Iraq PM sacks 'rape case' critic Iraq's prime minister has sacked an official who demanded an international enquiry into the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by Iraqi security forces. Moving to quash disquiet in his mixed government, Nouri Maliki, who is Shia, also released a copy of a US medical report saying no rape had taken place.
Mr Maliki has accused opponents of using the story to discredit Iraq's Shia-dominated security forces.
The woman says she was raped after a wrongful arrest for helping insurgents.
The allegation and ensuing controversy comes as the Shia-led government is pushing a new security plan that will see mainly-Shia police units being deployed in predominantly Sunni Muslim districts.
Sunni politicians have accused the police of perpetrating a series of human rights abuses on their community and of turning a blind eye to attacks on them by Shia militants.
Troop Withdrawal Is Positive Sign Vice President Tells Soldiers in Tokyo the U.S. Will Not Withdraw Until the Job Is Done
TOKYO, Feb. 21, 2007 — British Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement that British troops will begin withdrawing from Iraq would appear to be bad news for the Bush administration.
Blair said today that Britain will cut its forces in Iraq to 5,500 by summer, down from 7,100 currently. And additional cuts to as few as 5,000 British troops in Iraq are possible by the end of summer, Blair said.
But in an exclusive interview with ABC News, Vice President Dick Cheney said the move was actually good news and a sign of progress in Iraq.
"Well, I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well," Cheney told ABC News' Jonathan Karl.
"In fact, I talked to a friend just the other day who had driven to Baghdad down to Basra, seven hours, found the situation dramatically improved from a year or so ago, sort of validated the British view they had made progress in southern Iraq and that they can therefore reduce their force levels," Cheney said.
US judge orders domestic spying cases to proceed RAW STORY Published: Wednesday February 21, 2007
US officials failed to sideline dozens of domestic spying lawsuits on Tuesday as a federal judge ordered the war on terror-connected cases to proceed despite a pending appeal.
San Francisco District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker issued a brief written ruling that allowed evidence-gathering to commence conditionally despite protests by government lawyers.
The government lawyers wanted Walker to halt the proceedings while they press the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse his decision last year not to toss out the first of the cases in the interest of national security.
In what is the first of 48 domestic spying lawsuits consolidated before Walker, the Electronic Freedom Foundation sued AT and T on behalf of telecom customers.
The EFF suit charged that AT and T let the National Security Administration (NSA) snoop on e-mails and telephone calls without warrants required to do such spying legally.
Problems at Walter Reed exposed by Salon.com two years ago by John in DC · 2/21/2007 09:33:00 AM ET Discuss this post here: Comments (7) · digg it · reddit · FARK · · Link
The first our wonderful commander in chief and his buddies in the military and the Republican congress heard of all the problems at Walter Reed was in this weekend's Washington Post. Funny that, since Salon.com reported on many of the very same problems two years ago. That means that not only are these problems not new. But the Pentagon and White House knew about them at least two years ago (and who doesn't think they knew long before that?).
The next question is, if this was known two years ago, why didn't the Senators and Reps know this and why wasn't something done earlier? Even the Dem Senators and Reps
Bolton tell all likely to slam State Department, UN Michael Roston Published: Wednesday February 21, 2007
By the end of the year, former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton plans to publish a "tell all" book on his experience in the Bush administration, according to an item in today's Washington Post. The finished product is likely to put the State Department, up for major criticism.
Al Kamen in his "In the Loop" column says that the controversial Bush appointee who stepped down from his ambassadorial post at the new year because he failed to win confirmation from the Senate, does not yet have a publisher selected. But by the end of the year, he still plans to write a book detailing his experiences in the State Department as Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, and later as US Ambassador to the UN. Kamen did not say whether Bolton would tell more of the back story in his role in blocking the recount of the vote in Florida during the 2000 Election.
Kamen suggests that the book will likely focus on his days at the United Nations. He adds that is is not clear "how Bolton will treat his most recent bosses, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice." The columnist notes that Bolton may be more critical of Rice based on the recent North Korea agreement, which the former ambassador publicly criticized. And, he adds, "There are others at State sure to come in for their share of abuse."
"Smaller, copycat riots occurred in other United States cities. San Francisco police arrested 1400 rioters in the downtown area and established a curfew. The Nevada National Guard was deployed to Las Vegas and 200 people were arrested. Seattle was hit by overnight mobs of up to 100 people rampaging through business districts. Fresno had gangs rampaging through the older downtown business district with one bystander murdered in their car. New York saw racial beatings, a mob looting a shopping mall, and another at Madison Square Garden. Hundreds of protesters confronted police in Atlanta. Minor incidents were reported in Tampa, Pittsburgh, Birmingham and Omaha. Major incidents took place in Dallas and Madison, Wisconsin"
The Buffalo 1967 Riot: June 26th through July 1st of that year, virtually shutting down the city. In one night (June 28th) of Violence over 40 people were hurt, 14 with gunshot wounds.
In the afternoon of June 27, 1967 small groups of black teenaged boys cruised the neighborhood of William and Jefferson Streets breaking car and store windows. By night nearly 200 riot-protected police were summoned and a battle ensued. Many blacks, three policemen and one fire fighter were injured. Although it was dispersed that night, it began again the next afternoon with fires set, cars over-turned, and stores looted whether or not they had "soul brother" written on them. This time 400 police were summoned, forty blacks were injured nearly half for bullet wounds
none of the elites had their feathers ruffled at all
2/21/2007 10:42:00 AM
They were not always ghetto's. Many became ghetto's afterwards. Not all businesses were white owned. Even so those that were - hired local blacks and hispanics who became economically displaced when businesses closed.
The resulting tension, mistrust, violence and fear of violence, distruction, intimidation, criminal harassment, disruption and economic losses caused many people to leave. For the most part the area's never recovered or rebuilt and became and remain to this day impoverished segregated ghetto's.
The "eletes" for the most part never lived in affected area's. Those who were directly affected, injured or experienced economic losses, etc. and the police, firemen, ems, who responded were basically one step (economically) above those who riot.
Most people killed or injured were the rioters themselves.
As far as eletes being affected - riots disrupted the flow of goods and money, causing businesses to close, either interrupting or stopping the payment of rents and mortages.
Of course here in Chicago they don't close the business, they burn it down. This way the owner of the building can get the insurance. And guess who lights the fire?
favorite argument of the apologists for Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby (and critics of Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald) is that the Libby prosecution is not merely a waste of time and money but unfair, since no one has yet been charged with a violation of the IIPA or other security classification statutes. We’ve seen examples of this argument from the editorial boards of the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, and most recently in Sunday’s prominently displayed (complete with photoshopped mugshots of Fitzgerald and Joe Wilson) op-ed by Victoria Toensing. A major premise of the “no underlying crime” argument is that Valerie Wilson was not a covert agent, and hence there was no classified status to be revealed.
