Saturn conjunct USA Mercury - changes in media and intelligence

We have developed an interesting horosocope thread on "Jeff Gannon/" James Guckert, based on his assumed date of birth, May 22, 1957. But there is no certainty about the correctness of this date yet, and so any analysis may in the end be moot.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=245x4263

However, within the Gannon horoscope thread, I got off on a tanget discussing the transiting conjunction of Saturn to the USA natal Mercury position at 24 Cancer 11 Rx in the 8th House (Sibley Chart). The sorry saga of Gannon is actually but a wee part of this overall pattern of change described by Saturn conjuncting the USA Mercury. Thus, it makes sense to start a new discussion thread on this topic.

(N.B. in the "Gannon" thread I mistakenly describe this transit as Saturn opposite the USA Mercury; but it is not an opposition, it is a conjunction -- a fateful event that comes every 29 years or so).

For the record, transiting Saturn is now Retrograde, and will make a station Direct on March 21 at 20 Cancer 22. It will then move slowly forward until it's 3rd and final exact hit on May 28-29, 2005.

Based on what we have seen so far since this process began, it seems reasonable to expect more changes in both the media, and in the US Intelligence system.

Here is a news item to get the documentation rolling on this thread:

Journalists Push for Government Openness

WASHINGTON -- The Associated Press and seven journalism organizations are joining forces to promote policies aimed at ensuring government is accessible, accountable and open.
The Sunshine in Government Initiative seeks to combat what the member organizations see as increased government secrecy since the 2001 terrorist attacks. The coalition will lobby for legislation and seek to educate the public about First Amendment issues.

"National security depends on public trust," AP President and CEO Tom Curley said. "The trend toward secrecy is the greatest threat to democracy. We must be vigilant at explaining and fighting for accountable government in every jurisdiction."
...
A bill sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., proposes creation of a 16-member advisory commission that would conduct a study to determine ways to speed the release of records under the Freedom of Information Act. Cornyn and Leahy planned to introduce the measure Thursday.
...
Another bill sponsored by Cornyn and Leahy, called the OPEN Government Act of 2005, seeks to speed release of information sought in FOIA requests, which now can take months or years.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/09/journalists_push_for_government_openness/

It seems that the crackdown on the media began when Saturn was transiting Gemini over the last few years. When Tom Brokaw received that anthrax letter, that was the first sign of hostility/intimidation toward the media. Or maybe there were earlier signs...like when Bush was overheard (on what he thought was a dead mic) spewing some four letters words about an 'unfriendly' reporter that was in the crowd at one of his campaign stops when he was first running for prez. I'm sure they already had their black list in hand. And his father oversaw major restrictions and manipulations on the media during his Gulf invasion as well.

I thought of the transits to Mercury when I saw that article about journalist wanting open government too. Dan Rather had a special retirement program the other night and continued to apologize for his less considered moments but traced this passion back to his roots as a reporter (which made his role as an anchor fit like a tight suit). He showed several administrations which had an uneasy relationship with the press and went out of their way to intimidate and control information, both Dems and Republicans alike. Of course information is always a two edged sword that can be used more as a weapon than as truth salve, but for the most part it is absolutely essential to keep a democracy viable.

Dan's hounddog instincts as a reporter are, I assume, much the same as most investigative reporters. Truth is the fox they hunt, so I'm sure the frustrations with the Bush neocon death grip on information and proliferation of mis-information techniques, are high. Bushco has had to control most of the government and media in order to play keep away, but they have certainly shut things down very effectively. They learned how to just say no which left reporters with few tools to ferret out the info. And if 'no' didn't work they employed 'other' means.

I believe it was Nancy who mentioned that the media might rebel this Spring (though I don't remember all the transits involved). But wouldn't that require more of a Uranian energy than Saturn/Mercury (which suggests greater constraints)?

And that's what I think the process is all about: redefining our national Mercury (media, intelligence, etc), and also re-structuring it.

I see this taking place with the widespread distrust of mass media (on both the Left and the Right), and the ascendancy of the blogosphere. How far will this redefinition and restructuring go? Anybody's guess. Mine is "a lot further." I say that because to me it seems so necessary.

Giga -Thanks to you, Dover, for your insightful analysis of our Mercurial situation.

with Aquarius ruling the US 3rd house of the media.

I just realized that Pluto is now in a long station quincunx US Mercury, from 1/15 to 5/2. And when Saturn is conjunct US Mercury in May, much of the time Saturn will be quincunx transiting Pluto, 5/15 to 5/25, and Pluto will be in a waning quincunx to Mercury. This suggests that the last of the Saturn transits will be more intense and more frightening than the first two. It also suggests that this whole period since mid January we have had a Plutonian feel to US Mercury as well as the Saturn feel of this winter.

I read US Mercury not just as indicative of the press, but also currency issues and investment issues due to its location in the 8th house. It rules the 7th, so partners (7th) and investments (8th) are connected as well. All are under pressure these days. Saturn brings contraction, Pluto intensifies and adds a feel of threat and paranoia, as well as manipulation attempting to regain control. It also brings an irreversible, slow and steady transformation.

What is interesting about the Pluto transit is that we have a long station now and another long station from 6/25 to 9/30/06. Natal US Mercury is opposite Pluto, so Mercury is very sensitive to this transit. Our economy, our currency, the reality of the dollar, are going through a long transformation that is particularly intense from January 2005 through September 06. One could also say the media is going through this change since it is US Mercury being effected. Saturn, with its feel of contraction, is coloring it for the first phase through June, but after that we may notice more the power struggles inherent in this transit.

Your observations about the pluto inconjunct at the time of the final Saturn conjunction (to US natal Mercury) point to something MAJOR - as if all that had gone on till now were merely setting the stage.

I do hope the transiting Uranus square to the the US natal Uranus wil bring on the healthy media rebellion we need so much -- Run about 58 GigaZillion Volts of Shaktipat, or so, through the national nervous system. It's a waning square, so it signifies a "Crisis in Consciousness."

Is there a YOD here?

So there is a basic pattern in the natal chart of them being inconjunct the natal Mercury position. The transit of Pluto in Sag inconjunct the natal Mercury position will indeed complete a Yod at various times.

My quick ephemeris shows the Moon transiting through Aquarius in late May, at the time the other transits are strongest. So the Transiting Moon will certainly perfect a fast-moving Yod around May 28-29 -- as the US is having its montly Lunar Return. That should be an interesting chart to study. Sometime. Not now.

Another question: What significance, IF ANY, do you place on Dan Rather's closing word to America - COURAGE. Was he just channeling Dennis Kucinich's Convention speech, or was he trying to tell us something? Just wondering, since he left under this aspect.

to us all. We have to fight these fascists or we will never get free.

I understand how it works on a personal level, but how does it relate on a mundane one, as say to a nation? Is it sudden shifts that can't be stopped, will prevail no matter what?

somehow. Astrologically, it is called other things as well: The Finger of Fate, The Finger of God, so that should give you a better idea.

One further question, regarding "The transit of Pluto in Sag inconjunct the natal Mercury position will indeed complete a Yod at various times" what is fated here? And is a it an absolutely, which is how I would see fated, or is there any way "HE" can still continue to get away with murder?

