The Deans and those who are dedicated to ending the Iraq ear are first

http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff03092007.html

I know Tom and Indy, more Democrat bashing from Counterpunch (I love it!):

President Bush dodged a Constitutional bullet in New Mexico Thursday, when nine Democrats in the state senate joined all 17 Republicans to prevent a proposed joint resolution calling for the US House to begin impeachment hearings to come to a floor vote. Supporters of the measure said it appeared that the Democrats in question mostly came from Republican districts and were worried about electoral repercussions of a pro-impeachment vote.

There is reason to suspect, however, that there was some arm-twisting from national Democratic leaders, who appear dead set on avoiding impeachment hearings, whatever the public sentiment on impeachment (Newsweek reported last fall that 51 percent of Americans favor impeachment) and whatever Bush's crimes, Constitutional violations and abuses of power.

In the state of Washington, where another such effort is being made in that state's senate, the state's senior Senator, Pat Murray, and one of its senior representatives, Jay Inslee, both Democrats, have been lobbying state senate leaders behind the scenes urging them to prevent Sen. Eric Oemig's proposed joint resolution on impeachment, as well as another senator's bill calling for an end to the Iraq war, from getting a floor vote. A decision there is expected before March 14. Supporters of Sen. Oemig's bill say they think the votes are there to pass his measure in the full Senate, if they can get it past the procedural hurdles. It would then go to the state's house of representatives. (One reason leading Democrats want to prevent a floor vote is that impeachment advocates could then rebut their claims that impeachment would be "divisive" and that it "detracts from the Democratic agenda.")

http://www.counterpunch.org/fons03092007.html

ANOTHER HIT ON NATIONAL (RE)PUBLIC(AN) RADIO

Here's how National Public Radio reported President Bush's trip to Latin America this week. According to Adam Davidson, NPR's crack All Things Considered reporter (March 8, 2007), the US has a public relations problem in Latin America, why?, because after 9/11 all "we" ever want to talk about in relation to Latin America is trade and democracy, and when Latin Americans hear these words they hear oligarchy and imperialism. So far so good right?, well no, because that's where Davidson leaves it, no discussion of whether or not Latin American fears are justified, no discussion of the actual policies of the US or the Bush Administration or even a cursory look at US, uh, imperialism and support for oligarchs, just the statement that the US has a public relations problem and a quote from Bush to this affect.

Davidson's report is just a symptom of the larger problem of how most get our information about Latin America or any other issue for that matter. The liberal folk at NPR really like this type of report because it has a facade of irreverence and criticism but actually it does little but re-iterate the message that, fill in the blank Administration, want out there. No historical analysis, no explanation of how power is actually wielded, no larger economic context, really not much of anything but clever banter that in the end serves power well.

Congress’s war powers are numerous, and its constitutional authority to “make all laws” for executing those powers could not be more sweeping. Here’s how Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Robert La Follette, and Russ Feingold have described them. 3/10

on thread:

most of us have an issue that effects us directly, and critters all have committee assignments that are germane and it is their job to listen to us on those issues

do a little homework and know what bills are before those committees

add whatever else is on your mind when you have their ear

anyone have the youtube link to Obey's flame out?

Colombia warns of guerrilla attacks during Bush trip (Reuters/Yahoo)

Let's see, 14,000 officers (to protect the capital) plus 7,000 specifically there just to protect President Pinhead = 21,000 armed individuals to help curtail the anger that might develop against the Decider in Chief. (That's roughly the number being sent over in the new surge to battle insurgents in Baghdad, no?)

Does this massive protection make him feel really really important, do you think? That's 21,000 protective forces being supplied by Bogota.

Wonder what the size of the US contingent is? 3,000? 5,000? How many helicopters? Good grief.

John

he had a gunship overhead just to visit Wisconsin in 04

sounds like the right number in South America given the record of many of his predecessors

he is the last of many

7. Phil

Here's the video link (Obey - idiot liberals)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAlkfYczY4c 

Right on, and thanks, Fred.  The issue of abortion is a privacy issue

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

So far it has been a special interest issue, on both sides.  "privacy" will be opposed by the likes of NARAL and PP because it is neutral and does nothing to put it in a good light, but for the party, it would put us light years ahead and yeild an immediate vote dividend, even while moderate Republicans are still calling it "choice"

abortion is a private issue

Anybody watching TV? CNN and Faux wall to wall S Cal fire - Orange Co. 1000 acre fire. Santa Ana's blowing on a 90 degree day in So Cal. Evacuations happening. Not a word on Yahoo or Google news.

