Way to go David Corn - what a post and then a concluding sentence 'We now return to the latest on the JonBenet Ramsey case....'. God help all of us Americans!??

My own gut feeling is that the effects of global warming will occur much faster than anyone has predicted. While warming (temperature vs. time) may be a straight line function, the effects (e.g. melting snow) may be parabolic. Think about warming the frosted windshield of your car on a cold morning. For a few minutes nothing happens; then quickly the frost melts. The world is in for unpleasant surprises.

Dr. B, you trendsetter, you!

David Corn, thank you for this article and the additional mention of the Scientific American issue.

Nations have to stop outsourcing pollution and work together. This is a monumental problem.

Conflict of Interest Is Raised in N.S.A. Ruling

NY Times' Terrorist Tip Sheet ^ | August 23, 2006 |

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 — The federal judge who ruled last week that President Bush’s eavesdropping program was unconstitutional is a trustee and an officer of a group that has given at least $125,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan, a watchdog group said Tuesday.

The group, Judicial Watch, a conservative organization here that found the connection, said the link posed a possible conflict for the judge, Anna Taylor Diggs, and called for further investigation.

“The system relies on judges to exercise good judgment, and we need more information and more explanation about what the court’s involvement was in support of the A.C.L.U.,” said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, which gained attention in the 1990’s for ethics accusations against President Bill Clinton.

Three legal ethicists interviewed said although Judge Taylor’s role as a trustee for a supporter of the civil liberties group would not necessarily disqualify her from hearing the case, she should have probably disclosed the connection in court to avoid any appearance of a conflict.

“It certainly would have been prudent” to notify the parties in the case, including the Justice Department, about the issue, said Steven Lubet, a law professor at Northwestern University and an author of “Judicial Conduct and Ethics.”

“I don’t think there’s a clear answer as to whether she should have disqualified herself,” Professor Lubet said. “But at a minimum, she should have disclosed it.”

In a case brought by the national organization of the A.C.L.U. and its Michigan chapter, among others, Judge Taylor ruled that the surveillance by the National Security Agency without warrants that was approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks violated the Constitution and a 1978 surveillance law.

The Justice Department moved immediately to appeal Judge Taylor’s ruling.

If You Can't Fix One City, How Can You Save the Planet?

that's not fair! - they'll get to it - they can't do everything at once!
first they have to finish fixing baghdad and the surrounding region.

Active cycle

And the "backwards" sunspot is not the only indication that the Sun's magnetic poles are reversing. SOHO has previously observed looped magnetic fields on the Sun that had started to reverse their polarity, but the fields were not strong enough to create sunspots.

And the sunspot may signal that the next sunspot cycle will be quite active. That is because it occurred relatively early in the predicted window, says Hathaway.

That assessment is in line with predictions by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, who suggest that this upcoming sunspot cycle might produce more sunspots than any other cycle since the 1950s.

MORE HERE

Global warming courtesy of the Sun, sure wish we would quit deleting the rainforests and pumping CO2 into the air. Natures insulation.

oh no! BIN LADEN ATTACKS AGAIN!

David,
I am afraid we are all headed toward the end of the world. Let us all make peace with our individual gods and just accept this upcoming doom. My the god of pizza and cheetos accept me into his/her graces.

Israel Helicopters, Tanks Move Into Gaza

"They took two of my cousins and asked them about fighters, tunnels and many other issues," said farmer Ahmed Helles, 65, whose olive trees were being uprooted by Israeli military bulldozers as part of the operation.

"I was waiting for the harvest, which was to start next month, to pay for the marriage of my grandson, but the bulldozers are destroying my hopes," Helles said.
---
take that arabs! that's what you get for being an al qaeda! i mean a hezbollah!

David Corn is on a roll with another good blog.

Mr. Corn, America has a loser in Bushie. He does not like scientists.

Bushie has only one option: DROP NUCLEAR BOMBS ALL OVER THE PLANET!

