Telegraph | News | President’s bass moment By Francis Harris, in Washington

The disclosure came when a German reporter asked him to name his best and worst moments since taking office in 2000.

Naturally, Mr Bush said September 11 had proved by far the worst moment. But he clearly struggled to find a happy moment of equal intensity. In the end, the fish came to mind.

“I don’t know, it’s hard to characterise the great moments. They’ve all been busy moments, by the way. I would say the best moment was when I caught a 7½lb largemouth bass on my lake,” George W Bush said. [mjh: it’s hard work! wanna see my pet frog?]

No matter what his supporters say, Duhbya is NOT a smart man. He peaked as a C student and from there went on to drink and, some say, do drugs for years. Christianity may have straightened him out, but it can’t make anyone smarter than god did. His political philosophy confuses conservatives and liberals — it’s hard to know what he’s really thinking. I don’t know if the deal was sealed by passing out choking on a pretzl or the extreme shock of 9/11, but this man is not well, emotionally or mentally. mjh

The Toll of the Anti-Politicians By Jim Hoagland

National issues dominate [many] country’s troubles. But part of the broader erosion is due to the rise of the anti-politician: the leader who seeks or wields power in the name of a cause higher than politics and the art of compromise, and who gains electoral advantage by denigrating government and its funding. [mjh: i.e., the work of the Radical Right]

That advantage turns out to be temporary and ultimately self-defeating. Related assaults on politics as a profession, on compromise as a function of government and on taxes as a valid instrument for common welfare turn quickly into dead ends. They deliver only instant gratification for the frustrated.

President Bush’s well-advertised animus toward “Washington” and his refusal to work with Congress to reformulate the national security and civil liberties laws needed to support an enduring war on terrorist networks provide examples of the kind of corrosive anti-politics that I have in mind. A recent trip to Europe shows that the practice and its consequences are not confined to Washington.

Guantanamo’s innocuous men By Mahvish Khan, Special to The Washington Post

[Ali Shah] Mousovi is a physician from the Afghan city of Gardez, where he was arrested by U.S. troops 2 1/2 years ago. He tells us that he had returned to Afghanistan in August 2003, after 12 years of exile in Iran, to help rebuild his wathan, his homeland. He believes that someone turned him in to U.S. forces just to collect up to $25,000 being offered to anyone who gave up a Talib or al Qaeda member.

As I translate from Pashto, Mousovi hesitantly describes life since his arrest. Transported to the Bagram air base near Kabul in eastern Afghanistan, he was thrown — blindfolded, hooded and gagged — into a 3 1/2 -by-7-foot shed. He says he was beaten regularly by Americans in civilian clothing, deprived of sleep by tape-recordings of sirens that blared day and night. He describes being dragged around by a rope, subjected to extremes of heat and cold. He says he barely slept for an entire month.

He doesn’t know why he was brought to Guantanamo Bay. He had hoped he would be freed at his military hearing in December 2004. Instead, he was accused of associating with the Taliban and of funneling money to anti-coalition insurgents. When he asked for evidence, he was told it was classified. And so he sits in prison, far from his wife and three children. More than anyone, he misses his 11-year-old daughter, Hajar. When he talks about her, his eyes fill with tears, and his head droops. …

The very existence of the military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay seemed an affront to what the United States stands for. How could our government deny the prisoners there the right to a fair hearing? I didn’t know whether they were innocent or guilty — but I figured they should be entitled to the same protections as any rape or murder suspect. …

As an American, I felt the pain of Sept. 11, and I understood the need to invade Afghanistan and destroy the Taliban and al Qaeda. But I also felt the suffering of the Afghans as their country was bombed. And when hundreds of men were rounded up and thrust into a black hole of detention, many with seemingly no proof that they had any terrorist connections, I felt that my own country had taken a wrong turn. …

No matter the age or background of the detainee, our meetings always leave me feeling helpless. These men show me the human face of the war on terrorism. They’ve been systematically dehumanized, cast as mere numbers in prison-camp fashion. But to me, they’ve become almost like friends, or brothers or fathers. I can honestly say that I don’t believe any of our clients are guilty of crimes against the United States. No doubt some men here are, but not the men I’ve met. …

Most are held in isolation in cells separated by thick steel mesh or concrete walls. Every man eats every meal alone in his small cell. The prisoners are allowed out of their cells three times a week for about 15 minutes to exercise, often in the middle of the night, so many don’t see sunlight for months at a time.

mjh’s blog — Another Victim of American Torture: Maher Arar

mjh’s blog — America kidnapped me

Guantanamo’s innocuous men By Mahvish Khan, Special to The Washington Post

At 80, Haji Nusrat — Detainee No. 1009 — is Guantanamo Bay’s oldest prisoner. A stroke 15 years ago left him partly paralyzed. He cannot stand up without assistance, and he hobbles to the bathroom behind a walker. Despite his paralysis, his swollen legs and feet are tightly cuffed and shackled to the floor. He says that his shoes are too tight and that he needs new ones. He has asked for medical attention for the inflammation in his legs but has not been taken to a hospital.

“They wait until you are almost dead,” he says.

He has a long white beard and grayish-brown eyes that drift from Peter’s face to mine as we explain his legal issues to him. In the middle of our meeting, he says to me: “Bachay.” My child. “Look at my white beard. They have brought me here with a white beard. I have done nothing at all. I have not said a single word against the Americans.”