Here's a link found in haste:

ttp://abclocal.go.com/kgo/front

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section...

Better link

FRED from OR
Sun, 03/11/07
3:39 pm

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink

You can..., if you know THE WAY.

Our lovely Demos managed only to lead their electorate away from the water so far, quite to the contrary the electorate MAKES their leaders to go in the correct direction!

My question is, WHO leads WHOM?

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

Well this is quite another matter, but now that you bring it up, I don't think it is a matter of leading....

 but true political persuasion is the art of showing someone how they really do agree with you when previously they thought they did not.  It is not changing minds but rather changing perspective.

35 mph winds, 1000 acre 'firestorm' (this is Faux), homes evacuated, I think he said 200, horses evacuated...now another fire in Corona CA 25 miles away another fire burning-Riverside County.

I saw some news (not cnn or Fnews)on the fire (TV) within the past hour Annilow

FRED from OR

>

Ya, right, prolly better a tap on the shoulder, than a smack across the head, eh?

Imn2Paine

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

Very well put - for too many years, at the behest of special interest, has been hitting people in the head - the Schiavo episode demonstrated how much damage that can do to a party.

Steven Miller, another Orange County Fire Authority spokesman, said winds blowing up to 35 mph are making firefighting difficult for the more than 200 firefighters on the scene.

>

Call in the California National Guard!

Oops!   ...AWOL George Walker Bush sent the Cali Guard to eye-rack.  Doh!  Subcontract sum Mexicans, quick like.

looks like Hiroshima, Ann 

OT--If you want to send an email to a Rep that's out of your district, you just have to change the zip code in your address to one that's listed for a district office. The software selects out on the basis of zip codes.
I happen to consider this selectivity as particularly offensive, especially since snail mail is virtually inoperative.

Here's the video link (Obey - idiot liberals)

What a jerk. Where would Obey and every other DCDem be without the votes of "idiot liberals?"

looks like Hiroshima

Baghdad, actually. 

http://www.securitymanagement.com/gov.ht...

For some reason I have this site on my bookmark page. There's more on security management than you ever want to know.

But, I was reminded of the repeated claim that there are conditions which give rise to extremism, like the conditions that are supposed to give rise to criminal behavior, which really need to be questioned. Because, what's the excuse for Bush/Cheney's extremism and criminal behavior?

70.

Joan* In*Florida


I would say Soros probably got wind of something when he decided to buy those stocks, or another reason. But I agree with Sitka, that I defiitely think he has good intentions on the deal. I would say this deal of moving to Dubai has been going on for some time.

Obey

voted against the war.

Who here doesn't understand Obey when he says IN FRUSTRATION

"It doesn't work that way" 

OMG, Richard Jeni, Rest in peace.



WEST HOLLYWOOD, California (AP) -- Richard Jeni, a standup comedian who played to sold-out crowds, was a regular on the "Tonight Show" and appeared in movies, died of a gunshot wound in an apparent suicide, police said Sunday.

Police found the 45-year-old comedian alive but gravely injured in a West Hollywood home when they responded to a call Saturday morning from Jeni's girlfriend, Los Angeles Police Officer Norma Eisenman said.

Eisenman said the caller told police: "My boyfriend shot himself in the face."

Jeni died at a nearby hospital

And another very sad loss. Brad Delp, rest in peace. You definitely made an impact in my life.

Delp, Lead Singer Of Boston, Found Dead

POSTED: 6:11 pm EST March 9, 2007Email This Story | Print This Story
Sign Up for Breaking News Alerts


ATKINSON, N.H. -- Brad Delp, the lead singer of the 1970s band Boston, died Friday at his home in Atkinson.

Police are calling Delp's death "untimely," but they said there was no indication of foul play or involvement from drugs or alcohol. Investigators said he was apparently alone at the time of his death.

"Everything seemed to be normal," said Atkinston Police Chief Philip Consentino. "There was nothing disrupted in the house. He was a fairly healthy person from what we're able to ascertain."

http://www.wmur.com/news/11215812/detail...