Bushie, the child, says Iraq is straining the psyche of Americans. Poor job, Bushie! You are straining the psyche of Americans!!!

#243 kathleen, from the previous blog, if you liked posts 234 and 237, it was me and if you did not, it wasn't me. Highlight Gerald and if my email address comes up, it is me. Let me save you sometime, it was me.

Lebanon's month-old oil slick sinks down to blanket Mediterranean marine life

A scuba diver's video made public by Greenpeace graphically detailed some of the environmental destruction a month after an oil spill unleashed by Israeli bombardment began sinking - blanketing marine life with a tar-like sludge in what experts from the United Nations and elsewhere have called Lebanon's worst-ever environmental disaster.
The UN has said the spill could take as long as a year to clean up and cost $70 million Cdn.
---
way to go al qaedas! i mean hezbollahs! clean up your mess!

Hurricane Bush

We keep hearing about Katrina and Rita as level 5 hurricanes. Yes these hurricanes will affect 6 or 7 states but a Hurricane Bush is a level 10 and this hurricane effects 50 states. Since I am a very kind person, I will not add the other 50 or so countries that have been affected by Hurricane Bush. Hurricane Bush has been a total disaster and causing total destruction and devastation to our planet. We can also add some hot air to this hurricane and global warming is also affecting our planet. Hurricane Bush has been a hot air and a heavy wind hurricane for nearly five years.

American Soldiers

2,940 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan for Bush and his lies.

18,500+ American soldiers have been maimed in Iraq and Afghanistan for Bush and his evil lies.

55,000+ of the 140,000 American soldiers are suffering from PTSD. Stress disorder has increased and the percentage is now around 40%.

Over 350,000+ Iraqis have been killed in Iraq since Bush declared shock and awe bombings on March 19, 2003.

Contamination from depleted uranium may have affected 125,000+ American soldiers and several million Iraqis.

I will try to share with you a money figure for our war and occupation in Iraq. Our government taps into different bottomless money wells for wars and it is difficult to always know the correct amount of money that is being spent. Money figures will probably change from time to time. By 2010 we will have spent in Iraq $1.2 trillion. We will be in Iraq for at least 50 years and the money figure that is mentioned is $8 to 10 trillion. We will probably never leave Iraq, especially with 14 permanent bases in Iraq and of the 14 permanent bases 4 are mega military bases. Iraq will have access to a bottomless money well.

BUSH IS A UNITER! HE HAS UNITED THE TERRORISTS AROUND THE WORLD TO MAKE NAZI AMERICA, ENEMY NUMBER ONE! Are you feeling more safe and secure with Bush in the WH and Cheney as his chief hatchet man overseeing Nazi America and her citizens?

Our military men and women are used as cannon fodder for a terrorist Nazi American government.

The following is special dispatch No. 1248 from the Middle East Media Research Institute (www.memri.org) dated Aug. 15th, 2006

Director General of Al-Arabiya TV in Defense of President Bush's Description of London Bombers:
'They Are Fascists'

In an August 14, 2006 article titled "They Are Fascists" in the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, the paper's former editor-in-chief and current director general of Al-Arabiya TV, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, defended President George W. Bush's description of the individuals who were arrested last week before they could carry out their plan to blow up passenger airplanes.

The following are excerpts from the article, in the original English:

"The Protesting Groups... Would Have Done Better to... Denounce the Deeds of Those Affiliated to Islam Who Harmed All Muslims and Islam"

"Many of us are only concerned with reputation and image, our image in the media, and the reputation of the Muslims in the world, but they do not care about reforming the original source, their children.

"When U.S. President George W. Bush described those who plotted to kill thousands of passengers in ten airliners as Muslim fascists, protests from a number of Islamic societies in the West and the East were voiced against this description.

"What is wrong with using a bad adjective to describe a terrorist as long as he is willing to personally call himself an Islamist; declares his stance, schemes, and aims; while his supporters publicly call for killing of those whom they consider infidels, or disagree with them religiously or politically?

