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Oh yes, closer attention to their oil assets in the Middle East.....remember those invisible weapons nm my dog ate my secret memo - what is the "IST" word we are throwing at the democrats today? Yesterday was "elitist" -- we need to keep switching them around to keep fresh. "Socialist" and "communist" were used recently. How bout "polygamist" - we haven't used that one in a while. In Iraq, what you do is best kept secret...sm This is rather lengthy, but paints a picture of Iraq from an Iraqi point of view. This just goes to show there are two sides to every story. Listening to the government and Fox News reporters you would think the good guy was in control in Iraq. According to this article, it would appear the insurgents hold a greater power over the people :( World News In Iraq, what you do is best kept secret Sunnis pose as Shiites, rich people pose as poor, and no one says where they work. Telling the truth could bring a death sentence. Sunday, July 02, 2006 By Megan K. Stack, Los Angeles Times BAGHDAD, Iraq -- You don't want to draw attention, so you keep a battered car even if you can afford a fancier model. You don't wash it; better to let dust smear the windows. Night falls, curfew clamps down, and all those dirty old cars wend their way back to the homes of the capital. The eyes of neighbors slide after them. Where are the drivers coming from? Some work for the government. Some fight with insurgents or death squads. Some are employed by Americans. No one asks, and no one tells; nobody knows who's who. Bloodshed has turned Iraq into a country defined by disguise and bluff. Violence in the streets has begun to defy logic, and this is part of the fallout: A lively city where people used to butt gleefully into one another's business has degenerated into a labyrinth of disguises, a place where neighbors brush silently past one another like dancers in a macabre costume ball. Everything is hidden among Iraqis; people are very suspicious of one another, said 66-year-old Hayawi Mahdi Abaasi, a successful lawyer who says he won't repair his tumble-down house or replace his 1982 Toyota for fear the wrong people would notice. Why should I call the attention of terrorists to me? I try to be very common like everyone else, he said. Rich people hide their jewelry and dig frayed clothes from the back of their closets to evade ransom-seeking kidnappers. Muslims claim to be Sunni or Shiite, depending on circumstance. Christians pose as Muslims. Lying about employment is de rigueur. Street police wrap their faces in masks so nobody will recognize them. Everybody, it seems, is pretending to be somebody else, adopting a fake identity in the terrified hope of staying safe. Baghdad residents reason that no matter who you are, you're probably on somebody's hit list. It's not a matter of lying or not lying, said Ali Abdullah. It's a matter of life or death. Mr. Abdullah is a 31-year-old Sunni with dark skin, a strapping build and a bushy strip of mustache. Like most people in Baghdad, he is a man of secrets. He was trained as an engineer in Saddam Hussein's Iraq but now works for an American nonprofit organization. His life has been threatened and his wife begs him to quit, but he says he can't -- the money is too good, and they have a 3-year-old son to think about. Abdullah takes a taxi to work so his car won't be recognized. He uses different streets each time and changes his telephone number every few months. He splurged on a $100 Swatch watch in neighboring Jordan, but now he's afraid to wear it in public. When people ask about his job, he lies and says he owns a computer shop. Rule No. 1, he says: Never, under any circumstance, intimate to the neighbors on his predominantly Sunni street that he's sold out to the foreigners. This is a killer, if my neighbors find out where I work, he said. This is the first thing that must be maintained, that my neighbors can't know what I do. For Mr. Abdullah and his family, that has meant isolation. He shrinks from possible conversations, taking care not to linger in his doorway, make eye contact or trade small talk. When he caught sight of an old college friend across a crowded restaurant recently, he turned on his heels and rushed away to avoid conversation. When they talk about the loss of intimacy, many Iraqis are mournful. Like members of most Middle Eastern societies, Iraqis have traditionally prized warmth and valued social interchange over what Westerners