IS THAT A BULGE

http://salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/08/bulge/index_np.html

Bush's mystery bulge

The rumor is flying around the globe. Was the president wired during the first debate?

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By Dave Lindorff

Oct. 8, 2004  |  Was President Bush literally channeling Karl Rove in his first debate with John Kerry? That's the latest rumor flooding the Internet, unleashed last week in the wake of an image caught by a television camera during the Miami debate. The image shows a large solid object between Bush's shoulder blades as he leans over the lectern and faces moderator Jim Lehrer.

The president is not known to wear a back brace, and it's safe to say he wasn't packing. So was the bulge under his well-tailored jacket a hidden receiver, picking up transmissions from someone offstage feeding the president answers through a hidden earpiece? Did the device explain why the normally ramrod-straight president seemed hunched over during much of the debate?

heres the subscriber version aka the whole article.

Bush's mystery bulge

The rumor is flying around the globe. Was the

president wired during the first debate?

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

By Dave Lindorff

Oct. 8, 2004  |  Was President Bush literally

channeling Karl Rove in his first debate with John

Kerry? That's the latest rumor flooding the Internet,

unleashed last week in the wake of an image caught by

a television camera during the Miami debate. The image

shows a large solid object between Bush's shoulder

blades as he leans over the lectern and faces

moderator Jim Lehrer.

The president is not known to wear a back brace, and

it's safe to say he wasn't packing. So was the bulge

under his well-tailored jacket a hidden receiver,

picking up transmissions from someone offstage feeding

the president answers through a hidden earpiece? Did

the device explain why the normally ramrod-straight

president seemed hunched over during much of the

debate?

Bloggers are burning up their keyboards with

speculation. Check out the president's peculiar

behavior during the debate, they say. On several

occasions, the president simply stopped speaking for

an uncomfortably long time and stared ahead with an

odd expression on his face. Was he listening to

someone helping him with his response to a question?

Even weirder was the president's strange outburst. In

a peeved rejoinder to Kerry, he said, "As the politics

change, his positions change. And that's not how a

commander in chief acts. I, I, uh -- Let me finish --

The intelligence I looked at was the same intelligence

my opponent looked at." It must be said that Bush

pointed toward Lehrer as he declared "Let me finish."

The green warning light was lit, signaling he had 30

seconds to, well, finish.

Hot on the conspiracy trail, I tried to track down the

source of the photo. None of the Bush-is-wired

bloggers, however, seemed to know where the photo came

from. Was it possible the bulge had been Photoshopped

onto Bush's back by a lone conspiracy buff? It turns

out that all of the video of the debate was recorded

and sent out by Fox News, the pool broadcaster for the

event. Fox sent feeds from multiple cameras to the

other networks, which did their own on-air

presentations and editing.

To watch the debate again, I ventured to the Web site

of the most sober network I could think of: C-SPAN.

And sure enough, at minute 23 on the video of the

debate, you can clearly see the bulge between the

president's shoulder blades.

Bloggers stoke the conspiracy with the claim that the

Bush administration insisted on a condition that no

cameras be placed behind the candidates. An official

for the Commission on Presidential Debates, which set

up the lecterns and microphones on the Miami stage,

said the condition was indeed real, the result of

negotiations by both campaigns. Yet that didn't stop

Fox from setting up cameras behind Bush and Kerry. The

official said that "microphones were mounted on

lecterns, and the commission put no electronic devices

on the president or Senator Kerry." When asked about

the bulge on Bush's back, the official said, "I don't

know what that was."

So what was it? Jacob McKenna, a spyware expert and

the owner of the Spy Store, a high-tech surveillance

shop in Spokane, Wash., looked at the Bush image on

his computer monitor. "There's certainly something on

his back, and it appears to be electronic," he said.

McKenna said that, given its shape, the bulge could be

the inductor portion of a two-way push-to-talk system.

McKenna noted that such a system makes use of a tiny

microchip-based earplug radio that is pushed way down

into the ear canal, where it is virtually invisible.

He also said a weak signal could be scrambled and be

undetected by another broadcaster.

Mystery-bulge bloggers argue that the president may

have begun using such technology earlier in his term.

