...those horrible Israeli's!!!

Oh sorry, what was the article on again?

Lessee...an article on urging the internation community to confront Iran...

- versus -

a fairly large picture of a Palestinian kid on the ground after being shot by Israeli troops.

Yep, balanced urna...err journalism.

"Ted - we need some artwork on an Israel story! Any rock-throwing kids get shot today? Yeah? Alright! Run it!"

Toon time again.

Indigo pulls controversial Harper's off the shelves.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060526.wxchapters27/BNStory/Entertainment/home

Dear Sirs,

Is it true that your company has banned the sale of Harper’s Magazine which contains cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed?
Your business is based on the free exchange of ideas and information, which is a hallmark of Western culture.
I’m sorry that you have chosen to cowardly self censor your merchandise. It reminds me of the years that I spent living in an Arab country.

As a private business I respect your right to determine what you do or do not sell.
As a customer I will continue to visit my neighborhood Chapters, peruse your merchandise first hand and then order online from a retailer that respects and understands our Western culture.

Thank you for maintaining your conveniently located browsing show room.

Sincerely,
Cal

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/contactus

"They came for my neighbors the Jews I did nothing as I am not a Jew" wakeup people we are all Jews.When the Islamofacists have destroyed the only functional democracy in the middle east,now where do you suppose their attention will be focused?? A carefully planned outrage, such as those silly cartoons and the mad mullahs will be hacking unbelievers necks whilst screeching"allah ackbar" :a stich in time......

I'm assuming the editors at the Vancover Province were deprived of Sesame Street when they were kids.

You know the segment....."One of these things is not like the others"........"Can you guess which one is not like the others"...........

Syncro

Apparently the Edmonton Journal nor it's readers have figured it out yet either. I happened upon a poll yesterday: "The Israeli prime minister says the world needs to stop Iran from developing weapons that could carry out its president’s threat to “wipe Israel off the map.” What should the world do?

Invade Iran and take out its government
13.97 %

Bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities
25.22 %

Use diplomacy to convince Iran to behave
36.57 %

Nothing but trust Iran to do the right thing
24.24 % "

Apparently hand wringing and hoping it will pass is the preferred method of dealing with it.

Vasalam Ala Man Ataba’al hoda!

Cheri, according to that poll 60% of respondents still believe in the inherent goodness of mankind.

I thought all the ex-flower children were supposed to be here in B.C.

what no picture of Stephen Harper offset to the headline?
the MSM must be rattled - they are slipping.

dmorris I am from b.c were not all flower children I am an logger anyways the polls in B.C have the conservatives a whole 22 points ahead so I don't think there are as many flower children there Try saskachewan they have a NDP premier there anyways I hate how they make jews look bad.

I have seen many strange things, but never before have I seen an anti-Israel bias impugned to an Asper newspaper. What will SDA uncover next?

Agitfact: "I have seen many strange things, but never before have I seen an anti-Israel bias impugned to an Asper newspaper. What will SDA uncover next?"

I just spit coffee on my keyboard. Thanks for the laugh...

Most MSM papers are for peole who can't think. The Province is for those who also can't read.

Israel bas a tactical default plan to deal with Iran. Its only a matter of strategic timing and whether or not there is any resolve left in the West.

Wishing the problem will go away will only ensure a nuclear outcome.

Last night I watched a documentary on Google Video about how the Israelis took out Saddam Hussain's nuclear reactor, built by the wonderful French, on the eve of it being commissioned. A reactor which would have enabled Saddam to be a member of the Nuclear Bomb Club. Does anyone see a similarity to what is happening today with Iran? The Israelis had the chutzpah in 1981 to see the handwriting on the wall and act decisively. In 2006, Europe offers bribes in answer to the current Iranian saber rattling, and as usual, the Canadian public wrings its collective hands and gets into the Stanley Cup. It will all go away, won't it? And besides, it isn't our business, is it? Sharia law in Canada can't be far away. WAKE UP CANADA!