"The strange thing is that the protesting groups, which held a press conference, would have done better to have held it to denounce the deeds of those affiliated to Islam, who harmed all Muslims and Islam."

"Bush did not say that the Muslims were fascists; he said that the Muslim fascists were the problem, i.e. he distinguished between an extremist group and the general innocent peaceful Muslims. Yes, fascism is a word that has bad connotations, and is used here to approximate the meaning to the listeners. The Westerners know that fascism is an extremist nationalist movement, which emerged from the European society, and was responsible for destructive wars caused by its premises, which are based on discrimination, racism and hatred. This approximation is correct when you apply it to the literature of the Islamic extremists. The same as the Europeans fought fascism and the fascists by word and by gunpowder, the world will fight the extremist Islamists.

*************************************************
Well, it seems that moderate Muslims rightly defend the President, which is more than can be said for the terrorist apologists here!

Security moms must be feeling very good about this decision. 38% of the security moms are elated to see their sons and daughters in harm's way. When will this percentage increase to 90%? Good job, security moms!!!

Number of U.S. troops in Iraq climbs
Updated 8/23/2006

WASHINGTON (AP) —†The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has climbed back to 138,000, driven up in part by the need to control the escalating violence in Baghdad and the decision to delay the departure of an Alaska-based Army brigade.
VIDEO: Marines to be called back to duty

The increase comes as the U.S. Marine Corps is preparing to order thousands of its troops to active duty in the first involuntary recall since the early days of the war.

No more than 2,500 Marines will be recalled at any one time, but there is no cap on the total number who may be forced back into service in the coming years as the military helps fight the war on terror. The call-ups will begin in the next few months, and most of the Marines are expected to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Troop levels in Iraq had been declining, from about 138,000 for much of last year to a low of about 127,000 earlier this summer, amid growing calls from Congress and the public for a phased withdrawal. Part of the latest increase is due to the overlap of units that are currently moving in and out of Iraq. But much of it comes from the decision late last month to delay the departure of the 172nd Stryker Brigade for four months. The brigade had served its one-year deployment and was beginning to head home to Alaska, but was instead ordered into Baghdad.

This is the first time the Marines have had to use the involuntary recall since the beginning of the Iraq combat. The Army, meanwhile, has issued orders recalling about 10,000 soldiers so far, but many of those may be granted exemptions.

Marine Col. Guy A. Stratton, head of the manpower mobilization section, estimated there is a shortfall of about 1,200 Marines needed to fill positions in upcoming deployments.

"Since this is going to be a long war," said Stratton, "we thought it was judicious and prudent at this time to be able to use a relatively small portion of those Marines to help us augment our units." Some of the military needs, he said, include engineers, intelligence, military police and communications.

As of Tuesday, nearly 22,000 of the 138,000 troops in Iraq were Marines.

The call-up will affect Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve, a segment of the reserves that consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations.

Generally, Marines enlist for four years, then serve the other four years either in the regular Reserves, where they are paid and train periodically, or in the Individual Ready Reserve. Marines in the IRR are obligated to report only one day a year but can be involuntarily recalled to active duty.

To date, about 5,000 Army IRR soldiers have mobilized, and about 2,200 of those are currently serving, according to Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman. Of those 2,200, about 16% are volunteers, he said. A typical Army enlistment obligation is also for eight years.

According to Stratton, there are about 59,000 Marines in the IRR, but the Corps has decided to exempt from the call-up those who are either in their first year or last year of reserve status. As a result, the pool of available Marines is about 35,000.

The deployments can last up to two years, but on average would be 12 to 18 months, Stratton said. Each Marine who is being recalled will get five months to prepare before having to report.

President Bush authorized the recall on July 26. It is the first such recall since early 2003, when about 2,000 Marines were involuntarily activated for the initial ground war in Iraq.