Because Bush is famously prone to malapropisms and

reportedly dyslexic, which could make successful use

of a teleprompter problematic, they say the president

and his handlers may have turned to a technique often

used by television reporters on remote stand-ups. A

reporter tapes a story and, while on camera, plays it

back into an earpiece, repeating lines just after

hearing them, managing to sound spontaneous and error

free.

Suggestions that Bush may have using this technique

stem from a D-day event in France, when a CNN

broadcast appeared to pick up -- and broadcast to

surprised viewers -- the sound of another voice

seemingly reading Bush his lines, after which Bush

repeated them. Danny Schechter, who operates the news

site MediaChannel.org, and who has been doing some

investigating into the wired-Bush rumors himself, said

the Bush campaign has been worried of late about

others picking up their radio frequencies -- notably

during the Republican Convention on the day of Bush's

appearance. "They had a frequency specialist stop me

and ask about the frequency of my camera," Schechter

said. "The Democrats weren't doing that at their

convention."

Repeated calls to the White House and the Bush

national campaign office over a period of three days,

inquiring about what the president may have been

wearing on his back during the debate, and whether he

had used an audio device at other events, went

unreturned. So far the Kerry campaign is staying clear

of this story. When called for a comment, a press

officer at the Democratic National Committee claimed

on Tuesday that it was "the first time" they'd ever

heard of the issue. A spokeswoman at the press office

of Kerry headquarters refused to permit me to talk

with anyone in the campaign's research office. Several

other requests for comment to the Kerry campaign's

press office went unanswered.

As for whether we really do have a Milli Vanilli

president, the answer at this point has to be, God

only knows.

salon.com

yeah BBC world was running this down last night on NPR....i doubt it was a prompting device, but its crazy the white house is saying "its just a rumple in his suit"...when its clearly a perfect rectangle.

they only feed Blogger conspiracy theorys by denying that it is anything at all... but you know damn well after the CBS Blog fiasco, no networks gonna jump on this at all.

the more credible answers suggested on BBC were that its most like related to security, like a vest or a gps, something to protect or locate him at all times. id buy that before a prompting device.....even Karl Rove wouldnt take that risk...if it came out, it would collapse a campaign theyre most likely going to win.

it doesnt help that when speaking before a lady's voice was clearly heard over the microphone telling him what to say.

Bush is a puppet. Laura Bush is the real communist mastermind.

whoa.

this is the first I've heard of this.

I love how the administration tries jedi mind tricks.

'That is not a rectangle...it is merely a rumple in his suit'

ha-ha...what are you...some stinking jedi?

edit for sp.

Originally posted by diggity@Oct 11 2004, 01:32 PM

it doesnt help that when speaking before a lady's voice was clearly heard over the microphone telling him what to say.

Quoted post

Care to expand on this point and give some sources? I looked around and did see a few mentions on Indy media sites but nothing concrete from a reputable source. Also, can you tell what is being said?

^ yeah...I was kinda wondering about that as well.

well damn, I hadn't heard about this.

but I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was somehow proven to be true.

I'm not surprised about much anymore...especially the bush administration.

I find that kinda disappointing.

I don't really believe this, if only based on the absolutely retarded answers he gave to most of the questions.

Originally posted by Nekro@Oct 11 2004, 04:11 PM

I don't really believe this, if only based on the absolutely retarded answers he gave to most of the questions.

Quoted post

yea, and i don't think he'd be able to handle something like that anyhow,

it would confuse him.

audio clip. http://bellaciao.org

pimple.

damn this thread isnt what i expected it to be :heated:

* emotions is spelled wrong in the smilie pop up window on fast reply 'emoticons'

...yeah i don't buy it...they would have just kept saying, "jesus...why the fuck did you just mention poland again?...even the stupid rednecks know that didn't count"...

funny thing too..he said at least 100 times in his campaign that the world was safer with saddam hussein in jail...when its the complete opposite. The world has never been at risk like it is now due to the preventive war he setted on and killed thousands of innocent people. Now they are having schools in the mid east with books that says "The ossama ben laden quest: his combat against the usa terrorism..." I say KILL BUSH!