Of course, these advocates have always understood, but never acknowledged, that there were sound reasons why Valerie Plame’s classified status was purposely not “proved” in the Libby trial. The first and most obvious is the fact that since Libby was indicted for lying to the FBI and Grand Jury and obstructing the investigation, it was not necessary for the government to reveal or prove Plame’s status. The second was the dilemma the government faced in not wanting to be forced to prove any CIA employee’s job, status, classification or cover in open court, because having to do so would risk revealing even more classified information (and opening up possibilities for “greymail”). Since a violation of disclosure statutes was not being charged in this trial, and the Libby Court and Fiztgerald fully understood the CIA’s dilemma, they carefully and deliberately avoided any requirement that the government confirm or deny Valerie’s status. Of course, that did not stop Fitzgerald’s detractors from irresponsibly taking advantage of the situation by claiming that Valerie Plame’s status was not classified. Victoria’s dirty little secret is the knowledge that the government was duty bound not to respond to such claims if it did not have to respond. Pachacutec’s post discussed the suspect timing and intent behind the WaPo editors and Toensing op-ed, and ConsortiumNews did a point-by-point critique of Toensing.
Washington Post Enables Toensing's Delusions by Larry C Johnson
Congratulations to Victoria Toensing, former Reagan Administration Justice Department official, for plumbing new depths of delusion and crazed fantasies in her latest Washington Post op-ed. Ms. Toensing's piece--Trial in Error--should have been titled, "I Am Ignorant of Basic Facts". She offers up two special gems:
Valerie Plame was not covert. Ambassador Joseph Wilson (Valerie's husband) misled the public about how he was sent to Niger, about the thrust of his March 2003 oral report of that trip, and about his wife's CIA status Valerie Plame was undercover until the day she was identified in Robert Novak's column. I entered on duty with Valerie in September of 1985. Every single member of our class--which was comprised of Case Officers, Analysts, Scientists, and Admin folks--were undercover. I was an analyst and Valerie was a case officer. Case officers work in the Directorate of Operations and work overseas recruiting spies and running clandestine operations. Although Valerie started out working under "official cover"--i.e., she declared she worked for the U.S. Government but in something innocuous, like the State Department--she later became a NOC aka non official cover officer. A NOC has no declared relationship with the United States Government. These simple facts apparently are too complicated for someone of Ms. Toensing's limited intellectual abilities.
StopIranWar.com All Americans want to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and interfering on the ground inside Iraq. Yet President Bush’s saber rattling gives the US little additional leverage to engage and dissuade Iran, and, more than likely, simply accelerates a dangerous slide into war. The United States can do better than this.
Whatever the pace of Iran’s nuclear efforts, in the give and take of the Administration’s rhetoric and accusations, we are approaching the last moments to head off looming conflict.
Cannot the world’s most powerful nation deign speak to the resentful and scheming regional power that is Iran? Can we not speak of the interests of others, work to establish a sustained dialogue, and seek to benefit the people of Iran and the region? Could not such a dialogue, properly conducted, begin a process that could, over time, help realign hardened attitudes and polarizing views within the region? And isn’t it easier to undertake such a dialogue now, before more die, and more martyrs are created to feed extremist passions?
a flat chested girl tho brainy prayed for big boobs and a life more zany but god feeling used and a wee bit amused sent her george bush and dick cheney
The Bush administration's controversial Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) would resume U.S. commercial reprocessing—the extraction of weapon-usable plutonium from commercial spent fuel from nuclear reactors—for the first time in over 30 years. The resumption would make it easier for terrorists to obtain the material needed to make a nuclear bomb, and would seriously undermine nuclear non-proliferation efforts by encouraging other countries to begin reprocessing programs that would produce weapon-usable plutonium.
I am writing to encourage you to attend an upcoming Department of Energy (DOE) hearing on the proposed GNEP. Joliet is near a potential site for a new GNEP reprocessing facility and an experimental nuclear reactor known as an "advanced burner reactor" that will use plutonium fuel. The plan would entail bringing nuclear waste from nuclear reactors all over the country to your community for processing and long-term storage, exposing you and your neighbors to serious environmental and health risks. A safer and more secure approach is to store spent fuel at each reactor site in robust casks that are protected from terrorist attack.
Date/Time: Thursday, February 22, 2007, 6-9:30 p.m. Location: Barber & Oberwortmann Horticultural Center, 227 North Gougar Road, Joliet, Illinois
By law, the DOE has to conduct a Programmatic Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIS) of the GNEP proposal. The hearing is part of this PEIS process, providing the public with an opportunity to present comments or concerns, ask questions, and raise a range of issues including the overall purpose and need for the GNEP program, the risks of nuclear terrorism, potential environmental risks/ implications, and economic considerations.
Top Sunni official fired over rape case By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer 22 minutes ago
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday fired a top Sunni official who had called for an international investigation into the rape allegations leveled by a Sunni Arab woman against three members of the Shiite-dominated security forces.
A statement by al-Maliki's office gave no reason in announcing the dismissal of Ahmed Abdul-Ghafour al-Samaraie, head of the Sunni Endowments. Al-Samaraie, whose organization cares for Sunni mosques and shrines in Iraq, had joined other prominent Sunnis in criticizing the government's handling of the case.
Al-Samaraie, speaking from Amman in neighboring Jordan, disputed al-Maliki's right to fire him, arguing that only Iraq's Presidential Council — which comprises President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies — has that authority.
He said the woman who made the rape allegations was one of many who he said are sexually assaulted by the security forces. "Many girls are raped but they refuse to appear in the media so as not to tarnish their reputations," he said.
The 20-year-old woman said she was assaulted Sunday at a police garrison where she was taken on suspicion of helping Sunni insurgents.
Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman, said the woman was admitted to a U.S.-run medical facility Sunday and was released the next day. He refused to divulge details of her medical treatment or examination for privacy reasons, and said she left the hospital with her medical reports.
Caldwell also told reporters that Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, ordered an inquiry into the case and appointed an investigating officer who already has begun collecting information on the allegations.
Affidavit: McVeigh had high-level help According to Oklahoma bombing conspirator, ranking officials were involved in the attack By Pamela Manson The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated:
Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols says a high-ranking FBI official "apparently" was directing Timothy McVeigh in the plot to blow up a government building and might have changed the original target of the attack, according to a new affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Utah. The official and other conspirators are being protected by the federal government "in a cover-up to escape its responsibility for the loss of life in Oklahoma," Nichols claims in a Feb. 9 affidavit. Documents that supposedly help back up his allegations have been sealed to protect information in them, such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah had no comment on the allegations. The FBI and Justice Department in Washington, D.C., also declined comment. Nichols does not say what motive the government would have to be involved in the bombing. The affidavit was filed in a lawsuit brought by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue, who believes his brother's death in a federal prison was linked to the Oklahoma City bombing. The suit, which seeks documents from the FBI under the federal Freedom of Information Act, alleges that authorities mistook Kenneth Trentadue for a bombing conspirator and that guards killed him in an interrogation that got out of hand. Trentadue's death a few months after the April 19, 1995, bombing was ruled a suicide after several investigations. The government has adamantly denied any wrongdoing in the death. In his affidavit, Nichols says he wants to bring closure to the survivors and families of the attack on the Alfred B. Murrah Federal Building, which took 168 lives. He alleges he wrote then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004, offering to help identify all parties who played a role in the bombing but never got a reply. Nichols is serving a life sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colo. McVeigh, who carried out the bombing, was executed in 2001. McVeigh and Nichols were the only defendants indicted in the bombing. However, Nichols alleges others were involved. McVeigh told him he was recruited for undercover missions while serving in the military, according to Nichols. He says he learned sometime in 1995 that there had been a change in bombing target and that McVeigh was upset by that.
Stranger Than Fiction A new poll finds that a majority of Americans wish their president was a fictional character.