One of the points of this thread is to explore the elements of the nation symbolized by our natal Mercury, and to weigh the national events that reflect the qualities of the Saturn conjunction to Mercury, the Pluto inconjunct to Mercury, and eventually the Yod that will focus on Merc in late May.

What exactly is fated? Anyone's guess.

By weighing the accumulated evidence, and considering the nature of the planets involved and the signs and Houses they occupy, you, or I, or anyone else interested, may be able to discern more clearly in advance the "Fated Moment or Event or Process" that astrological theory suggests is looming.

As for me, I'm not ready just yet -- if ever -- to make a specific prediction, beyond the statment that I fully expect a Ton More News that correlates to the archetype of Mercury, and the archetypal forces bearing upon it right now. I am more interested in process and ultimate meaning.

to consider and answer my question. Given what you and others have said, and especially Nancy in the post below, I would guess it might have to do with our economy. However I still have a couple of months to think about it. It will be interesting to look back, in hindsight, and see what came to pass.

It is by nature "mercurial" and thus perhaps the most challenging of all planets to nail down to predictive specifics. It might all seem so logical, using astro theory and intuition, and then various cosmic squirms and squiggles may change the whole picture, and shape of what will be. -LOL. Happens often enough. Never dull.

Another planet that's active for the US in this time period, is transit Uranus square USA natal Uranus. As Nancy wrote, "rebellion" is a key word for Uranus. The words "surprising" and "unexpected" also fit. As does Electrifying, and cyber, and air travel, and a hundred other things.

Since the USA, a Cancerian nation, has natal Moon in Aquarius, and Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, this Big Waning Square of Uranus to Uranus will have a stong impact on the USA Moon -- which represents the people of the nation. We may see rebellion there, too.

Further, since the Moon is the ruler of Cancer, and the nation's Sun, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are in Cancer, the Uranus Square will also play out in that intense 8th House corral. I think the Uranian Shaktipat coursing through the nation's system like that could cause a short out in the BushCo inner workings. I don't think they will handle the energy current well at this intense level. We shall see.

It's going to be an interesting Spring.

It also won't be good for Bushco. Saturn on US Mercury is also square his MC. It will also be exactly semisquare Inaugural Moon (5/20 -5/30), which it is natally. In addition, Jupiter is stationary trine US Uranus (5/12 to 6/7), to some degree triggering the Uranus square that is near but not exact. Again, the media could run with a story here.

The clearest aspect that was going on when the Abu Ghraib story broke was the Jupiter station square US Uranus. This is why I think all these triggers to the US freedom of speech planet (Uranus with Aquarius on 3rd cusp) should be signficant along those lines.

I think the Jeff Gannon story relates to the Pluto quincunx to US Mercury. Also Dan Rather, though that feels more Saturnine. The Gannon story, otoh, has the Plutonian sexual, secretive, and manipulative qualities. But the big story is the transformation of the dollar and its relevance in the world (Mercury=currency). When Saturn was exactly on Mercury the first time in September, the sale of US Treasuries was way below normal. People in the know really freaked. Since then, we keep hearing of this or that Asian country that is slowly unloading its dollars. No one is doing it precipitously, but it is slow, secretive, steady and irreversible (Pluto), with huge ramifications that are still to some degree under the radar.

in US Press... so that alone may precipitate the change... what happens when middle america wakes up from the stupor and realizes that all these economic stories were not covered, but boy we know all about the (insert show trial of the moment). This can only lead to collective anger... it feels like a damn really, and what happens when that damn bursts?

Oh and add to that damn today's law... the seed, at least imho, of destruction to the current power structure.. repeat after me, misery index...

This is my rational side speaking.... as you know Nancy my astrological knowledge is nill... but I do enjoy reading it. I just do these posts from time to time just to try to give useful info and try to undersand myself what is going on.

I remember someone posted that it was right around 30 during the Clinton years. My, how times and our fortunes have changed. Shouldn't 80 ~ 90 hold the flashpoint for revolution?

I wonder if the American people even have a clue at this point that they're being suckered Big Time by the Republicans and their Lies, Lies and ever more Lies? If they are, I don't get the ongoing denial anymore. The Republicans are literally throwing parties celebrating their screwing of the common American citizen, and those same American citizens still let themselves believe that the GOP has their best interests in mind. Even though the economy is tanking, jobs are vanishing, health care, tuition and gas prices are skyrocketing. It's mind-boggling. It's like battered wife syndrome where the wife continues to love her abuser, no matter how rotten he treats her.

I see Michael Jackson and the Britney Spears clones being shoved in people's faces everywhere, and yet somehow, even with all of the distractions, I still managed to see right through the image of George H. W. Bush for the borderline construct that he is. He probably lost touch with his "true" self amidst the endless lies and deception long ago, if he even ever knew who he was. His son is infinitely more abysmal, while his "puppeteers" Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Rumsfeld are total monsters, and their hearts are filled with nothing but hatred for everyone, including themselves. Meanwhile, the Jewish NeoCons Wolfowitz and Perle show that they also carry much hate -- from how their people were brutalized and murdered by the Nazis in Germany -- and treat Muslims in the Mideast accordingly. Iraq and now their drumbeating for Syria and Iran show them to be no better than the Nazis themselves, perpetuators of the seemingly endless circle of pain, abuse and sorrow.

I see it all, and I wonder all the while, asking myself, asking America, WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?

I've been thinking for YEARS that the sheeples will be out in the streets anytime now!

For what it's worth, I will tell you that my staunchly repug sister and bro-in-law watched F 911 for the first time last week. They ARE also beginning listen to what I'm telling them about PNAC, The Fellowship, and etc.

But, I can see in their eyes that it's a bit much to comprehend.

They are good, honest, proud Americans who are highly educated, successful people. They are simply uninformed. But, they are slowly waking up!!

The old fashioned repugs who are not part of the Christian right will turn on this administration eventually. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.

The extent of the evil intent of this administration is UNBELIEVABLE. It took me several weeks to fully understand their grand plan.

now if the voice of the white house is for real... (and I take his posts wiht a huge grain of salt)... the discusions of how much damage bush is doing are occurring among the elite.

They know that if the people wake up and rise en mase, game's over... they have fortunes abroad and they could flee, but still, game over.

Am I the only one who feels the only way we are gonna get these fascists out of the wh is a revolution?

I can't imagine the wrath when "joe6pack" realizes he's been sucked dry and then discarded as worthless while all the fatcats keep getting fatter and keep getting away with it.

Gee, maybe them damn libruls aren't so dumb after all.....(nah, I won't wait for that one) :evilfrown:

Spiralhawk & all...hope you are right about Saturn & the US

I do feel the tides are definitely turning....how fast is the key question.

more often, at the strangest of places.

We have even overheard conversations from people who voted for bush who are very sorry now... and even converstations on how to get rid of bush...

(hi boys, just reporting what I have been able to hear at places like the supermarket line or when going out to dinner.. I KNOW the world Revolution flagged this post for ya and your friend Carnivore huh?)

AP Review: Gov't Reducing Access to Info
Mar-13-05
By MARTHA MENDOZA, AP National Writer

Since 1998, many federal departments have been reducing the amount of information they release to the public — even as the government fields and answers more requests for information than ever, an Associated Press review has found.

