I just got done watching Voices of Iraq. Wow. My initial reaction was one of being shocked. Not shock from the violence or the “occupation,” but from the hopes and dreams of the Iraqis that are not presented in today’s media. While our media is spreading bad news every single day because violence sells, Voices of Iraq tells us a much different story.

Voices of Iraq is not U.S. propoganda, it is recorded directly from Iraqis and they choose what they wish to film. You have footage of thousands of Iraqis, all with the same wish that Democracy will prevail and they will have a better life because of it.

There are very few people in this film that curse the United States and wish for a return to Saddam. In fact, the entire film is filled with Iraqis that tell of Saddam’s cruelty and rejoice at their new-found freedoms.

Showing headlines of prominent United States newspapers, Voices of Iraq throws these headlines out the window with real-life footage and reactions to the stories that seem to be disasters. Take for instance Abu Gahraib. While U.S. newspapers printed that this would be the downfall to the war in Iraq, Iraqis joke about it and call the apology given by President Bush himself on Iraqi television as a grand sign of democracy. What about the church bombings? The New York Times painted it as if there was an impending war between Christians and Muslims. Not so say the Iraqis in Voices of Iraq.

Towards the end of the film, Iraqis discuss the terrorist acts and what reasons terrorists might have for the bombings and beheadings. Our media presents this as a “rebellion,” whereas Iraqis paint the entirely different picture where terrorists are funded by other nations in the region so Democracy will not succeed in Iraq. It is Democracy that outside countries fear and that is why they fund the terrorists.

After watching Voices of Iraq, I question not whether the U.S. media is glorifying violence because it sells, I question why they are leaving out what truly are stories; the hopes and the dreams that Iraqis now have because of Democracy.

For more of the good news though after seeing Voices of Iraq it’s closer to the real news) see Freedom’s Voices, a Blogs of War special.

Update:
Joel Mawbray has written a good review on Voices of Iraq appearing on Townhall.

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I am switching web hosts and for the next 24 hours or so, the DNS is switching over to my new host. There may be either slowness or 404s that pop up. Sorry for the delay, but Saturday is the opportune day for me to pull the switch and upgrade to a new host.

Also my email is sending messages delayed, upwards of 20 hours or so I just noticed, so please be patient.

Update:
The site has been properly switched, however there are still complications with my email based upon both of my hostings still being up. The problem will be corrected by the end of this week however so please, if you have emailed me and expect a reply, I will reply but please give me extra time to do so.

- Associated Press

CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden, reading a statement to the American people in a new videotape aired Friday, directly admitted for the first time that he ordered the Sept. 11 attacks and said “the best way to avoid another Manhattan” was to stop threatening Muslims’ security.

It was the first footage of the al-Qaida leader to surface in more than a year. The video, broadcast on Al-Jazeera, showed bin Laden with a long gray beard, wearing traditional white robes, a turban and a golden cloak reading from papers in front of a plain, brown curtain.

In Washington, the FBI and Justice Department had no immediate assessment of the meaning of the bin Laden tape. Officials said one part of their analysis will be to discern whether there may be hidden messages or clues about a possible future attack against the United States. But they said it was too early to know that yet.

Well, I guess he’s not dead. I encourage all my readers to read my article entitled “Does Bin Laden Want Kerry?” The answer might surprise you.

- Associated Press

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. forces are gearing up for a major operation against the insurgent stronghold Fallujah, a U.S. general said Friday, as hundreds of British troops reached a base near Baghdad to free American forces to join the assault.

“We’re gearing up to do an operation and when were told to go we’ll go,” Brig. Gen. Dennis Hejlik, deputy commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said at a camp near Fallujah. “When we do go, we’ll whack them.”

Hejlik’s comments confirmed that plans are underway for a major assault on insurgent strongholds west of Baghdad in an effort to end the wave of car bombings, kidnappings and attacks that has escalated since Fallujah fell under guerrilla control last spring.