Boston was my very first concert. I won the tickets from Y100 in Hollywood. Got a crush on a guy in the row in front of me...who turned out to be a neighbor of my best friends relative. And the story continued. :)

BOSTON

Nice post Benita.

Linda, sounds like an interesting story to hear some time :-)

Mr Berdymukhamedov was inaugurated as president a month ago

For decades, Esenguly, a remote fishing village perched on the Caspian peninsula, has been one of the poorest and most forgotten corners of Turkmenistan.

That is, until the day Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's helicopter descended beside the sea.

The new leader of one of the world's most isolated nations could not have chosen a more remote place for his first presidential visit.

The trip was swift and full of promises.

Mr Berdymukhamedov ordered construction of a new maternity hospital, a new administration building, a new school and a fishing factory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

nice set of priorities

Howdy Thankful!

{{{HUG}}}

I hope you're doing ok.


...interesting.....YES....:)

{{{Phil))) very nice set of priorities

Rene was mentioned in the Trib again today - Perspectives section p.3. Article is about the Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame (Chicago is the only city with one) and was written because of the research on him - reporters hadn;t heard about it and so did a piece :-)

I'm off in a few, Panera closes early on Sunday

as close as a memory Thankful

hugs

34. ROFL. will be sure to be a lert.


later...

♥'s to all

Kindness is free

Condolences to Martha in Poway.

♥'s to the memories we all have of loved ones.

one more from the idiot of the year selection list

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

:
       I live in a semi-rural area.  (probably Weyauwega, Wisconsin) We
 recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative
 office to request the removal of the Deer Crossing sign on our road.
       The reason:  "Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! - I don't
 think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LindainSFNM

All I can say is "I listen to the new sound of Y100!"

Brad Delp, R.I.P. 

I don't know: I think it's the lerts that cause the problems in the *first* place. . . . I sure don't want to be one. . . .

US foreign policy became very clear in the December 10, 1974 National Security Study Memorandum, “NSSM 200, Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests” also called the Kissinger Document. In it, an explicit policy by which the US would promote rapid population decline in 13 countries was articulated. Kissinger’s now famous (and declassified) quote sums up the elaborate plan:

“Depopulation should be the highest priority of foreign policy towards the third world, because the US economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less developed countries.”

NSSM 200 became official US policy in November 1975 under President Gerald Ford. Birth control, war and famine were all tools to serve US access to mineral resources without impediments caused by third word populations who were to be eliminated. Brent Scowcroft, Kissinger’s replacement as National Security Adviser was put in charge of implementing the plan. CIA Director George Bush was ordered to assist Scowcroft, along with the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, and Agriculture

Daniel, I believe you've been listening to too much Art Bell. . . .

no puddle its alex jones infowars.com open your mind you might learn something!

trust this goverment if you want but i will never!!

I will say Daniel, Iraq has Kissinger written all over it.

39.

Darryn DiFrancesco

That's too funny.


I'll be dating myself here, but that was a hangout for me many years ago....Tanner ...and his "jelly donuts", Kramer in the Morning...and the original Robert w. Walker.


LOL

Uhhh memories.

Population decline

Interesting. I don't see much of a discussion if it would be benefical for the human race to limit it's size in order to live longer.

All organisms are inherently prone to multiply. But what organism is smart enough to limit it's growth so as not to die?

Linda,

Do you remember Kid (Kim) Curry?  The "kid" who would call the show and eventually ended up winning a chance at DJ'ing.  In the late 80's I worked at Greenpeace in Ft. Lauderdale as a canvasser/campaigner with his 2nd wife after Ana Azcuy).  He was a Republican with a conscience.  I would get into an ocassional debate with him but it was lways amicable.

He of course revealed to me what we all suspected.  The contest was all a ruse.

Remember Athlete's Foot (Footy)?  He retired from the morning show in 2006 after 32 years, a national record.

Ah, the memories..... 

BTW, Y-100 (WHYI) is the oldest CHR station in the country to retain its original call letters.  Haven't listened to it since the late 70's.....

Ideas are organisms. They need human brains to live.
So it is quite natural for humans to reproduce as many humans as possible to propagate an idea.

Some organisms seem to think that the best way to propagate their idea is by killing as many as possible who don't share their idea.

when I was a kid we would find a place to park where we could get WLS on the car radio

how far east did that station get?

Dick Biandi?

48.

