Theatre of the Absurd: II

Remember a few years ago, when the buzz word was "yellow cake?" The stuff they get from uranium to make bombs? The stuff that African country, Niger, was supposed to be sending to Saddam Hussein so he could nuke us? When George Bush was talking about it in his State of the Union message five years ago, it sounded very sinister.

OK. Well something even more sinister has reared it's ugly head. And you know the Internet. Rumors spread with the speed of light, only faster.
The new buzzword is "gum arabic. " And this time it's the Sudan that is threatening us with something even bigger than nuclear weapons. Something that will cut into the very fiber of our nation, and destroy our way of life. It will affect our homes, our kids, our relationships with friends and neighbors, and our relationship with our dentists!!! The emulsifier gum arabic, is the key ingredient in soda pop. And the Sudan provides 80% of the world supply of gum arabic.

Apparently, the Sudanese Ambassador to the United States is furious. His country has been totally misrepresented by some opportunistic movie stars who are determined to generate publicity for themselves at the expense of innocent public officials. What's even worse, following the pack mentality that Hollywood stars have, so many of them have gotten so much attention about the small matter of Darfur, which is a region of the Sudan, that the President of the United States recently announced sanctions in an attempt to end the violence in the region. Of course, this isn't the first time elected officials have been misinformed and acted on the public pressure created by publicity seeking celebrities.

The Sudanese ambassador, John Ukec Lueth Ukec, was deeply insulted at the way people like George Clooney and Don Cheadle have portrayed his country, effectively shaping public opinion. At a recent news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., he portrayed his beleaguered democracy as engaged in an uphill struggle to change the public perception of the Sudan, and of the problems that are being totally misrepresented in Darfur. He thinks it's

high time another point of view was heard. Because all we know of the Darfur region of the Sudan, we learned from people like George. And according to George, (Clooney. You wouldn't expect George Bush to know this stuff!) the government of the Sudan is supporting a terrorist militia called the Janjaweed, who are engaged in genocide in the Darfur region. The quantifiable human costs so far are nearly one million people dead. Murdered. Many of them hacked to death, including starving children in the relative safety of camps.

There are no safe places in Darfur, or anywhere else, when the government itself is the enemy. In fact, the total breakdown in anything resembling social order, has made it impossible to get supplies of food, water, and humanitarian aid to the people of the Darfur region. For the nearly 2 million who have been fortunate enough to get out, a refugee crisis has been created, that has overburdened neighboring countries totally unprepared to absorb the sudden influx of so many in such desperate need of help.

At least that's what that cunning manipulator, George Clooney and his cohorts would have you believe. According to Ambassador Ukec, there is no genocide, there are no refugees, and there have been no massacres. The Sudanese government he represents are, "...agents of peace." In spite of the millions currently starving in the Darfur region, he described the Sudan, itself, as "...the breadbasket of the world!"

In any event, his country is so incensed at all these misrepresentations, and especially at the new sanctions announced by President Bush, that he more than implied that such acts by the United States could have dire consequences. As one insider put it, "This is hardball! Everything is on the table"... including the consideration of the suspension of shipments of gum arabic. This could not come at a worse time for the U.S. economy. The dollar is falling steadily. The prospect of higher home heating costs loom large for the coming winter. The fact that our chicken, our beef, and our pet foods may be poisonous is upsetting. And now, they want to mess with our Coca Cola. How much more can we take?

Wake Me When It's Over: I

Sometimes we forget that part of Congress's job is to look over the President's shoulder. W hasn't had anyone looking over his shoulder for so long, that no one in the Bush administration feels like they have to answer to anyone. So If it appears as if things are unravelling with these Congressional hearings sprouting up, it's because they are.