might regard as personal privacy. In the old Iraq, it was better to err on the side of nosiness than to appear cold or distant. It was perfectly normal to grill strangers on their marital status and the price of their possessions. Little by little, that warmth has been bled away by war. Tension pulls on the city now. The atmosphere is thick with intrigue; it feels film noir, cloak-and-dagger. Except it is real -- and deadly. Behavior has changed from rational behavior into instinctive, animalistic behavior, said Ehsan Mohammed Hassan, one of Iraq's leading sociologists and a professor at Baghdad University. The individual is not safe from the others. He has to hide. He doesn't want people to see him because he thinks the people are evil. Amid the fear and loathing, a long-standing tribal tradition has disappeared. Etiquette used to require men to ask one another about their jobs; it was a way of showing concern for a friend's livelihood and to demonstrate willingness to help a man if he had fallen on hard times. These days, though, to ask about jobs is impolite -- perhaps even dangerous. Instead, men find themselves throwing out other questions: How are you? What are you doing here? A lot of people are killed for no reason. So what do you think they'll do if you work for the Americans? Mr. Abdullah asked. That's it. You're a traitor. Working for the Iraqi government is no better -- everybody from university professors to national athletes to traffic police has been slaughtered by insurgents determined to bludgeon civic and social life to a standstill. Iraq may be the only country in the world where militia members and anti-government insurgents walk the streets with bare faces while government workers, soldiers and cops cower behind masks. I wear a mask because I don't want people to know I'm working for the police, a 34-year-old officer named Ahmed Ali said on a recent afternoon. It was lunch hour, and he and some of his colleagues had driven across Baghdad through the 110-degree heat to gobble down lamb kebabs in a neighborhood where they knew fewer people. The men are stationed in the volatile Dora area, south of downtown and one of Baghdad's bloodiest sectarian battlefields. Clad in matching blue button-downs and navy trousers, their pistols holstered on their waists, they admitted they didn't dare bring their badges or uniforms home, not even to launder them. They described slipping from the house in civilian clothes, creeping into the station and changing hurriedly into their uniforms. Amid the fear, some profit. The document forger, for one. Assad Kheldoun, a 29-year-old who operates out of the religiously mixed neighborhood of Shaab, grinds out fake identity cards for about $30 apiece. Exactly like the original, he boasts. But with one difference: A false name. He's not selling to hustlers or mischief makers. Most of his clients are bus drivers, highway workers or car repairmen -- people forced to make their livings in Iraq's mean streets. Last names are sectarian giveaways in Iraq, often deriving from tribes commonly known to be either Sunni or Shiite. Jaabour or Dulaimi, for instance, mean Sunni to Iraqis; so does the first name Omar. People are getting killed because of their names, Kheldoun said. In the past few months, everybody is asking for a false identity card. It's a phenomenon now. The people are scared. There's a 100% guaranteed secret to A simple exercise: 1. Place both hands on the edge of the table. 2. Lift both feet. 3. Push chair away from table. 4. Get up and leave. McCain's secret plan He keeps saying he knows how to find BinLaden and will do that after he is elected. Why isn't he sharing his secret fool-proof plan to capture him with the current administration? He is dangling that promise over our heads. If he actually does have a fantastic plan, he is allowing the whole country to be vulnerable UNTIL he gets what he wants - the presidency. Thumbs down on you, grandpa.
Shhhh! That's supposed to be a secret. Do you know how much it costs, in today's economy, to snooker one billion people? Their messiah hasn't spent all those millions and millions of dollars on advertising for nothing. If they know he's a blowhard fluke with a goose egg for experience, how will he win the election? It's best just to keep them in the dark. Like cattle lining up to have a bolt shoved through their brains. Secret meetings, bribes of high power positions, media cartels, dead rabbits . . . kin I play the lead in your mind-movie?
