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 New thoughts on Benazir Bhutto’s death
12/31/07 07:20:05
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Here’s a theory:
In the days following the former Prime Minister’s assassination, there’s been a pattern to the government’s lies. It’s not just that they’re lies; it’s that they’re huge, embarrassingly obvious lies. Part of this pattern is continuing the pretense that Bhutto died when her head impacted the lever of her car, which has once again been disproven by both eyewitness and video evidence.
But while everyone squabbles about how she died, only a few media outlets are talking about who killed her and why. While there was much talk of motive right after the shooting, notice how that conversation has taken a back seat to HOW she died.
So perhaps there’s a method to the government’s madness. Keep the press coverage on whether it was a bullet, bomb or lever that killed her, whether she should be exhumed, how the crime scene was handled and the general fucked upness, keeping journalists so distracted that they stop writing about the most important thing: Who and why.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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For shame Senator Dodd
12/31/07 07:17:37
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Jesus Christ. If ever there was a television appearance that should torpedo not only Christopher Dodd’s presidential ambitions but cost him his seat on the Foreign Relations Committee (and perhaps even the Senate), this is it. Behold the mighty errors:
1. Musharraf must not go ("better the devil you know than the devil you don’t" - in other words, down with democracy, up with dictatorship). The man should be running as a Republican
2. Foreign aid to Pakistan must not be cut, despite indications of grotesque abuse and corruption
3. Complete ignorance of the name of the other former Prime Minister of Pakistan running for office, Nawaz Sharif (PML-N), whom Dodd bizzarely repeatedly refers to as "Shamir", who was in fact a prime minister, but of Israel.
Where do they find these people?
Oh, and that election promo is retarded. "The most important election of our lifetime"? Give me a break.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Welcome a new link to the blogroll
12/30/07 07:27:39
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Read Burke File early and often...
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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High Noon at the O.K. Corral
12/30/07 07:15:48
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So let me get this straight:
Democratic presidential candidates are calling for an independent investigation into the killing of Benazir Bhutto. Look out Pakistan, there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s bringing his posse with him.
Perhaps the contenders think that the world is one big Western, where Wyatt Earp and/or Kane from High Noon, with maybe Britain or the U.N. in the Doc Holliday role (only without the tuberculosis), shoulder their weapons and invite Gil Grissom to accompany them to the crime scene to root out the bad guys and use awesome forensic skills to find the perps.
There are a few tiny problems with this.
The crime scene has been hosed down. Benazir Bhutto’s body was not autopsied, and the likelihood of that happening is hovering around nil. And, after all, the Pakistani government has issued its findings, and as far as they’re concerned the case is closed.
All else is blather, designed to draw attention away from the real issue: The U.S.’s completely failed policy in Pakistan. Too bad Bill Richardson, a candidate the voters have zero interest in, is the one guy brave enough to come clean on this 800-pound gorilla romping around the room.
But does anyone care about what Bill Richardson has to say? Ron Paul gets more press.
One thing is for damn sure though. Bhutto did not die by hitting her head. If you believe that, there’s a lovely bridge I have the title to that’s just waiting for a buyer.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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As Pakistan bleeds and burns...
12/30/07 07:11:50
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It’s time to take stock in who bears the responsibility.
America has meddled, with boldfaced hypocrisy, on behalf of military dictator and butcher "President" Pervez Musharraf. ’Tis better, in the "thinking" of the lacking-in-shame occupant of the White House, to have a strongman in charge rather than let democracy flourish. Our paternalistic attitude towards this country has led directly to the current crisis. Send Benazir Bhutto back to be a sitting duck, at the mercy of the assassin’s bullet? Continue to praise Musharraf, even as he has displayed an utter lack of respect for human rights and the "democracy" we promote, sometimes at the point of a gun? CONTINUE to praise Musharraf even as he strips the press of its freedom, jails justices (if ever a better metaphor for what this man stands for I can’t think of one), and "disappears" his own people?