First I hear the 10 am CBC radio news reporting that things are heating up on the Lebanon Israel border with Israeli jets hitting targets inside Lebanon - several sentences into the report we hear that Hezbollah had been firing into Israel - the emphasis already made tho is on the Israeli response not the attack that instigated it. Then the CBC reports that Amnesty international is condemning countries that limit internet access - China, Cuba, Iran and Israel (?????) Then later I hear the last 5 minutes of Michael Enright interviewing some Jamaican Rasta psychiatrist who is pontificating about how the white race needs its head examined and how the white race is racist etc. Michael enright then asks what one should do if they suffer from white guilt. Then the next story is Michael Enright practically coming while talking to this ex-marine who was in some anti-American movie called I think The Command Room (or something like that) and who is now going to work for English language Aljazeera.

And now this Vancouver Province story!
I think I am going to loose my mind.

ex-lib: "And now this Vancouver Province story!
I think I am going to loose my mind."

Welcome to Kanada!

Any polling results from the Edmonton Urinal don't surprise me at all. After all this bunch of wussies has been kissing grea$$y Liebral butt for many years. Naturally most of their readers have drunk from the LLL Koolaid far too many times. Of course they support doing absolutely nothing. That's what pansies do!

"Welcome to Kanada!"

Yeah, that's right. There's a commie hiding under every bed, including those pinko, jew-hating Asper's, eh?

Iberia, not sure where you are here, but I'll mention that Asper doesn't vet every line every pic in their chain. If you are suggesting that there's nothing sinister here because after all it was in an Asper paper, that would be an incorrect conclusion (apology if I misread you).

I'll be even nicer and say that this kind of bias is now so rife as to be maybe even automatic -- which makes it not less sinister, but more so.

It was I who sent that to Kate ...

Why don't they show all the bodies of dead Israelis who were blown up by terrorists like this little boy. I love the MSM. Israel's evil for doing it's utmost to protect innocent civilians from terrorist murderers. What a bunch of assholes.

Agreed John, where are the 'other' pictures?

Also:

1. Wonder what the kid was doing to get shot at?
2. Was he hit by a real bullet or rubber one?
3. Is this image related to the actual Israeli raid, or just some stupid stone thrower kid getting nailed by a rubber bullet another time?

Me No Dhimmi:

Sure, Asper doesn't personally vet every line written in his papers...that's the local editor's job. However, the editors in Asper's news chain know that they have to follow the company line or they will get spanked. If anything, CanWest Global is usually quite pro-Israeli, so the occasional pro-Palestinian story in an Asper paper is hardly the sign of a conspiracy.

There are usually two or more sides to every story or argument. Unfortunately, many of the posters here figure that whatever is contrary to their point of view should be censored.

As for the photograph itself, it may in fact be fake. In fact, fakery is extremely likely in Palestine. Ever hear of "Pallywood"?

Pallywood is basically a "Palestinian" filmaking industry which actually falsifies Israeli wrongs against the "Palestinians" and provides pics/videos to the MSM who, ever so eagerly, eat it up and present it as if it was factual news.

I'm not making this up. "Palestine" is.

For more pics which are falsified in Pallywood to defame Israel's image:

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/kaplan052806.htm

Iberia----I think you are missing the point. I don't read any of the above comments as supporting censorship.

Rather the point being made is one of relevence.

How is the picture directly relevent to the story??

Syncro

Is comment moderation on? I left a comment and was advised that it is.

But that comment was made before the 4:58 one above.

"If you are suggesting that there's nothing sinister here because after all it was in an Asper paper, that would be an incorrect conclusion..."

Me no Dhimmi, that is precisely the conclusion I would draw, whether you consider it incorrect or not. The Ottawa Citizen, for instance, has its own experience with Asper control, and maintains the unusual practice of signing with "Ottawa Citizen" those editorials it writes itself to distinguish them from those dictated by headoffice.

I do not know why the picture was juxtaposed with that text, but if you are going to look for anti-Israel conspiracies, don't bother looking in CanWest media.

Syncro:

"...escalating violence in the Palestinian Territories." Read the whole article.

I think that my comment with a link was caught in the filter. Oh, well... ain't gonna cry over spilt milk...

The picture refers to the information in the last 4 paragraphs of the article, beginning with:

"In Ramallah, four Palestinians were shot dead during an Israeli raid...."

There would be no problem if the layout was better. Why is the layout this way? Read the sub-headline: "Israeli PM says Mideast could be plunged into chaos."
-like it's not in chaos already? (underscored by the picture)

Tomax7: Your question:
1. Wonder what the kid was doing to get shot at?