The locations of stores and restaurants that have received recalled meat, the names of detainees held by the U.S. overseas and details about Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)'s 2001 energy policy task force are all among the records that the government isn't sharing with the public.

The tightening began even before the Sept. 11 attacks, and now government defenders say the nation needs protection from its enemies in the war on terror. But open government advocates worry that U.S. citizens' freedom is eroding with every file they can't access.

"This is an immensely troubling clampdown," said Steve Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy Project. "The law itself is unchanged, but it's being interpreted more broadly to withhold more information."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=5...

there is certain information that truly does not belong in the public domain

Some makes sense, some does not

Military movements do not belong in the public domain, this makes sense

Now what to a point does not make sense (puting my hat as a former EMS worker) is the actual layout of a nuclaer plant (yes this includes public photos of these suckers).

Now that does not mean I do not know wehre the plant is, for god sakes I drive by one every so often... but the actual lay out, as in internal layout or satellite photos, do not belong in the public sphere.

We have gone to silly extremes where it does not make sense, such as guantamo, no I do not need the actual intelligence, assuming they actually got any... from evidence we know they did not... or they got very little and very bad intelligence... that falls under military movements, but I, and the families of the detainees, have a right to know they are there and they have a right to legal representation.

The problem is.. things that make sense to keep out of the public sphere, you can still find it... things that are part of a secretive represive fascist (hi boys) government, do not make sense. I have the right to know if meat was recalled, as well as how many cases of mad moo have been out there... yet those are treated like military secrets, but teh actual layout of a nuclear plant... do a google search, you will find satellite photos...

It again belongs in teh black is white and up is down mentality of the administration.

they actually gave us something to work wiht the other day... it is hovering in the low sixties.

The magic number for riots is 70%

The Magic number for revolutions seems to be 90%

Let me post what I posted about the bankrupcy bill in GD and GD Politics

You know this bill is the seed of their own destruction.

Follow this logic... and no it will not happen overnight (and sorry for the stereotypes but they are needed here)

Joe six pack voted for bush, but truly he did not vote for this. Now Joe needs to declare bankruptcy because the wife has (insert chronic disease here) and their medical bills are up the ying yang, and they have used their credit cards

So Joe goes down to the lawyer (six months from now after the bill is signed onto law) and finds out he can't get rid of those credit card bills. Hell they will garnish his wages and all that
So Joe has guns, and he goes down to the local watering hole and start talking to his buddies about them damn no good politicians.. yes the talk is common, but somehow it is different this time.

Now Joe is not alone and slowly that famous misery index starts going up.. in fact him and his buddies start to realize they have nothing else to loose and they do have an epiphany as to who truly wanted this and the fact they did not vote for this. Sooner or later depending how dense Joe is, he realizes, you know this is class warfare and I have been duped... what happens when Joe and his friends, who happen to be gun owners, realize this en masse?

Last time something like this happened the Communist party was the third vote getter in the US (1932). So I would say Joe and his buddies will wake up, how soon, depends how hungry and cold they are... but they will wake up, and that will be quite the anger to behold.

Oh and by the way, at this point I feel no empathy with Joe Six Pack... since we warned him that this is exactly what he was voting for, but us lib'ruls have no morals... but once Jeo and his pals start to get a clue and are reminded they are in this with US... and not THEM (the rich and ultra rich) we will need to LEAD Joe to the watering hole of truth, and give Joe the tools. Hell we will need to stand shoulder to shoulder with Joe on this one... as we are in this together.

How long will it take for Joe to figure it out? Depends just how badly in debt he is, and how long it takes him to realize he cannot pay it.... alas that famous misery index...

up they'll be PISSED

to clarify, by "red stater" i mean the Christian fundies and the "kill em all and let God sort em out" crowd

Is it any wonder why they are trying to supress all information (read: truth) and dissent? They're hoping that they can keep the truth, and in turn, the people, under wraps. But they are screwing up Big Time on Social Security, which most of the people have said that they don't want Congress to touch. I think the Bankruptcy Bill is also going to be a sleeper hit, when the economy inevitably tanks and Average Joe finds that he has no way to sweep away his credit card bills so that he can keep paying for his house.

I always use the addage about the handful of sand here, in relation to power in authority. The less one tries to grip the sand, the longer it is that he or she will be able to hold onto the grains, even as some of them inevitably slip away over time. With an open, cupped hand, one will always be able to hold onto a few grains. However, when one closes his or hand tightly around the grains, it seems that the grains manage to slip away much more rapidly, until very few remain.

The grains of sand, in this case, can represent the people themselves, and their support. In the open-handed case, even popular, successful leaders don't always have the full support of their people, as indicated by the grains which manage to fall away. But their open style of leadership -- represented by the cupped, open hand -- almost ensures that they will always retain popular public support. The Presidency of Bill Clinton is a prime example of this style of leadership in effect.

I'm sure you can use your imagination about whose leadership style is represented the close-handed approach. But here's a big hint anyway: I always think of Dick Cheney's tight fists. Between he and Dimson, I promise that you are going to find increasingly fewer grains in their hands, even as they close them tighter and tighter out of their own fears and paranoia.

Here's another way of looking at it: Truly confident, secure leaders don't rule with iron fists.

The last paragraph of this article is very telling. Clearly the U.S. does not have much faith in anyone else's plans to deal with Iran's perceived nuclear threat...and threat to the resources and critical geopolitical positioning of Iran too, no doubt. What a friggin mess...and so much at stake.

ANALYSIS-Pakistan nuclear admission part of U.S. Iran pressure
11 Mar 2005 12:14:26 GMT

Source: Reuters

By David Brunnstrom

ISLAMABAD, March 11 (Reuters) - Pakistan's admission that the father of its atomic bomb gave Iran centrifuges that can be used to make nuclear weapons reflects a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade Tehran to abandon any bomb-making plans, analysts said.

The Pakistani admission on Thursday came just before U.S. and European officials said that Washington, in a major shift, would adopt a European proposal to offer Iran economic incentives to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Pakistan has said in the past that the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), had discovered that Iran had centrifuges of Pakistani design. It had also conceded that these may have come from Pakistan.

But Thursday's announcement, a week ahead of a visit to Islamabad by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, was the first to state explicitly that they were supplied by Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani national hero disgraced last year when he admitted nuclear proliferation to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

"This was a carefully rehearsed statement and the Americans must have demanded this before Rice's visit," said Pakistani political commentator and newspaper editor Najam Sethi.

Sethi noted that it came just after India, which Rice will visit on Wednesday, made a rare admission of U.S. pressure, over a $4 billion project to pipe Iranian gas to India via Pakistan....

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL3411.htm

but why can't we let Iran have nukes. Every country around them has nukes. And the only way to keep Bush out would be to have nukes. And there is the very effective "mutually assured destruction" policy which scares anyone from using the nukes they have but protects them from anyone attacking.

Bush has created an armament race becasue he scares so many people and seems so willing to be aggressive. His threats do not lead to disarmament.

Depends on who's doing the judging. The war and destruction crowd who may be one of the main reasons Iran wants the bomb, may think so, but then their philosophy is don't do as we do but do as we say. After all we don't rule the world, why do we think we can tell everyone what to do? I understand if a government is unstable the concerns are real and should be raised. But couldn't the rest of the world be concerned about us with the Rez at the head of our government? Does anyone seriously think he and his gang are stable?