Take a look at Attorneygate. And you know that spins off into other matters beyond simply firing 8 U.S. attorneys. There's the issue of way too much influence exerted by White House staff. There's the issue of deliberately attempting to suppress the vote in the 2006 elections, there's the issue of the constitutionality of domestic spying and wiretaps, the apparent suspension of habeas corpus, the issue of torturing prisoners, and there's the issue of extra-ordinary rendition, where the U.S. outsources the torturing of prisoners, or terrorist "suspects." (And when you think about Americans missing in Iraq, or anywhere else for that matter, the torture issue becomes pretty important. )

No wonder poor John Ashcroft resigned his post as Attorney General and went home to re-launch a career with his Barbershop Quartet. Imagine for a moment this guy being really sick in the hospital with a fever, and IVs, doped up with painkillers, fresh out of surgery, barely conscious in a darkened room, and suddenly, you, the guy he appointed to handle things while he was gone, come racing into his hospital room, squawling like a scalded cat.

Because you've just informed the White House that what they wanted to do with wiretaps is unconstitutional. Illegal. No legal standing. They cannot do it. You will not cover up such actions under the shredded cloak of legality. You will not provide them any cover on it. And you were just forewarned that the President of the United States, himself, was sending some goons, ( his Chief of Staff, Andrew Card. Think Tom Hagen here, and his General Counsel, Alberto "Torture is Good!" Gonzales. Think Lucca Brazzi) to the hospital with documents they will insist the real AG to sign off on.

They aren't going to deal with some low life surrogate toad! They want the REAL Attorney General, the legally recognized, Constitutionally- mandated Officer in Charge, to follow legal procedures, and sign off on allowing them to violate the law. And when they arrive, only moments after you, they ask him, John Ashcroft, to sign off. They tell him they need the AG's signature. And in a pain-clogged voice, he raises his trembling hand, points to you and says, "He's the AG right now. Deal with it!"

Of course you can tell Congress this chilling tale now, since you don't work there anymore. Tell them about that rare moment when you stood up to the thuggery in this White House, that respects no law. It makes you wonder. How many other horror stories like this are out there. Like kids who suppress memories of abuse by their parents, will the flashes of memory, these nightmares of post traumatic stress, cause more Congressional confessionals?? One can hope!

(Copyright,2007)

When a Shark Becomes a Tuna I

The Board of Directors of the World Bank announced that President Paul Wolfowitz will resign effective June 30, 2007. It was not known at the time we went to press (LOL!) what would become of Shaha Riza. There are rumors she's starting her own girl group.
(Copyright, 2007)

sharks vs. tuna II

When we last looked in on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, he was preparing for his testimony before Congress on the matter of the firings of 8 U.S. attorneys. He has since testified and some one claims he used the phrase, "I don't remember," at least 200 times. I think that number is inflated, but I understand. It seemed like 200 times.

Around that same time, Alberto's former Justice Department liaison to the White House, Monica Goodling, who might easily be mistaken for a more tactful version of Ann Coulter, compared Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and his committee hearings on the U.S. Attorney firings, to a witchhunt, and said Leahy was just exactly like Senator Joe McCarthy. In fact, the whole enterprise smacked of McCarthyism to Monica. She said these things in a prepared statement, as though it were sufficient rationale for taking the 5th against self incrimination, as she fully intended to do, before any committee of Congress investigating her for any reason at all, including parking tickets she might have incurred in Georgetown.

Enter, stage left, Judge Thomas Hogan, who has finally ruled that "Monica Goodling may not refuse to testify and may not refuse to provide other information when compelled to do so..." So Monica has been granted limited Immunity in order to testify, like, right now, before the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Congressman John Conyers. Conyers described her testimony as "critical" to the hearings.

And because we relish continuity and cohesion in our presentations, this all leads back to the White House and our proverbial bridesmaid, Karl Rove.

It seems that in the fall of 2006, Karl was suddenly vitally interested in instances of voter fraud in the 2006 elections. We're talking about October, 2006. Never mind that the elections hadn't yet occurred. Karl deals in perception. He works offense, not defense.