One thing the secret ballot does is keep employees from being fired because they vote for unionization. Secret Assassination Squad? Hersh: 'Executive assassination ring' reported directly to Cheney
Secret Assassination Squad? Hersh: 'Executive assassination ring' reported directly to Cheney
my take on his service Having served in the US Army I am very proud of my time served. I love talking about my time in the Army to people who will listen. I was in when the Falklands War happened (we were on standby and were undergoing training 24 hours/7 days to prepare for war - thankfully it did not happen), but it was a very very scary time for all around me. Also I was in during the Cold War and stationed very close to our enemies and that was also very scary, but to have actually gone through a "real" war I couldn't imagine. Especially being captured and tortured. I do know a lot of veterans that were in the wars and they do want to talk about it, but every veteran is different. My opinion is (and yes its only my opinion) that John McCain gave so much to this country. Yes it was a long time ago, but he suffered and that is not something you can easily forget, especially when he lives with it every day. I'm not saying you, but I know a lot of people (especially a lot of posters here) who are supporting Obama and they get very upset that McCain brings up his service, but mainly because it shows he is a loyal patriot to the country and that is something that voters take very seriously and I believe it scares the Obama supporters. What he did for his country is one of his proofs that he will stick up for the American people and he will fight for what is right for a better American and I believe that is why he keeps bringing it up. His voting record and time in the senate is his other proof. Barack keeps changing his mind about everything, and I'm not saying he is not patriotic (nobody knows but he and his family), but when you don't wear a flag pin, or put your hand over your heart during the pledge of allegience and the national anthem, and removes the American Flag from his airplane it is one more reminder to us that Barack is not (I'm trying to find the right words without offending anyone or having it come out wrong). It's not unpatriotic, but its more like he doesn't care. Barack will take care of Barack (as he has been doing while accepting HUGE payouts from the latest FM/FM scandel). John McCain's time in the service is one of the things he is quite proud of and we all should honor and give him credit for his time and suffering he endured, but also let it be a reminder to us that he will not back out and run away when the going gets tough. He will stick it out and fight for us. He has already done so (you can look at his voting record). Unlike Obama who voted "present" I don't know how many times - lost track counting, therefore that leads me to believe he will not stick up for us and when the going gets tough I believe he will go with whoever puts money in his pocket. All you have to do is take a look at FM/FM and what he did. So, I do know some Vietnam vets, and some World War II vets, and my dad was in the service during the Korean War, and they all want to talk about their service and what happened to them and what they went through. It was a very emotional time and they have every right to be proud of what they have done. His being a POW will have a lot of effect on people and I am one of them. Thank you for your service. sm I would vote for McCain if only out of support for our military men and women. Their votes should be counted first, yet only 30% of them will be counted at all (below poster should be feeling quite smug). My son wants to join the Marines, and there are still people calling the Iraq war POINTLESS. Looks like that white flag of surrender will be waving soon. Battle over UBS secret accounts to take months
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UBS_SECRETS?SITE=VACUL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT What the heck? U.S. releases secret list GOD!! LET'S JUST HAND OVER OUR COUNTRY NOW AND GET IT OVER WITH. U.S. Releases Secret List of Nuclear Sites by Accident Document that gives detailed information about civilian nuclear sites and programs, marked "highly confidential," was accidentally made public by the federal government. Wednesday, June 03, 2009 WASHINGTON -- The government accidentally posted on the Internet a list of government and civilian nuclear facilities and their activities in the United States, but a U.S. official said Wednesday the posting included no information that compromised national security. The 266-page document was published on May 6 as a transmission from President Barack Obama to Congress. According to the document, the list was required by law and will be provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Some of the pages are marked "highly confidential safeguards sensitive." Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the document had been reviewed by a number of U.S. agencies and that disclosure of the information did not jeopardize national security. He said the document is part of an agreement on nuclear material inspection under the IAEA's nuclear nonproliferation effort. "While we would have preferred it not be released, the Departments of Energy, Defense, and Commerce and the NRC all thoroughly reviewed it to ensure that no information of direct national security significance would be compromised," LaVera said in a statement. An Energy Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly, said none of the sites on the list are directly part of the government's nuclear weapons infrastructure. Included in the report, however, are details on a storage facility for highly enriched uranium at the Y-12 complex at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and some sites at the Energy Department's Hanford nuclear site in Washington state, this official acknowledged. The publication of the list was first reported in an online secrecy newsletter Monday. The document had been posted on the Government Printing Office Web site, but has since been removed