Carlyle, Halliburton, Boeing, etc and Pappy's companies and friends in the armaments and banking business to profiteer.

You hit it on the button. The reasons behind the irrational.

and the foreign capital moving away from the dollar in late May when Saturn crosses and Pluto quincunxes US Mercury.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/GC12Dj01.html

Even Greenspan is warning abouti t.

 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031305Z.shtml

Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged Television News
    By David Barstow and Robin Stein
    The New York Times

    Sunday 13 March 2005

 Under the Bush administration, the federal government has aggressively used a well-established tool of public relations: the prepackaged, ready-to-serve news report that major corporations have long distributed to TV stations to pitch everything from headache remedies to auto insurance. In all, at least 20 federal agencies, including the Defense Department and the Census Bureau, have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years, records and interviews show.

9snip)

out, and jumping up and down' screaming for the sheeples to WAKE UP for years...and we can't wait until they do...but, I'm starting to get very frightened. Obsessing about what to do with investments and etc. Things have spiraled out of control very quickly, on many levels, both here and on the international front.

The report last week about this new gov't weapon that emits some sort of plasma that inflicts severe pain on people from 2kg away, and the suggestion that this might be used on rioters got me very depressed.

We must prevail in getting our country back! the whole world is waiting for US (We The People of the United States of America!):bounce: and depending on us to reject this evil!

go up and down, and also in and out. I find it helps me to actively search out the updrafts and stay in touch with both the inner and the outer.

How true it is!!:think:

I had wondered about that choice. You explained it...thanks!!

I wonder how one can learn to "sense" the ins-outs, ups-downs. Other than through hard-learned, or oft-repeated lessons...would you do it intuitively, or do you use astrology as an assist?

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2003-01-22/cover.htm...

<snip>

So far, three of Kennedy's six implantees have learned to move a cursor across a computer screen and spell words just by thinking about it.

If Kennedy's technology reaches its full potential, something more amazing will have occurred. The people implanted will no longer be human as we know humans. Their existence will depend on machines, and their brains will have adapted accordingly. They will think differently. They will use their minds to control computers, with more stunning results than any human to date.

That introduces the ethical dilemma of a more manipulative use of what's called brain-computer interfacing (BCI), a way of warping the technology to turn an average brain into a superpower.

If BCI can unlock those caged by their bodies, imagine what it could do for those in perfect health. Think of it this way: With the same patience practiced by those paralyzed by injury or disease, you could do new things with your brainwaves, too.

With the ability to marry the brain to a computer, you would become capable of intellectual and, possibly, physical feats unknown to man. You could be a superhero. You could be a supervillain.

"The brain-machine interface has been done, and I'm glad to have done it," Kennedy says. "But a responsibility has evolved there. I don't know how to make it not get out of hand."

<snip>

The council's chairman, Leon Kass, has spoken against cloning -- but his remarks regarding ethics are indistinguishable from concerns over BCI. "I remain enthusiastic about biomedical research and its promise to cure disease and relieve suffering," Kass told the U.S. House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Health in 2001. "Yet, as has been obvious for some time, new biotechnologies are also providing powers to intervene in human bodies and minds in ways that go beyond the traditional goals of healing the sick, to threaten fundamental changes in human nature and the meaning of our humanity."

BCI's ability to make a smarter brain is one "fundamental change" that may alarm Kass. The U.S. Department of Defense, which is now funding some BCI research, appears less concerned. In the same way that Einstein's breakthrough research advanced science that benefits mankind and contributed to the creation of nuclear weapons that threaten mankind, BCIs could give birth to an uneasy tension between technology for the sake of medicine and technology for domination.

"In 20 or 30 or 50 years down the road," Kennedy says, "you're going to give power to people who really shouldn't have it."
One thing's for sure. The brain of the future is on the way, and it could arrive more quickly than neuroscience imagined.
more....

(snip)

Former NPR newsman Bob Edwards says dissent stifled -

DANVILLE-- Louisville native Bob Edwards warned last night that the United States is in a period like the McCarthy era of the 1950s, in which the government is stifling political dissent while the news media and the public fail to speak out in vigorous opposition.

Speaking at Centre College, Edwards, a host for XM Satellite Radio, said the "Bush administration holds reporters in contempt" and has become the "all-time champion of information control."

Edwards built a theme based on a quote by Bush's former press secretary, Ari Fleischer, in the wake of 9/11: "People should watch what they say."

Edwards also said journalists "have done a terrible job explaining their role to the public."

He quoted Edward R. Murrow's famous TV response to Sen. Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunt: "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty," and "we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home."

http://legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news with a link to the story at

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/1110677...

For some reason NPR felt the need to get rid of Bob Edwards - long time and much revered host on NPR. I think the analogy of McCarthyism media is very apropos. That is the new buzz word we need to be using every single time we get the chance when talking about Bush and the MSM - McCarthyism. And ask Chimpy, McClellan, repukes and the media, "Sir, have you no shame?"

- eom -

line last night about censorship: "Networks are even now censoring the scripts of BROADCAST DRAMAS". David Kelly's slipping it into the public consciousness, or trying to at least. If anyone would know - it would be David Kelly - the show's creator.

Broadcast Journalists Fire Back

The White House, the courts and the Federal Communications Commission all took hits from broadcast journalists Thursday night, who said they were feeling under fire from a manipulative and even malicious government.

NBC News President Neal Shapiro set the tone, telling a roomful of top journalists gathered for the Radio-Television News Directors Foundation awards dinner in D.C. that the press is under attack as never before from the executive and judicial branches, which he says are pursuing journalists with "actual malice" just for doing their jobs.

It's time to "sound the alarm," he said. That call was picked up by other speakers and punctuated with applause from the crowd.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA510012.html?display=Breaking%20News&referral=SUPP

DU discussion:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3265836

This might sound silly, but I was watching "Whose Line Is It Anyway", and as they often do, they get people in the audience to suggest topics/famous people/occupations to set up a skit.
One of the suggestions was Hitler for a famous person. One of the staff quickly came up to Drew Carey to say that was not allowed.
They tried to do the skit without "Hitler", but needless to say, the comedians kept bringing him into the various themes for the rest of the show.
Yep, this stuff is far reaching these days.

It sounds like Uranus has begun its hit on natal US Uranus! These posts are amazing! The media is beginnng to fire back. I heard Sam Donaldson being interviewed yesterday and he compared Bush to Dom Corlione! He said you can't cross him or he will viciously retaliate.

I've been wishing and hoping for this for so long..along with everyone else around here.

"For Everything There Is a Season
For every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
From Ecclesiastes"

this happened today outside the bank... I post it as a microcosm of waht is going on... the non declared civil war in our streets.... oh and to put it in context part of an email exchange... we were taling about how there is gonna be a war (hot war) in this country and I have made the contention that we are in the midst of one already... a cold civil war.



...there is alraedy one, even though it has not gone hot yet... you just saw another sign

I had mine today (The event to prove just how things are getting hot)... lady outside the bank, with all these wonderful (chortle) bumper stickers... yep I suport my local walmart and crap like that... I had a good laugh going how can anybody be that stupid?