Answer: He was being a YOUT (sic).

El Masry and Algebra, et al : Take heed. ....

Australia Tells Radical Muslims to Leave
Vet Web (no link) | 5/28/06

Posted on 05/28/2006 3:02:44 PM PDT by pabianice

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA:
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told onWednesday to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loyalty to Australia at a special meeting with Prime Minister John Howard, he and his ministers made it clear that extremists would face a crackdown.

Treasurer Peter Costello hinted that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country if they did not accept that Australia was a secular state and its laws were made by parliament.

"If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you," he said on national television.

"I'd be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia, one the Australian law and another the Islamic law, that this is false.

If you can't agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law, and have the opportunity to go to another country which practices it, perhaps, then, that's a better option," Costello said.

Asked whether he meant radical clerics would be forced to leave, he said those with dual citizenship could possibly be asked move to the other country. freerepubli.com

Pardon my OTness
(but related to headline in question)

Here's an article from the UK's Telegraph about what goes on in Iran (while our journos obsess about their petty problems).

"When I asked how he could do this to me, he said that he believed in only two things - Islam and the rule of the clerics,"

http://tinyurl.com/jfzek

The H*E*A*D*L*I*N*E is about the Iranian nuclear threat. The pic should relate to that: that seems like a very simple proposition to me. Someone above: "the area is already in chaos" bingo! I didn't mean to suggest a "anti-Israel" conspiracy as such and I agree that it would be thin picking looking for that in the Asper chain, and I know about the top-down editorial control.

This just slipped by I'd say. Maybe it just came down as is from a wire service. Whatever: it's still clear evidence of robotic moronic anti-Israel bias. The same bias that shows weeping Palestinian but never weeping Jewish mothers! The pic is part of a cumulative subliminal message: jews bad, arabs good.

Every story has a central message: this one was about Iran's nuke threat. The pic doesn't fit --you can't quibble that fact away.

The picture may well be faked. The kid may not have been shot at all. His expression doesn't match that which would be on the face of someone agonizing over the pain of a bullet wound.

I suspect the picture is of the type produced by "Pallywood". That means the whole thing is an act... pics and videos of phony violence are given to the ever-obliging MSM, who use them and report based on them as if they were true.

This happens all the time.

Kate:

I actually just have one question about that headline ("Israeli PM says Mideast could be plunged into chaos"):

How would we tell?

You've got to like Ozzie PM Howard. If only we had someone here in Canada who could grow such a pair.

"The picture may well be faked. The kid may not have been shot at all. His expression doesn't match that which would be on the face of someone agonizing over the pain of a bullet wound," says Canadian Sentinel

Of course it's fake. The kid isn't injured...he's just being taught how to do the front crawl. It's just that there weren't any pools around. Another msm conspiracy...

The admiration of Hitler among Palestinians
Palestine Media Watch ^ | May 24, 2006 | Itamar Marcus & Barbara Crook

Posted on 05/28/2006 4:57:00 PM PDT by Alouette

The Hamas newspaper this week chronicled with pride the ways in which different foreign leaders singled out the Palestinians as examples of ideal revolutionaries. The first leader cited by the Hamas weekly, Al-Rissala, for praising the Palestinians was Adolf Hitler:

"Adolf Hitler, while exciting the Germans of the Sudetenland - the Sudetenland is a German province that the Allies had annexed to Czechoslovakia after the First World War - told them in his broadcasts: Look at what the Palestinian revolutionaries are doing to Great Britain!!" [Al-Rissala (Hamas Weekly), May 18, 2006]

Overview: Admiration of Hitler in the Palestinian Authority:

It may be surprising to Western observers to see Palestinians taking pride in having been praised by Hitler. But it is important to understand that the utter revulsion of Hitler expected in the West is not true in Palestinian society. Palestinians can be found who are named "Hitler" as a first name: Hitler Salah [Al Hayat Al Jadida, Sept. 28, 2005], Hitler Abu-Alrab [Al Hayat Al Jadida, Jan. 27, 2005], Hitler Mahmud Abu-Libda [Al Hayat Al Jadida, Dec.18, 2000].