Karl was worried about New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, specifically, and probably others would be added to his short list as the need arose. Those three states were described as "battleground" states needed to retain control of Congress. The issue, in Karl's mind, if no where else, was voter fraud being perpetrated against Republicans. (I know.) So, Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff at that time, (He's not there anymore.) Kyle Sampson, allegedly supplied another Gonzales aide, Matt Friedrich, with a 30 page "report" provided by Republican party "activists" making these voter fraud claims.

U.S. attorneys from those states as well as from others, who did not initiate investigations and lawsuits on voter fraud, and incidently create a big public furor about it, made the White House hit list. Of course, there were also indictments sought by political enemies of various GOP operatives as well.

You see, as more and more testimony is heard, and as this investigation progresses, it is becoming increasingly clear that the attorneygate firings are directly connected with too much White House influence, too much political influence, and entirely too much Rovian intervention, aimed directly at suppression of the vote in the 2006 mid-term elections among other things.
On a broader scale, this special form of cannibalism was aimed at completely politicizing the functioning of the entire federal government in ways even Nixon couldn't have imagined.

This goes way beyond political chicanery and dirty tricks. It is part of a much larger strategy that has Karl's fingerprints all over it.

Someone recently did a comparison on how various cabinet level departments, including the Justice Department, related to the White House and how much day to day contact and influence was exerted by the White House on the various functions of government at the cabinet and agency level. After all, each President has his own management style.

But this isn't about style. It's about control. So in the Clinton White House, for example, maybe there were a dozen direct contacts between Justice department staff and White House staff. ..in a four year period. But in this Bush White House there were perhaps three or four hundred contacts between the White House staff and DOJ staff. A very tight ship indeed. Politics is policy! Placed in this context, clearly, all roads lead to Rove.

(Copyright, 2007)

Oh! What A Tangled Web We Weave...

I thought it might be nice to look in on Poor Paul Wolfowitz. Poor Paul was under fire for arranging for the World Bank to pay his girl friend Shaha Riza ,$200,000 to work at the U.S. State Department, on loan from her job in the Communications section at the World Bank. Well. Things have gotten worse. Kevin Kellems, one of the two top aides Wolfowitz brought over with him from the Pentagon, has resigned. The other, Robin Cleveland, it appears, was up to no good. She, of course, has not resigned.

Marwan Muasher was the former Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan. He had only been on his new job at the World Bank for about two weeks. New guy. In charge of External Affairs. Back in early April, Robin drafted a statement for him, so he in turn could conduct a background briefing with senior bank officials around Mr. Wolfowitz's "Shaha problem."

According to the Financial Times, the statement claimed in part that, "...after consultation with the General Counsel, the Ethics Committee of the Board of Directors approved an external assignment agreement with the staff member." Except that now the chairman of the Ethics committee has also issued a statement in rebuttal: disputing the claim that any agreement was ever approved by the Ethics committee and there was no consulting the General Counsel.
It gets worse. In a classified document obtained by the Financial Times, Wolfowitz told Pentagon investigators he "enlisted the help of a World Bank employee with whom he had a personal relationship, in activities supporting the Iraq war" when he was Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Apparently, in 2003, Shaha Riza entered into a contract with a company that provides "logistics, intelligence, and advice(!) to the Pentagon." E-mails indicate this was done at Wolfowitz's request. At the time, Shaha Riza was an employee of the World Bank and Paul Wolfowitz was Deputy Secretary of Defense. Of course, there were others who recommended that Ms. Riza get that contract. One of them, Elizabeth Cheney, the daughter of the Vice President...worked at the State Department at the time. (This is the other daughter.) There are those who believe that this, too, was a definite conflict of interest and a huge violation of the World Bank's rules.

The embattled Wolfowitz, graceless and arrogant to the end, is calling this entire mess an attempt to smear him. He was given additional time, until the close of business, Friday, May 11th, to defend himself and submit "final comments" in writing to the World Bank panel investigating this tawdry mess. On Monday, his comments along with the findings of the investigating panel, will go before the Board of Directors. Wolfowitz can also meet with them in person on Tuesday. It is fervently hoped the matter will be decided then.

