According to a report published in New York Times today, President George W, Bush received numerous intelligence reports well in advance of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, but failed to react to them based on advice from neo-conservative Pentagon advisors.
Previous accounts of the President’s advance knowledge have focused almost exclusively on the August 6th top secret “presidential daily brief” which included the heading “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.”. After release of the document in April 2004, former administration officials deflected criticism of their reaction to that warning, saying that its substance was mainly focused on providing an overview of Al Qaeda, rather than any immediate threat.
Now additional records from the pre-9/11 era have been declassified, and they reveal “direct warnings to Mr. Bush about the possibility of a Qaeda attack began in the spring of 2001. By May 1, the Central Intelligence Agency told the White House of a report that ‘a group presently in the United States’ was planning a terrorist operation.”
The Times story says that neo-conservative advisors persuaded the President that the CIA reports were erroneous, likely the result of collaboration between Bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein to draw attention away from the Iraqi government. Five separate CIA reports are cited.
The same crew that ignored 9/11 intelligence is advising Romney
Seventy per cent of Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s foreign policy advisors worked for the Bush administration; many are self-identified neo-conservatives. Nearly all of them were enthusiastic backers of the US invasion of Iraq, and favor a US or Israeli attack on Iran, according to a report in The Nation
San Diego’s largest ever rally against WalMart
The San Diego Labor Council and the Center on Policy Initiatives have announced plans for a City-wide anti-WalMart rally on September 22ndaimed at raising public consciousness about the negative impacts created by the big box retailer. Residents of Sherman Heights, a historic San Diego neighborhood are up in arms over what the feel are promises broken by the company regarding construction plans for a location at a historical farmer’s market in that community.
WalMart plans to build 17 more stores in the San Diego region as part of a nationwide strategy to achieve market dominance in urban neighborhoods. The rally will start at 9am in the Golden Hill Community Park, followed by a march to 21st & Imperial, near the site of the Sherman Heights Farmers Market/soon-to-be WalMart. For more information, go here. Here’s a video that gives background on the case against WalMart:
Surfrider sponsoring OB Pier clean water event
The Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter is urging surfers, beachgoers and others who support a cleaner coastline to participate in the 21st Annual Paddle for Clean Water from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, September 16th at the Ocean Beach Pier.
Participants are urged to bring a surfboard, kayak, body board or other human-powered craft to paddle around the pier as a show of solidarity for safeguarding the water quality of our coastline and watersheds.
Registration will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the paddle at 10 a.m. A light breakfast will be available for paddlers. Following the paddle, there will be words of encouragement from guest speakers, a raffle and a beach cleanup. Music will be provided by San Diego-based reggae band Project: Out of Bounds.
For more information on the Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter and the Paddle for Clean Water go to www.surfridersd.org, check out the Facebook event or contact Haley Jain Haggerstone at (619) 929-5350.
Canadian nabbed in Florida voter fraud sweep
The quest for non citizens hiding on the voter registration lists in Florida has finally yielded a criminal indictment and conviction. Canadian Josef Sever, 52, pleaded guilty on Aug. 30 in a Miami federal court to multiple felony charges of falsely attesting to be a U.S. citizen and illegally voting.
Florida officials, as part of a Republican campaign to crack down on allegations of voter fraud, initially flagged more than 180,000 names (many of them Hispanic-sounding) for checking. All but 2,600 of those initially flagged – some of whom turned out to be not only citizens, but military veterans with service in Afghanistan and Iraq – were quickly determined to be bona fide citizens and restored to the voter rolls.
The Globe and Mail quotes Stefan Kamph, a commentator for New Times Broward-Palm Beach, saying he finds the irony delicious:.
“Instead of seeing him as a criminal, the [Republican Party] should move to have Sever pardoned and hold him up on a pedestal,” he wrote. “After all, he abandoned the universal health care and tasty maple syrup of the Commie-nadian provinces to move to Florida, buy guns, and participate in the glory of our God-given democracy.”
“Unless,” Mr. Kamph added, “he voted for Obama. Then boot his ass back over the border.”
Police organization refuses to endorse Romney
The 330,000-member Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) will not endorse a candidate for president this year, ending a nearly century old tradition,. The FOP supported the Republican candidate for President in 2008, 2004, and 2000, and its non-endorsement is seen as a refutation of Mitt Romney.