She went, well yuo liberals... (did I mention this is OUTSIDE the Navy Federal Credit Union... no did not sorry, it is even funnier becasue of that)

Lady I don't want to hear it, just try to get a good paying job when your husband leaves the service.

What would you know about service?

Don't start lady, or you will have to eat that shoe... she turns her face to the truck and looses all color... windshield has the base stickers for a USN Chief... her car for a Second Class...

Well what do you want Walmart to do?

They can start allowing the unions in, pay living wages and yes cover the medical care or their employees instead of me paying for it through taxes since their employees are nickeled and dimed, and now that you mention it, yuo are a woman... you would not make it beyond lower management assuming you even have the education.... thuogh you woudl make it farther since you are white... she just got in her car fuming. then she lowered her window...

What are yuo gonna do about it?

For starters buy American NOT CHINESE as you do every time you go to Walmart and NOT SHOP at Walmart...

I have never heard tires screech that hard... I got into the truck and smiled all the way home... I mean I just made the day of a Fascist...

<snip>

Q. Does it concern you when people say they get their news and information from late- night talk shows?


A. My take is that it’s not necessarily bad. The National Annenberg Election Survey, which is run by Kathleen Hall Jamieson here in the Public Policy Center, included the question, ‘Where do you get your news from?’ and it turned out that regular viewers of “The Daily Show” were more informed than the average citizen and more informed than people who consumed their news exclusively from other places.

My argument is that if that’s the only place you get your news, you’re in trouble. But I think there’s something about that show that almost requires you to get news and information from other places because to get the joke you sort of have to get engaged and I think what “The Daily Show” does is it provides great commentary—probably the best commentary we have in this country right now on television in terms of politics. Most importantly, Jon Stewart has become probably the strongest spokesperson for the degradation of the quality of the news in the U.S. ... I think the cat’s out of the bag. I don’t think we’re going to go back to traditional news as the only way to get information. I think the whole nature of news is changing.

If you know where the information is coming from and it’s good information and it’s giving you different points of view and it’s usable information, then if it comes from entertainment, great.

I think if you use those standards, “The Daily Show” would be viewed as a pretty useful contribution to American democracy. And I would say a good deal of what’s on traditional news would not be viewed as useful to American democracy.

:wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow::wow:

http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/2005/022405/cover.html

White House press room eyed for major renovation (Firetrap)

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050314-102931-9988r...

Talks are under way for a major renovation of the White House briefing room and press work area in the West Wing, prompted in part by a General Services Administration walk-through inspection that found the cramped and cluttered quarters to be a "firetrap."

"I don't know who from the GSA said it, but that was the quote: "The place is a firetrap,'" said Steve Scully of C-SPAN, who serves on the board of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA). "It's overcrowded and unsafe and needs to be moved up to standards."

The DU discussion thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1313803

symbolism of Saturn conjunct USA Mercury, and the related transits mentioned on this thread.

These items were all listed on the "Jeff Gannon" thread (linked above), but they fit here:

Article entitled "Redefining Jounralism" from today's Hartford Courant:
http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-guckert.ar...

"Interesting questions all, and the answers are as complex as they are elusive. But perhaps the most lasting effect of the Gannon/Guckert saga will be the outcome of renewed debate over not only how to define a bona fide reporter but who does the defining.

"That's really the key, and it's a fascinating thing - who's a journalist?" said USA Today's Jim Drinkard, who just finished his term as chairman of the Standing Committee of Correspondents, which oversees the issuing of credentials for reporters covering Congress. "

From the DU discussion thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...
---------------------------------------

Wed Feb-23-05 07:19 PM

Corporate Media Vs. Blogosphere - A Quiz
Let the Battle Begin

Category: CURRENT EVENTS

Round 1: Who falsely told you that there were weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq? Mainstream media or blogs?

Round 2: Who correctly told you that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Mainstream media or blogs?

Round 3: Who falsely claimed that there was a link between Al Qaeda and Saddam? Mainstream media or blogs?

Round 4: Who correctly reported that there was no link between
Saddam and Al Qaeda, and that in fact Al Qaeda opposed Saddam? Mainstream media or blogs?

Round 5: Who falsely claimed that Iraq was behind 9-11? Mainstream media or blogs?

Round 6: Who correctly pointed out the evidence that 9-11 was
actually a false flag operation to start a war? Mainstream media or blogs?

Round 7: Who falsely claimed that both Iraq and Afghanistan would be quick victories? Mainstream media or blogs?

Round 8: Who correctly forecast that both Afghanistan and Iraq
would become quagmires? Mainstream media or blogs?

Let the battle begin? The battle is already OVER!

Source:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

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

Mon Feb-28-05 07:32 PM
Response to Reply #21

26. Let's toss "Dr." Thompson into this mix, for counterpoint
I feel it's noteworthy that the originator of "gonzo" journalism, Hunter Thompson, has died by "suicide" in the same time frame as the emergence of the vast BushCo propaganda plot. Witness the stories of paid-off "journalists" and squelched science and distorted budget figures. "Jeff Gannon" is but part of this wide pattern.

The death (Saturn) of Thompson (symbolized in this context by the USA Mercury position at 24 Cancer), serves as counterpoint to the rest of the transition that is taking place in national communication forms.

Here's a choice DU post about Thompson that bears directly on these key points:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

"This was the world Dr. Thompson was born into, and at some point, he had to ask himself, "who are the watchdogs of this great cacophany of thieves and murderers?" and in some likelihood, he would have had to wonder if it weren't in fact, the Press.

"What is the divine purpose behind journalism? Is it to be an unseen fourth branch of government; to keep the people safe from the unchecked power of madmen and would-be kings; men bred for their office through careful selection of mutated genes; chosen for the raw degeneracy that would enable them to make the really big decisions without the unfortunate shackles of conscience, decency or morals?"

(snip) - eom

-----------------------
Tue Mar-01-05 07:17 AM
Response to Reply #21

27. How the Blogs Broke it open

An interesting discussion on the Emerging Blog Pheonomenon (EBP), featuring lame excuses about limitations (Saturn) from corporate media.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

madhat (101 posts) Mon Feb-28-05 01:49 PM
Original message
Inside The 'Gannon' Case: How Blogs Broke It Wide Open

Greg Mitchell at E & P gets it just right!!
"For the first time last month, I was able to follow a "blog probe" from the start, and it was amazing to see the resources and skills the larger sites can bring to bear on a single issue or controversy.

...The Jeff Gannon affair has not yet morphed into a full-fledged political scandal, or retreated to the realm of embarrassing footnote, so this may be a good time to pause and reflect. At the center of the controversy: A man with no journalistic (but plenty of sex-site) experience who managed to cover the White House at close range for two years for an obscure online site called Talon News — under an alias — with the avowed aim of simply presenting the administration's case, unfiltered.

Whatever the merits of the uproar over this episode, it has proved extremely instructive for me, making possible my first immersion in the new world of blog-generated controversy."
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressin ...  

--------------------------------
Wed Mar-02-05 08:13 AM
Response to Reply #21

28. Top journalist quits - Trashes mass media on way out

Prize-winning reporter resigns and pens scathing exit manifesto

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_di ...