Of course, we all know what's really going on this weekend. Votes are being counted on the 24 member board to see which countries will support the United States, and which countries will not.
According to various reports by the Financial Times and the wire services like AP and Reuters, the European nations, led by Germany, are generally against keeping Wolfowitz as president. Canada and Japan are expected to support the United States.

India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and South Korea want him out and no one knows where Mexico and China will come down. If Wolfowitz has the votes, he stays and the controversy continues, tarnishing the bank's reputation and making it more difficult to maintain the financial support of member nations.



If he loses, there is speculation that World Bank leaders have already assured the U.S. that this White House could pick the next World Bank president...meanwhile.... Condoleeza Rice has expressed her "personal high regard" for Paul Wolfowitz, as she makes phone calls to European ministers. But, she claims, she is also aware of, and deeply respects the fact that a "World Bank administrative process is underway..." Hmmmm. Has the World Bank ever had a woman president?

Copyright, 2007

Playing Catch-Up

Where to begin! Guess we could talk about the great work Natalie Portman is doing with Queen Rania of Jordan and FINCA. Nat's been working with women in developing nations through FINCA's community banking initiative, to extend loans to women so they can start their own small businesses and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Natalie is also working on a documentary about the project, hoping to generate more interest and more support.



We're really excited about Leonardo DeCaprio's new documentary on global warming, The 11th Hour, that features an adorable, non-animated polar bear cub called Knut, who was born in the Berlin Zoo, and photographed by Annie Leibowitz. The 11th Hour will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival which runs from May 17th thru May 27th.







Drew Barrymore, a UN Ambassador, is busy planning her trip to Darfur on behalf of the World Food Program. Apparently she's been very busy the past few weeks, lobbying members of Congress for a $100 M appropriation. According to Drew, the WFP spends about $21 per child, per year, and this funding will help them keep the WFP International School Lunch Program alive.

WFP provides a cup of food per day, and most of the children share with their families. The food is distributed at school, and in fact, in some developing nations, girls are suddenly being encouraged to attend school because they are given bags of food for their families. Drew said if we could raise enough funding to keep the program alive for the next five years, it would bring stability to a region of the world desperate for it. Drew has been travelling extensively in Africa to see first hand how things are working.

We know about George Clooney and Don Cheadle's work in Darfur. We've heard about the literacy programs and the advocacy of people like Danny Glover, Jennifer Garner and others, of Sharon Stone's fight for AIDS funding, which was first pioneered by Dame Elizabeth Taylor, (AMFAR), and Angelina Jolie's continuing advocacy on behalf of refugees throughout the world.


But not too many people are aware of the fact that Brad Pitt has been busy down in New Orleans for more than a year, meeting with local residents and community groups and architects, working with Global Green U.S.A., establishing a green housing development. One that will be low cost and environmentally friendly, demonstrating that we can build affordable housing and be environmentally responsible and save a ton of money (up to 40%) on our utility bills...something the utility companies aren't real happy about. The 18 units in this first phase are being built, and the day isn't too far off when the first families will be able to move in. People who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.


Weeks before the scandal broke about Walter Reed Army Hospital's abhorrent treatment of veterans injured in the Iraq war, Susan Sarandon was meeting with members of Congress in January, trying to get them to address the problems these vets faced. Of course, Republicans wouldn't give her the time of day. So she reached across the proverbial aisle, figuratively speaking, and called Republican Bruce Willis, who'd just returned from Iraq, and since he supported the troops, he agreed to join with her to advocate for better medical treatment for veterans.




There was something else I keep forgetting. So much Hollywood gossip to report! I just can't seem to remember...something about someone going to jail for driving on a suspended license with a DUI conviction....guess it wasn't very important...

Copright,2007