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Monday, September 27, 2004 |
Scotsman: "Gordon Brown has rejected the olive branch offered by Tony Blair over his demotion in the coming general election campaign, and today will launch a robust defence of his role as the guardian of Labour's core values.
The Chancellor will tell Labour's annual conference that they must be 'based on more than a set of individual policies announced by politicians' - a remark that will be seen as a direct jibe at the Prime Minister and his allies."
I heard Gordon Brown on the BBC today. Years ago, Brown, who was to be Prime Minister, was pushed aside by Blair. Blair's policies failed. Now it's time to get back to basics.
5:01:20 PM 
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Hidden Slaves (pdf): "Forced labor is a serious and pervasive problem in the United States. At any given time ten thousand or more people work as forced laborers in scores of cities and towns across the country. And it is likely that the actual number is much higher, possibly reaching into the tens of thousands. Because forced labor is hidden, inhumane, widespread, and criminal, sustained and coordinated efforts by U.S. law enforcement, social service providers, and the general public are needed to expose and eradicate this illicit trade."
(Via Free the Slaves)
In this light, Cosby's initiative comes just in time, because the struggle is not over yet: "Comedian and actor Bill Cosby is aiming to raise 10 million dollars to help fund a planned US National Slavery Museum in this historic Virginia town. Cosby said he will donate proceeds from 10 performances to raise millions for the museum to honor his ancestors, many of whom lived in this southern US state, and educate people today."
11:05:42 AM
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Retired Air Force Col. Mike Turner: "From a purely military standpoint, the war in Iraq is an unmitigated disaster. This administration failed to make even a cursory effort at adequately defining the political end state they sought to achieve by removing Saddam Hussein, making it impossible to precisely define long-term military success. That, in turn, makes it impossible to lay out a rational exit strategy for U.S. troops. Like Vietnam, the military is again being asked to clean up the detritus of a failed foreign policy. We are nose-deep in a protracted insurgency, an occupying Christian power in an oil-rich, Arab country. That country is not now and has never been a single nation. A single, unified, democratic Iraq comprised of Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis is a willfully ignorant illusion at best.
Two thirds of America's combat brigades are now tied down in this war which, under present conditions, is categorically unwinnable. Having alienated virtually every major ally who might help, our troops are simply targets. If Bush is re-elected, there are only two possible outcomes in Iraq:
- Four years from now, America will have 5,000 dead servicemen and women and an untold number of dead Iraqis at a cost of about $1 trillion, yet still be no closer to success than we are right now, or
- The U.S. will be gone, and we will witness the birth of a violent breeding ground for Shiite terrorists posing a far greater threat to Americans than a contained Saddam.
First, Americans must understand it is highly probable that Iraq is already lost. Americans must stop believing the never-ending litany of 'happy thoughts' spewing forth from the Bush campaign and start thinking about our men and women dying wholesale in Iraq."
10:53:58 AM
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