The mainstream media are attacking Barack Obama's Iraq policy as a huge flip-flop shift.  But Obama's current stance of Iraq is not a flip-flop.  At most, it is just a policy refinement.  People should keep in mind that John McCain still keeps Charlie Black at the top echelon of his campaign.    

Living overseas as I do, even in a country as friendly to America as the United Kingdom, I'm sensitive to the damage done to America's reputation by the Bush administration.  

I saw the above sign this weekend for the first time, as I strolled an idyllic footpath by a canal in the English countryside.  It adorned the stern door of a narrowboat on the canal.

I googled it to see where it originated.  It is another wonderful example of the art of Banksy, fast beocming one of the most influential young artists in Europe.  

And guess what?  He doesn't like what he sees of America.  Look below for more of his art.  It is quite moving and unsettling at the same time.

Do you believe it?

He put on the flag pin!

How long before the McHillary team smears him for being a flip-flopper???

Here's the link:

http://www.cnn.com/...

It was an odd time to hit adolescence, both physically and politically: in the middle of the Iraq war and the subsequent re-elections of both the parties who perpetrated it.  In the United Kingdom, cynicism was loud in 2005.  The Bush/Blair master-and-poodle meme was rife even before the weight of the realisation had dawned on most of us.  Our governments had lied to us. Innocent men and women died because of those lies.  

Today, Tony Blair’s Labour party has never recovered from the mere association with the current President of the United States.  That party’s demise in 2009-10 is inevitable.

But what of America?  Citizens suffering similarly the abuse of civil rights, the projected fear of terrorism, what would they do?  What precedent would they set for, not just the U.S, but the world?  This question became increasingly important when news of the primaries first trickled into public consciousness.  A woman and a black man running for President!  Surely this was an opportunity for American citizens to oust the guilty Government as stylishly as possible.

As the primaries have gone on, however, the reality of the opportunity in Americans’ hands has grown more poignant. I shall hope to shed some light on the issue in this diary.

Sorry for the short diary, guys, but I just discovered some disturbing information about a would-be president that I thought should be shared with as many people as possible.  I'm very concerned and after you see these pictures, you will be too.

Anti-American Cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr Reportedly Flees Iraq for Iran
Tuesday, February 13, 2007

WASHINGTON —  Anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has fled his Baghdad stronghold for the friendly confines of Iran's capital, FOX News can confirm via a senior United States official.

Al-Sadr left Iraq within the past few weeks out of fear for his safety and security and is with family in Tehran, where he has visited before, the official said.

His move comes as coalition forces crack down on the insurgency in Baghdad and ahead of the arrival of 21,500 U.S. troops sent by President George W. Bush to quell sectarian violence.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. monitoring activities, said fractures in al-Sadr's political and militia operations may be part of the reason for his departure.

This is not to start one more episode of the impeachment debate, but to note that one of the arguments used by the "impeachment is a bad idea" crowd, namely that the votes to convict are not there, is coming up on another topic:

No dramatic U-turn seen on U.S. climate change policy

LONDON (Reuters) - Washington is likely to stay out of the U.N. Kyoto Protocol for curbing greenhouse gases beyond 2012 even with a shift in power to Democrats from Republicans, a former top U.S. trade and economics official said.

Stuart Eizenstat, lead negotiator for former President Bill Clinton on the Kyoto Protocol for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, said changes were afoot at state and business level but the mere mention of Kyoto was a red rag and would remain so.

Reading Daivid Niewert's excellent recent entry, Projecting fascism, http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/... I was reminded that this is not the first time that Republicans have deliberately and relentlessly projected their own failings onto Democrats.   I encourage you to read it if you haven't already.

Projection of the GOP's own failings onto opponents has been a very successful tactic for quite some time.  There have been many strong variants of this and "fascist" is only the latest.  While this may not have the effect of totally demonizing the GOP's opposition, it is not intended to.  It works for its purpose of taking attention away from Republican failings first, before a legitimate attack is made.

Here are a few easy examples:

I am writing this diary not because I'm a paranoid lunatic, but because what scares me most about the Delaware horror is that the media isn't mentioning it anywhere.  It's not being spoken of with outrage in the mainstream and that, IMHO, is a sign that things are much worse than they seem.

I hereby send a warning, via Kos, to all here and to every Progressive everywhere:

Jerome Corsi, noted slanderer from the Swift Boat Veterans debacle, has an entire series of articles up at Human Events Online.

The most recent is a piece about a huge super highway that reads more like a "pump piece" and hype for non-profits, most notably something called the "North America's Super Corridor Coalition," that is pushing the scheme for a massive north/south superhighway up the I-35/I-29 corridors that is supposed to be the answer of answers for NAFTA boosters, and fans of the "Amero" i.e. the unified North American currency that Corsi is fond of writing about.

More below.

From today's London Times.

After seeing this cartoon, heaving a deep sigh and posting prematurely, I checked e-mail and found a message from Soonergrunt, our Kossack near Kabul. Here you go.

Hello, Old Friend

It's been a busy day. As for the events of today, Reuters seems the closest to having it right. I wasn't in the convoy that was in the accident, but I know some of the guys who were. It was a real mess. My convoy from a long-range patrol diverted around the city and made it home OK. None of our people shot anyone, but I did see the Afghan National Police fire directly into a crowd. It seems that what happened is that one of our trucks was broadsided by a large freight truck and subsequently rolled over a taxi full of people.

There are no traffic laws here as far as I can tell. If a person can start a car they can drive on the roads.

Does that hurt?  Did that bring your grandfather who fought Hitler back from the grave to say, he is so hurt?  Didn't think so.  Didn't affect your life one bit.