Laurie Garrett of 'Newsday' Rips Tribune Co. 'Greed' in Exit Memo
By E&P Staff
Published: March 01, 2005 11:00 AM ET

“The deterioration we experienced at Newsday was hardly unique," she wrote in the memo, describing the past few years.
"All across America news organizations have been devoured by massive corporations, and allegiance to stockholders, the drive for higher share prices, and push for larger dividend returns trumps everything that the grunts in the newsrooms consider their missions.

"Long gone are the days of fast-talking, whiskey-swilling Murray Kempton peers eloquently filling columns with daily dish on government scandals, mobsters and police corruption. The sort of in-your-face challenge that the Fourth Estate once posed for politicians has been replaced by mud-slinging, lies and, where it ought not be, timidity.

<snip>

”Honesty and tenacity (and for that matter, the working class) seem to have taken backseats to the sort of 'snappy news', sensationalism, scandal-for-the-sake of scandal crap that sells. This is not a uniquely Tribune or even newspaper industry problem: this is true from the Atlanta mixing rooms of CNN to Sulzberger's offices in Times Square. Profits: that's what it's all about now. But you just can't realize annual profit returns of more than 30 percent by methodically laying out the truth in a dignified, accessible manner. And it's damned tough to find that truth every day with a mere skeleton crew of reporters and editors.

”This is terrible for democracy. I have been in 47 states of the USA since 9/11, and I can attest to the horrible impact the deterioration of journalism has had on the national psyche. I have found America a place of great and confused fearfulness.”
Garrett lamented “Judy Miller's bogus weapons of mass destruction coverage, the media's inaccurate and inappropriate convictions of Wen Ho Lee, Richard Jewell and Steven Hatfill, CBS' failure to smell a con job regarding Bush's Texas Air Guard career and, sadly, so on.” But she added: “It would be easy to descend into despair, not only about the state of journalism, but the future of American democracy. But giving up is not an option. There is too much at stake."

<snip>

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

SpiralHawk  (1000+ posts) Sat Mar-05-05 08:39 AM
Response to Reply #21

29. US shoots Italian journalist in Iraq. UN to investigate
More on the theme of transiting Saturn opposite the US Mercury...Some are speculating that the US actually wanted to assasinate this journalist, because she had written many articles describing the slaughter of civilians by US soliders in Fallujah.
---------------
UN asked to investigate US shooting of Italian journalist and military intelligence officer

Reporters Without Borders today called for a UN investigation to shed light on the circumstances in which the US military fired on a vehicle carrying the newly freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena yesterday in Baghdad, injuring Sgrena and killing an Italian military officer accompanying her.

"A thorough investigation must be quickly carried out by the United Nations into this blunder with tragic consequences," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard said.

"It is clear that his enquiry cannot be conducted just by the US army which in the past, especially in the case of the Palestine Hotel shooting that killed two journalists, produced reports aimed solely at exonerating the military," Ménard said, adding, "we demand to know the full truth about this distressing affair."

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12761  

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

Sat Mar-05-05 06:15 PM
Response to Reply #21

30. White House Misses Deadline on PR Contracts

Broadcasting&Cable: White House Mum on (Dem request for)
propagandagate indeed.

White House Mum on PR Contracts

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/4/2005 5:35:00 PM
At press time, the White House had not responded to the request by a couple dozen high-profile House Democrats for information on all PR and advertising contracts with government agencies.

According to the office of Rep. George Miller, ranking minority member of the education committee, the administration has not responded to the Jan. 28 letter, which asked for the information by March 1.

The request cited "secret publicity campaigns to promote administration priorities" including an investigation that "revealed that the Department of Education paid a conservative commentator (Armstrong Williams, though the letter did not name him) to support the No Child Left Behind Act in television and radio appearances," plus another contract with a commentator unearthed following the Williams revelation.

It also cited Government Accountability Office conclusions that video news releases issued by Health and Human Services and the Office of National Drug Control Policy violated anti-propaganda rules, though the Justice Department concluded differently.

The letter-writers, which included House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi and the ranking minority members of a slew of committees from Appropriations and Commerce to Science and Transportation, want copies of all contracts, subcontracts and related documents.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA508851.html ?...

--------------------------------
Sun Mar-06-05 08:36 AM
Response to Reply #21

31. US Soldieers killing journalists? CNN - Eason Jordan

OK, the transiting Saturn (Grim Reaper) conjunct US natal Mercury sub-theme is taking on a life of its own, even with the context of the "Jeff Gannon" story.

By rights, it should be the other way around. Which is to say that the "Jeff Gannon" story is but a part of the overall Saturn to Mercury transit.

Nonetheless, this story adds immensely to the overall picture.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

NEW YORK Feb 11, 2005 — CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan quit Friday amid a furor over remarks he made in Switzerland last month about journalists killed by the U.S. military in Iraq. Jordan said he was quitting to avoid CNN being "unfairly tarnished" by the controversy.

During a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum last month, Jordan said he believed that several journalists who were killed by coalition forces in Iraq had been targeted.
He quickly backed off the remarks, explaining that he meant to distinguish between journalists killed because they were in the wrong place when a bomb fell, for example, and those killed because they were shot at by American forces who mistook them for the enemy.

"I never meant to imply U.S. forces acted with ill intent when U.S. forces accidentally killed journalists, and I apologize to anyone who thought I said or believed otherwise," Jordan said in a memo to fellow staff members at CNN.

But the damage had been done, compounded by the fact that no transcript of his actual remarks has turned up. He was the target of an Internet and Web site campaign that was beginning to rival the one launched against CBS's Dan Rather following the network's ill-fated story last fall about President Bush's military service....

Link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=492860

------------------------------
Tue Mar-08-05 07:41 AM

32. GAO - EPA Distorted Mercury Data In Order To Pimp "Clear Skies"

Wow - Saturn conjunct natal Mercury -- GAO offers reality (Saturn) about BushCo propaganda on Mercury (Mercury) !

GAO - EPA Distorted Mercury Data In Order To Pimp "Clear Skies"

"The Environmental Protection Agency distorted the analysis of its controversial proposal to regulate mercury pollution from power plants, making it appear that the Bush administration's market-based approach was superior to a competing scheme supported by environmentalists, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said yesterday.

Rebuking the agency for a lack of "transparency," the report said the EPA had failed to fully document the toxic impact of mercury on brain development, learning, and neurological functioning. The GAO urged that these problems be rectified before the EPA takes final action on the rule.

The analysis follows a critical report by the EPA's inspector general that suggested that agency scientists had been pressured to back the approach preferred by industry. "The administration is showing a blatant disregard for the health of children, the health of women of childbearing age, but they are also showing a blatant disregard for the law," said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who had asked for the analysis. "To not change would be the height of arrogant disregard."

Cynthia Bergman, an EPA spokeswoman, said the agency is on track to issue the mercury rule by March 15. She said the final rule would provide comparisons between the competing options that the GAO said were missing.

EDIT

The administration said the cap-and-trade plan would reduce more pollution, in part because it would invite less litigation, and blend nicely with a cap-and-trade proposal to control sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, called the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR).

But the GAO report said the EPA had tipped the scales to favor the market-based plan. For example, the EPA found that capping pollution at every plant would result in savings of $13 billion -- the difference between the estimated savings in health costs and the pollution control costs.