from that site. The document includes both government and civilian nuclear facilities, all of which have various levels of security, including details and location of nation's 103 commercial nuclear power reactors, information readily available from various sources. The document details the location of the nuclear sites and what is being done there. For instance, there are nuclear reactors at the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh, Pa. This facility is currently working on research into what happens when there are accidents with the nuclear reactors. The project started in 2006 and is expected to end in 2012, according to the document. There are "zero" national security implications to the publication of this document, said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Government's Project on Government Secrecy. Aftergood found the document on the GPO Web site and highlighted it in his online bulletin. "I regret that some people are painting it as a roadmap for terrorists because that's not what it is," Aftergood said. "This is not a disclosure of sensitive nuclear technologies or of facility security procedures. It is simply a listing of the numerous nuclear research sites and the programs that are under way," Aftergood said. "And so it poses no security threat whatsoever." Thank you - Soon community service will have to wear uniforms, and community service will turn into government. You can sugar coat it any way you want to - it's still FORCED! NOT an option. People do not have a choice. That is what we call a draft. Community service My "baby" is 37 years old. I was just thinking..........he earned his private pilot's license at age 16. MAYBE something like this is what Obama has in mind?? http://www.cap.gov/visitors/about/our_programs/cadet_programs.cfm Who I feel bad for are the ones in the service now I see so many stories that are just heart aching of the ones that are getting out of the service now. What do they have to come back to? There is nothing for them and it's awful. Our country has been in such disarray for so long, if I was in the service I would probably stay in. When I got out there was a thriving economy, but now??? Just a horrible situation for them. I loved the service when I was in it (except getting called out of bed at 2 am in the middle of winter to pack up gear, load equipment on the trucks, then get trucked out to the boonies and stand guard for nothing. :-) Or getting called out of bed at 4 am payday fridays' to run 5 miles (I hated running) :-) But my experience overall I'm glad I did it and had the chance to be in the service at the time I was in. Now I think it's just very sad for the soldier's facing getting out of the service. Thank you for your service!..and Boxer is an nm No, she'll deliver another baby after a secret pregnancy. nm x Another thank you for your service. White flag is right.. what a nation of wimps we will become under this man. He'll be hiding behind Michelle's skirt. My kids do community service They have participated in numerous community service programs and projects, from collecting and packing items for the homeless to refurbishing parks. They ask to participate in them based on the listings in our newspaper. How very sad for your children that you would not allow them to feel invested in their community and would deny them the wonderful feeling that comes from helping others. Both my daughers belong to a service organization that does things in the community year round. In fact, my oldest daughter got a scholarship at a private college mainly because of her community service. I believe that community service teaches our young people to give something back to the community to help those less fortunate. It is a very good plan in my opinion. AWWW....you weren't supposed to tell anyone!! Can't keep a secret worth a dang!! 
George's questionable military service... flash back to Bill...who stated he hated the military and was too busy smoking pot (but not inhaling) to involve himself in military service. Puleezzeee. And we all know about Bill's...ahem...stones. Lent themselves to interns, black dresses and cigars (ewwwwww I mean REALLYYYYYY) instead of taking care of the country. Yup, there 's somethin' to be proud of!!! (not) my kids are not joining a community service org nm my kids have done community service in the past They have been in girlscouts for years. I have a big problem with it being mandatory. You people just have no clue. I'm bitter and stupid and selfish I guess for wanting freedom of choice for me and my children. Clinton and C, King's memoral service today.... Four presidents were present at Coretta King's memorial service today. Carter was there and blasted Bush by recalling how the Kings were illegally wiretapped. Bush Sr. was there and actually seemed quite amiable and pleasant. Bush Jr. got up and read his usual canned ghost-written blah blah. It was almost embarrassing though to see the difference in the way the mourners responded to Bush Jr and to Bill Clinton. The crowd greeted Clinton with resounding cheers and a standing ovation when he came into the church - no such greeting for Bush, only a polite clapping. When Clinton took his turn to speak - the only speaker of the Presidents by the way not to be reading a notepad or turning pages on the podium - he got a another standing ovation for his eulogy, which was delivered off the cuff, from the heart, and just seemed to hit a nerve with the audience like Bush Jr. has never been able to do. I think it's clear - despite the smear jobs and the hypocritical railroading, the vast majority of America still loves Bill Clinton and in fact I think always has. Sure, he's not perfect and did some questionable things. But, his intelligence, charisma, ability to speak eloquently without teleprompters or earpieces, and just plain good empathy, diplomacy and people-sense, when compared side by side with Bush's obvious discomfort and absorption in his script pages, just really made clear how much we are lacking in the White House today - painfully clear. The memorial service was great though, with a tone of worship and celebration rather than sadness. Goodbye to a truly great lady. First President Bush Attends Lay's Memorial Service I'm surprised Dubya didn't attend this since he recently told Larry King that Lay was such a *good guy.