And don’t get me started on tepid, milquetoast responses from the Democratic presidential candidates, who as they cower in fear display an utter lack of gravitas and understanding of what makes that country tick. For shame, for shame.
Was it an inside job? Intelligence experts believe so. Is it so hard to believe that Musharraf and his revolting ISI had a hand in Bhutto’s demise? Is it so hard to believe that Pakistan’s hideous "intelligence" organization (if by "intelligence organization" you mean death squad) would ensure this woman’s elimination from Pakistan’s election process and the world stage? Consider, if you will, the patently phony "execution" attempts on the Interior Minister (would an assassin really miss this man twice?), and even Musharraf himself. Is it so hard to believe that these photo op "assassination" attempts were staged to garner sympathy for the thieves and thugs who rule Pakistan in an attempt to garner sympathy from the West, which in its fear of those nukes falling into the wrong hands, praise Musharraf and his toadies and enablers for being stalwarts against extremism? Problem is, if you look at what’s going on in parts of that country, Pakistan’s "president" hasn’t proven very effective at staunching the flow of crazies into his own country, despite the generous military aid provided to him by the terrified West, most of which has been squandered on God knows what.
What an utter embarrassment it is to be an American during this Bush administration. What a sickening feeling one gets in the pit of one’s stomach, if one has a sense of responsibility. What sadness and horror as Pakistan burns and bleeds.
What a loss of an amazing, patriotic woman.
What a horror.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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The death of Benazir Bhutto
12/27/07 07:01:48
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The chickens have come home to their rotten roost, thanks to the Bush administration’s tireless boostering of a dictator who declares martial law and makes a mockery of the "electoral" process. Great work Bush administration. I hope all of you who have elevated and kept Musharraf in power are proud today of your contribution to freedom on the march.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Charlie Wilson’s bullshit
12/25/07 07:42:37
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It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly sane and reasonable people can get it so wrong.
Case in point: The fawning over the film "Charlie Wilson’s War", which is being universally praised by even Washington, D.C. film critics and other writers who should know better.
Point one: Tom Hanks essentially hiring himself to play Wilson is one of the worst casting errors since, well, Tom Hanks played the lead in the stinkbomb that was "Bonfire of the Vanities". Charlie Wilson was a boozing, whoring male chauvanist and a posturing buffoon. Hanks is a damned fine actor, but he ain’t no Charlie Wilson. Was Tommy Lee Jones busy or something?
This recent fawning profile of good ol’ Texas Charlie in the Washington Post nearly made me lose my lunch. Mr. "You can teach ’em how to type but you can’t teach ’em how to grow tits" is portrayed as a lovable scamp, described as a "tall, thin, ridiculously handsome" good ol’ boy (I’ve met Charlie Wilson, and one thing he was NOT was "ridiculously handsome"). What the piece glosses over, which should be at the heart of any profile of Wilson, is that perhaps supplying religious loonies with American weapons is not a great idea, even when trying to purge the country of commies. These sorts of short-sighted shenanigans led to the Taliban takeover of the country and the rise of Osama bin Laden, who used our weapons and the training he received from us to put his foot up our collective ass repeatedly, culminating in the awful brutality of 9/11.
But is Charlie Wilson held responsible? Indeed, will ANY of the enablers from the ’80s be held responsible for any of the havoc they created?
I guess not. Especially when you’re remembered for staffing your office with good looking, curvy women, riding on horseback around Afghanistan in mufti with a rifle slung over your shoulder and being such a good time Charlie, pun intended.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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My 2 cents on the developments in the 2008 race so far
12/25/07 07:40:54
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OK, so I’ve kept my peace long enough, and now it’s time. Observations will be bullet pointed to help the medicine go down.
