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POPSJohn McCain is truly an angry and frustated egomaniac This pretender needs to chill out on one of his wife’s luxurious estates and tend the barbecue. It is very evident that he would turn over our government to the corporate powers who have been running it for the last eight years. Not this time. — Posted by Luke Wright
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POPSGen. David Petraeus beats megastar Angeline Jolie.... People in the *real* world know who is truly important. No disrespect to Ms. Jolie, but her influence is minimal when it comes to life & death issues. This is also true of Crews, Baldwin, Franken, Hayden, etc..... Celebrities are useless when it comes to getting things accomplished. Nice article that gives credit where credit is due.
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POPSUSA: Drowning in Pretend Patriotism? Any doubts as to this later governing impulse of our imperial ambitions were shattered with the recent news that U.S. advisers to our puppet government in the Green Zone of occupied Iraq have worked out agreements for American oil companies to gain control of Iraqi oil fields. But, then again, what did we expect when we elected a Texas oil hustler, and a failed one at that , to be our president? ... AlterNet
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POPSThe Press Photographer's Year 2008: Guardian winners Sean Smith winning the multimedia category to add to his successes in the British Press and Royal Television Society journalism awards. Smith's winning entry consisted of stills and video from his time spent with US troops in Baghdad last year. The Press Photographer’s Year, organised in association with the British Press Photographers' Association, is a competition for photographers working around the world
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POPSArchitecture of Authority [images] The Architecture of Authority, illustrates the physical spaces of prisons, police stations, confessionals, schools, and much more from around the world. When asked what surprised Richard Ross in his experiences taking these photographs, he said... That my wife and kids let me go to Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Beirut, etc., and actually get these images.
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POPSTourism in Iraq It's hard to believe, but there is limited tourism in Iraq. As this story points out, most of the tourists come from Iran to see Iraq's holy sites. Even more interesting is the report that the Pentagon is backing a five-year plan to build luxury hotels and shopping malls in Baghdad for the price of $5 billion. What do you think about this? Is it premature or overly-optimistic planning? Should local shopkeepers and merchants get consideration as well?
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POPSWhen will they ever Learn, when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn
Previously, I've offered the Bush gang some undeserved advice. It was simple and even more obvious with time. Whatever instinct they have to do something, then don't. Do the opposite or do nothing. Everything they touch turns to dust. Just a few: Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, waterboarding, rendition, POWs, Dollar, Oil, Economy, Hamas, Gaza, West Bank, Katrina, civil rights, prisons, racism, FEAR. Only one state has prospered and at the US expense. It's economy roars ahead based on false security and terrorism. Iraq's government partly rules Baghdad's Green Zone. Now Lebanon's government may in time rule a Beirut Green Zone. Only Israel benefits. Bush ignored the democratically elected Hamas in Gaza. Then the US provoked a Hamas military takeover. Why? So Israel could practice judicial assassination and Hamas wouldn't talk peace? Never. And when Hamas through Carter offered the peace to the Zionists? The lamest excuse ever?
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POPSMickey Mouse-opatamia: Disneyland comes to Baghdad
But, just like in a Disney fairy tale, the souls of these dead animals will inhabit the bodies of the cartoon characters who will serve as ushers and greeters at the thrilling new "Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience." The $525 million project, says C3's owner, "will be managed by the Iraqis" (ha, ha, that's a good one, just like the oil fields) and the "experience" will be "culturally sensitive" (ha, ha, that's an even better one). Even though there's no running water in parts of Baghdad, the electricity is sparse at best, and suicide bombers are still killing an average of 100 civilians a week, this will, in the words of C3's director, be a welcome sight to Iraqis. He told the London Times, "The people need this kind of positive influence. It's going to have a huge psychological impact." Another big supporter of the Disney "experience" is Bush lapdog, General David Petraeus, who said Baghdad was otherwise "lacking in entertainment." If this weren't all so predictably ha
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POPSGreen Zone looking like Sitting Duck
I was just thinking how the recent fighting in Baghdad, focused around the Green Zone and Sard City, had comparisons to the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, and those pictures of the US helicopters fleeing of the roof of the Hanoi US embassy. As a sidenote, It is interesting how an indigenous force uses the terrain and the weather while an occuping army fights against it. Could you imagine the US Army planing actions around sandstorms? I read that in Vietnam the Vietnamese quickly realized US actions, especially air strikes, always took a break for lunch. The USA should negotiate some final political settlement and get out of Iraq. I note there is a lot of the now-common propaganda between the lines involving latest battles, such as the idea the US is battling an "army." It is not an "army." It is a militia. It's made up of citizen soldiers mainly from their own neighborhoods. Compared to the US Army they are like fleas on the back of a dog; fleas that are apparently hard
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POPSIraqi Air Force Lifted By Support Missions In 1991, the Iraqi air force had 16 bombers, including Tu-22 and Tu-16; 360 fighter ground attack craft, which included J-6, MiG-23, Su-7, and Su-20; and 275 fighters, including the MiG-21, Mirage and MiG-29. Today, it has 17 reconnaissance planes, three transport planes and only several aircraft for training. Despite the shortage, the recovery of the Iraqi air force over the past few years is considered a successful endeavor for Iraq-U.S. relations. Since November 2006, the U.S. Air Force has been aiding Iraqi military commanders in an effort to get the fledgling branch to solely take on military operations. "We will continue our relations and future as friends," said Gen. Barzanji, he added that "Iraq will one day be a good example for the rest of the Middle East."
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POPS4,000 GI's Dead - I Ain't No Senators Son, Son Some folks are born made to wave the flag, Ooh, theyre red, white and blue. And when the band plays hail to the chief, Ooh, they point the cannon at you, lord, It aint me, it aint me, I aint no senators son, son. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no, Yeah! Some folks are born silver spoon in hand, Lord, dont they help themselves, oh. But when the taxman comes to the door, Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes, It aint me, it aint me, I aint no millionaires son, no. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no. Some folks inherit star spangled eyes, Ooh, they send you down to war, lord, And when you ask them, how much should we give? Ooh, they only answer more! more! more! yoh, It aint me, it aint me, I aint no military son, son. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, one. It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate one, no no no, It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate son, no no no,