By Andy Borowitz Special to Newsweek Updated: 1:51 p.m. CT Feb 20, 2007 Feb. 20, 2007 - In perhaps the most troubling sign yet for his presidency, a poll released today shows that a majority of Americans wish that George W. Bush was a fictitious character rather than a real person. Bush’s popularity has taken some serious hits in recent months, but the new survey marks the first time that over 50 percent of respondents indicated that they wished the president was a figment of their imagination.
When asked the question, “If you could choose whether George W. Bush was a real person or a fictitious character,” 51 percent said “fictitious character,” while only 42 percent said “real person,” with the remaining 7 percent responding, “George W. Bush is a fictitious character.”
Even more troubling for the president is the survey’s conclusion that in theoretical matchups with other fictitious characters, Bush would be trounced. According to the poll, which has a margin of error of 5 percentage points, if an election were held today between Bush and the superhero Aquaman, the president would lose to the cartoon character by a margin of 2-to-1.
And Bush would suffer a similar fate in hypothetical face-offs with such other fictitious characters as the Little Mermaid, the Easter Bunny and SpongeBob SquarePants.
States are outsourcing some services By KEN KUSMER, Associated Press Writer 35 minutes ago
Like the auto industry, the computer programming field and the customer-service business, the state of Indiana is outsourcing.
In the two years since Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels took office, the state has leased the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road to an outside company for the next 75 years for $3.8 billion, hired vendors for $1.16 billion over 10 years to process welfare applications, and brought in a company to serve food at a mental hospital. And now Daniels wants to lease the Indiana lottery for at least $1 billion over 30 years and put the money toward education.
Daniels is leading the way among cash-strapped governors who are contracting out services states historically have handled themselves. The primary goal of these deals: saving tax dollars, or generating quick cash that can be used to fix roads, reduce debt or provide college scholarships.
"All over America, leaders of both parties are now undertaking projects like Indiana did, to solve their crises and their own shortfalls without raising taxes," said Daniels, who was nicknamed "The Blade" for cutting taxes and spending as President Bush's first budget director.
But some legislators and government-watchers warn that some of these privatization deals have yielded shoddy service. And some fear that in leasing toll roads and lotteries, politicians are signing away a reliable, long-term stream of revenue for a big lump sum of money they might squander on some short-term ideas.
"Welcome to FetusMart! Your one-stop location for all your...fetussy needs. Actually, this is probably the only website in the world where you CAN get fetuses, much less ones that fit your fetussy needs. Not to mention these ones have cute lil hats, and come in jars.
So you know the deal...copy the source code to the right of the fetus you want to adopt, paste the code somewhere and you have your own lil' fetus.
In August of 2004 Fetusmart had 400,000 hits. During this month alone 5,157 were apparently from the U.S. Government. Just to satisfy the government, I'll say that these are nondenominational, non-species specific creatures. I'll also say that I can see the CIA worker hiding in the tree next door, and I'd appreciate it if he'd put his binoculars away. If you still want to email me telling me what a sicko I am, go ahead. I won't argue but to answer the few folks who have emailed to fuss at me... No, they aren't human fetuses. If you don't like them, don't adopt one."
Obama, Clinton begin trading jabs over each other's supporters Brian Beutler Published: Wednesday February 21, 2007
The campaigns for two of the top Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), have begun officially trading barbs with one another today. The war is being waged over statements made, not by the candidates themselves, their staff members or even by bloggers on the payroll, but by their supporters.
Obama’s campaign released a statement, obtained by RAW STORY, criticizing Clinton for accepting the endorsement of South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford: "Senator Clinton lavished praise on Monday and is fully willing to accept today the support of South Carolina State Sen. Robert Ford, who said if Barack Obama were to win the nomination, he would drag down the rest of the Democratic Party because ’he's black.’"
The remarks were a hit back at the Clinton campaign, who released a statement earlier today demanding that Obama renounce the endorsement of—and return donations to—powerful Hollywood producer David Geffen.
Once a strong Clinton supporter, Geffen has decided to support the Illinois senator in the primaries, calling him “inspirational,” and praising him as someone who isn’t from the “Bush royal family or the Clinton royal family.”
Geffen called Sen. Clinton “smart” and “ambitious” but also “an incredibly polarizing figure.” The entertainment mogul also took aim at her husband, by calling former President Bill Clinton“reckless” and someone who can lie “with such ease, it’s troubling.”
The Hollywood Primary by Matt Stoller, Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 10:57:31 AM EST
This is pathetic. Obama supporter David Geffen launches a bevy of insults at Hillary Clinton on Maureen Dowd's column. Some of them are reasonable, some of them are not. But Maureen Dowd? The woman who calls your candidate 'Obambi'?
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton puts out a formal statement from her campaign.
"While Senator Obama was denouncing slash and burn politics yesterday, his campaign's finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Senator Clinton and her husband.
"If Senator Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign and return his money.
"While Democrats should engage in a vigorous debate on the issues, there is no place in our party or our politics for the kind of personal insults made by Senator Obama's principal fundraiser.
Waaaaahhh.
Meanwhile, Wes Clark is launching a site with Votevets called Stop the Iran War.
Priorities, people.
UPDATE: Obama responds. Look, it's obvious that this is a fight between rich elites and pundits who think the public doesn't matter and isn't paying attention. That's not where the country is anymore. Just stop it.
From Glenn Greenwald about the National Pree Club last night that dissed the bloggers:
Wednesday February 21, 2007 08:25 EST The "fantastic job" Newsweek's Richard Wolffe claims he is doing (updated below)
At the National Press Club last night, White House spokesman Tony Snow sat down for a chat with what appeared to be some of his best friends -- our nation's elite "journalists" assigned to the White House -- and they all sat around amicably bemoaning how terribly unfair the criticism is that is directed at them by blogs (h/t Atrios). Apparently, one of the most pressing media problems in America is . . . that bloggers demand too much of the national journalists who are assigned to report on the activities and claims of the Government.
Contradicting Cheney, McCain Says British Withdrawal Not ‘A Good Thing’ » This morning, ABC reported that Vice President Cheney views the British phased withdrawal from Iraq as a “sign of progress.” Cheney said, “Well, I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well.”
Contradicting Cheney’s line, Sen. John McCain said today that he believes the British pullout is a negative development. “Do I think it was a good thing?” asked McCain. “No, I wish they would stay longer.” Via CNN Pipeline:
Video at link
Also at the press conference, McCain responded to Cheney’s suggestion that he “apologize to Rumsfeld” for calling him the “one of the worst secretaries of defense in history.” McCain told reporters, “I stand by my comment about Secretary Rumsfeld.”
US Vice President Dick Cheney is jetting towards Sydney as I write this, and the police and Roads & Traffic Authority are rushing to get this place ready for Dick's big visit.
The preparations mostly include locking down entire chunks of the city for most of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, making sure all the necessary surveillance cameras are in working order and co-ordinating with Cheney's huge Secret Service detachment to plan escape routes from the venues where Cheney is holding meetings and giving speeches should anything go explosively wrong.
The authorities have said there is no credible threat against Cheney while he's in Sydney, but then they wouldn't be talking it up even if there was.
Regardless, Big Dick is going to be surrounded by an army of Secret Service agents, undercover detectives, uniformed state and federal police, counter terrorism officers, dog squads and hired on security guards.
