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February 15, 2004

Osama bin Laden Captured On Halloween Eve!

AP – Islamabad, October 31, 2004. American and Pakistani forces closed in on Al Qaeda terrorists hiding outside Khandahar near the Pakistani border today, and after a protracted battle, captured the illusive head of the Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden.

Pakistani officials said bin Laden surrendered after a ten-hour battle pitting American Delta Force commandos and Pakistani Rangers against a large group of Al Qaeda rebels found hiding in a maze of caves in the mountains outside Khandahar.

US Army spokesperson, Col. Frank Magni, of the 17th Public Affairs Detachment told reporters that bin Laden was badly wounded in the firefight which lasted all night. It was only after bin Laden’s entire headquarters unit had been killed that he surrendered to the Delta Force commandos, early Sunday morning. With him was his top lieutenant, Ayman Al Zawahri, who reportedly was killed early in the siege.

Pakistani sources said bin Laden’s wounds were not life-threatening. He was taken by plane to an undisclosed US military base possibly in the Philippines for medical attention.

The ten-hour firefight concluded with bin Laden’s surrender, and over twenty-five Al Qaeda were taken prisoner, some said to be high-ranking officials.

Col. Magni said three American and twenty-eight Pakistani soldiers were killed in the exchange. Al Qaeda casualties are said to number around 100.

American and Pakistani forces were said to be acting on a tip that came from a source close to bin Laden, who was arrested late Friday night.

“This is a great day for Afghanistan, and a great day for the world,” said Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai went on to say that he was declaring a national holiday for Afghanistan, and encouraged all Afghani’s to celebrate the victory.

President Bush, when asked to comment, said, “We are winning the war on terrorism, and this is solid proof. I hope this puts to rest any questions about who should lead this country for the next four years.”

Democratic candidate Senator John Kerry’s campaign aides had no official comment at press time.

Elections Postponed Indefinitely Because of Terror Attack

Vice President Cheney Urges Calm

Washington, DC (AP) – Following yesterday’s terrorist attacks, President Bush issued an executive order postponing tomorrow’s national elections.

“We have been dealt a devastating blow, and we must now draw together on this terrible day of infamy, and mourn those who have fallen,” said Vice President Cheney. “But we cannot allow these attacks to continue. We have new information that the same terrorists plan to set off suicide bombs in polling places tomorrow, so in order to protect citizens of this great nation, we’ve determined it is in the best interests of our nation if we indefinitely postpone the elections. President Bush signed that executive order to that effect early this morning.”

The toll for yesterday’s attacks now stands at 25 confirmed dead and seven missing. The attacks were on the Washington offices of the US Election Assistance Commission, and the corporate headquarters of Diebold Inc., in Canton, Ohio.

The number of wounded from the two attacks is reported at fifteen.

President Bush was unavailable for comment.

According to reliable sources, Senator John Kerry and his running mate Senator John Edwards were whisked away by Secret Services agents immediately following the news of the attacks and since have remained at an undisclosed, secure location.

The sources state it is believed that there is a credible threat towards the candidate’s lives.

There have been unsubstantiated reports that the true intent of the attack on Diebold was the theft of software and code that is used in many electronic voting machines, and that the explosion and fire were set to cover the tracks of the theft.

Diebold officials had no comment.

Department of Homeland Security has left the terror alert level at red, or severe. According to Secretary Tom Ridge, “We have evidence to suggest that the terrorists will strike again, so we ask all citizens to be extremely vigilant.” He went on to say that citizens are warned to watch for suspicious people who are “praying fervently” or who seem to be whispering to someone. There were no specific targets mentioned, outside of the polling places.

When asked how long the election would be delayed, Vice President Cheney had no comment. Nor would he comment on rumors of a massive movement of US troops across the border from Iraq into Iran.

Vice President Cheney concluded in his press conference, “Everyone should stay calm and this will pass over. We are in control.”

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October 18, 2004

Osama bin Laden Says: Vote For Bush!



Osama bin Laden wants you to vote for his best buddy, George Bush.



Because bin Laden made George Bush – and visa versa. Truly, neither would have been anything at all without the other.

Think about it:

Prior to the September 11 attacks, the Bush Administration was a presidency in trouble: Bush had no agenda other than giving his rich friends tax breaks, no plan for the country, except to send all our jobs overseas. His approval ratings were in the dumper; he was going nowhere fast.

Then came the attacks.

And where Bush himself is almost certainly a moron, his handlers are not. They saw the golden opportunity for what it was.

They had Bush announce a “war” on terrorism, in retaliation for the attacks; they had Bush re-invent himself as a “wartime” president.

Then, all of a sudden, his approval ratings went through the roof as the nation pulled together, as we set aside our differences in light of the national tragedy.

Isn’t this just grand?

But there’s something George Bush doesn’t want you to know. What?

The big secret, is that there is no “war on terror,” other than what Bush has contrived. It’s all a sham.

Where there may have been some basis for our invasion of Afghanistan, where we were trying to capture Osama bin Laden, all our actions since, particularly including the invasion of Iraq have been completely without foundation – and have no bearing whatsoever on this “war on terror.”

Seriously, if Bush had really intended to capture bin Laden, common sense dictates he would have kept our troops in Afghanistan and not rested until bin Laden was found.

What happened instead? He withdrew the greater majority of US forces to invade Iraq and left the hunt for bin Laden to the corrupt Afghan warlords – as if that was ever a strategy designed for success.

So why did Bush slack off in the hunt for bin laden? Has he misplaced his priorities here, perhaps?