This phenomenon of Palestinians being named after Hitler was explained in an article in the official PA daily praising the rewriting of history and the doing of "justice" to Hitler:

"Even Adolf Hitler, who after the fall of Nazi Germany turned into a political horror for most of the writers and artists, during the last decades has started to return himself to his part of the picture. There are some in Britain who defended Hitler and tried to do justice for him. There are elderly people, among them Arabs, who still carry the name Hitler since their fathers, who were charmed by him, linked them [their children] with his name." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 13, 2000]

One article explained the phenomenon of naming Palestinians after admired foreign leaders - such ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1639864/posts

Arabs Stab Yeshiva Student, Helpful Passer-by [Israel]
arutzsheva ^ | May 28, '06 | Hillel Fendel

Posted on 05/28/2006 3:52:42 PM PDT by ncountylee

High alert in the Binyamin region, where terrorists are feared to have infiltrated. Over the weekend, two Jews were stabbed by Arabs and three Kassam rockets were fired at Israel.

The first incident occurred on Friday, when a Jewish resident of the Galilee was attacked when he stopped to offer assistance to a driver in distress. The latter turned out to be an Arab terrorist, who proceeded to stab the Jew in the neck. The incident occurred in the Shaar Binyamin area on Highway 60 between Jerusalem and Psagot.

The victim sustained injuries in his upper back and near his throat, and was evacuated to Haddassah Hospital in Jerusalem for treatment.

On Sabbath afternoon, a 14-year-old yeshiva student sustained light injuries when he was stabbed by an Arab near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City . Magen David Adom paramedics treated the youth for light injuries. Police set out in pursuit of the stabber, who fled the scene.

Late Sunday morning, the police and army announced a high state of alert in the Binyamin region, following reports of the infiltration of a 2-man terrorist cell into the area.

Three Kassam rockets have been fired by Arab terrorists in Gaza since last night: The first one hit an open area north of Gaza, near Netiv HaAsarah, while the next one landed harmlessly in the sea this morning. A third one hit Nachal Oz, a western Negev kibbutz, around 11 AM; no reports of damage or injuries have been received. ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1639838/posts

Pretty good markmanship I would say. Looks like they got the little prick right in the rock-throwing arm.

Meanwhile MSM, who launched the rockets into Israel?

Are you a member of CUPE? Your union dues are going to aid and abet Islamist terrorists.

Left liberals, socialists, unions have drunk the Kool-aid; they are allied with Islamist terrorists/jihad. ...

Canada's Largest Union Joins Israel Boycott

My contempt for the people and groups pushing this abhorrent boycott of Israel knows no bounds. The latest left-wing organization to join the chorus of hatred of Israel and delusional sympathy for terrorists is the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Canada’s largest union: CUPE in Ontario votes to boycott Israel. (Hat tip: Judeoscope.ca.)

The Ontario divison of Canada’s largest union has voted to support an international campaign that is boycotting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.

Delegates to the Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario convention in Ottawa voted overwhelmingly Saturday to support the campaign until it sees Israel recognizing the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. The Ontario group represents more than 200,000 workers.

The global campaign started last July and has been supported by many North American churches, 20 Quebec organizations, and others, Canadian Press said.

CUPE also condemned what they called Israel’s “apartheid wall,” saying it is illegal under international law.

“Boycott, divestment and sanction worked to end apartheid in South Africa,” said Katherine Nastovski, chairwoman of the CUPE Ontario international solidarity committee.

“We believe the same strategy will work to enforce the rights of Palestinian people, including the right of refugees to return to their homes and properties.”

The “right of return” is a code phrase, meaning the demographic annihilation of the state of Israel, and its inclusion in this statement tells you everything about the sick mindset controlling the CUPE. ... via LGF

Afterthought: Visual communicates much more effectively than text. Many "readers" just skim and look at pics (especially of a rag like The Province). A good test for an editor: would the pic by itself communicate the story, which was Olmert trying to get the world to wake up to the Iran nuke issue. Does the pic by itself do this? NO. What would have been a good pic? How about maybe a shot of the little party Kofi Anan hosted at the UN commemorating the "tragedy" of the formation of Israel in 1948 with the Israel-less map, i.e., Israel "wiped off the map"?

Memory recovery therapy by ABC/MSM.

ABC interviews a 12-year old and runs with it. ...

Lower than low is MSM/ABC.

The MSM hates George Bush in extremis. MSM is deranged. ...