I’m sorry, but I’ve heard this numerous times before and there has been too many rumors that the United States and Iraqi forces are going to enter and clean out Fallujah. I do hope this is a sign that we will finally once and for all take down a terrorist network operating inside of Fallujah, but I’m a bit skeptical.

It should be noted that the body of Japanese man Shosei Koda was found in Tikrit late last night, therefore it is reasonable to assume much of Zarqawi’s Tawhid wal Jihad might have left the city of Fallujah knowing of an impending strike. U.S. bombers have turned Zarqawi’s safe houses into rubble and there are various rumors that question whether Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is still alive.

Fallujah needs to be cleaned out, then we must exercise an assault on Western Iraq where terrorists are reported in the thousands. Despite what Senator Kerry says, Iraq is part of the Global War on Terror and it should be evident to anyone who has heard of the intelligence that indicates this, much less to someone who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

You must read the story about the giant hairy spiders inside Fallujah. Not only is it hilarious, but it also describes the mentality that we are up against inside of Fallujah. It’s one of disregard for life and demented as the story explains.

- Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, October 28, 2004

Brokaw: Someone has analyzed the President’s military aptitude tests and yours, and concluded that he has a higher IQ than you do.

Kerry: That’s great. More power. I don’t know how they’ve done it, because my record is not public. So I don’t know where you’re getting that from.

Does anyone else see the problem with this response? We should all know by now that while John Kerry and key members of the DNC (i.e. Terry McAullife) have demanded that President Bush sign the form 180, Senator Kerry has not. At least as of yesterday Kerry acknowledged this fact to the viewing public.

Unfortunately, much like everything else with Senator Kerry, he hasn’t exactly been truthful upon this issue.

MATTHEWS: What went out, it basically tracks what you did the other day on “Good Morning America.” And the question your staff put out, under your name, is, is Bush telling the truth, President Bush, when he said he had no special privileges or favoritism in jumping 150 places to get in the Air Guard in Texas?

What do you think about that? Is that something you care about? You want to know the truth?

KERRY: He ought to answer that question.

MATTHEWS: Why?

KERRY: Because I‘ve answered the questions. I released all my military records. Mr. Gillespie thought it was important enough to go travel to another state, make a big speech, demand that I release my records. I did. Everything. All of it. Including my officer fitness reports.

MSNBC Hardball, April 27, 2004

That was last April so we can give Kerry a bit of a break. Over the last seven months Kerry has changed his mind on a variety of issues so maybe that was a fluke appearance and/or statement. Nevermind, just last month Kerry said the following:

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Say Anything linked with He Released His Records Before He Didn't

I recently had the pleasure to discuss the newly found Vietnam documents with Chief Petty Officer Troy Jenkins, a researcher for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth who personally found the documents within The Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University. As a former student of Texas Tech University and one who has visited the Archive, I can attest that Chief Petty Officer Jenkins finding these documents was no small task.

Troy Jenkins Bio:
I recently retired from the US Navy as a CTIC (Cryptologic Technician Interpretive Chief Petty Officer). For short: A Chief. Navy Linguist with Russian and Spanish background. I personally served with Senator Kerry on the US/Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs from 1994 to 1998. Senator Kerry was MIA during my whole tour with the POW/MIA office to let you know some of my motivation in getting involved.

Evans: First off, what are your affiliations? Are you a member of the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth?

Jenkins: I Joined the Swift Vets site in August of this year after being disgusted by the media’s ignorance of “Official Navy Documents” and the speech given by former President Clinton at the DNC. At the time I did the research in the Vietnam Archives, I was a consultant for the Swift Vets. They paid my Hotel, Airfare, rental car and copying fees. I am too young to actually be a member of the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, however I am obviously a supporter.

Evans: Are you working for any type of political campaign? Are you a registered Republican, Independent or Democrat? Who have you casted your last five presidential ballots for?