Darryn DiFrancesco

I remember Kid Curry, but only distantly. My sisters got to hear him. Wasn't his wife a TV News personality?

Yes, the lates 70's were it for me too. But I left South FLA in 82. The good times....with KC and the SUNSHINE BAND! I used to love going to the station and hanging out control rooms and such. (such groupies we were, LOL)

Thanks for sharing :)

Who here doesn't understand Obey when he says IN FRUSTRATION

"It doesn't work that way."

Who here doesn't understand that it's stupid politics for Democrats to insult the people on whom they count for support? 

I think you may mean Dick Biondi, Phil.

Martha in Poway, belated condolences.  I should have sent them earlier.

I will be returning home from SoCal tomorrow.  It's been a good visit with my son and a much needed break from...stuff. 

Safe travels Donna...and I'm sure CHI wouldn't mind you bringing some of that sunshine.

___________________________


Does anyone have Showtime? Did anyone get to see AIT for the first time?

21. Paine -- artful pix - scary ('looks like Hiroshima')
24. Sitka -- I'd say LOL (looks like Baghdad) except so sad.

I hate disasters - remember watching Berkeley hills burn, then the '89 earthquake gave me PTSD, then the hurricanes that came thru central FL a couple years ago...so sorry for the southern Californians And Their Animals.

Y'all see Andy Rooney tonight? Said Army was made better with the draft in '42 -- a nation's Army when faced with war should have a draft -- he'd never thought he'd hear himself say this but he says we need a draft.

I think I'm turning in -- clock says midnite even if my body knows it's only 11. I hate DST.

  This isn't SoCal

Just another partly smokey day in Oil-land

Baghdad forcast for March 12th 2007

Todays weather calls for more partly smokey skies with and a 100% chance of intermittent car bombing. Death and destruction continuing throughout the day.

59. Too bad Iraqi's-across the country, don't rise up and yell "Gringo's go home".

But then again, they have, just in a different way.

And with their polls showing 86pct wanting us out. That's pretty much as close to ALL as you can get.

Rep. Gingrey Blames Soldiers For Walter Reed Squalor: ‘If You Leave Food Around You’ll Get Mice’

Yesterday at the House Armed Services Committee hearing on veterans care, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) attempted to stand out from the rest of Congress and argue that the conditions in Building 18 weren’t that bad. Instead of criticizing the cockroach infestation, he said, “I was glad to know that those cockroaches were belly up. It suggested to me that at least someone was spraying for them.”

He also tried to blame the soldiers for the conditions, stating, “And, of course, if you leave food around in a motel room or a dorm room at a college, you’re going to get some mice show up at some point in time.” Watch it:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/09/ging...

Another surprise from "An Inconvenient Truth": It's entertaining, in the way any dose of clarity provides a boost. And it's accessible to a wide audience. My 12-year-old son, who ordinarily chooses sports and cartoons as his TV fare but insisted on renting "An Inconvenient Truth," was riveted by it.

One explanation? He liked the straight talk.

Consider Gore's attempt to clear up the misconception that global warming is a theory still open to debate. He cites a study that sampled all the scientific articles on global warming from the past decade. How many took exception to the scientific consensus that global warming is a serious threat? Not one of them, he says.

Then he turns to a study of articles published by consumer media the past 14 years. Fully half of those stories, he says, cast doubt on the truth of global warming.

How did the message get so garbled between the lab and the living room? Gore has his ideas, including a campaign to debunk global warming he likens to past efforts to represent smoking as safe.

But Gore reminds his audience it's not too late to get with the program, and to get the word out.

"When the warnings are accurate and based on sound science," he tells an audience in Shanghai, "then we as human beings, whatever country we live in, have to find a way to make sure that the warnings are heard and responded to."

This bears out one final, very welcome, surprise in the film: Gore's infectious faith.

"We already know everything we need to know to effectively address this problem," he declares, just as he declared on the Oscar telecast and, surely, a thousand other times.

Will people learn soon enough that the truth isn't too inconvenient? That's the film's big cliffhanger, and maybe the world's.

http://www.newstimeslive.com/enter/story...

Too bad Iraqi's-across the country, don't rise up and yell "Gringo's go home".

