‘A group of senators including a Republican war critic announced agreement Wednesday on a resolution opposing President Bush's 21,500 troop buildup in Iraq, setting their marker for a major clash between the White House and Congress over the unpopular war.

The non-binding resolution, which was also gaining interest from a second key Republican, would symbolically put the Senate on record as saying the U.S. commitment in Iraq "can only be sustained" with popular support among the American public and in Congress.

"I will do everything I can to stop the president's policy as he outlined it Wednesday night," said Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican and potential 2008 presidential candidate, who joined Democrats at a press conference on the resolution.

"I think it is dangerously irresponsible," Hagel said.

Even as skeptical Republicans were summoned to private meetings with Bush and national security adviser Stephen Hadley at the White House, Bush's aides made clear that the Capitol Hill challenge would be met aggressively by the administration.

Presidential spokesman Tony Snow said resolutions passed by Congress will not affect Bush's decision-making.

"The president has obligations as a commander in chief," he said. "And he will go ahead and execute them."’

Senators Agree On Iraq War Resolution

In a documentary shown on ABC tonight (18/01/07) one Iraqi says candidly: "I shit on Bush"... and I instantly thought that "one usually goes behind the bush for this purpose", but one can be forgiven for thinking of "using the Bush" on this occasion...

The Documentary shot over several years, including the time of the bombing of Baghdad by US troops in 2003, bombings during which many families perished, gave a chilling raw insight into the reality of the degradation of life since the invasion and of the fear amongst the Iraqi population — a reality that the US army spin-spitting unit, White House spinmeister Tony Snow and most of the English speaking media are sanitising, porkying and twisting for the consumption of the fools we are...

Unless there is a miracle, I cannot see how the little moron of the White House can clean his own big mess...

From the SMH

THE Muslim preacher Sheik Feiz Mohammed has referred to Jews as evil in a videotaped lecture still being sold in Sydney despite threats of legal action by the federal and state governments.

....

The Premier, Morris Iemma, called on the Federal Government to use sedition laws to outlaw the DVDs.

"He has gone way beyond the sort of outrageous and stupid comments made in recent times by the other sheik," Mr Iemma said, referring to Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly.

"This fellow is inciting people to commit acts of terror."

------------------------

Ignoramus Gus: Our problem is that the Muslim preacher Sheik Feiz Mohammed is no more a preacher than a dustbin is. Learning the same thing over and over again, does not make one a learned wise person. To some extent a garbage bin is more useful.

Spreading hatred and the idea of violence via self-sacrifice should start with oneself: hate yourself and self-sacrifice without hurting anybody else... That's the way to go... self-disappear and the world is better for it.

The more useful conundrum is that one can empty a dustbin in a flash, while removing stupid ideas from young influence-able minds is tricky, but filling them with crap is easy. Thus the campaign to stop this fellow polluting the atmosphere with foul smells is to provide him with the rope to self-sacrifice without hurting anybody else: — a step towards towards self-improvement for a stupid bearded kid masquerading as a preacher...

I have the feeling he would be too gutless, or claim his own importance not to do it... And even if he did, he still would be a dead stupid bearded kid that used to masquerade as a preacher. No hero, no martyr...

One has to admit unfortunately that the same tantrum should apply to the present leader of the "free-world" — our glorious Dubya-the-minor, an idiot full-wit who's not shy of spruiking the word "evil" at every turn, and nor shy of using violence in the form of illegal wars, but smart enough to send others to hang themselves on his behalf... Are we nuts?

Yes Dubya is a stupid beardless kid who's masquerading as a president. And we are nuts for putting him there. So we have to wait for the next garbage collection, US election day 2008, before getting rid of the smelly raw shrimp...

In the meantime, our government can buy all the videos and DVDs of the stupid bearded kid masquerading as a preacher, smash them publicly and bury them (can't burn them because of the environment laws) and stop brown-nosing with Dubya-the-tiny-brain: A few steps in the right direction.

But then, would the sheik and his follower trick us by placing the recordings inside packages with a sexy blonde on the front cover? And would Dubya lace himself with perfume where brown-nosing is usually performed?

The world is become more shifty by the minute and I can't cope...