How many? One source estimated Cheney may be bringing as many as 50 Secret Service agents to Sydney with him, with more than 300 local police and hundreds more security guards in place to keep protesters well away from the venues where Cheney will be holding court.
An update from How To "Cut And Run" Without "Abandoning Your Mates". Another post about the Brits leaving Iraq...
UPDATE : John Howard claimed today that he has "known for a while" about the UK's plans to announce their withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
If so, how does he explain these words, straight from his own mouth, on February 14 :
"If governments start nominating dates by which forces are going to be withdrawn, what they are doing is inviting our enemies, inviting the terrorists in Iraq, to persist with the destabilisation and the mayhem and the bloodshed."
But today, Howard now says this :
"A reduction has been in the wind and the reason I understand Mr Blair will give is that conditions have stabilised in Basra. I don't think it follows that there should be a reduction in our 550. I mean you have got to maintain a critical mass..."
There are plenty of people in Australia now wondering if the prime minister has "lost it". And not just "lost it" in the frame of his once formidable political powers. They're now talking "lost it" in terms of his mind, his sanity.
Coalition no longer willing. When Britain and Denmark withdraw their troops from the U.S.-led coalition, just 22 nations will continue to have a presence in Iraq. Forty-nine nations originally made up the coalition.
"A reduction has been in the wind and the reason I understand Mr Blair will give is that conditions have stabilised in Basra. I don't think it follows that there should be a reduction in our 550. I mean you have got to maintain a critical mass..." [said mr. howard]
//Then he [Libby's Lawyer Wells] spends the last 20 minutes or so summoning rage for his client. He brings all the emotion summoned for his client to a crescendo. And then he weeps, demonstrating clearly to the jury how deeply he believes that his client has been wronged.//
but Fitzgerald KNOWS his trick and screwed up his crying fit. Read about it here:
Nancy Pelosi's Statement on Cheney's comments, from her blog:
Statement on Cheney Iraq Comments Vice President Cheney continues to question the patriotism of those of us in Congress who challenge the Bush Administration’s misguided policies in Iraq, but his latest attack is beneath the office of the Vice President, especially at a time of war.
Mischaracterizations by the Vice President will not dissuade Congress from developing, on a bipartisan basis, a responsible new direction for U.S. policy in Iraq that brings our troops home safely and soon. I hope the President will repudiate and distance himself from the Vice President’s remarks.
Cheney, Visiting Japan, Says Americans Don't Back a `Retreat' From Iraq Vice President Dick Cheney, in Japan to shore up support for the U.S. strategy in Iraq, said Americans won't back down from the fight.
Pelosi seeks tougher oversight on ethics By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer 54 minutes ago
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) called for tighter ethics rules in federal agencies Wednesday after government officials approved the purchase of a $980,000 vacation home by a top Justice Department lawyer with an oil company lobbyist.
Pelosi's criticism followed an Associated Press report last week that department ethics officials did not object when Sue Ellen Wooldridge, then head of the environment division, was buying a South Carolina beach house with Donald R. Duncan, the top Washington lobbyist for ConocoPhillips.
"If in fact Ms. Wooldridge got such a pass from the ethics committee of the executive branch, then certainly the executive branch ethics process needs a look as well," Pelosi, D-Calif., said when asked about the house purchase at a San Francisco news conference.
Nine months after the purchase, Wooldridge approved an agreement that allowed ConocoPhillips an extension of pollution cleanup requirements at some of the company's refineries. The company says Duncan was not part of those negotiations.
Department officials and a lawyer for Wooldridge, who resigned from the job in January, said the department's ethics office approved the arrangement and told her she did not need to withdraw from dealings with ConocoPhillips.
87 comments:
Stock Market is down today. Wonder why?
Dow 12727.12 -59.52 (-0.47%)
Nasdaq 2501.28 -11.76 (-0.47%)
S&P 500 1454.08 -5.60 (-0.38%)
10-Yr Bond 0.471% +0.03
Iraq PM sacks 'rape case' critic
Iraq's prime minister has sacked an official who demanded an international enquiry into the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by Iraqi security forces.
Moving to quash disquiet in his mixed government, Nouri Maliki, who is Shia, also released a copy of a US medical report saying no rape had taken place.
Mr Maliki has accused opponents of using the story to discredit Iraq's Shia-dominated security forces.
The woman says she was raped after a wrongful arrest for helping insurgents.
The allegation and ensuing controversy comes as the Shia-led government is pushing a new security plan that will see mainly-Shia police units being deployed in predominantly Sunni Muslim districts.
Sunni politicians have accused the police of perpetrating a series of human rights abuses on their community and of turning a blind eye to attacks on them by Shia militants.
LINK
Troop Withdrawal Is Positive Sign
Vice President Tells Soldiers in Tokyo the U.S. Will Not Withdraw Until the Job Is Done
TOKYO, Feb. 21, 2007 — British Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement that British troops will begin withdrawing from Iraq would appear to be bad news for the Bush administration.
Blair said today that Britain will cut its forces in Iraq to 5,500 by summer, down from 7,100 currently. And additional cuts to as few as 5,000 British troops in Iraq are possible by the end of summer, Blair said.
But in an exclusive interview with ABC News, Vice President Dick Cheney said the move was actually good news and a sign of progress in Iraq.
"Well, I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well," Cheney told ABC News' Jonathan Karl.
"In fact, I talked to a friend just the other day who had driven to Baghdad down to Basra, seven hours, found the situation dramatically improved from a year or so ago, sort of validated the British view they had made progress in southern Iraq and that they can therefore reduce their force levels," Cheney said.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2891738&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
US judge orders domestic spying cases to proceed RAW STORY
Published: Wednesday February 21, 2007
US officials failed to sideline dozens of domestic spying lawsuits on Tuesday as a federal judge ordered the war on terror-connected cases to proceed despite a pending appeal.
San Francisco District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker issued a brief written ruling that allowed evidence-gathering to commence conditionally despite protests by government lawyers.
The government lawyers wanted Walker to halt the proceedings while they press the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse his decision last year not to toss out the first of the cases in the interest of national security.
In what is the first of 48 domestic spying lawsuits consolidated before Walker, the Electronic Freedom Foundation sued AT and T on behalf of telecom customers.
The EFF suit charged that AT and T let the National Security Administration (NSA) snoop on e-mails and telephone calls without warrants required to do such spying legally.
LINK
Sammy Cam is on:
http://www.airamerica.com/premium/clip.php?id=2848
Problems at Walter Reed exposed by Salon.com two years ago
by John in DC · 2/21/2007 09:33:00 AM ET
Discuss this post here: Comments (7) · digg it · reddit · FARK · · Link
The first our wonderful commander in chief and his buddies in the military and the Republican congress heard of all the problems at Walter Reed was in this weekend's Washington Post. Funny that, since Salon.com reported on many of the very same problems two years ago. That means that not only are these problems not new. But the Pentagon and White House knew about them at least two years ago (and who doesn't think they knew long before that?).
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/02/problems-at-walter-reed-exposed-by.html
The next question is, if this was known two years ago, why didn't the Senators and Reps know this and why wasn't something done earlier? Even the Dem Senators and Reps
Bolton tell all likely to slam State Department, UN Michael Roston
Published: Wednesday February 21, 2007
By the end of the year, former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton plans to publish a "tell all" book on his experience in the Bush administration, according to an item in today's Washington Post. The finished product is likely to put the State Department, up for major criticism.