New Witness Describes Alleged Iraq Atrocity
ABC News - 1 hour ago
ABC News has obtained an interview with Safa Younis, 12, on killings purportedly by US Marines in her family's Haditha, Iraq, home. (ABCNEWS.com). By JONATHAN KARL. May 28, 2006 — After a small group of Marines ...
via gogl news

...i was thinking the kid got hit with rubber bullets, but the guy bending over to help him looks like he has blood on his hands, hense I was short on calling the photo a fake.

At the most it is off topic as per headline and story.

I'm with Matt.

Steve

Ex-liberal said,

**Michael Enright interviewing some Jamaican Rasta psychiatrist who is pontificating about how the white race needs its head examined and how the white race is racist etc. Michael enright then asks what one should do if they suffer from white guilt. Then the next story is Michael Enright practically coming while talking to this ex-marine who was in some anti-American movie called I think The Command Room (or something like that) and who is now going to work for English language Aljazeera.** at 2:44 pm above.

He was speaking of ex-marine captain Josh Rushing, turned Al-Jazeera reporter producer etc.

Stay tuned. We will be hearing lots more from **Josh**.

Al Jazeera Network Extra Sharp Extra Clever.

Josh Rushing is the new Washington anchor for the new Al Jazeera broadcast studio to come on stream soon.

Josh is an ex-marine corps captain. He was a spokesman for US government information services and decided to decline his commission.

His contacts with Al Jazeera caused him to form the impression they were trying to be an unbiased news reporting agency. ?

Josh says Al Jazeera ticks off both the East and the West and so can been seen as *impartial*.

He says that the network is actually four mini networks.

I found that to be interesting. Four mini networks, soon to be five. Decentralizing is a sure fire way to insure survival. No way to knock out *head office*.

Al Jazeera has been a powerful weapon to leverage the cartoon protest riots and to further other Jihadist moves.

If the powers behind Al Jazeera are pro-fundamentalist, and I have reason to believe they are, then this expansion into the west with Josh as Washington rep, is an ominous manouver.

Ominous because Josh is an extremely intelligent and assuring type. The type who can calmly explain why Hamas websites that encourage children to become martyrs by wearing a bomb vest to a shopping mall is really not so bad, and having *liberals* accept the logic.

I wonder if the oil rich backers have given Josh an offer he just can*t refuse?

A world recognized news reporting network is in fact a very effective weapon. This is how hundreds of millions of Muslims will be swayed and motivated on all continents, eventually. TG

maz2 says: "Left liberals, socialists, unions have drunk the Kool-aid; they are allied with Islamist terrorists/jihad. ..."

Judeoscope's also has criticism for the government of Canada. See "Foreign Affairs Canada backs it's favorite Palestinian terrorist."

"The admiration of Hitler among Palestinians"

There's a sublime irony about this as, in a perverse way, Adolf Hitler could be considered the founder of Israel.

By the beginning of the 20th Century, European Jews were beginning to see a steady improvement in their rights and conditions. The Zionist* movement was not getting big numbers of Jews to settle in Palestine.

But then along came Hitler in the Thirties. The political climate in Europe turned increasingly nasty for Jews. More and more of them made the voyage to Palestine; on the eve of the Second World War, British authorities were taking steps to curb Jewish immigration because of rising problems with the Palestinian Arabs.

By 1945, thanks to Hitler, the British were too knackered and insolvent to be capable of holding back the tide of Jewish refugees quitting Europe for Palestine. And those Jewish refugees, having narrowly escaped extermination at the hands of the Nazis and their ilk, were in no mood to be gentle. They were tough and bloody-minded, and they wanted Eretz Israel.

Had there been no Hitler and no Holocaust, it's quite possible the Zionists would never have attracted sufficient settlers to rival the Palestinian Arabs. Most European Jews who immigrated would likely have continued to head for the US instead.

So in cheering for Hitler, the Palestinians were doing what they always seem to do: picking the losing option.

Remember when they backed Saddam? And now they've elected Hamas.

* I use the Z-word here in its original meaning, not in the thinly-veiled "world Jewish conspiracy" meaning it has taken on today.

Iberia:

I did read the whole thing. I'll splain my position. Eight paragraphs about the speech, four paragraphs at the end about west bank violence, headline refers to the speech.

The result: sloppy and misleading.