Something like 80% of Iraqis want Bush and Cheney out of their country. And they're actually doing a hell of a job trying to drive them out. But since NeoCons are an inordinately stupid lot, it's taking a lot more killing than it should for them to get the picture. 

mothers and babies are fine

DST and "page cannot be displayed" both suck

these servers need replacing or something put up a bat for $6500 or whatever it is they cost

I'm here on my fifth try and doubt if I'll be back after an F5

donna 60 and sunshine, it is safe to come back

yes Dick Biondi was the DJ on WLS and I'm so old my station had only three call letters

going to be an interesting week in DC watching them try to do business as usual after being forced to confront reality

64. Yep. I agree. But it aint their supplies being used to paint the picture and if the picture isn't what they want, they throw out the entire canvass to start a story a new.

Title: Life in Fantasy.


Have a good night all.

Good morning, BFA!  I had some trouble getting on to the web this morning, but getting to BFA was fine ... wonder what's happening your way that it's a problem for some of you.

Could I be the problem?  I sincerely hope not.

***************

Hopefully, stories like this will help to put some starch in those wavering backbones.  I'll be with the marchers in spirit ... unfortunately, I'll be here physically.

How many of the neocon warmongers have relatives in the military?  How many of the neocon warmongers have relatives whose lives have been ruined because of the lies of putzCo?

Not too many ... if any at all, I'll bet.

But quite a few of us progressives actually do.

===============

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Tomas Young was 22 years old and working as a waiter for a Kansas City-area eatery in 2001 when attacks on the World Trade Center spurred him to a patriotic act.

"I wanted to go to Afghanistan to exact some retribution on the people who attacked us," said Young, who joined the Army days after the September 11 attacks.

Today, the 27-year-old is paralyzed from the chest down because of a bullet he took in Iraq, not Afghanistan. He spends his days trying to convince others not to enlist -- part of a growing movement of Iraq war veterans, military family members and others determined to stop a war they see as ill-advised and possibly illegal.

As Congress and the Bush administration wrangle over how and when to bring an end to the U.S. war in Iraq, war supporters are also active. They describe opponents as "leftist propagandists" hurting military morale and undermining the U.S. mission.

Both sides are writing letters, lobbying Congress and holding rallies. On the March 17-18 weekend they will march on Washington to mark the fourth anniversary of the invasion.

[...]

 http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0311-04.htm

putzie keeps asking for billions to pour down the black hole that is Iraq and for money that eventually ends up with the drug lords in places like Colombia ... but his own people, well, let them fend for themselves.

If for nothing else, he should be impeached for his incredible breaches of responsibility and duty during and since Katrina.

But there is so much else.

==================

'We Called It Hurricane FEMA'
Trailer Park Was Quickly Emptied

By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 12, 2007; A01

HAMMOND, La. -- Shortly after noon, FEMA agents began rapping on the trailer doors, their knocks resounding inside the tinny white homes. Everyone in the park, the agents announced without warning, would have to pack and leave within 48 hours.

Where do we go now?

Why?

What about school?

To the residents of the Yorkshire Mobile Home Park, all of them families displaced by Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency crews offered answers that were uncertain and sometimes contradictory. As residents spilled out of their homes to meet their similarly bewildered neighbors, the adults wondered where they would be sent next, and how far they might wind up from their jobs. Some began sobbing. Then the children, seeing their parents' tears, began crying, too. A woman fainted, and an ambulance came.

"It was like shock and awe," recalled Ron Harrell, 40, a tenant. "We called it Hurricane FEMA."

The Yorkshire residents were eventually scattered to other FEMA parks. But their sudden evacuation last weekend illustrates the upheavals that still accompany life in a government trailer park 18 months after the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005.

About 12,000 households in Louisiana live in such settlements, temporary arrangements that only out of desperation are being stretched out indefinitely.

[...]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/11/AR2007031101178_pf.html

If anyone sane and sentient still wonders why Iraqis want us out of their country, this story has a few clues.  The Bookseller of Baghdad ... .

=================

The Bookseller's Story, Ending Much Too Soon

By Anthony Shadid
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 12, 2007; C01

It was a summer day in 2003, when Iraq was still filled with the half-truths of occupation and liberation, before its nihilistic descent into carnage. Mohammed Hayawi, a bald bear of a man, stood in his shop, the Renaissance Bookstore, along Baghdad's storied Mutanabi Street.