The EPA said the cap-and-trade approach provided a much larger benefit of $55 billion to $68 billion, but the GAO said yesterday that this analysis included the benefits from implementing the CAIR rule. The report also suggested that the EPA had used dubious methods to assess the monetary value of mercury reductions. Although the approach was "quick and low-cost," the GAO said the method was characterized by great uncertainty and should have been treated "as a last-resort option."

EDIT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15244-20 ...

- eom -

talking about the decline of the media news. He is promoting his book on the subject. He is saying the news is very "thin", they have stopped investing resources in depth reproting, and that given the dangers of the time, we can not afford to have an uneducated public.

Where is the media?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1315202

by the way, today I filled my tank on the hybrid, I STILL can do it for less than 20, but was thinking the truck... it takes close to forty... wonder why we do not use the truck for nuthing but very close to home trips?

A step too far given the possible money problems headed our way? The world will be watching him.

OK, today's WH press conference by Bush was apparently a disaster -- the press asked "real" question for perhaps the first time, and then Bush panicked, and claimed there was "no oxygen in the room" before terminating the press conference.

A fascinating DU disucussion thread on the PR conf:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1663827#1663828

Do these developments correlated with Saturn conjunct USA Mars, while Pluto is inclunjunct the same point, or is it transiting uranus square USA natal Uranus (ruler of 3rd house) ? In my view, all are symbolic of today's develepments, and MORE IMPORTANTLY indicative of WHAT IS TO COME.

for all the yeoman's work you are doing on these developments on EArth with our press(such as it is)..correlating with what is happening with our Planets and Stars.

I read all this and very much appreciate it!

Mercury Pollution, Autism Link Found - U.S. Study
Mar 16, 8:02 PM ET
Health - Reuters
By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Mercury released primarily from coal-fired power plants may be contributing to an increase in the number of cases of autism, a Texas researcher said on Wednesday.

A study to be published on Thursday in the journal "Health and Place" found that autism, a developmental disorder marked by communication and social interaction problems, increased in Texas counties as mercury emissions rose, said Claudia Miller, a family and community medicine professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

"The main finding is that for every thousand pounds of environmentally released mercury, we saw a 17 percent increase in autism rates," she said in an interview.
About 48 tons of mercury are released into the air annually in the United States from hundreds of coal-burning plants.
...
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=2...  
 Alert | Hide Thread | Recommend Topic for Greatest Page (1 vote) Printer Friend

Kerry and Senators Chide EPA for Disregarding Mercury Study.

Kerry and Senators Chide EPA for Disregarding Mercury Study
25 March 2005

The Environment News section of MSNBC has a story today about Democrats speaking out about the EPA’s disregard for the recent Mercury Study.

The Environmental Protection Agency's decision to ignore researchers' analysis of possible health benefits from reducing mercury pollution from power plants was criticized Tuesday by Democrats in Congress.

"Why is the EPA suppressing the evidence that mercury pollution can be controlled better and faster?" asked Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

EPA officials said the study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis wasn't submitted until Feb. 22, more than a month after the deadline the agency set for considering new data. The agency published its new regulations on mercury pollution from power plants on March 15.

In a press release on this subject on March 22nd, John Kerry said:

More & Links - http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view...

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/local/11155...

Probe of faux reporter voted down
Conservative activist's access to press corps remains an issue
By ELANA SCHOR
THE SUN HERALD WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - Thompson's attempt to begin an investigation into how an online writer was allowed to join the White House press corps is defeated.

A party-line vote Wednesday defeated Rep. Bennie Thompson's (D-2nd District) push to investigate the Bush administration's approval of a press pass for a conservative activist who became a daily fixture at White House press briefings.

Thompson, the House's top-ranked Democrat for homeland security, joined other leading Democrats to call for an inquiry into how James D. Guckert, an online writer with ties to pornographic Web sites, joined the exclusive White House press corps and gained access to an internal government intelligence memo.

"It's unfortunate that the House Judiciary Committee has chosen to politicize the issue of a proper vetting of the White House press corps," Thompson said through his spokesman, Lanier Avant. "Any time a substantive issue is put forth and Republicans first choose to protect the president instead of the American people, there is just cause for concern."

<</SNIP>>

there will be NO change, and they will do whatever they want, long live fasscims... and until the people en masse rise up, forget it.

I just read a piece about how the great bush hit his presidential stride yesterday in the press confrence.
All that we Know (and know we know) doesnt matter... they have won regardless (in spite of, at the behest of) of mercury, saturn, neptune or uranus etc. I am discouraged and ready to move to canada (I know I should do it but who can afford it so Im stuck just as if I was a jew and this is germany in the 1930's).

this struggle is as old as time and we dont
EVER really win against the thugs of the day... they are RUST and RUST NEVER SLEEPS.
tib

not that surprising really.

WaPo: What's a Press Corps To Do? (press considering revolt against WH)

This is Dan Froomkin's report in the Washington Post of the National Press Club's panel on Bush administration secrecy.

It ties directly into the themes represented by the US Mercury position, and especially the current square of transiting Uranus to the US natal Uranus position, as Nancy Waterman so astutely pointed out near the top of this thread.

Much more to come...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/administr... /

<snip>

The panel was called "Confronting the Seduction of Secrecy: Toward Improved Access to Government Information on the Record," and it featured a head-table heavy with Washington bureau chiefs past and present as well as advocates for aggressive, accountability-oriented journalism.

There was much talk, on the one hand, about what panelists called the unprecedented secrecy with which the Bush administration operates; and on the other hand, about the need for reporters to occasionally grant confidentiality to sources who are taking a risk by exposing information that the public has a right to know.

But sticking in pretty much everyone's craw was the persistence of those maddening White House briefings where a senior administration official stands in front of an auditorium full of reporters, says nothing remotely controversial, and yet insists on being cloaked in anonymity.

From the reporters' perspective, there is no excuse for it. The anonymity doesn't engender frankness; all it does is hinder accountability and undermine journalistic credibility. But what to do?

Bill Kovach, director of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, described the short-lived revolt he tried to lead when he was Washington Bureau chief of the New York Times in the 1980s. "A few other reporters joined us at first when we asked briefings be kept open and left the room if they were not. But the support didn't last long," he said. "The main argument from other journalists was that they would surrender their independence if they took part in such group actions," he said.

But Kovach said that in this era of spin and misinformation, it's time to head to the ramparts again. "And maybe if we're lucky we can find that cooperation and collaboration are not threats to our independence but are the key to strengthen the value and the appeal of a journalism of verification to the American people."

(snip)

DU discusssion thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1324160

and the next (square US Ascendant in 2006) and the next (square Inaugural Mars in 2007) and the next (square Bush's Uranus and square US Mars in 2008) all kick Bush firmly in the butt and cause some major rearrangements of the status quo in ways that are really bad for him and his gang. As of tomorrow, Uranus will be within one degree orb of square Uranus. As of the 24th it will be in orb of square Bush's Mars. As of the 25th, it will be in orb of square the Inaugural Moon. This first active phase of shake up should go through mid April. Up to now all we have seen since 1/20 has been Bush's Jupiter transit. Here is hoping the energy will change signficantly very soon, from Jupiter's arrogant optimism to Uranus' surprise upsets and changes.

to some butt-kicking action from uranus, and it will give us something to watch for. Aspects like those can't just leave the shrub untouched and insulated, as he seems now.