Syncro

A picture of the speech wouldn't have grabbed peoples attention. Papers like The Province and the Sun chain love to sensationalize.

"The result: sloppy and misleading."

No doubt, but hardly a conspiracy.

Agreed

Syncro

I certainly never said it was a "conspiracy" ... more like systemic moronic/robotic bias. The effect is subliminal, cumulative, massive: i.e. Israel is the aggressor.

Now check out Little Green Footballs item on coverage of Hezbollah's rocket attacks from Lebanon.

-----
Terrorists in Lebanon launched a rocket attack into Israel today.

But the BBC’s headline could not possibly be more ridiculous: Lebanon border clash breaks out.

In fact, get a load of all these wire services headlines for the story, almost every one of them focused on or emphasizing the Israeli response instead of the attack that prompted it...

I can't make out what is tucked in the waist band of the male on his feet. It could be a gun or a knife. Maybe the man on his feet shot or stabbed the kid on the ground and is not lending a helping hand but going over to finish him off. There is no explaination in the printed article. Hummm, how odd.

DoubtingThomas is your typical fear-mongering, factually challenged Canadian chickenhawk.

The Canadian chickenhawk is an even more pathetic creature than its American counterpart, because the Canadian chickenhawk knows that no one he knows or is related to will be ever be killed or maimed servicing his need to prove his "manhood" through misbegotten military adventurism. At least the American variety is aware he might have to confront somebody like Cindy Sheehan and own up to his assuaging his inner child with the blood of his countrymen. The Canadian chickenhawk is exactly like one of the kids that used to egg the schoolyard bully on while he beat the shit out of some poor geek half his size. To the Canadian chickenhawk, nothing is sweeter than standing by and watching the U.S. kill a bunch of brown people.

You chickenhawks need to get a grip on some facts:
FACT 1: Iran is signatoy to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, which gives it the right to pursue civilian nuclear power production while complying with international inspection to ensure that no military use of nuclear technology is undertaken. There is currently no credible evidence that Iran has yet violated this treaty, indeed there is plenty that it has not.
FACT 2: Even if Iran were to suddenly decide to break the treaty, there are numerous telltale signs that would indicate a switching over to weapons production, which is a labor and technology-intensive process which would be easily observable from outside Iran. Even Bush's Director of National Intelligence has acknowledged that such a process couldn't even be begun in Iran for another ten years.
FACT 3: Iran has some very good reasons NOT to pursue a nuclear program, not the least of which is its proximity to occupied Iraq and Afghanistan. To brandish a nuclear weapons program with U.S. troops next door would be suicidal, and the U.S. could react quickly and decisevly without risk to the homeland.
FACT 4: The mullahs in power in Iran have issued a fatwah against anyone who uses a nuclear weapon. In Iran this is not to be disregarded.
FACT 5: The conservative media in the West is paying far too much attention to Ahmadinejad as a way of making Iran look really scary. Ahmadinejad is a buffoon who makes bellicose noises for internal political consumtion, not unlike Ralph Klein. In fact, Ahmadinejad's power to make Iranian foreign policy is even less than Klein's is here. Ahmadinejad recently made some noises about "going after Isreal first" and some Iranian generals immediately contradicted him. Bush and Ahmadinejad are just using each other to shore up their respective base.
FACT 6: Much of Ahmadinejad's public rhetoric, while strong, has nevertheless been deliberately mistranslated and distorted by a group of pro Isreali warhawks in the U.S. State department and by Benador Associates, a neocon PR agency who also helped hype the Iraq war. (Benador was also behind the phony NP "badge" story last week, the one our foolish PM bought hook line and sinker).
FACT 7: There is a Middle Eastern country who has refused to sign the NPT, and who has secretly developed a nuclear arsenal while thumbing its nose at numerous UN resolutions demanding it come clean about it. It's name is Isreal. The Iranian position seems to be, "why are we putting up with your (the West's) shit if Isreal doesn't have to?"
FACT 8: In 2003 Iran offered to hand over Al Quaida prisoners it held along with intelligence related to 9/11 to the U.S., but the U.S. REFUSED. Just last week, the first diplomatic contact between Iran and the U.S. in 25 years was initiated by Tehran, and President Chimpy told them to go fly a kite.
FACT 9: If the U.S. would hold out an olive branch to Iran, it would undermine the power of the conservatives in the Iranian government, who are extremely unpopular now (see fact5).
FACT 10: It's the SAME people beating the drums about Iran's nuclear program that lied to you about Iraq's nuclear program. Doesn't that arouse some suspicion? If it doesn't, then I have a real estate deal you might be interested in...