On shelves eight rows high rested books by communist poets and martyred clerics, translations of Shakespeare, predictions by Lebanese astrologers, a 44-volume tome by a revered ayatollah and a tract by the austere medieval thinker Ibn Taimiyyah. Dusty stacks spilled across the cream-color tile floor, swept but stained with age. In those cramped quarters, Hayawi tried to cool himself with a fan, as perspiration poured down his jowly face and soaked his blue shirt.

We had met before the American invasion, and nearly a year later, he almost immediately recognized me.

"Abu Laila," he said, using the Arabic nickname taken from the name of a person's child.

He then delivered a line he would repeat almost every time we saw each other over the next few years. "I challenge anyone, Abu Laila, to say what has happened, what's happening now, and what will happen in the future." And, over a thin-waisted cup of tea, scalding even on this hot day, he shook his head.

A car bomb detonated last week on Mutanabi Street, leaving a scene that has grown familiar in Baghdad, a collage of chaotic images, disturbing in their brutality, grotesque in their repetition. At least 26 people were killed. Hayawi the bookseller was one of them.

[...]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/11/AR2007031101518_pf.html

EarlG's biggest problem this past week has been cutting the Top Ten to ten only.  There are so many conservative eedjits out there.  More's the pity.

h/t to DU

===================

The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 282

March 12, 2007
Scoot Over Edition

Welcome to the 282nd edition of the Top 10 Conservative Idiots. It's a big list this week with a lot to get through. Scooter Libby (1) goes down, The Pardon Patrol (2) pops up, and Fox News (3) wigs out. Elsewhere, C.W. Bill Young (5), Phil Gingrey (6), and Virginia Foxx (7) try to spin their way out of the Walter Reed debacle, while Pete Domenici, Heather Wilson, and the DOJ (8) get caught up in a brand new Washington scandal, along with - gulp! - Karl Rove (9). Don't forget the key!

[...]

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/top10/282

Well, I have no problem with NOT feeling sorry for putzie.  But here is one wag who offers some suggestions for how he could dig himself out of all the sh** he's in right now.

Of course, I don't think it's possible that he CAN dig himself out ... but so long as he has Faux and RW mad dogs like the WaPo's Krauthammer on his side, there'll be many who continue to make excuses for the warmongers and to blame it all on *liberals* instead of on those who bear the most responsibility. 

=================

Charlie Brooker
Monday March 12, 2007
The Guardian

You've got to feel sorry for George W Bush. No, really. Bear with me. At the time of writing, he's just arrived in Brazil as part of a "goodwill tour", only to be greeted by 10,000 protesters banging drums and carrying banners with "Bush Go Home" printed on them. And Hugo Chavez is due to address thousands of people in an Argentinian stadium - an event at which, according to BBC News, "he is expected to hurl insults at Mr Bush", an act likely to garner "an enthusiastic reception".

Most of the time, when people take a holiday abroad, they return home gushing about how friendly the locals were, how helpful, how accommodating. They whip out their digital cameras and bore you with pictures of them grinning alongside that nice bloke who ran that lovely little restaurant, the one who gave them that recipe for that thing. Bush doesn't have any photos like that. His holiday snaps, assuming he takes any, must consist of brief glimpses of landmarks as seen through a 10-inch layer of bulletproof glass and a billowing cloud of tear gas.

It can't be good for the psyche, being reviled around the world. And I can't see it getting better any time soon. When Bush retires, where's he meant to go for a nice relaxing getaway? Let's face it, even in the year 2025, if he pops out for some curry goat during a Caribbean break, chances are the kitchen staff will be queuing up to dribble all manner of bodily fluids in his food. He'll wind up thinking all global cuisine tastes vaguely similar and possibly a bit too runny for his liking. On the plus side, his hotel minibar will be perpetually overstocked with complimentary packets of pretzels.

All is not lost. He's got just under two years left in office: plenty of time to recover. The solution is simple: he needs to become an ironic "re-imagined" version of himself. And here's how:

[...]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2031729,00.html

CNN had a segment on the bankruptcy bill today.   Remember the Blue Dogs and New Dems wrote to Hastert begging to vote on it.  Shame on this.

Interesting take at CNN.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1178

They should fix this horrible bill.

The *ideology of individual selfishness* ... it does sound like a putzCo meme and theme.

If any of you have access to BBC, this could be a worthwhile series to watch.