Although i would like to think that this is true, it just does not make sense...He just comes off as such a repiative mush-mouthed tool, if it is true the transmitter is probaly just hooked up to his butthole.

Originally posted by KING BLING+Oct 11 2004, 05:52 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KING BLING - Oct 11 2004, 05:52 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-diggity@Oct 11 2004, 01:32 PM

it doesnt help that when speaking before a lady's voice was clearly heard over the microphone telling him what to say.

Quoted post

Care to expand on this point and give some sources? I looked around and did see a few mentions on Indy media sites but nothing concrete from a reputable source. Also, can you tell what is being said?

[/b]

I watched the press report where it happened, i heard it, cant really tell you when it was but it was in the last year.

more than likly, that hump on his back is a kevlar vest, this isnt the 80's, electronics are alot smaller now.

dude, Karl Rove isn't that dumb. If he was talking to anyone, it wasn't Rove, because Rove would be like "fuck you, man - I can see that rectangle from here! I'm having nothing to do with this."

It was probably Jeb Bush constantly reminding him to not scowl.

You guys are all tripping. That isn't a transmitter.

The bulge is obviously the key which, when turned, makes Bush crash his cymbals together.

Originally posted by El Mamerro@Oct 12 2004, 01:57 PM

You guys are all tripping. That isn't a transmitter.

 

The bulge is obviously the key which, when turned, makes Bush crash his cymbals together.

Quoted post

HAHAHAHAHA

i stand corrected

i wish bush was as dumb as his detractors make him out to be..

then maybe he'd be justified in his inanity.

i totally think he has the brains to channel Rove.

think about it, the guy was born in connecticut, went to yale and harvard, dodged the draft, fucked up numerous oil companies, and still painted himself as a good ol' taxas boy.

he's not so stupid that he couldn't repeat what a transmitter told him to say.

that what makes this administration so fucking evil.

they know exactly what they're doing.

they chose their candidate well.

update

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/...r/index_np.html

Technical expert: Bush was wired

A Bush spokesman tells Salon there is nothing to the story. But as the final presidential debate looms, speculation grows about the mysterious bulge.

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By Dave Lindorff

Oct. 13, 2004  |  Speculation continues to run wild about President Bush's mystery bulge. Since Friday, when Salon first raised questions about the rectangular bulge that was visible under Bush's suit coat during the presidential debates, many observers in the press and on the Internet have wondered aloud whether the verbally and factually challenged president might be receiving coaching via a hidden electronic device.

Now a technical expert who designs and makes such devices for the U.S. military tells Salon that he believes the bulge is indeed a transceiver designed to receive electronic signals and transmit them to a hidden earpiece lodged in Bush's ear canal.

I'll post the whole story when i get teh chance.

damn i knew bush hit some low blows, but this is just sad. poor dubya can't even think on his own, nonetheless speak the broken messages running wild in his brain/lackthereof

the really, truly funny part of all this is just how shitty he came off with a receiver if it actually was one. ha-ha. I'm looking forward to the dumb looks via split screen.

no offense, but just because its in an article on the internet doesnt mean its credible in any way....theres just no way dude was being prompted. as someone said above, he was as dumb as always.

yeah, the photo with the huge bulge in his back must be photoshopped.

:rolleyes:

from Dave Letterman (not directly)

Top Ten President Bush Explanations For The Bulge In His Jacket

10. "It's connected to an earpiece so Cheney can feed me answers--crap, I wasn't supposed to say that."

9. "It's a device that shocks me every time I mispronounce a word."

8. "Just a bunch of intelligence memos I haven't gotten around to reading yet."

7. "Mmm, delicious Muenster cheese."

6. "John Kerry initially voted for the bulge in my jacket, then voted against it."

5. "I'll tell you exactly what it is--it's a clear sign this econonmy is moving again."

4. "Halliburton is drilling my back for oil."

3. "Oh like you've never cheated in a presidential debate.

2. "Accidentally took some of Governer Schwarzenegger's 'roids."

1. "If Kerry's gonna look like a horse, then I'm gonna look like a camel."

personally... I think it was a cold pack to regulate his temperature.