Jenkins: I do not work for any political campaign, but consider myself a lifelong Republican. I voted for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and Bush senior.

Evans: When you entered The Vietnam Archive, what exactly were you looking for? Did you know where to find it? How long did it take you to find the information?

Jenkins: I had wanted to go to the Vietnam Archives back in early September to look into Admiral Zumwalt’s personal files but didn’t have the appropriate time or finances to do so. My original intent was to see if Admiral Zumwalt had the mysterious missing paperwork for John Kerry’s Silver Star. The online working aids had a match for John Kerry and Silver Star but it turned out to be someone else. While I was there I came across a box full of anti-war material and began rummaging through it to amuse my curiosity. One thing that constantly side tracks me is more info. It’s in my nature because of my 20 years in Intelligence work. I flew down to Lubbock on a Tuesday and planned to stay until Thursday to complete my search. However, finding the volumes and volumes of material in the Douglas Pike collection made me stay a couple of days more. I had to call the Swift Vets to ask for additional help in going through the files and they sent an additional person on Thursday. He left on Saturday morning and I left in the afternoon. We were going through the material quickly and copying files of interest.

Evans: What was your reaction when you found these three documents? Did you expect to find something similar based on previous beliefs or pre-existing ideas or were you surprised?

Jenkins: What initially caught my attention to the captured documents was the cover page. It was from the CDEC — Document Exploitation Cell. Most of the material in the box was old newspaper clippings and brochures. But this was totally different. As I began to read the document, I got a gut feeling that this was serious. I began to put my analytical tools to use and carefully read the documents attached. Once I had determined this to be valid intell, I had the material copied. This was not my original intent to find this information but I brought it to the attention of the Swift Vets as an important accidental find.

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BeldarBlog linked with Rumor mill buzzing on Kerry's discharge status
RIGHT ON RED >> linked with Busy Friday
Memento Moron: Remember, Thou Art Stupid linked with Just in Time for Halloween:
Say Anything linked with More On Kerry's Communist Collusion
Diggers Realm linked with An Interview With The Kerry-Vietcong Anti-War Documents Investigator

- Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan scrambled on Friday to check a report that an Asian body had been found in Iraq after a deadline expired for the beheading of a Japanese youth whose captors had demanded that Tokyo withdraw its troops.

Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s militant group said in an Internet video early on Wednesday Japanese time that it would behead 24-year-old Shosei Koda within 48 hours if the government did not meet its demand. Japan has said its troops will stay put.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told journalists the report about a body being found had not been confirmed.

“We are aware of the report and are looking into it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima told Reuters.

It was not clear exactly when the deadline expired, but media quoted Japanese officials as saying they believed it passed at 2 a.m. Tokyo time on Friday (1300 EDT on Thursday).

Clearly horrible news. Hopefully the report is mistaken and this isn’t the body of Koda, though in all liklihood it is. Koda was taken hostage by Tawhid wal Jihad sometime Tuesday, the last group any hostage would want to be taken by. Tawhid wal Jihad has made many threats in the past concerning their hostages and to my knowledge, every single threat they have made has been carried out.

Background on Koda

Update:
The Jawa Report . . . reports . . . that the body was a Pakistani. Rusty has however confirmed that Koda’s body has been found and he is indeed dead.

Ramblings' Journal linked with Sky News: Japanese hostage beheaded in Iraq by monsters
Diggers Realm linked with Shosei Koda, Japanese Hostage, Found Dead

G. W. Bush and John Kerry somehow ended up at the same barbershop. As they sat there, each being worked on by a different barber, not a word was spoken. The barbers were even afraid to start a conversation, for fear it would turn to politics.

As the barbers finished their shaves, the one who had Kerry in his chair reached for the aftershave. Kerry was quick to stop him saying, “No thanks, my wife Teresa will smell that and think I’ve been in a whorehouse.”

The second barber turned to Bush and said, “How about you?”

Bush replied, “Go ahead, my wife doesn’t know what the inside of a whorehouse smells like.”

