Did Ron Paul correctly predict this morning's "Gulf of Tonkin" incident?

[Steve Machol]

And since that time Air America is on another network in Phoenix again and once again trouncing in the ratings.

Even in conservative cities such as Phoenix and San Diego, Air America does exceedingly well.

1480 KPHX- Phoenix
You can even get their broadcast in iTunes.

Techically it's not Air America. It's another Progressive network - Nova M Radio

The claim that Progressive Talk Radio cannot survive is a free marketplace is a lie being spread by the extreme right for obvious reasons. They een had to resort to buying a station to shut down the Progressive voice only to see it rise again.

[Grubendol]

It’s similar to the LA market. We have a Progressive Talk station that broadcasts some Air America content, but not all of it, and there is local programming as well.

Frankly, the local programming I can’t stand I listen to the direct NYC feed on my computer while at work…either that or NPR

And for any who think NPR is a “Liberal” network I’d like to point out a story I heard this morning while driving in to work. It was about the “conspiracy theory” which suggests that a North American Union is being developed in conjunction with the international superhighway to run from Mexico to Canada, with the eventual development of a single North American monetary unit, etc.

The reporter was describing this as that, a conspiracy theory…and then went on to say that it would be a good thing to happen if it did!

As someone who listens to a lot of Air America I can tell you unequivocally that this opinion is as far away from liberal politics as you can get. It is purely neo-con.

[1968]

And for any who think NPR is a “Liberal” network I’d like to point out a story I heard this morning while driving in to work. It was about the “conspiracy theory” which suggests that a North American Union is being developed in conjunction with the international superhighway to run from Mexico to Canada, with the eventual development of a single North American monetary unit, etc.

The reporter was describing this as that, a conspiracy theory…and then went on to say that it would be a good thing to happen if it did!

As someone who listens to a lot of Air America I can tell you unequivocally that this opinion is as far away from liberal politics as you can get. It is purely neo-con.

On your first point: I rarely listen to NPR, but I'm not convinced that it is a liberal network. On your second: I'm not sure what opinion you are stating is neo-con. As I understand it, many feel that the Trans Texas Corridor is part of a larger conspiracy on the part of neo-cons and that it is a bad thing.

[Grubendol]

On my first point, if you don't listen to NPR then you are basing your opinion on hearsay and not empirical evidence

On my second point, you made my point for me. If the Trans Texas Corridor is considered a neo con plot and it is a bad thing, then hearing that it is a good thing on NPR suggests that they are not liberal in the views they present.

[1968]

On my first point, if you don't listen to NPR then you are basing your opinion on hearsay and not empirical evidence

On my second point, you made my point for me. If the Trans Texas Corridor is considered a neo con plot and it is a bad thing, then hearing that it is a good thing on NPR suggests that they are not liberal in the views they present.

On your first point: My opinion is based on the times I have listened to them. I found no evidence to suggest that they were liberally biased. (Yea, we agree!) On your second point: Glad I could clarify your point! (Yea, we agree again!)

[For-Life]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/wo...10iran.html?hp