=============

The idea that we are like billiard balls bumping into each other without any common interest has created violent chaos

Madeleine Bunting
Monday March 12, 2007
The Guardian

What will define the 21st century? When the question was put to a wide range of thinkers by Prospect magazine, the answers read like the horsemen of the apocalypse - disease, disaster, mayhem. Not cheerful bedtime reading then. The comments of philosopher, Jonathan Rée seemed to sum it all up: at the beginning of the 20th century, "the main emotion behind most people's politics was hope: hope for science, for free trade, for social democracy, for national efficiency, for world government". That sentiment has now been replaced, he argued, by indignation. "People are more interested in bearing witness to their personal moral righteousness" than in engaging in open-minded debate.

Optimism and a belief in progress are now the implausible preserve of Labour party apparatchiks who are regarded as at best deluded, at worst as cynically trying to preserve their own legitimacy. The rest of us have little faith in the capacity of human beings for self-sacrifice or cooperation to avert climate change or any of the other predicted catastrophes that fill the media.

Gloomy thoughts for a Monday morning. Last night the BBC television series The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom began, claiming to explain how we have managed to land ourselves in this miasma of misery. Its director, Adam Curtis, has built a reputation on tracing how ideas shape political and social trends. This series, though his most dense, could be his most important yet. Ultimately, its message is optimistic - better understanding of the trap we're in will help us find a way out.

poodle following putz's lead ... I remember the UK's DoD analyst who *committed suicide* after it was brought into the open that he was the single source for Channel 4's story about how the intelligence on Iraq had been *sexed up* ... it turns out that he was right. 

Despite a long drawn-out inquest, there are still a lot of questions about his *suicide* and with all that has been made public since, there is even more reason to be incredulous ... as his family always has.

==================

Blix: Britain Embellished Iraq Dossiers

Monday March 12, 2007 6:01 AM

LONDON (AP) - The British government embellished intelligence used to justify the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, the former U.N. chief weapons inspector said in an interview broadcast Monday.

Hans Blix, who led the U.N. search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq until June 2003, said a later discredited dossier on Iraq's weapons programs had deliberately embellished the case for war.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government published a dossier before the invasion that claimed Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and could deploy some within 45 minutes.

``I do think they exercised spin. They put exclamation marks instead of question marks,'' Blix said in an interview with Britain's Sky News television broadcast Monday.

Blix said, according to excerpts released in advance, that Blair and President Bush had ``lost a lot of confidence'' once failures in intelligence were exposed.

[...]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6474211,00.html

The *surge* won't work ... but we keep sending more to certain death or injury, even when the inhabitants do not want us there.

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47 Killed in Baghdad; 3 U.S. Troops Dead

Monday March 12, 2007 5:16 AM

AP Photo BAG115, AMMA105, BAG116, BAG114

By BRIAN MURPHY

Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD (AP) - A suicide car bomber barreled into a flatbed truck packed with Shiite pilgrims Sunday, touching off a giant fireball that left charred bodies strewn through a street in the heart of Baghdad. At least 32 people were killed.

The ambush-style attack showed suspected Sunni insurgents again taking aim at the millions of worshippers who traveled to the holy city of Karbala and are now heading home.

It also displayed the limitations of the U.S.-led crackdown seeking to restore order in the capital, where bombers still strike with deadly efficiency against mostly Shiite targets in an apparent bid to ignite an full-scale civil war.

Blasts killed at least 15 others in Baghdad a day after Iraqi officials warned an international conference that Iraq's sectarian violence could spread across the Middle East if not quelled.

[...]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6474152,00.html

If AIPAC really does have Israel's best interests at heart, they would do well to pay heed to this report.

But then logic is not a distinguishing characteristic of its current leadership, which, like so much in contemporary US politics, has been taken over by the rabid RW.

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Military action against Iran would backfire against Israel, which in turn would face "dire and far-reaching" consequences, a leading British foreign policy think-tank believes.

Chatham House says in a report that it is "widely assumed" that preparations are "well under way" in both America and Israel for military action against targets related to Iran's nuclear programme. The report by Yossi Mekelberg examines the possible responses by Iran, which may retaliate with massive ballistic missile attacks on Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv or Haifa, resulting in "substantial loss of life".

Israel's relations with moderate Arab states would also be harmed, as any military attack would be seen as an offensive against the Muslim world and would fuel Islamic extremism.