* Friends remember Lay at memorial service By KRISTEN HAYS, AP Business WriterWed Jul 12, 7:17 PM ET Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay was a high-powered businessman, philanthropist and family man who didn't succumb to despair despite the scandal that destroyed his company and left him a vilified felon, friends and family members said at a memorial service Wednesday where mourners included former President George Bush. Lay's 90-minute service drew some of the high-profile guests who were close to him before he was convicted in May of fraud and conspiracy for lying to investors and the public about the energy company's financial health. Enron collapsed in late 2001. Neither the Bushes nor former Secretary of State James Baker III, Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr. and noted heart surgeon Denton Cooley spoke. The Bushes sat directly behind Lay's wife, Linda. Instead, Lay's family and friends sought to show a kinder view of him than had been seen publicly since the company's collapse. Some expressed bitterness over their — and Lay's — steadfast belief that he was wrongly convicted in one of the biggest corporate frauds in history. I am angry because of the way he was treated in the last five years of his life, and I think I'll leave it there, leave it at that, said Lay's stepson, David Herrold, who attended much of the four-month trial. I am glad he's not in a position anymore to be whipped by his enemy, Herrold said to the hundreds in attendance at Houston's First United Methodist Church, which Lay attended for 12 years. His mother, Linda Lay, dabbed tears with a handkerchief. Lay died of heart disease July 5 in Aspen, Colo., where he was vacationing with his wife. About 200 friends and family, including his co-defendant, former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling, attended a small memorial service there on Sunday. But Skilling decided not to attend Wednesday's service because of heavy media coverage, said his attorney, Daniel Petrocelli. His wife, former Enron corporate secretary Rebecca Carter, attended both services. As guests entered the sanctuary, they passed a framed photo of a smiling Lay wearing a red Enron T-shirt, blue athletic shorts and gym shoes. Two large bouquets of sunflowers sat on either side of the pulpit, while two burning candles sat on each side of an open Bible in the center. The Rev. Bill Lawson, prominent pastor of the African-American Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, said the Lay he knew wasn't the target of late-night TV jokes or a pariah. Lawson called Lay a victim of a lynching and praised mourners for staying friends with him through the scandal. The folks who don't like him have had their say. I'd like to have mine and I don't care what you think about it, he said, eliciting brief applause. Now his grandchildren won't ask, `Why is Papia in jail?' No more persecution. That is behind him, Lawson said. Lawson evoked leaders who he said were vilified in life but vindicated by history, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and our Lord Jesus Christ. Minutes before Wednesday's service began, shrieks pierced the sanctuary as Lay friend and former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier, 81, collapsed in an aisle. Carter and Lawson comforted Lanier's distraught wife, Elyse, before paramedics whisked him to a hospital, where was in stable condition with an irregular heartbeat. Lay and Skilling were the faces of Enron throughout the company's meteoric rise from a stodgy pipeline company to a powerhouse energy trader. Their reputations shattered alongside the company as their images switched from business visionaries to perpetrators of fraud that fueled a spectacular crash that evaporated $60 billion in market value and left thousands jobless. A jury convicted Lay of six counts of fraud and conspiracy and Skilling of 19 of 28 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors. Lay also was convicted of bank fraud and lying to banks in a separate, non-jury trial related to his personal banking. Lay died awaiting their Oct. 23 sentencing, and his lawyers are expected to ask a judge to erase his conviction because his death left his case unfinished. Skilling still faces sentencing on that date and could be ordered to serve decades in prison. Beau Herrold, another Lay stepson who manages the family's finances, read from a letter he had begun writing to U.S. District Judge Sim Lake that he intended to deliver before Lay's sentencing. In the letter, he described Lay as a devoted husband, father, grandfather and brother who always found a way to make time for family. Lay is survived by his wife, children, two sisters and 12 grandchildren. ___ Associated Press photographers David Phillip and Pat Sullivan, viedographer Rich Matthews and writer Chris Duncan contributed to this report. Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060712/ap_on_bi_ge/lay_memorial_service;_ylt=Ak8bN9MlqcDqW3FxUR78CzOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGI2aDNqBHNlYwM3NDk-
Y'know....all these derisive remarks about McCain's service... and his years in a POW camp...with all due respect, if enduring unspeakable torture for 5 years for refusing to make propaganda tapes for the enemy, turning down a release offered to him because his father was a high ranking military officer because there were men there who had been there longer than he had and suffering even more because he turned it down...the unimaginable suffering, the honor, integrity and love for his country he showed...separated from loved ones, family, friends and country for 5 long years...to be boiled down to a political phrase "lying in a POW camp for 5 years does not make you qualified to run a country." I say it does, in spades. THAT is character. THAT is integrity. THAT is patriotism. 
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