Truth, Polls & Science Fiction: The GALACTIC Test ???
Today's news has provided an interesting assemblance of truth, polls & science fiction. In everything there's a little mix of each amongst any of them and, unfortunately, we're at that time of year and time of campaigning when all the major media desire to make polls and then make conversation about them, similar to the practice of "push polling", used by campaigns to try and sway opinion under the guise of "polling". I further say "make" polls because that's what they're doing, just like they always have - they make polls to make "news" which they "report" and comment on to generate more "news". It would also seem that the focused effort by MoveOn.org last week to get polling organizations to readjust their weighting factors has been partially successful given the sympathies of those in the places where these polls are conducted.

Take Newsweak poll for example - they have purposely skewed the results of their poll this week such that:

a) it samples 6% fewer Republicans than the prior week and 5% more DemocRATs
b) it limited its sample to Pacific & Western time zone regions (Kerry stronghold in CA + WA)
c) it over-weights weekend polling (notoriously biased)
d) the poll was rushed out on the day it was completed, nearly unheard of in the industry

In any event, this weeks set of polls are clear, that Bush indeed took a hit from his debate performance (style vs substance with style prevailing) and full-press spin from the Kerry campaign and their cohorts in the media, there has been some expected tightening of the polls, probably to a 2-3 point race from a 4-5 point race the week before. As always, the balanced spread maintained by RealClearPolitics is the place to follow. And it's essential that Cheney & Bush perform better (sic) this week and counter more of the F911 Moore-onics that the Johns are prone to spewing.

Meanwhile the "Global Test" gaffe by Kerry continues to weigh on his campaign. In response to an ad put out after the debate by the Bush campaign, Kerry / Edwards have released a commercial accusing President Bush of "lying" and insinuating, both in the ad and public appearances since, that he didn't mean what he said again (this is really getting to be a problem for the fellow). Now, today, he's apparently mucked up his message some more by insinuating that even passing a Global Test is not adequate for the US to defend itself - we must go farther, further, into the galaxy, as Kerry said "But I can do a better job of protecting America's security because the test that I was talking about was a test of legitimacy, not just in the globe, but elsewhere." (CNN: Kerry dismisses criticism of 'global test' remark as 'pathetic')

Left largely unreported is the real, serious truth in news of the day, for which nobody in the lamestream media seems to have any interest, as reported by by WND: More chemical weapons in Iraq Mustard and sarin traces found on improvised bombs

Another chemical weapon has been discovered in Iraq – a 122-mm Borak rocket warhead containing sarin traces, according to an exclusive report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by WorldNetDaily.com. The warhead was found earlier this month, and U.S. military commanders believe there are more to be found.

and CNS: Exclusive: Saddam Possessed WMD, Had Extensive Terror Ties

Iraqi intelligence documents, confiscated by U.S. forces and obtained by CNSNews.com, show numerous efforts by Saddam Hussein's regime to work with some of the world's most notorious terror organizations, including al Qaeda, to target Americans. They demonstrate that Saddam's government possessed mustard gas and anthrax, both considered weapons of mass destruction, in the summer of 2000, during the period in which United Nations weapons inspectors were not present in Iraq. And the papers show that Iraq trained dozens of terrorists inside its borders.

One of the Iraqi memos contains an order from Saddam for his intelligence service to support terrorist attacks against Americans in Somalia. The memo was written nine months before U.S. Army Rangers were ambushed in Mogadishu by forces loyal to a warlord with alleged ties to al Qaeda.

Other memos provide a list of terrorist groups with whom Iraq had relationships and considered available for terror operations against the United States.
...
They detail the Iraqi regime's purchase of five kilograms of mustard gas on Aug. 21, 2000 and three vials of malignant pustule, another term for anthrax, on Sept. 6, 2000. The purchase order for the mustard gas includes gas masks, filters and rubber gloves. The order for the anthrax includes sterilization and decontamination equipment. (See Saddam's Possession of Mustard Gas)

The documents show that Iraqi intelligence received the mustard gas and anthrax from "Saddam's company," which Tefft said was probably a reference to Saddam General Establishment, "a complex of factories involved with, amongst other things, precision optics, missile, and artillery fabrication."
...
The first of the 42 pages of Iraqi documents is dated Jan. 18, 1993, approximately two years after American troops defeated Saddam's army in the first Persian Gulf War. The memo includes Saddam's directive that "the party should move to hunt the Americans who are on Arabian land, especially in Somalia, by using Arabian elements ..."
...
Iraq not only built and maintained relationships with terrorist groups, the documents show it appears to have trained terrorists as well. Ninety-two individuals from various Middle Eastern countries are listed on the papers.

Many are described as having "finished the course at M14," a reference to an Iraqi intelligence agency, and to having "participated in Umm El-Ma'arek," the Iraqi response to the U.S. invasion in 1991. The author of the list notes that approximately half of the individuals "all got trained inside the 'martyr act camp' that belonged to our directorate."

The writer goes on to detail many of the world's top terrorists & other Iraqi agencies + agents involved in Saddam's schemes.

CNS goes on to outline further details about how these documents were authenticated and have published one of the translated documents alongside the original.
- posted by SEO LinkTagstic @ 8:10 PM