"An Israeli military operation against Iran would hurt Israel's long-term interests. It would be detrimental to Israel's overall security and the political and economic consequences would be dire and far-reaching," the report warns.

Israel says the issue of curbing Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme is a problem for the international community. But it has been made clear by the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, that if the international community failed to prevent Iran from obtaining a weapon, Israel would take the steps to do so.

[...]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2349991.ece

After Israel and Egypt, Colombia is the largest recipient of US foreign aid.  For all three, the largest component of that foreign aid is military.

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The city of Bogota was under tight security yesterday as George Bush became the first president to visit the Colombian capital for 25 years.

He arrives at a time when the Latin American country is awash with political scandal and controversy. Because of security concerns. Mr Bush stayed for just six hours, meeting with Colombian leader Alvarez Uribe on the latest stop of his five-nation Latin American tour. The right-wing Mr Uribe has long been considered one of Mr Bush's few genuine allies in the region.

But a political scandal in Colombia has put strain on Mr Bush and his efforts to persuade the US Congress that Mr Uribe's government should continue to receive the $700m (£362m) annual aid package.

His visit was also marked by sizeable demonstrations.

Just three days before Mr Bush's visit, Mr Uribe made a plea to the US through the Associated Press, saying that the money had helped confront drug trafficking and corruption. "I ask the world, I ask the United States, to support us ... And we will persist," he said.

Over the past seven years, the US has sent $4bn to Colombia which is has used to confront the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The Colombian army and government-funded paramilitaries have long been engaged in a conflict with the largely peasant guerrillas.

[...]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2350060.ece

And it's time to roll with the Pumpkin ...

**************

On a lighter note, those here who love dogs (and it is so easy to love them!), would all love the Krufts competition, which was featured on the Beeb from Thursday through last evening.  I particularly like the heel-and-toe bits.  This year, *Fabulous Willy* came through with flying colors (colours!), and against some stellar competition.

Have good ones!

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There was something in the determined way that Fabulous Willy pounded through his lap in the finals of Crufts last night that may have had his competitors worried.

That might have been because the Tibetan terrier - who won the Best in Show title at the 116th year of the annual dog show - had been here before.

Willy, as he is known for short, first arrived at the conference centre four years ago. He won the first main round, best in breed, but missed out on the top award. The following year, and the year after that, he was back, but each time, the result was the same, best in breed. It was not enough. For Willy, as viewers heard last night as he was given his silver cup, was "a showbiz dog".

This year was different. He has been training in California, and arrived here with a new trainer, Larry Cornelius. First, he beat dalmatians, Japanese spitz, French bulldogs and even the odd chow chow to win best in breed for his section. He was then up against more than 180 others to become one of seven winners of best in group.

Then it was the big one. By the time he was placed on the podium next to the 3ft solid silver cup, Willy had seen off 22,220 others from around the world to win the crown. He seemed to be taking victory in his stride but trainer was in a rather more excitable state.

[...]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2350077.ece

Good morning, everybody

Nice to see everyone's getting a good night's sleep. Or is the blog broken again?

I'm not sure I like this new time. It's still dark out. Well, let's see what's up.

bloggie might have needed a little downtime for upgrades since the clock fix had to be done anyway

Judy

the blog being broken happens way too often for anyone of us to be guilty of causing it

Democratic leadership is going to earn their pay this week. You go to peace with the leaders  you have.

Bush has tortured too long. Impeach.

Democrats do have to own the war before they can end it.

but they can make Republicans pay for it.

Back Charlie Rangel:paygo the supplemental by rescinding the top rate cut

chuck

Conyers is proceeding with investigations.

Rockefeller needs to close the Senate and share Phase Two.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/12/...

A must read. This is how the shell game works. It would seem that the early claim that there is enough money in the DOD to fund the surge was bravado. Other accounts are having to be replenished and permission is needed to move money around.
Sending the info out on Friday evening is a clue that something is up.

41.

There is no evidence that fewer people result in fewer problems. As the bible tells us, when there were only two siblings, one killed the other.
It isn't the number of humans that's important. It's the fact that humans have evolved a propensity to kill whatever displeases them, rather than just to eat or defend themselves against being et.

I have to get to work now. But, before I go, I just want to mention that being a neo-con must be real frustrating about now. None of their plans are working out.

Hitch on to the new thread.

ditto

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/20086...