Study: Media Self-Censored Some Iraq Coverage (Editor & Publisher)

This story from Editor and Publisher about this Online Survey of journalists tells a lot about why, with regards to the mainstream media, the U.S. public remains starved for truth and information.

Read some of the anonymous comments from the journalists and editors, many who continue to to place decorum and other concerns over truth and journalistic standards, reflecting the continuing zeitgeist of escapism and knee-jerk conformity and conventionalism of American society.

"Our rules are against anything which might offend our audience, i.e. we are in the realm of taste and decency, which is difficult to quantify. ... on the one hand, I don't want, say, my kids to turn on the TV after tea and see some of the things I have seen in the field. But on the other hand, the effect of this is to sanitize the coverage, and glamorize the conflict."


http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_di...

Study: Media Self-Censored Some Iraq Coverage

By Joe Strupp
Published: March 18, 2005 12:05 PM ET

NEW YORK Many media outlets self-censored their reporting on the Iraq invasion because of concerns about public reaction to graphic images and content, according to a survey of more than 200 journalists by American University's School of Communications.

The study, released Friday, also determined that "vigorous discussions" about what and where to publish information and images were conducted at media outlets and, in many cases, journalists posted material online that did not make it to print.

One of the most significant findings was "the amount of editing that went into content after it was gathered but before it was published," the study stated. Of those who reported from Iraq, 15% said that on one or more occasions their organizations edited material for publication and they did not believe the final version accurately represented the story.

Of those involved in war coverage who were in newsrooms and not in Iraq, 20% said material was edited for reasons other than basic style and length. Some 42% of those polled said they were discouraged from showing photographic images of dead Americans, while 17% said they were prohibited. Journalists were also discouraged from showing pictures of hostages, according to 36% of respondents, while only 3% reported being prohibited from showing them.

MORE AT LINK

Posted in GD by clem_c_rock
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3302293

The Hidden Hand Of The CIA, 911 And Popular Mechanics

http://www.rense.com/general63/brutalpurgeofPMstaff.htm

<snippit>

A brutal purge of the senior staff at Popular Mechanics preceded the publication of last month's scandalous propaganda piece about 9/11. Pulling the strings is the grand dame of Hearst Magazines and behind the scene is her obscure husband a veteran propaganda expert and former special assistant to the director of the C.I.A.

The magazine pushing the government's 9/11 propaganda, Popular Mechanics (PM), is published by the Hearst family. Its March cover story, Debunking 9/11 Lies, has been exposed by credible researchers to contain numerous distortions and flawed conclusions.

American Free Press revealed that Benjamin Chertoff, the 25-year-old senior researcher who authored the 9/11 article, is related to Michael Chertoff, the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The PM article illustrates how a propaganda method, used by dictatorships, is now being employed by the U.S. government: controlling mainstream media outlets to promote its version of 9/11.

</snippit>
 

but yet I am...color me naive....

Color everyone else Koolaid green.....

...sigh...

Chertoff...not a real common name is it??

:hi: SH
:loveya:DR

Can't thank you enough for all these links and your take on things!:9

This is a big one, Saturn on mercury. It really counts. The patterns of restiction and propaganda are now plain for all who have the will and the stomach to look clearly.


FEC Considers Restricting Online Political Activities
New Rules May Apply to Web Ads, Bloggers' Endorsements
By Brian Faler
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, March 21, 2005; Page A17

The Federal Election Commission has begun considering whether to issue new rules on how political campaigns are waged on the Internet, a regulatory process that is expected to take months to complete but that is already generating considerable angst online.

The agency is weighing whether -- and how -- to impose restrictions on a host of online activities, including campaign advertising and politically oriented blogs.

Election officials are reluctantly taking up the issue, after losing a court case last fall. The FEC, which enforces federal election law, had issued scores of regulations delineating how the campaign finance reform legislation adopted in 2002 ought to be implemented.

But Reps. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.), who sponsored the legislation, complained that many of those rules were too lax, and they successfully sued to have them rescinded. The commission must now rewrite a number of those directions, including ones that left online political activities virtually free from government regulation.

"We are almost certainly going to move from an environment in which the Internet was per se not regulated to where it is going to be regulated in some part," said FEC Commissioner David M. Mason, a Republican. "That shift has huge significance because it means that people who are conducting political activity on the Internet are suddenly going to have to worry about or at least be conscious of certain legal distinctions and lines they didn't used to have to worry about."...
***
Should bloggers who work for political campaigns, for example, be required to disclose that relationship? Should they include a disclaimer indicating that they were paid by a campaign? What if a campaign supporter links his Web site to a candidate's home page? Is that considered a campaign contribution subject to government regulation? What if an independent blogger endorses a candidate? Or posts a campaign's news release? Are those contributions?...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51986-20...

The DU Discussion thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1328154

a total lack of intelligence, and disregard (Saturn) for the written

(Mercury)document which sets out the separation of powers.

and I think it was FOX News Sunday where they reported that Terri Shiavo can laugh and that if she were to get the proper treatment, which insurance isn't covering so hubby won't pay for, she could improve. Evidently this is what the right is saying about this case. It sure doesn't fit with what I have heard.

CNN REPORTING WHAT THE BLOGS ARE SAYING - no kidding


CNN has a segment reporting on what the blogs are
saying....AND they are reporting on Baby Hudson's
plug being pulled on order of dumbot..and that it's all over the net.

He hehehhe.

They have to get their news from US.!

Well FROM NOW ON let's give them the news they should be reporting!!!

ROFL ! THANK YOU !!!


:yourock:

:hi:

Reuters U.S. journalists launch 4-day byline strike (re: offshoring jobs)

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Newspaper Guild of New York said Monday that U.S. journalists of Reuters Group (RTRSY) have launched a four-day byline strike to protest the offshoring of jobs. The guild said that Reuters journalists will withhold bylines and credit from their work during the strike.

The guild represents over 450 employees at Reuters America LLC.
.
(snip)

Go journalists!!!

White House Payments to Columnist Probed

By DONNA DE LA CRUZ, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Congressional investigators will look into whether the Bush administration violated any laws when it paid syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher to help promote a marriage initiative, Democratic Sens. Edward Kennedy and Frank Lautenberg said.

The Government Accountability Office told the two senators, who had requested the inquiry, that it would investigate in a letter sent to their offices late Thursday.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, is already looking into the Education Department's relationship with several public relations firms, which includes the agency's $240,000 contract with syndicated columnist and TV personality Armstrong Williams. The Education Department had hired Williams to promote the No Child Left Behind law.

The two senators had asked the GAO to expand its investigation to include Gallagher.

(snip/...)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&nci...  

From the whole country because he uses our tax money for his town hall meetings but then doesn't let them be open to the public. I think this is illegal. He should pay up!!

So simple, straight forward and TRUE!

It's past time to meet in the streets sheeples!!:bounce:

bailiwick...they'd make him pay up.

But I doubt that there could be a class action suit against him.

This thread is getting too long for dial-up.

Please post on the new thread, which I gave a plainer title:
USA Mercury Under Pressure - Maxing Out in May, 2005

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=245x5786

- eom -