No. Not if his main priority is getting re-elected.

Because bin Laden is much more effective for Bush if he’s still on the run, inciting the Muslim world against us. He’s a cause celebre, a rallying point for the American invective. He’s the absolute personification of terrorism and ultimately, of evil – as defined by George W. Bush. And most of that would be lost if he were actually captured.

Bush and bin Laden enjoy a most wonderful, enriching, symbiotic relationship.

Every American soldier in Iraq, and every casualty they produce, drives just one more recruit to bin Laden; gives him just one more argument on why the US is evil; and one more argument why every good Muslim must pick up a rifle and make Jihad against the “crusaders” from the United States.

Conversely, every American casualty in Iraq, every terrorist attack anywhere in the world by any group, gives credence to Bush’s claims that we’re “at war.”

And war is very good for Bush.

Because Bush plays on our fears of war, using those fears to keep us subjugated.

A good example would be the terror alerts. Condition Yellow; Condition Orange; Condition Red. We’re at war! Be vigilant! Report any suspicious activities! Look out for possible attacks on schools, today! Buy duct tape and plastic in case of biological attacks; on and on and on…

Those fears keep the public off balance. The mindset is something like, “Everyone knows you must endure some deprivations during war-time – they had rationing during WW II, what we have now is no different. If we’re at ‘war’ now, then we’ll just have to grin and bear it.” And thus, people become inured to the fear; the paranoia becomes a natural state. Which is exactly what Bush wants.

We’re kept fearful to blind us from what’s really happening; it keeps us from remembering how bad the economy is; it keeps us from remembering how many civil liberties we’ve lost in the name of freedom; and how everything has really gone to hell under the watch of George W. Bush.

If they weren't fearful, Americans might just notice that the rich are getting richer and the poor and the middle-class are just plain getting screwed.

But think for a minute:

Where would we be if we withdrew our forces from Iraq and just let them govern themselves? And where would we be if Osama bin Laden if George Bush lost the election?

Quite possibly, we’d be in a peaceful world where everyone could coexist.

If the United States withdrew its forces from Iraq, then bin Laden would lose a major argument for opposing the US. His funding and source of recruits would likely dry up. It’d be hard times for the al Qaeda.

Being really fanciful, you could top that off with some sort of imposed solution for Israel and the Palestinians, and more than likely, terrorism as we know it would be a thing of the past. Osama would have to find some other occupation.

But George Bush doesn’t want that. He wants terrorism to be the number one issue for Americans. He wants us frightened, and off-balance – and unable to focus on the real problems we face.

So should we vote for Bush? Osama says Y E S!

December 15, 2004

The Neatest Thing In The World!




I just lucked into the neatest thing the other day: I found that they're streaming vintage KFAT broadcasts on the web! Here's the link: click here

What you say, is KFAT? Just the best damned radio station that ever existed.

From 1975 to 1982, KFAT broadcast on 94 1/2 FM from Gilroy, the garlic capitol of the world. The broadcast area ran from Monterey and Salinas, up to Santa Cruz and San Jose - maybe San Francisco on a really good day.

While ostensibly a country station, KFAT distinguished itself mostly by having no play list at all. None. The DJ's played what the hell they wanted - anything and everything.

In one half hour, you might hear Hank Williams Sr, Led Zeppelin, Dan Hicks, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, David Allen Coe, Eric Clapton, and some Hawaiian cowboy music. Or maybe bluegrass interspersed with heavy metal. It was the damnedest station ever. Completely unpredictable.

They were big supporters of the local music scene around the Monterey Bay area. One of my fondest memories was when a band I managed (Stir Crazy) did a promo on the air at KFAT with Buffalo Bob Cassidy. That was a real trip. Bob interviewed the band, played tapes of some of our songs, and plugged our record.

Then there were all the Fat Fries and other concerts and what not that they put on. KFAT was a real institution around the Monterey Bay.

But it was too good to last


KFAT’s owner died in the early 80’s and willed the radio station to a non-profit corporation. While it had never been really profitable, KFAT then really went wild, and in a short period of time, rolled over and died. Another experiment in anarchy goes bad…

Luckily, much on that same Fatness has been reborn in KPIG . And in fact, many of the same DJ’s are there at KPIG. Same sort of music and the whole deal.

But it will still never be as good as the Fat One. I had pretty well resigned myself to life without KFAT.

And then KFAT resurfaced – after being dead for 22 years.

What happened, is that it seems that they’ve collected a bunch of tapes that people had recorded of actual KFAT shows way, way back in the 70’s and 80’s, and now they’re streaming those shows on the web.

So here I am again, listening to the Fat One again, and thinking I’m in heaven!

Seems just like a goddamned time machine

December 19, 2004

In Memoriam

Rene Aguirre

1948-2004

Rene Aguirre

July 15, 2007

Sunday Morning Musings…

Gut Feeling

Al Qaeda are coming!!!

I was watching Meet The Press this morning – Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was on, pushing the company line for the Bush administration. What a shit-for-brains idiot!

It’s all, al Qaeda, al Qaeda, al Qaeda! The surge is working! We must stand firm! Our national security is at stake. If we leave, al Qaeda will win. Blah, blah, blah. al Qaeda. He must have said “al Qaeda” 10 times in maybe a minute.

It’s like Bush and his cronies figure that if they say the magic words – “al Qaeda” – then everyone will stand at attention and go along with anything they say.

And then if Bush and his buddies really want to get our attention, they’ll invoke the ghosts of “9/11.”

Continue reading "Sunday Morning Musings…" »

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