Al Kamen in his "In the Loop" column says that the controversial Bush appointee who stepped down from his ambassadorial post at the new year because he failed to win confirmation from the Senate, does not yet have a publisher selected. But by the end of the year, he still plans to write a book detailing his experiences in the State Department as Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, and later as US Ambassador to the UN. Kamen did not say whether Bolton would tell more of the back story in his role in blocking the recount of the vote in Florida during the 2000 Election.
Kamen suggests that the book will likely focus on his days at the United Nations. He adds that is is not clear "how Bolton will treat his most recent bosses, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice." The columnist notes that Bolton may be more critical of Rice based on the recent North Korea agreement, which the former ambassador publicly criticized. And, he adds, "There are others at State sure to come in for their share of abuse."
LINK
MSNBC has the Anna Nicol Smith hearing on again today!
no use watching MSNBC during the day.
Wish I had Link TV and Free Speach TV!
Morning gang!
MRR bloggie still FUBAR.
Hi Jim!
I'm the gang today. No one else here yet. Not many on the alt Sammy blog either.
ya
just said woot to BB on the Alt blog
left a link to here there
http://tinyurl.com/3a8gw3
Have to go pick up my Neice from school, she's not feeling well.
BBL
i'll ride herd for a while
hope she's OK
Thanks Jim.
I'll be back after I drop her at home. Her dad is out of town til tonight so Aunt Toni to the rescue!
"NEWS CONSUMER" said...
NYC Blackout 1977
Miami, Liberty City Riots, May 1980
Miami Riot, Overtown Riot 1982
Tampa Riot 1987
Miami Riot 1989
Washington, D.C. riot of 1991
Crown Heights Riot 1991
1992 Los Angeles riots
"Smaller, copycat riots occurred in other United States cities. San Francisco police arrested 1400 rioters in the downtown area and established a curfew. The Nevada National Guard was deployed to Las Vegas and 200 people were arrested. Seattle was hit by overnight mobs of up to 100 people rampaging through business districts. Fresno had gangs rampaging through the older downtown business district with one bystander murdered in their car. New York saw racial beatings, a mob looting a shopping mall, and another at Madison Square Garden. Hundreds of protesters confronted police in Atlanta. Minor incidents were reported in Tampa, Pittsburgh, Birmingham and Omaha. Major incidents took place in Dallas and Madison, Wisconsin"
don't worry T,
we'll keep out feet on the runners.
Bolton's book on UN = CYA
-- Dale From Chelsea
"NEWS CONSUMER" said...
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/0history/1935-1970.html
The Buffalo 1967 Riot: June 26th through July 1st of that year, virtually shutting down the city. In one night (June 28th) of Violence over 40 people were hurt, 14 with gunshot wounds.
In the afternoon of June 27, 1967 small groups of black teenaged boys cruised the neighborhood of William and Jefferson Streets breaking car and store windows. By night nearly 200 riot-protected police were summoned and a battle ensued. Many blacks, three policemen and one fire fighter were injured. Although it was dispersed that night, it began again the next afternoon with fires set, cars over-turned, and stores looted whether or not they had "soul brother" written on them. This time 400 police were summoned, forty blacks were injured nearly half for bullet wounds
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/0history/1967riots.html
eya gang!
mornin!
eya NC
ya notice that all those stayed in the ghetto's
none of the elites had their feathers ruffled at all
"NEWS CONSUMER" said...
Rochester 1964 race riot
1967 Newark riots
Baltimore riot of 1968
1968 Riots - 125 cities in April and May, in response to the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr.
traffic slowing down here?
no biggie. Brekkers and back to it
i'll be finished with this project today.
here for a bit more
I'm back. Neice is home with her puppy and I bought her breakfast so all is well.
Jeez my typos are getting worse. So are my hands and fingers. Goes together.
I have to start proofing b4 I hit the post button.
Jury has Libby's fate right now. The shorter they take to deliberate means he's guilty so lets hope for a short deliberation
"NEWS CONSUMER" said...
Sunshine said...
eya NC
ya notice that all those stayed in the ghetto's
none of the elites had their feathers ruffled at all
2/21/2007 10:42:00 AM
They were not always ghetto's.
Many became ghetto's afterwards.
Not all businesses were white owned. Even so those that were - hired local blacks and hispanics who became economically displaced when businesses closed.
The resulting tension, mistrust, violence and fear of violence, distruction, intimidation, criminal harassment, disruption and economic losses caused many people to leave. For the most part the area's never recovered or rebuilt and became and remain to this day impoverished segregated ghetto's.
The "eletes" for the most part never lived in affected area's. Those who were directly affected, injured or experienced economic losses, etc. and the police, firemen, ems, who responded were basically one step (economically) above those who riot.
Most people killed or injured were the rioters themselves.
As far as eletes being affected - riots disrupted the flow of goods and money, causing businesses to close, either interrupting or stopping the payment of rents and mortages.
ya,
libby will get thrown to the wolves.
cheney and the rest skate.
keep the pressure on, what i say.
remember spraying my hands with MDO and WD40 before i got my carpal tunnel surgery.
mine are stiff too.
yubb NC
we got to take it to the assholes and we ain't.
so far...
Vicious circle, eh NC.
Of course here in Chicago they don't close the business, they burn it down. This way the owner of the building can get the insurance. And guess who lights the fire?
bbl -
From firedoglake:
favorite argument of the apologists for Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby (and critics of Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald) is that the Libby prosecution is not merely a waste of time and money but unfair, since no one has yet been charged with a violation of the IIPA or other security classification statutes. We’ve seen examples of this argument from the editorial boards of the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, and most recently in Sunday’s prominently displayed (complete with photoshopped mugshots of Fitzgerald and Joe Wilson) op-ed by Victoria Toensing. A major premise of the “no underlying crime” argument is that Valerie Wilson was not a covert agent, and hence there was no classified status to be revealed.
Of course, these advocates have always understood, but never acknowledged, that there were sound reasons why Valerie Plame’s classified status was purposely not “proved” in the Libby trial. The first and most obvious is the fact that since Libby was indicted for lying to the FBI and Grand Jury and obstructing the investigation, it was not necessary for the government to reveal or prove Plame’s status. The second was the dilemma the government faced in not wanting to be forced to prove any CIA employee’s job, status, classification or cover in open court, because having to do so would risk revealing even more classified information (and opening up possibilities for “greymail”). Since a violation of disclosure statutes was not being charged in this trial, and the Libby Court and Fiztgerald fully understood the CIA’s dilemma, they carefully and deliberately avoided any requirement that the government confirm or deny Valerie’s status. Of course, that did not stop Fitzgerald’s detractors from irresponsibly taking advantage of the situation by claiming that Valerie Plame’s status was not classified. Victoria’s dirty little secret is the knowledge that the government was duty bound not to respond to such claims if it did not have to respond. Pachacutec’s post discussed the suspect timing and intent behind the WaPo editors and Toensing op-ed, and ConsortiumNews did a point-by-point critique of Toensing.
LINK
X CIA Agent Larry Johnson:
Washington Post Enables Toensing's Delusions
by
Larry C Johnson
Congratulations to Victoria Toensing, former Reagan Administration Justice Department official, for plumbing new depths of delusion and crazed fantasies in her latest Washington Post op-ed. Ms. Toensing's piece--Trial in Error--should have been titled, "I Am Ignorant of Basic Facts". She offers up two special gems:
Valerie Plame was not covert.
