, forget the Mongols who tended to kill, well... everyone.

  1.2 million dead Iraqis is still a stack of bodies approximately 189 miles high.

• source data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties
  

Arguing With Americans

I post a lot over at Salon, where Greenwald is amazing, as I have remarked here before. Salon is a liberal online magazine, with a very large audience.

They are on side on a lot of issues, but on one issue - Salon tows the line. 911 Truth is off limits there; Patrick Smith, of "Ask the Pilot" has done a hit piece, and Farhad Manjoo their tech writer has taken a whack at it too, here and here. Sadly, I have yet to see a single article at Salon that does not ridicule and sneer.
This is not the way to the truth. There are serious questions. They must be answered.Not everybody is a fan of Farhan's journalistic or intellectual prowess, as seen in the comment below. Neither am I - this is the guy who just tried to tell us that the recent errant KH series spy satellite was shot down by, wait for it, a cruise missile! It must have been one low and slow spy satellite. And he is supposed to be tech writer. His perspicacity on the 911 question is in serious doubt as well.

This story was assigned to the wrong reporter

This story should not have been assigned to Farhad Manjoo. Sifting through the various levels of truth, lies, myth and fantasy surrounding the events of 9/11 requires a journalist who can review evidence objectively, not a dittohead like Manjoo whose knee-jerk response to any criticism of the Bush administration and Republicans is to insist that they would never act with anything other than the purest and noblest of motives. It's time for Manjoo to move to Fox News and for Salon to hire a real political reporter.

-- Yossarian

I like Salon, but they should open up the filter, just a little.

Neocon Lies, Amazing Video

I ask anyone who see this to pass it on to their friends, family, co-workers, hell print the url on your business cards. All the lies, well, not all the lies, who's got 132 hours to watch that? But it does have a LOT of them. There is footage here I have never seen before, and I have seen a lot of videos!

Lots Happening

I have been away. Many things have happened. The clouds are gathering all over the world.

Obama is being hit and hit hard. The Iran Project is still on the table. Gas is a $110 a barrel. Trouble in South America. Gaza is under siege, water, food and medicine are scarce. And Gaza is now under threat of a shoa - another nakba. A threat made explicit by the Israelis, a threat so evocative that it shocked the Israeli people themselves.

It's been five long years since another, new, holocaust began, in the "hell that is now Iraq" - as Saddam called it from the gallows. Electricity in Baghdad is on for an hour a day at most. Baghdad, one of the oldest cities in the world, in one of its hottest places, in the dark, powerless. Powerless in so many ways.

And we have lost one of the great souls. Sir Arthur C. Clarke has died at 90, or as he said, "I have completed 90 orbits around the sun". I will miss him.

Ellsberg Says War With Iran Still on

Russian Yakhonts hyper-sonic anti-ship missile

Below is an email I just sent to Mike Malloy, host of the Mike Malloy show which you can listen to at www.mikemalloy.com. If you haven't heard of Mike, please tune in after the news at 9PM EST. Mike is one of the leading progressive voices out there and was named by FOX news as being one of the top 20 most dangerous Liberals in America.


Hi Mike

I've been talking about the attack on Iran for so long now, I'm into the boy who cried wolf zone. But time will tell, and time, my friend, is running out. If there is to be an American or Israeli attack on Iran, it must be soon - within the year. We will know soon.

Today we have Daniel Ellsberg warning about an attack on Iran. He is very worried. Ellsberg says that, "The American public and media have not picked up on the urgency surrounding a pending war with Iran... no matter how much time is left, impeachment is one thing that must happen for the sake of preserving American democracy."

The war plans are not just on the table Mike, Sy Hersh says they are being "updated by the minute".

I won't even bother to add that so called "case" against Iran is a thin, wet, dirty, tissue of lies and propaganda, without any basis in reality whatsoever.

Daniel Ellsberg, perhaps the country's most famous whistleblower, fears that before the Bush administration leaves office, it will try to attack Iran.

Indeed, Ellsberg's argument gained merit as George W. Bush increased his rhetoric against Iran when he delivered his final State of the Union Address. Bush accused Iran of training militia extremists in Iraq and emphasized the United States will confront its enemies.

http://www.alternet.org/audits/76241/?page=entire

So what happens if Bush does attack Iran Mike? Please see this link to a shocking, yet truly superb article on Iranian military capabilities. The Iranians have an arsenal of hypersonic and unstoppable ship killer missiles like the Russian SS-NX-26 Yakhonts missiles, (speed: Mach 2.9; range: 180 miles) deployed by the Iranians along the Gulf's northern shore.The US Navy has no defense against these missiles. None. If and when the attack on Iran occurs, within hours the world will change again as the Iranians will almost certainly sink USN Nuclear Carriers, tankers, and capital ships.

There are really only three things that are important right now Mike: stopping the war, not starting a new one, and 9/11 justice.

Personally I would like to hear a show devoted to asking questions about the attack on Iran.

Keep up the great work. We appreciate it.