Well now they’re just getting silly…

The Santa Monica Mirror, a newspaper that to date has completely ignored the Mike Feinstein story, even though most other Santa Monica newspapers have covered it extensively, did manage the following over-the-top piece of hysteria in an Op-Ed last Friday.

“Looks like the Green Party is attempting a “Stalinist” purge with its recent harangue against Santa Monica City Councilmember Mike Feinstein”.

Stalinist? I thought my pals in ANSWER were the ones who get accused of being Stalinist? Now Greens are Stalinists too? I am soooo confused… Here I thought we were just peaceful treehuggers.

The Mirror then went on to say how the office Feinstein has is somehow a central issue. It’s not. The central issue is the $10,000 check made out to the Green Party of Los Angeles County which Feinstein deposited into a private bank account.

And I find it bizarre that the Mirror can run an Op-Ed about this while not actually running any stories about it - something which has been a major story among politicos in Santa Monica.

(Their Op-Ed was triggered by this State Green party press release about Feinstein)

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Shiite protesters march in Baghdad

“In the biggest anti-U.S. demonstration since the end of the war, thousands of Shiite Muslims marched peacefully through the capital Monday to protest the U.S. occupation and reject what they feared would be a U.S.-installed puppet government.”

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Pentagon honked off at BBC over Lynch allegations

“Any charge that the U.S. military misrepresented the facts of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch’s rescue April 1 from an Iraqi hospital to make the mission appear more dramatic or heroic is “void of all facts and absolutely ridiculous” the Pentagon said Monday.

Responding to a BBC report that called the Pentagon accounts of the rescue “one of the most stunning pieces of news management ever conceived,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said, “I think that allegation is ridiculous, I don’t know how else to respond. The idea that we would put a number of forces in danger unnecessarily to recover one of our POWs is just ridiculous.”

Uh, the BBC didn’t say US forces were put at risk. They said there was no risk, and the US knew that.

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Puts his money where his mouth is!

Pink Floyd guitarist gives $5 million to housing for poor.

“A rock star is giving £3.6m from his own pocket to bring affordable homes for 400 people to one of England’s most expensive areas. Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour plans to create homes for low-income public sector workers and homeless people in central London”

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Barney and Metallica used to break Iraq POWs

“Heavy metal music and popular American children’s songs are being used by US interrogators to break the will of their captives in Iraq.

Uncooperative prisoners are being exposed for prolonged periods to tracks by rock group Metallica and music from children’s TV programmes Sesame Street and Barney in the hope of making them talk.

The US’s Psychological Operations Company (Psy Ops) said the aim was to break a prisoner’s resistance through sleep deprivation and playing music that was culturally offensive to them.

However, human rights organisation, Amnesty International, said such tactics may constitute torture - and coalition forces could be in breach of the Geneva Convention. “

Drat that pesky Geneva Convention! And I must say that being forced to listen to endless Barney songs would make anyone beg for mercy.

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More on the national ANSWER conference

Much of the fun of posting articles about ANSWER here is checking my web logs to see how many right wing weblogs link to the post so they can insult me. Lemme tell ya folks, ANSWER makes the the Right go absolutely batshit with rage. We must be doing something right! My report of the conference (directly below this post) has already generated several hundred hits from foaming at the mouth conservative weblogs who are Shocked and Appalled at what went on there. Hey, thanks for the hits!

Some have asked if ANSWER will be involved in electoral politics in the 2004 Presidential campaign. And the, uh, answer is, no, at least not directly. We will certainly organize to make antiwar issues a central issue, however this won’t extend to endorsing any particular candidate.The problem isn’t Bush, the problem is more systemic that that, we have an economy based on war, and that needs to be channelled towards peace instead. Plus, many other groups will be directly involved in endorsing candidates, so ANSWER can better use its limited resources and time elsewhere. 

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