Ambassador Joseph Wilson (Valerie's husband) misled the public about how he was sent to Niger, about the thrust of his March 2003 oral report of that trip, and about his wife's CIA status
Valerie Plame was undercover until the day she was identified in Robert Novak's column. I entered on duty with Valerie in September of 1985. Every single member of our class--which was comprised of Case Officers, Analysts, Scientists, and Admin folks--were undercover. I was an analyst and Valerie was a case officer. Case officers work in the Directorate of Operations and work overseas recruiting spies and running clandestine operations. Although Valerie started out working under "official cover"--i.e., she declared she worked for the U.S. Government but in something innocuous, like the State Department--she later became a NOC aka non official cover officer. A NOC has no declared relationship with the United States Government. These simple facts apparently are too complicated for someone of Ms. Toensing's limited intellectual abilities.
< href="http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/delusional_rede.html">LINK/a>
hello everyone. :)
Nice place ya got here, toniDeeee...
http://www.stopiranwar.com/
StopIranWar.com
All Americans want to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and interfering on the ground inside Iraq. Yet President Bush’s saber rattling gives the US little additional leverage to engage and dissuade Iran, and, more than likely, simply accelerates a dangerous slide into war. The United States can do better than this.
Whatever the pace of Iran’s nuclear efforts, in the give and take of the Administration’s rhetoric and accusations, we are approaching the last moments to head off looming conflict.
Cannot the world’s most powerful nation deign speak to the resentful and scheming regional power that is Iran? Can we not speak of the interests of others, work to establish a sustained dialogue, and seek to benefit the people of Iran and the region? Could not such a dialogue, properly conducted, begin a process that could, over time, help realign hardened attitudes and polarizing views within the region? And isn’t it easier to undertake such a dialogue now, before more die, and more martyrs are created to feed extremist passions?
Wes Clark
libbykoo
*
you gotta admit
when it comes to avoiding responsibility
"W" has it down
*
a flat chested girl tho brainy
prayed for big boobs and a life more zany
but god feeling used
and a wee bit amused
sent her george bush and dick cheney
Posted by: RWiley at February 20, 2007 8:23 PM
eya GBC!
want an expresso?
Hey GBC...
Welcome!
Sams alt blog has 822 posts and is slow as molasses in January!
Check in occasionally to see who's there.
Sent an email to Sam and got an answer:
Good one, dude.
On 2/21/07, Toni wrote:
Sam,
While the blog is down go to the wire stories like Reuters and the AP and report what is going on.
toniD
From my Email:
The Bush administration's controversial Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) would resume U.S. commercial reprocessing—the extraction of weapon-usable plutonium from commercial spent fuel from nuclear reactors—for the first time in over 30 years. The resumption would make it easier for terrorists to obtain the material needed to make a nuclear bomb, and would seriously undermine nuclear non-proliferation efforts by encouraging other countries to begin reprocessing programs that would produce weapon-usable plutonium.
I am writing to encourage you to attend an upcoming Department of Energy (DOE) hearing on the proposed GNEP. Joliet is near a potential site for a new GNEP reprocessing facility and an experimental nuclear reactor known as an "advanced burner reactor" that will use plutonium fuel. The plan would entail bringing nuclear waste from nuclear reactors all over the country to your community for processing and long-term storage, exposing you and your neighbors to serious environmental and health risks. A safer and more secure approach is to store spent fuel at each reactor site in robust casks that are protected from terrorist attack.
Date/Time: Thursday, February 22, 2007, 6-9:30 p.m.
Location: Barber & Oberwortmann Horticultural Center, 227 North Gougar Road, Joliet, Illinois
By law, the DOE has to conduct a Programmatic Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIS) of the GNEP proposal. The hearing is part of this PEIS process, providing the public with an opportunity to present comments or concerns, ask questions, and raise a range of issues including the overall purpose and need for the GNEP program, the risks of nuclear terrorism, potential environmental risks/ implications, and economic considerations.
good T,
at least theres some 2 way going on.
Man convicted of attack in Iran claims he was working for the United States 2-20
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/19/iran.hanging.ap/index.html
Hey Sunny, toni!
[want an expresso?]
I'm already boucning off the walls from my triple shot earlier this AM, so, no thank you. :)
Iraq: The Hidden Story
From the BBC. It's 48 minutes that everyone should see.
http://ga3.org/ct/z7w_p5619m9c/
Ed supporters on Sam's alt blog tearing down AAR again. Too bad Sam forgot his password.
If it were here, I could do something about them.
Top Sunni official fired over rape case By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
22 minutes ago
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday fired a top Sunni official who had called for an international investigation into the rape allegations leveled by a Sunni Arab woman against three members of the Shiite-dominated security forces.
A statement by al-Maliki's office gave no reason in announcing the dismissal of Ahmed Abdul-Ghafour al-Samaraie, head of the Sunni Endowments. Al-Samaraie, whose organization cares for Sunni mosques and shrines in Iraq, had joined other prominent Sunnis in criticizing the government's handling of the case.
Al-Samaraie, speaking from Amman in neighboring Jordan, disputed al-Maliki's right to fire him, arguing that only Iraq's Presidential Council — which comprises President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies — has that authority.
He said the woman who made the rape allegations was one of many who he said are sexually assaulted by the security forces. "Many girls are raped but they refuse to appear in the media so as not to tarnish their reputations," he said.
The 20-year-old woman said she was assaulted Sunday at a police garrison where she was taken on suspicion of helping Sunni insurgents.
Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman, said the woman was admitted to a U.S.-run medical facility Sunday and was released the next day. He refused to divulge details of her medical treatment or examination for privacy reasons, and said she left the hospital with her medical reports.
Caldwell also told reporters that Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, ordered an inquiry into the case and appointed an investigating officer who already has begun collecting information on the allegations.
LINK
Jeff Gannon sighting. At the National Press Club yesterday for the press roundtable:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/21/jeff-gannon-sighting/
GQ's Will S. Hylton: Impeach Cheney
Gives reason and Articles of Impeachment!
Link
Affidavit: McVeigh had high-level help
According to Oklahoma bombing conspirator, ranking officials were involved in the attack
By Pamela Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:
Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols says a high-ranking FBI official "apparently" was directing Timothy McVeigh in the plot to blow up a government building and might have changed the original target of the attack, according to a new affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Utah.
The official and other conspirators are being protected by the federal government "in a cover-up to escape its responsibility for the loss of life in Oklahoma," Nichols claims in a Feb. 9 affidavit.
Documents that supposedly help back up his allegations have been sealed to protect information in them, such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah had no comment on the allegations. The FBI and Justice Department in Washington, D.C., also declined comment.
Nichols does not say what motive the government would have to be involved in the bombing.
The affidavit was filed in a lawsuit brought by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue, who believes his brother's death in a federal prison was linked to the Oklahoma City bombing. The suit, which seeks documents from the FBI under the federal Freedom of Information Act, alleges that authorities mistook Kenneth Trentadue for a bombing conspirator and that guards killed him in an interrogation that got out of hand.
Trentadue's death a few months after the April 19, 1995, bombing was ruled a suicide after several investigations. The government has adamantly denied any wrongdoing in the death.
In his affidavit, Nichols says he wants to bring closure to the survivors and families of the attack on the Alfred B. Murrah Federal Building, which took 168 lives. He alleges he wrote then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004, offering to help identify all parties who played a role in the bombing but never got a reply.
