All war, all the time

William Perry, defense secretary under Clinton says the U. S. and North Korea might be at war within a few months. Indeed, he seemed to somewhat relish the fact of the U.S. having another jolly good war to make the world safe for multinational corporations, and so soon after the U.S. stumbled into the quagmire of Iraq.

“The immediate cause of concern, Perry said in a Washington Post interview, is that North Korea appears to have begun reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods.

“I have thought for some months that if the North Koreans moved toward processing, then we are on a path toward war,” he told the paper.

“The nuclear program now underway in North Korea poses an imminent danger of nuclear weapons being detonated in American cities,” said Perry.

Imminent danger? What a bunch of hysterical horseshit. Imminent danger is when you have actual proof an attack is close at hand. Perry offered no such proof. Just doom-laden warnings, with no proof, about how Bad People Wish To Do Us Harm  so we need to obliterate them first.

Would someone tell me again why the two major parties are different? Perry, a Democrat, sounds like Richard Perle, The Prince of Darkness.

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Sign on Interstate 5

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Your Baghdad weather report

Temperatures will be 112-116 for the next ten days, with 0% chance of rain.

Large parts of Baghdad still have no electricity or water.

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The new KPFK schedule

Pacifica radio station KPFK here in L.A. just made major changes to their programming schedule. It would not be KPFK if some were not outraged by the changes, suspecting hidden and vast conspiracies. The internal politics of KPFK from its beginning in 1948 have always been tumultuous bordering on lunatic.

Which is not to say that KPFK isn’t a world-class amazing radio station. Because it is. While much of the media is pablum, KPFK continues to be hardcore Left, and proud of it. Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. Sonali Kolhatkar on the Morning Show. Excellent afternoon news by a variety of journalists. Many specialty political shows.

Lest you think KPFK is a little dingbat station, it’s not. It has one of the most powerful signals in the West. If it ever sold, the sale price would be 400-500 million. KPFK has a huge transmitter in an area with millions and millions of people.

A few years back Pacifica got taken over by a board that was, to my mind, intent on creating rigid central control, dumbing down the content, and maybe even selling off some of the five station network. Station activists fought back, and after prolonged trench-warfare fighting which was extreme even by Pacifica standards, drove out the usurper board, and took over. It is no exaggeration to say they saaved Pacifica.

The programming changes at KPFK reflect the new leadership and the advisory boards they created. Music programs were shortened. New programs, almost entirely political, have been added. In a truly bold move, they’ve put Spanish-speaking news and politics on Mon-Thu night from 9-11 pm.

We live in dangerous political times. The Left needs a voice. Pacifica provides that. This is not the time for more music programs, this is the time to organize and get the word out. KPFK’s programming changes help do just that.

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Major media attacking Bush

From the NY Times

“The evidence “did not meet the standards we use for the president,” said Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser and the minder of Mr. Bush’s pronouncements. That is putting it politely. American intelligence agencies questioned the accuracy of the British report, and even doubted their own evidence.”

Uranium case riddled with questions

Data on Iraq under scrutiny
Credibility found lacking in U.S. war  intelligence

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Lieberman, Gephardt, Kucinich stiff-arm NAACP

Showing astoundingly stupid judgement, Lieberman, Gephardt, Kucinich skipped the NAACP Presidential Forum. The NAACP is justifiably furious and plans to seriously hold this against them.

“NAACP President Kweisi Mfume criticized Democratic presidential candidates Dick Gephardt, Joe Lieberman and Dennis Kucinich on Monday for skipping the group’s presidential forum, saying the three have become “persona non grata” among black voters.

“In essence, you now have become persona non grata,” he said. “Your political capital is the equivalent of confederate dollars.”

Gephardt said he had a prior family obligation, Lieberman said he had campaign events in New York and Kucinich said he wanted to be in Washington to make votes in the House. Spokesman for all three said their absence wasn’t meant to be a snub and they hoped to work with the NAACP throughout the campaign, but Mfume wouldn’t excuse them.

“If you expect us to believe that you could not find 90 minutes to come by and address the issues affecting our nation, then you have no legitimacy over the next nine months in our community,” he said to applause from the delegates.

I’m dumbfounded Kucinich skipped the meeting. What was he thinking?

Gephardt is such a colorless cipher that he makes Gray Davis appear perky, I have no idea who Gephardt is, what he believes, and don’t much care.

Lieberman, who was supposed to be the anointed front runner, has tripped and stumbled continuously, and this was just one more screw-up.

One thought about him: He’s an Orthodox Jew and doesn’t work on the Sabbath. While I can respect religious beliefs, does that mean he would never work on a Sabbath if President, no matter what might be happening?

Update: Kucinich responds

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