R: Wow that's a lot of facts. Downright intimidating in fact -- sorta like reading Chomsky, ya know, "whatever you say Noam".

Re: Bush lying about Iraq's WMD, you are mistaken. Did not Iraq's own generals think Saddam had them? No, fairer to say, Bush was keen to act and take the interpretation to justify action from massive and contradictory data, but wrong to say he "lied". You can't lie when you can't have known for sure Saddam didn't have WMD.

So you're uncomfortable with facts instead of bluster. Let's start WW3 anyway. I guess you found the right place to blog.
BTW, if was Dick Cheney who said "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction." in August of 2002. He didn't say "we don't know for sure". And it was Donnie Rumsfeld who said "we know where they are" in reference to WMDs in March 30, 2003. He didn't say "we think we know where they are". These are lies. They were meant to decieve. There was plenty of evidence to the contrary, and many of us who bothered to inform ourselves knew it at the time, but the Bush cabal counted on all the dopes to believe their scare stories JUST LIKE THEY'RE DOING NOW.

Beware salesman bearing FACTS.

R, Your Fact 1: Incorrect! Iran did break the NPT. Most people start off with at least Fact 1. as correct. Sorry, TG

Sheri! :)

Isn't FACT a Canadian grant programme.

Jeez, R, you are getting off lightly. I guess the usual defenders of the faith have moved on to other threads. Suggest you reinsert your comment at another appropriate occasion.

R: Sorry man. I once found 36 quotes of high-level pols warning about Saddams's WMD, including both Clintons, Madeline Albright going way back to the mid 90s. And again: even Saddam's generals were shocked to discover he didn't have them. Listen man, they're lots and lots of avenues of valid criticism about the execution of the Iraq war, but Bush lying or deceiving the public is not one of them. Bush DID NOT LIE -- to lie would mean he KNEW Saddam DIDN'T have them but told the public he DID have them. That didn't happen. Repeat: He didn't KNOW Saddam didn't have them. Couldn't have. Such a claim defies simple logic. Clinton himself has admitted (Larry King Live) that right up to day he left office he thought Saddam had WMD.

I just can't let this go.

It's well known that intelligence briefings before the war informed Bush and Cheney that their claims about WMD (particularly nukes) were untrue. ElBaradai told the world right before the war that there were no nukes in Iraq (and don't forget that inspectors were on the ground in Iraq for months in 03 before the attack). The Plamegate scandal is another example of people telling the Bush administration that there was nothing there and Bush trying to cover it up. Plame's career was fucked as a result (did you know that her specialty was nuclear proliferation in Iran?).

They SAID they knew; they DIDN'T know (which they should have before starting a war). They KNEW that they didn't know. That's why i say they lied.

The only other alternative is that Bush and Cheney are mentally challenged and/or delusional, and while this may be true of Bush, I don't think it's true of his Puppet Master, Dick.

And fuck Clinton. Anybody who thinks that I subscribe to the logic that says that "If Bush is wrong, than Clinton must be right" is a dickweed. Clinton's part in the disaster that is present day Iraq is almost as great as Bush. Clinton loved to demonize Saddam and sow hysteria as a way to rally support when his own popularity sagged. It was Clinton that caused the UNSCOM inspectors to leave Iraq in 1998, not Saddam, as is widely (and erroneously) believed. This allowed unfounded speculation about WMDs to gain traction in the public mind and create a kind of "plausibility vacuum" which Bush and Cheney used to their nefarious advantage.

Which also exposes another lie Bush told. Remember when Bush said he wouldn't attack Iraq until the inspectors were finished -- and then did precisely that? There's no exculpatory evidence for that -- he lied. There may be those who claim otherwise, but I have amply demonstrated that they are wrong. I have more evidence if you like.

BTW, TG so you say Iran violated the NPT? I'd like you to tell me, where's your evidence? (claims by the Bush administration don't count, because as we have seen, THEY ARE LIARS).

Your opinion can no way be accepted as fact.TG

Factoid?