He comes from a small mountain village in Afghanistan and cannot read or write. He has 10 children and does not know if his wife is still alive — he hasn’t received any letters.

U.S. troops arrested Nusrat in 2003, a few days after he went to complain about the arrest of his son Izat, who also is detained at Guantanamo Bay.

As I read this article, I could hear Donald Rumsfeld’s voice intoning, “they’re trained to lie!” I wonder what training Rummy had or if he’s just a natural. Is solitary confinement really the best way to handle an 80 year old man, liar or not? mjh

Since Congress is dragging it’s feet on addressing our country’s shortage on oil, I have made a bumper sticker I think we should get out to everyone to get this back on the front burner. I am attaching the simple design with a PDF. I am willing to make and sell these to anyone who wants one. All I ask is a $5 donation to go to help fund conservative, logical thinking congressmen’s campaigns across the nation. For each $5 political contribution, I will donate the profit of $2.50 each to a candidates that are Pro-Anwar drilling.

Thanks…. I enjoy your blog….

Kim

Well, this is certainly a different tone from Jeff’s recent comment. I do have to wonder if Kim has ever read my blog.

Kim’s bumpersticker says “Drill ANWR” and features a giant drill bit. I take that to mean “screw everything” — whether intended or not.

The ANWR obsession is particularly strange. First, ANWR was part of a earlier compromise — you get to destroy this big area, we get to keep this small area. So, now non-conserving Conservatives are proud to be known as unwilling to stand by previous agreements? Or is this just a flip-flop?

Second, if drilling were approved tomorrow, how long before oil from ANWR morphed into gas in your tank? I’ve heard 10 years, but let’s just say that’s exaggerated. Five years? In five years, the price per gallon will be well over $5.

Finally, at least among enviro-whackos, the potential output from ANWR is predicted to be relatively small compared to our bottomless thirst. Doesn’t it seem that in 5 to 10 years we could set our sights on saving more than ANWR would ever pump?

It should be clear to everyone: we will not drill our way out of this hole. mjh

Independent Online Edition > Americas
Iraq war set to be more expensive than Vietnam
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Published: 28 April 2006

The Iraq war has already cost the United States $320bn (£180bn), according to an authoritative new report, and even if a troop withdrawal begins this year, the conflict is set to be more expensive in real terms than the Vietnam War, a generation ago.

The estimate, circulated this week by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), can only increase unease over the US presence in Iraq, whose direct costs now run at some $6bn a month, or $200m a day, with no end in sight.

That’s a full $2.2 billion since this article was published. Well, that’s inflation for you.

The real war loonies will quote figures on deaths. Many of today’s battlefield injuries would have been fatal 40 years ago. How long before the number of seriously wounded surpasses Vietnam? Don’t expect anyone to tell you.

I still seethe that the Radical Right jumped all over Kerry/Edwards for “lying” that the war’s cost was $200 Billion. Lying? It was a gross underestimate. mjh

Anyone will tell you, ‘Republicans are good for business.’ Especially for their own, it seems. I’ve already suggested the main campaign slogan for 2006 should be:

Republicans Mean Business

But I’m starting to appreciate Newt Gingrich’s own suggestion:

Had enough?

mjh

PS: Ask someone in the MSM how this could not be news in the US?

Independent Online Edition > Americas
Donald Rumsfeld makes $5m killing on bird flu drug
By Geoffrey Lean and Jonathan Owen
Published: 12 March 2006

Donald Rumsfeld has made a killing out of bird flu. The US Defence Secretary has made more than $5m (£2.9m) in capital gains from selling shares in the biotechnology firm that discovered and developed Tamiflu, the drug being bought in massive amounts by Governments to treat a possible human pandemic of the disease.

More than 60 countries have so far ordered large stocks of the antiviral medication – the only oral medicine believed to be effective against the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease – to try to protect their people. The United Nations estimates that a pandemic could kill 150 million people worldwide.

Daily Times – Site Edition
Donald Rumsfeld makes $5m from bird flu drug

Tamiflu does not cure the disease, but if taken soon after symptoms appear it can reduce its severity. The drug was developed by a Californian biotech company, Gilead Sciences. It is now made and sold by the giant chemical company Roche, which pays it a royalty on every tablet sold, currently about a fifth of its price.

Rumsfeld was on the board of Gilead from 1988 to 2001, and was its chairman from 1997. He then left to join the Bush administration, but retained a huge shareholding.

The firm made a loss in 2003, the year before concern about bird flu started. Then revenues from Tamiflu almost quadrupled, to $44.6m, helping put the company well into the black. Sales almost quadrupled again, to $161.6m last year. During this time the share price trebled.

Rumsfeld sold some of his Gilead shares in 2004 reaping – according to the financial disclosure report he is required to make each year – capital gains of more than $5m. The report showed that he still had up to $25m-worth of shares at the end of 2004, and at least one analyst believes his stake has grown well beyond that figure, as the share price has soared. Further details are not likely to become known, however, until Rumsfeld makes his next disclosure in May.

Rumsfeld Gilead – Google News (at this writing, only 6 news articles — these are the only 2 about this investment — none in the US)

Gilead — Donald H. Rumsfeld Named Chairman of Gilead Sciences
Foster City, CA, January 3, 1997