- Don’t pay attention to the early prognostications by the Washington "political" press corps. 99% of their observations will prove to be incorrect
- Anyone who claims to be certain they know who the nominees will be at this stage is a professional fool
- The Huckabee surge was clearly meant to happen to anyone with a brain and two eyes who’s been a serious observer of politics for any length of time. The man is a former preacher and a Southerner who speaks fluent Evangelical. In person he’s funny and engaging. That doesn’t mean he’s not completely batshit insane. Don’t write him off
- That being said, he and Obama may very well prove to be the Howard Deans of this cycle, in the sense that all the adulatory press coverage this early may very well come back to bite them in the ass once the traveling press corps gets bored. Cynical political reporters are notoriously fickle and always on the lookout for the new fresh thing. That doesn’t mean, however, that they won’t smash and throw out their new toys once they’re tired of playing with them
- Take the polls with a grain of salt. It’s too early
- Again, never underestimate the short attention span of the traveling press corps. Like babies, they’re fascinated by shiny objects. Boredom breeds contempt. That’s why McCain’s approach in 2000 was so ingenious: Keep them so well fed that they bloat, which generate adoring stories about the candidate’s "accessibility" and leaves less time for the journos detailed to you to make mischief. Again, a bored press corps is a dangerous press corps
That is all. For now.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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A bit of a bummer posting on Christmas day
12/25/07 07:24:38
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Being a Jew on Christmas day is an odd experience. In one way it’s kind of cool. No traffic. Downside: You get called in to work to cover for all your Christian colleagues, but then again you get paid extra, so that’s o.k.
But one basic element of Judaism is a pervasive sense of guilt, instilled in us from the time we’re in the crib and continues throughout our lives. So on this Christmas day, I say it’s time to spread the wealth.
It’s a time to think about the less fortunate, to take stock in who we are as individuals and as a nation, and to show compassion. I personally don’t believe that we should limit ourselves to thinking and acting this way during the holiday season, but what the hell. Our president claims to be a Christian, so let’s evaluate what he and his henchman have done unto others during their wretched years in office.
I turn your attention to this excellent post by former CIA analyst Ray McGovern. Read it and let it sink in.
Now, before you curse me for putting you right off your eggnog and tasty Christmas ham, just think about what Ray has written.
Are we really a nation that wants to be thought of as the perpetrators of crimes against humanity borrowed straight from the Spanish Inquisition? Do we really want to encourage and condone the horrors of human barter that led to so many wretched souls being trapped at Guantanamo? And why hasn’t their been a greater outcry, not just by "religious" leaders, but by the press and the public?
On this Christmas day I’m taking stock, and I’m ashamed. I won’t let myself off the hook by reminding myself that I didn’t vote for the current occupant of the White House, who has unleashed these human rights nightmares. But as an American, I bear responsibility. And that’s not just Jewish guilt talking. That’s a fact.
And by the way, Keith Olbermann is pissed off too.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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What is it about the name Clinton that makes people crazy?
12/24/07 07:37:50
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You know how it is when an article just sticks in your craw because the subject matter is so utterly absurd? Just witness this piece from the lastest GQ on the unbearable madness of the hardcore Clinton haters. Pull quote:
But the unabashed ambition of Hillary Clinton is unseemly to Collins, who sees her candidacy as a triumphant feminism piling on after winning the 1960s culture wars.
“In a sense, the feminists have already won,” he says, swiveling in his chair. “There is equal pay for equal work. But the feminists take it to the next level, the bra burning and ‘We don’t need men except for breeding purposes.’ All this kind of extreme stuff.”
He says Lady Bird Johnson was a much better model for a president’s wife and traces all the animosity people feel for Hillary to her violating the country’s traditional conception of a first lady.
There’s so much to unpack here that it’s hard to know where to begin. Bra burning? Women don’t need men except for breeding purposes? Lady Bird Johnson? WTF?
There’s just no pleasing some people. So let’s get this straight: Hillary Clinton had to go through the public humiliation of her husband’s colossally idiotic mistake of unzipping his pants in the White House, yet she didn’t divorce him. Yup, that’s some pretty extreme feminist behavior right there. And by the way, I guess that this creep didn’t get the memo that the sainted Lady Bird was married to a notorious skirt chaser...it’s just that printing those sorts of ugly facts would have violated the gentleman’s agreement that existed between the (largely male) press corps and politicians back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. But forget logic. It just doesn’t work with these people.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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