In my days...

PM records message for controversial church

Prime Minister John Howard has recorded a video message to be played at a prayer meeting organised by a controversial Christian group.

Catch the Fire Ministries is holding a prayer meeting in Melbourne on Australia Day and will play the video of Mr Howard.

In 2004, the church was found to have vilified Muslims but the Victorian Court of Appeal overturned the decision last month and ruled the case should be heard again.

In the video, Mr Howard says Christianity has been an enormous force for good and he congratulates Catch the Fire Ministries for organising the meeting.

A spokesman for Mr Howard says the Prime Minister does not regret providing the message.

Catch the Fires Ministries says Mr Howard has done nothing wrong by recording a video message for an Australia Day prayer meeting.

However Pastor Danny Nalliah will not confirm the video's contents.

"If I try to interpret what the Prime Minister said and then you try and interpret what I say, I have had so many times the media misrepresent what I've said," Mr Nalliah said.

------------------- 

Gus: Having not see the message, my interpretation is that the PM provides the usual Christian platitudes as digested by the ratbag right... with a twist of martyrdom that stops far from being nailed to a cross, but encourages passing the collection plate in favour of poor stockbrokers... while the ordinary workers can be fed to the lions (hey... the beasts need to be fed, don't they?). Of course, all this expressed with more false humility than ever... and a crocodile tear for the weather affected cockies. Easy. Let's pray...

I may add here that Johnnee may have been told by "god" to solve global warming by building a massive nuclear industry in order to precipitate Armageddon... the day of reckoning... Otherwise his determination would not make sense. It does not make sense anyway... Lovely. He'll make sure we're doomed.

From the ABC

Greens say PM's church address worrying
The Greens say all Australians should be concerned about a video appearance by the Prime Minister that will be shown to a Christian prayer group on Australia Day.

The gathering has been organised by the controversial group Catch the Fire Ministries, which is facing court action for alleged racial vilification against Muslims.

During the brief speech, Prime Minister John Howard says it is time to reaffirm Australia's commitment to shared values.

Greens Senator Christine Milne says it shows there is a strengthening relationship between the Government and the religious Right.

"Prime Minister Howard says that he upholds Australian values," she said.

"Well, fundamental to Australian values is tolerance.

"Those vilification laws in Victoria are there for a reason."

The Islamic community has also criticised Mr Howard for associating with the Catch the Fire Ministries.

core awstralyan values indeed Gus .....

Our little prime ministerial rodent is the consummate practitioner of the sledge & wedge brand of values, ever ready to whip-up public hysteria to vilify & alienate a helpless minority, if it means there's the slightest possibility of attracting a few more votes.

Of course, little johnnee is morally bankrupt, having long ago adopted the spiritual creed of the earlier opportunistic firebrand - the dopey Pauline.

And of course Milne is right.

If the little fabricator was as serious about promoting real awstralyan values as he is in promoting the criminal agenda of bushit & the sectional interests of our great oligarchs, he would have made a video for broadcasting by the media nationally, reminding awstralyans that the government has as much right to advocate certain spiritual brands over others, as it does to dictate the behaviour of citizens in the privacy of their bedrooms.

And, as a former honours student in ancient history, I'd be more than happy to publicly debate the little crook's contentions about the alleged fabulous contribution made to mankind by christianity over the past two millennia.

I wonder if the great champion of morality is making a video to boost the spiritual well-being of the AWB team?

Maybe bushit's religious coach, Pat Robertson, could give the little fella a few tips?

‘The engine that drives the radical Christian Right in the United States, the most dangerous mass movement in American history, is not religiosity, but despair. It is a movement built on the growing personal and economic despair of tens of millions of Americans, who watched helplessly as their communities were plunged into poverty by the flight of manufacturing jobs, their families and neighborhoods torn apart by neglect and indifference, and who eventually lost hope that America was a place where they had a future.’

The Radical Christian Right Is Built On Suburban Despair

Yes John, I've seen some of them before when I travelled through Amerika... A strong bigoted belief in a religious idea of God n' evil in the brain, while holding a crucifix in one hand and a loaded gun in the other. Tragic.