January 10, 2008

Iran Accuses U.S. of Faking Persian Gulf Video

By NAZILA FATHI
TEHRAN — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard accused the United States on Wednesday of fabricating video showing armed Iranian speedboats confronting United States Navy warships in the Persian Gulf over the weekend, according to a report carried by the semi-official Fars news agency as well as state-run television.
“Images released by the U.S. Department of Defense about the navy vessels, the archive, and sounds on it are fabricated,” an unnamed Revolutionary Guard official said, according to Fars. The news agency has close links to the Revolutionary Guard. It was the first time Iran had commented on a video the Pentagon released Tuesday.
President Bush chastised Iran on Tuesday for committing a “provocative act.” On Wednesday, Stephen J. Hadley, Mr. Bush’s national security adviser, again warned Iran, saying at the start of a trip with Mr. Bush to the Middle East, that Iran has “to be very careful about this, because if it happens again, they are going to bear the consequences of that incident.”
The unnamed Revolutionary Guard official asserted that the video had been released to coincide with Mr. Bush’s trip and “was in line with a project of the Western media to create fear.” The official said the sounds and the images on the video did not go together. “It is very clear that they are fake,” the official said.
The video and audio were recorded separately and then matched, Naval and Pentagon officials said Tuesday.
The episode took place Sunday in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and was initially described by American officials on Monday.
They said five armed Iranian speedboats approached three United States Navy warships in international waters, then maneuvered aggressively as radio threats were issued that the American ships would be blown up.
The confrontation ended without shots fired or injuries.
The video runs just over four minutes and, according to Pentagon officials, was shot from the bridge of the guided missile destroyer Hopper. It supported the American version of events, showing Iranian speedboats maneuvering around and among the Navy warships.
“I am coming to you,” a heavily accented voice says in English. “You will explode after a few minutes.”
Navy officials said the voice was recorded from the internationally recognized bridge-to-bridge radio channel.
An American sailor then is heard repeating the threat, stating, “He says, ‘You will explode after a few minutes.’ ” The American is also heard identifying the Navy vessel as a “coalition warship” and announcing: “I am engaged in transit passage in accordance with international law. I intend no harm.”
Bush administration officials say they believe that Iran was trying to provoke the United States on the eve of the president’s visit to the Middle East.
“We viewed it as a provocative act,” Mr. Bush told reporters in the Rose Garden on Tuesday, just hours before he left for the weeklong trip to the Middle East. “It is a dangerous situation, and they should not have done it, pure and simple.”
Mr. Bush said pointedly that he would use the trip to remind American friends and allies in the region that Iran poses a danger.“I’m going to remind them what I said in that press conference when I sat there and answered some of your questions,” Mr. Bush said.
“Iran was a threat, Iran is a threat, and Iran will continue to be a threat if they are allowed to learn how to enrich uranium,” he added. “And so I’m looking forward to, you know, making it clear that the United States of America sees clearly the threats of this world, and we intend to work with our friends and allies to make that part of the world more secure.”
Mr. Bush made his comments, his first on the event, during an appearance intended to put a spotlight on the first anniversary of his speech announcing a troop buildup in Iraq.
After conducting a videoconference with combat commanders and members of civilian “provincial reconstruction teams,” he sounded upbeat about progress in Iraq, saying that 2007, particularly the end of the year, had been “incredibly successful beyond anybody’s expectations.”
Mr. Bush has repeatedly said he will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. But his efforts to convince the world that Iran is, in fact, a nuclear threat, have grown more complicated since the release of a new National Intelligence Estimate that concluded that Iran had abandoned its nuclear arms program.
Mr. Bush conceded that the report had complicated his efforts. “One of the problems we have is that the intelligence report on Iran sent a mixed signal,” he said.
Mr. Bush will visit three Gulf states — Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates — during his stay in the Middle East. Experts on Iran said the episode in the Strait of Hormuz gave Mr. Bush an opening to press his message that Iran is a danger.
“I think he’s realized that a lot of the international steam on Iran has been lost in the wake of the N.I.E.,” said Michael Jacobson, an expert on Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a research organization in Washington. “I think he’s doing what he can to try to refocus the international community on the dangers that Iran poses.”
The video may also help Mr. Bush make his case.
While it is difficult to judge exact distances, Pentagon officials said at least one Iranian boat came within about 200 yards of the Hopper, a distance that could have been covered in a matter of seconds at top speed.
In the tape, horns are sounded, and the American crew member also radios to the Iranian vessels: “Inbound small craft: You are approaching a coalition warship operating in international waters. Your identity is not known. Your intentions are unclear.”
The American warns the Iranians that if they do not “alter course immediately to remain clear,” then the small boat will be “subject to defensive measures.”
Pentagon officials said the commander of the Hopper had been on the verge of issuing an order to fire on the Iranian speedboat with a high-powered machine gun when the Iranian craft suddenly steered away.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Thom Shanker contributed reporting from Washington.

[1968]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/...ran/index.html

Bush calls Iran 'threat to world peace'

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The war of words between United States and Tehran continued Wednesday, with President Bush repeating his assertion that Iran is "a threat to world peace."

The two countries have been trading accusations since a weekend incident involving Iranian boats and U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Bush's criticism of Iran came Wednesday during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem. Bush is in the region to encourage the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

Bush called the incident "a very dangerous gesture" by Iran and warned the Islamic republic against any escalation.

"We have made it very clear, and they know our position, and that is: There will be serious consequences if they attack our ships, pure and simple."

"My advice to them is: Don't do it."

Earlier in the day, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said the Sunday incident in the Strait of Hormuz almost triggered an exchange of fire -- and if it happens again there may be a battle.

[1968]

While I tend to believe the US account of this particular incident, I cannot help but have some a significant amount of distrust for the current administration and their intentions.... and I'm not even a Democrat.

[chip anderson]

Grubendol:
The North American Highway is not a conservative project. In fact conservatives hav opposed this at every turn. The State of Texas even voted to refuse emment domain to oppose this. The Govenor Vetoed this.
Conservatives view this as a matter to allow Unregistered uninspected and dangerously maintained Mexican trucks full of contraband into the US.

Air american and Public Broadcasting support this because it is exactly the opposite of what conservatives would like to see. More illegal traffic.


Chip

[Grubendol]

Umm, Chip, sorry but there is not a single person on Air America who supports this. There is not a single liberal who supports this, but Corporatists, (i.e. bush, Cheney, etc.) very much support this because it cuts the teamsters out of the transportation of goods in the US. Also a major reason that liberals do not support it, because it hurts AMerican workers.

true conservatives do not support it because they understand it is bad for America as well, it's the neo-cons who support it, and only the neo-cons or the Christian Right they have duped.

[For-Life]

While I tend to believe the US account of this particular incident, I cannot help but have some a significant amount of distrust for the current administration and their intentions.... and I'm not even a Democrat.

Exactly how I feel. While I tend not to trust Iran, I do believe that it is possible. Especially since the nuke weapon report a few weeks ago absolved Iran and people said that Bush would find another reason.

[rinselberg]

[movel]They had fun, fun, fun 'til the mullah took their speedboats away ...[/movel]http://www.defenselink.mil/news/brie...ingslideid=320

DoD video runs 04:20 ... First I had to download the video file to my hard disk before I could view it with Apple QuickTime Player ... but PC users may be able to view it without downloading it first.

[rinselberg]

Exactly how I feel. While I tend not to trust Iran, I do believe that it is possible. Especially since the nuke weapon report a few weeks ago absolved Iran and people said that Bush would find another reason.

Absolved Iran? Let's not get carried away. The U.S. and its allies still object to Iran moving ahead with its uranium enrichment activities, period. I think too much has been made of that NIE report. The question remains, should the international community permit Iran to acquire all of the know-how and raw materials for a nuclear weapon? Enrichment of uranium -- which Iran is still openly pursuing -- falls right into that category. The NIE report hasn't negated that issue at all.