Nichols is serving a life sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colo. McVeigh, who carried out the bombing, was executed in 2001.
McVeigh and Nichols were the only defendants indicted in the bombing. However, Nichols alleges others were involved.
McVeigh told him he was recruited for undercover missions while serving in the military, according to Nichols. He says he learned sometime in 1995 that there had been a change in bombing target and that McVeigh was upset by that.
LINK
Cheney: Moves by Pelosi, Murtha would 'validate the al Qaeda strategy'
LINK
Today the hot topic here is the American Sock Monkey. Cuter and more credible than g-dub.
Hey bibi!
eya BB!
sock monkeys with holes in their heels!
"noted blog sociologist examines the 'Sock Monkey' paradyme."
www.ugotterbkiddin.net
Stranger Than Fiction
A new poll finds that a majority of Americans wish their president was a fictional character.
By Andy Borowitz
Special to Newsweek
Updated: 1:51 p.m. CT Feb 20, 2007
Feb. 20, 2007 - In perhaps the most troubling sign yet for his presidency, a poll released today shows that a majority of Americans wish that George W. Bush was a fictitious character rather than a real person. Bush’s popularity has taken some serious hits in recent months, but the new survey marks the first time that over 50 percent of respondents indicated that they wished the president was a figment of their imagination.
When asked the question, “If you could choose whether George W. Bush was a real person or a fictitious character,” 51 percent said “fictitious character,” while only 42 percent said “real person,” with the remaining 7 percent responding, “George W. Bush is a fictitious character.”
Even more troubling for the president is the survey’s conclusion that in theoretical matchups with other fictitious characters, Bush would be trounced. According to the poll, which has a margin of error of 5 percentage points, if an election were held today between Bush and the superhero Aquaman, the president would lose to the cartoon character by a margin of 2-to-1.
And Bush would suffer a similar fate in hypothetical face-offs with such other fictitious characters as the Little Mermaid, the Easter Bunny and SpongeBob SquarePants.
States are outsourcing some services By KEN KUSMER, Associated Press Writer
35 minutes ago
Like the auto industry, the computer programming field and the customer-service business, the state of Indiana is outsourcing.
In the two years since Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels took office, the state has leased the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road to an outside company for the next 75 years for $3.8 billion, hired vendors for $1.16 billion over 10 years to process welfare applications, and brought in a company to serve food at a mental hospital. And now Daniels wants to lease the Indiana lottery for at least $1 billion over 30 years and put the money toward education.
Daniels is leading the way among cash-strapped governors who are contracting out services states historically have handled themselves. The primary goal of these deals: saving tax dollars, or generating quick cash that can be used to fix roads, reduce debt or provide college scholarships.
"All over America, leaders of both parties are now undertaking projects like Indiana did, to solve their crises and their own shortfalls without raising taxes," said Daniels, who was nicknamed "The Blade" for cutting taxes and spending as President Bush's first budget director.
But some legislators and government-watchers warn that some of these privatization deals have yielded shoddy service. And some fear that in leasing toll roads and lotteries, politicians are signing away a reliable, long-term stream of revenue for a big lump sum of money they might squander on some short-term ideas.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_re_us/outsourcing_the_states_2&printer=1;_ylt=Arg_rPPiNWuE3GuRUMsztohH2ocA
And then check out this toon:
LINK
back to it!
love ya all!
oops one last thing...
http://bunnysnoog.cyborgcow.net/
"Welcome to FetusMart! Your one-stop location for all your...fetussy needs. Actually, this is probably the only website in the world where you CAN get fetuses, much less ones that fit your fetussy needs. Not to mention these ones have cute lil hats, and come in jars.
So you know the deal...copy the source code to the right of the fetus you want to adopt, paste the code somewhere and you have your own lil' fetus.
In August of 2004 Fetusmart had 400,000 hits. During this month alone 5,157 were apparently from the U.S. Government. Just to satisfy the government, I'll say that these are nondenominational, non-species specific creatures. I'll also say that I can see the CIA worker hiding in the tree next door, and I'd appreciate it if he'd put his binoculars away. If you still want to email me telling me what a sicko I am, go ahead. I won't argue but to answer the few folks who have emailed to fuss at me... No, they aren't human fetuses. If you don't like them, don't adopt one."
had to go to a meeting.
C&L has one of their boss caption contests going about Jeff Gannon.
My last entry:
"Gucky-sucky, five dollar"
Bibi, is Vangard the investment comapny?
oh, yeah.
that's us.
i am, however, remiss to discuss them in any great detail.
i do college savings accounts.
no alot of financial aid to be had soon. if feel like i'm doing good works for a scary future.
ps.
yeah, and there i go wid da randy humor.
Looks like Obama and Clinton are getting into it with each other.
There was just something on CNN about it but I missed most of it.
Obama, Clinton begin trading jabs over each other's supporters
Brian Beutler
Published: Wednesday February 21, 2007
The campaigns for two of the top Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), have begun officially trading barbs with one another today. The war is being waged over statements made, not by the candidates themselves, their staff members or even by bloggers on the payroll, but by their supporters.
Obama’s campaign released a statement, obtained by RAW STORY, criticizing Clinton for accepting the endorsement of South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford: "Senator Clinton lavished praise on Monday and is fully willing to accept today the support of South Carolina State Sen. Robert Ford, who said if Barack Obama were to win the nomination, he would drag down the rest of the Democratic Party because ’he's black.’"
The remarks were a hit back at the Clinton campaign, who released a statement earlier today demanding that Obama renounce the endorsement of—and return donations to—powerful Hollywood producer David Geffen.
Once a strong Clinton supporter, Geffen has decided to support the Illinois senator in the primaries, calling him “inspirational,” and praising him as someone who isn’t from the “Bush royal family or the Clinton royal family.”
Geffen called Sen. Clinton “smart” and “ambitious” but also “an incredibly polarizing figure.” The entertainment mogul also took aim at her husband, by calling former President Bill Clinton“reckless” and someone who can lie “with such ease, it’s troubling.”
http://www.rawstory.com//news/2007/Obama_Clinton_begin_trading_jabs_0221.html
The Hollywood Primary
by Matt Stoller, Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 10:57:31 AM EST
This is pathetic. Obama supporter David Geffen launches a bevy of insults at Hillary Clinton on Maureen Dowd's column. Some of them are reasonable, some of them are not. But Maureen Dowd? The woman who calls your candidate 'Obambi'?
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton puts out a formal statement from her campaign.
"While Senator Obama was denouncing slash and burn politics yesterday, his campaign's finance chair was viciously and personally attacking Senator Clinton and her husband.
"If Senator Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign and return his money.
"While Democrats should engage in a vigorous debate on the issues, there is no place in our party or our politics for the kind of personal insults made by Senator Obama's principal fundraiser.
Waaaaahhh.
Meanwhile, Wes Clark is launching a site with Votevets called Stop the Iran War.
Priorities, people.