- Associated Press (via Rusty Shackleford)

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi extremists in videotape aired Thursday by Al-Jazeera television showed what they said was a Polish woman hostage held in Iraq and demanded that Poland remove all its troops from Iraq.

The group, which called itself the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Fundamentalist Brigades, said the woman, who was not identified, works with U.S. troops in Iraq. They also demanded the release of all Iraqi female prisoners.

Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdul Rahman said the woman was a longtime Iraq resident with Iraqi citizenship and was believed to have been abducted Wednesday night from her home in Baghdad. Abdul Rahman did not release her name.

In other news, a video that shows the brutal execution of 11 Iraqi soldiers has been released. One of the soldiers was beheaded and the other 10 were executed much like the Nepal hostages a couple of months ago.

ISOU linked with The Continuing Terror Crises in Iraq
Diggers Realm linked with Teresa Borcz Khalifa, Polish Woman, Taken Hostage In Iraq

Developing . . . Updates to follow. Read part one and part two before reading this entry.

Update 10/29: Interview with Troy Jenkins who personally found the documents

- World Net Daily

A third, newly discovered Vietnamese war document presents further indication Hanoi orchestrated John Kerry’s promotion of the communist regime’s 1971 plan calling for virtual U.S. surrender.

[snip]

Now, a third document [pdf file] provides more context, showing that Kerry’s July 22, 1971, press conference calling on President Nixon to accept the seven-point plan presented by Viet Cong leader Madame Nguyen Thi Binh was perfectly aligned with Hanoi’s step-by-step agenda.

I am currently going over the document with Kerry’s testimony now. I will update this post as information presents itself.

Update:
Inside the document is the following:

“At our insitgation, the U.S. imperialists had to come to Paris to talk with the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam . . .

There’s much more concerning meetings in Paris, though the above meeting was conducted in 1968. The main goal of the CNV was to stop the bombing of the U.S. through diplomatic means. The document also states that the CNV relied heavily upon anti-war groups to push their desired “peace” plan, though according to the documents it called for a surrender by the United States. The CNV regarded the diplomatic war as important as their military war.

Le Duc Tho, second in command to Ho Chi Minh, delivered a proposal to Madame Binh. Bihn in turn gave this proposal to John Kerry in the summer of 1970 while in Paris. Kerry endorsed this proposal and advocated the points of the proposal during his 1971 Senate Testimony.

In the proposal, it called for a definite date for the removal of U.S. soldiers from Vietnam in order to free POWs. President Nixon was left in a precarious place; accept the proposal to free the POWs or face the wrath of the growing anti-war movement and not accept the peace proposal. President Nixon sent a delegation to Paris to strike a peace deal that was not in direct accordance of the proposal written by Tho and advocated by Kerry.

Kerry offered to hold a press conference, under the admiration of Binh, to discuss the proposal. In the press conference, John Kerry called upon President Nixon to accept the seven-point proposal given to him by Madame Binh. The nature of the press conference was to discuss that the only barrier to freeing the POWs was to set a withdrawl date, a key component to the Binh proposal.

Disregarding any rationale for entering the war or the agreement with our allies in South Vietnam, Kerry pushed the proposal for peace by appealing to the emotions of POW families which in turn applied pressure to the United States government to accept the proposal by Tho. The proposal outlined by John Kerry to the United States government was outlined within the pdf file, which was in the hands of the Vietnamese before being “aquired” by the United States military/intelligence inside of Vietnam. From the document and the proposals given to the Senate, there were no changes, no comprimises, nothing but an endorsement from a United States Navy soldier for the United States government to accept the proposal in it’s current form.

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MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy linked with Hanoi-gate update - In The Bullpen
The Jawa Report linked with More Documents Reveal John Kerry-Viet Cong Links
Say Anything linked with More On Kerry's North Vietnam Connection
voices.in.my.head linked with Smoking Gun? Hanoi directed Kerry