Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Posted here Wednesday, September 01, 2004 at 10:19:56 PM     I will be traveling a bit so no postings.  Apologies. Lots happening. ********

Posted here Wednesday, September 01, 2004 at 1:07:54 PM     Oh wonderful AL-JAZEERA TV BRINGS GOP TO THE ARAB WORLD: INFLUENTIAL NETWORK COVERS CONVENTION - ANNA BADKHEN (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, SEPTEMBER 1): For 40 million viewers in the Arab world, Al-Jazeera, a Qatar-based satellite television channel, provides a window into the intricate world of American politics. This week, its 16 reporters and staff will air 13 hours of broadcasts from the convention -- more time than the combined coverage of America's major television networks, ABC, CBS and NBC. "The U.S. cares a lot about explaining America to the world. We're telling the American story without any cost to taxpayer money," Hafez al-Mirazi, the Al-Jazeera Washington bureau chief, said in a playful stab at Al-Hurra, the U.S.-funded Arabic-language network unpopular in the Arab world, where many perceive it as a White House mouthpiece. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/09/01/MNG228HQN31.DTL ********

Posted here Wednesday, September 01, 2004 at 10:27:51 AM     Interesting series of articles in the Washington Monthly on what would happen if Bush wins. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0409.bushforum.html ********

Posted here Wednesday, September 01, 2004 at 9:29:33 AM     Juan Cole is doing a masterful job of exploring the Israel Iran Bush connections. Read his today posting at www.juancole.com  The Russian school hostage taking points out how the whole fringe world is under pressure from the techtonic pate shiftings of world power. A good site to watch for the whole unsettled state of eurasia is http://www.eurasianet.org/index.shtml   Excerpt from Cole Wednesday, September 01, 2004 Spy Scandal's Roots are Deep Jim Lobe argues that the FBI investigation that caught up Pentagon Iran expert Lawrence Franklin is much wider than initially thought, and focuses on the unauthorized transfer to Israel of highly sophisticated military software and designs. Since many Israeli arms merchants connected to the government in Tel Aviv sell to the black market, some of this military technology has ended up in the hands of countries that have poor relations with the US, and some may have ultimately been resold to al-Qaeda. ********

Posted here Wednesday, September 01, 2004 at 8:00:04 AM     The near absence of democrats on the responses on the main TV channels last night compares with the near absence of democrats commenting after the democratic evenings a few weeks ago. That ther can be this depth of unfairness, media control, bully tactics, leaves me feeling very nervous this morning. There is the possibility that it was democratic strategy, to lay low, let the republicans self immolate. But that requires a degree of coordination I think is impossible on the democratic side. But Kerry's strategy could be to lay low, as Bush did during the democratic convention, and to do other wise would be to be open to charges of uncivility. The next week, after the conventon closes, will be important. Kerry today speaks to the VFW. If we combine that with the "message," that the repubicans can say anything, like "we have captured or killed off 2/3 of al queda." and many others, just repeating, with no regard for the truth, and the press mostly goes along, then we are in deep. Is there a democratic response, and where really is Kerry on the issues of Iraq, the economy, and justice? Americans seem to want security, malls, and heavy food. The german conservatives of the 20's  l;et the thugs do thier work into the 30's. Are we doing the same? ********