UPDATE: Obama responds. Look, it's obvious that this is a fight between rich elites and pundits who think the public doesn't matter and isn't paying attention. That's not where the country is anymore. Just stop it.
http://mydd.com/story/2007/2/21/105731/300
From Glenn Greenwald about the National Pree Club last night that dissed the bloggers:
Wednesday February 21, 2007 08:25 EST
The "fantastic job" Newsweek's Richard Wolffe claims he is doing
(updated below)
At the National Press Club last night, White House spokesman Tony Snow sat down for a chat with what appeared to be some of his best friends -- our nation's elite "journalists" assigned to the White House -- and they all sat around amicably bemoaning how terribly unfair the criticism is that is directed at them by blogs (h/t Atrios). Apparently, one of the most pressing media problems in America is . . . that bloggers demand too much of the national journalists who are assigned to report on the activities and claims of the Government.
LINK
Contradicting Cheney, McCain Says British Withdrawal Not ‘A Good Thing’ »
This morning, ABC reported that Vice President Cheney views the British phased withdrawal from Iraq as a “sign of progress.” Cheney said, “Well, I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well.”
Contradicting Cheney’s line, Sen. John McCain said today that he believes the British pullout is a negative development. “Do I think it was a good thing?” asked McCain. “No, I wish they would stay longer.” Via CNN Pipeline:
Video at link
Also at the press conference, McCain responded to Cheney’s suggestion that he “apologize to Rumsfeld” for calling him the “one of the worst secretaries of defense in history.” McCain told reporters, “I stand by my comment about Secretary Rumsfeld.”
LINK
So there's a war of words between Cheney and McCain!
For ono...and the rest of us too!
Dick Cheney Down Under - Part 1
Sydney Goes Into Lockdown As Cheney Comes To Town
By Darryl Mason
US Vice President Dick Cheney is jetting towards Sydney as I write this, and the police and Roads & Traffic Authority are rushing to get this place ready for Dick's big visit.
The preparations mostly include locking down entire chunks of the city for most of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, making sure all the necessary surveillance cameras are in working order and co-ordinating with Cheney's huge Secret Service detachment to plan escape routes from the venues where Cheney is holding meetings and giving speeches should anything go explosively wrong.
The authorities have said there is no credible threat against Cheney while he's in Sydney, but then they wouldn't be talking it up even if there was.
Regardless, Big Dick is going to be surrounded by an army of Secret Service agents, undercover detectives, uniformed state and federal police, counter terrorism officers, dog squads and hired on security guards.
How many? One source estimated Cheney may be bringing as many as 50 Secret Service agents to Sydney with him, with more than 300 local police and hundreds more security guards in place to keep protesters well away from the venues where Cheney will be holding court.
LINK
More from the blog...The Orstrahyun
An update from How To "Cut And Run" Without "Abandoning Your Mates". Another post about the Brits leaving Iraq...
UPDATE : John Howard claimed today that he has "known for a while" about the UK's plans to announce their withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
If so, how does he explain these words, straight from his own mouth, on February 14 :
"If governments start nominating dates by which forces are going to be withdrawn, what they are doing is inviting our enemies, inviting the terrorists in Iraq, to persist with the destabilisation and the mayhem and the bloodshed."
But today, Howard now says this :
"A reduction has been in the wind and the reason I understand Mr Blair will give is that conditions have stabilised in Basra. I don't think it follows that there should be a reduction in our 550. I mean you have got to maintain a critical mass..."
There are plenty of people in Australia now wondering if the prime minister has "lost it". And not just "lost it" in the frame of his once formidable political powers. They're now talking "lost it" in terms of his mind, his sanity.
LINK
Coalition no longer willing. When Britain and Denmark withdraw their troops from the U.S.-led coalition, just 22 nations will continue to have a presence in Iraq. Forty-nine nations originally made up the coalition.
From Think Progress
"A reduction has been in the wind and the reason I understand Mr Blair will give is that conditions have stabilised in Basra. I don't think it follows that there should be a reduction in our 550. I mean you have got to maintain a critical mass..." [said mr. howard]
2/21/2007 05:23:00 PM
"critical mass"... 550... critical mass...
LMAO
//Dick Cheney Down Under - Part 1//
(biggus dickus)
i'll have to start watching t.v. news
//UPDATE: Okay, okay. It's not fixed. Keep grilling Sam's web producer here.//
Sam is claiming he has a web producer
hahaha
what a comedian
hello!
how is everyone today?
-conbo
ANOTHER POST
by riverbend about that young girl that was gang raped.
http://www.riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
eya #
back in an hour or two )
say hey 2 D boy!
Hi Connie :)
Lots of news today.
Ono, are you near Sydney, Melbourn or Perth?
bye Sunny J!
I am reading about the Libby Trial.
Quite interesting:
//Then he [Libby's Lawyer Wells] spends the last 20 minutes or so summoning rage for his client. He brings all the emotion summoned for his client to a crescendo. And then he weeps, demonstrating clearly to the jury how deeply he believes that his client has been wronged.//
but Fitzgerald KNOWS his trick and screwed up his crying fit. Read about it here:
Libby Trial: Madness, Madness, Madness!
-conbo
Hi ToniD
:)
-conbp
I was just reading the recipe portion of Riverbend's blog. There are some good Iraqi recipes there and some of it it much like Greek recipes.
The eggplant recipes for instance.
:)
I did not know that Riverbend had recipes on their blog.
here is an action thingy. knowing you though, you have already done it:
BlogPac:Tell Democrats to Freeze Out Fox News
-conbo
here is an action thingy. knowing you though, you have already done it:
BlogPac:Tell Democrats to Freeze Out Fox News
-conbo
-------
New to me Connie. Going to take a look!
Nancy Pelosi's Statement on Cheney's comments, from her blog:
Statement on Cheney Iraq Comments
Vice President Cheney continues to question the patriotism of those of us in Congress who challenge the Bush Administration’s misguided policies in Iraq, but his latest attack is beneath the office of the Vice President, especially at a time of war.
Mischaracterizations by the Vice President will not dissuade Congress from developing, on a bipartisan basis, a responsible new direction for U.S. policy in Iraq that brings our troops home safely and soon. I hope the President will repudiate and distance himself from the Vice President’s remarks.
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Now on c-span: Eight presidential candidates to appear at union-sponsored forum in Nev.
George Stephanopoulos is moderating.
ah done!
smiling vette owner.
happy greasy dusty dirty welder.
Obama did not go to Nevada for this AFSCME forum.
Cheney, Visiting Japan, Says Americans Don't Back a `Retreat' From Iraq Vice President Dick Cheney, in Japan to shore up support for the U.S. strategy in Iraq, said Americans won't back down from the fight.
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Pelosi seeks tougher oversight on ethics By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer
54 minutes ago
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) called for tighter ethics rules in federal agencies Wednesday after government officials approved the purchase of a $980,000 vacation home by a top Justice Department lawyer with an oil company lobbyist.
Pelosi's criticism followed an Associated Press report last week that department ethics officials did not object when Sue Ellen Wooldridge, then head of the environment division, was buying a South Carolina beach house with Donald R. Duncan, the top Washington lobbyist for ConocoPhillips.
"If in fact Ms. Wooldridge got such a pass from the ethics committee of the executive branch, then certainly the executive branch ethics process needs a look as well," Pelosi, D-Calif., said when asked about the house purchase at a San Francisco news conference.
Nine months after the purchase, Wooldridge approved an agreement that allowed ConocoPhillips an extension of pollution cleanup requirements at some of the company's refineries. The company says Duncan was not part of those negotiations.
Department officials and a lawyer for Wooldridge, who resigned from the job in January, said the department's ethics office approved the arrangement and told her she did not need to withdraw from dealings with ConocoPhillips.
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