The decision came as leaders of that organization said they were disturbed by Mr. Romney’s statements of strong support for several antiunion initiatives, particularly a move in Ohio to restrict the collective-bargaining rights of public-union employees, including police and firefighters. The measure was overturned by voters in Ohio last year.
In recent presidential elections, the group’s backing has been much sought after because of the heavy concentration of law enforcement officers in several of the key states. The group counts 39,225 members in Pennsylvania alone and another 24,181 in Ohio and 19,912 in Florida.
The party of NO, San Diego edition
https://twitter.com/RPSDC/status/245379796740222979
https://twitter.com/RPSDC/status/245371974858182656
Right wing loonies on parade
If it’s Tuesday it must be time for more wingnuttia… Yes folks, the craziness just keeps on keepin’ on, and I’m makin’ sure that you keep up with the latest stuff rather than waiting for those recycled emails from your crazy uncle…
Congressman Allen West (R-FL) is well known as one of the more ‘out there’ elected officials these days, but his latest accusation was a jaw dropper, even for a relatively sympathetic audience. Speaking before the Republican Jewish Coalition on Sunday, he told the crowd that the Obama campaign slogan “Forward” has much deeper meaning than most people have realized: . “They want to bring out an old Soviet Union, Marxist-Socialist theme for their campaign called ‘Forward’,” West told the crowd, to audible gasps.
The Greater Phoenix (AZ) Tea Party Patriots have announced their September 22nd “Birtherfest” rally has been cancelled due to poor advance ticket sales. The event was supposed to feature Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio as headliner, along with old-person celebrity Pat Boone, and Terry Lakin, the Army doctor who spent time in a military prison for refusing his deployment to Afghanistan over “birther” issues. (h/t Phoenix New Times)
Conspiracy theory theorist Jerome Corsi has a released a video in the wake of last week’s Democratic convention that’s sure to find a favorable audience with the current leadership of our Local Daily Fishwrap. Perhaps they can feature Corsi on the their all-new. all-Right Seeing Red web page. According to San Diegan Eric Dolan, writing in the Raw Story blog:
In his video, Corsi claimed Obama had “communist training” and described his speech at the convention as “pathetic” and “hollow.” He warned that if Obama won re-election, public schools would stop teaching children about the founding of the United States, due to the President’s “anti-colonial rage.”
“It’s clear that the Obama administration is going to go headlong off the cliff, burning the Constitution, not caring about fundamental freedoms and it will very quickly be impossible to resist,” Corsi said. “This is an election we cannot afford to lose.”
NC Times sale ain’t happening, maybe…UPDATED
Speaking of the UT-San Diego, rumors swept through the media hive and the twitterverse yesterday that Papa “Dougchester” ™ had purchased the North County Times newspaper. CEO John Lynch says it isn’t so. My guess is that the deal was nearly complete and was suspended. Manchester is known for threatening to walk out on deals after coming up with added demands at the last minute. UPDATE: NCTimes reporter:
Tweet of the Day:
https://twitter.com/jimcramer/status/245506372110794753
On This Day: In 2001 four airliners were hijacked and were intentionally crashed. Two airliners hit the World Trade Center, which collapsed shortly after, in New York City, NY. One airliner hit the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Another airliner crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people were killed.
Eat Fresh! Today’s Farmers’ Markets: Coronado (1st St. & B Ave., Ferry Landing) 2:30 – 6 pm, Escondido (Grand Ave. btw Juniper & Kalmia St.) 2:30 – 6:00 pm , Mira Mesa (Mira Mesa High School 10510 Reagan Rd.) 3–7 pm, Morena District (1240 West Morena Blvd.) 3 – 7 pm, Otay Ranch – Chula Vista (2015 Birch Rd. and Eastlake Blvd.) 4 –8 pm, Pacific Beach (Bayard & Garnet) 2 – 6:30pm, UCSD/La Jolla (UCSD Campus, Town Square at Gilman/Meyers) 10 am – 2 pm (Sept. 25 through mid-June; closed for winter, spring and summer breaks)
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Doug Porter
Latest posts by Doug Porter (see all)
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Hey Doug man, thanks for a couple of ledes ….