Was George Bush Sr.'s Carlyle Group Involved In 9/11?

no way! everybody knows that al qaeda perpetrated 9/11 because they wanted bushco to retaliate against conveniently strategic locations in the middle east. you would have to be high to believe otherwise!

Don't you think this is just a little suspicious that the heads of Bush Sr.'s Carlyle Group (a major defense contractor) as well as a representative of the bin Laden family, were all in the same room together the morning of 9/11 watching the events of 9/11 unfold? These are all people who stood to make a tremendous amount of money off the military buildup and invasions that would ensue.

not even! as i said, you would have to be high to believe that al qaeda didn't attack the wtc resulting in massive clean-up and rebuilding contracts and prompting poor bushco to pre-emptively defend strategic middle east locations!

What do you say, Saladin?

Why is it that you always take the side of the true murderers in the Middle East, hmmmm?

Bush's Arrogance

A lengthy article but well worth the read!

Number of White House officials and cabinet members who have any of their immediate family in Bush's war: 0

Bush Blames America

When people react to this with disapproval, he accuses the people of being psychologically traumatized!

Can't get no satisfaction

We all know George W. Bush is a prick, and we know his people are the biggest bunch of peckerwoods since Nixon assembled his cabinet. We know furthermore that this cabal of venomous schweens have wrought more havoc in the world, and done more damage at home in America, than any single American administration since the South decided to secede. Even the commercial media is beginning to take note of these undisputable facts. Pundits are lining up to get on the earliest possible train out of Bushville, but that train left before the World Trade Center fell. Anybody with access to good information knew these people were planning to screw the world, long before they got out the brace & bit. Apparently the media didn't have that access to good information.

Who are the terrorists?

Bush's muddled definition of "terrorist" has had four chilling consequences: It's shifted attention away the eradication of Al Qaeda. It's largely ignored the threat posed by a secondary wave of 'self-starter' terrorist groups; those spawned by the ideology of Al Qaeda. Bush's sloppy thinking produced the debacle in Iraq and led to a mindset where the Administration labels any Middle Eastern "resistance fighter" as a terrorist. Finally, the White House's sweeping, ideological driven definition of terrorist led the Administration to condemn Hamas and Hezbollah, lump them with Al Qaeda; an action that contributed to Israel's decision to invade Palestine and South Lebanon.

The following is special dispatch No. 426 from the Middle East Media Research Institute (www.memri.org) dated Oct. 8th, 2002

Suicide Bomber's Father: Let Hamas and Jihad Leaders Send Their Own Sons

In a letter to the editor of the London Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat,[1] Abu Saber M. G., the father of a young Palestinian who carried out a suicide bombing in an Israeli city, wrote:

"I can find no better words with which to begin my letter than the words of Allah, in his precious book [the Koran]: 'Act for the sake of Allah, and do not throw yourselves to destruction with your own hands.'[2] I write this letter with a languishing heart and with eyes that have not ceased weeping. We must, today more than at any other time, obey this Koranic verse, act for the sake of Allah, and refrain from carrying out acts that will throw us to destruction."

'Friends Persuaded My Son to Blow Himself Up; Now They Are After His Brother'

"Four months ago, I lost my eldest son when his friends tempted him, praising the path of death. They persuaded him to blow himself up in one of Israel's cities. When the pure body of my son was scattered all over, my last signs of life also dispersed, along with hope and my will to exist. Since that day, I am like [an] apparition walking the earth, not to mention that I, my wife, and my other sons and daughters have become displaced since the razing of the home in which we lived."

"But the last straw was when I was informed that the friends of my eldest son the martyr were starting to wrap themselves like snakes around my other son, not yet 17, to direct him to the same path towards which they had guided his brother, so that he would blow himself up too to avenge his brother, claiming 'he had nothing to lose.'"

"From the blood of the wounded heart of a father who has lost what is most precious to him in the world, I turn to the leaders of the Palestinian factions, and at their head the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and their sheikhs, who use religious rulings and statements to urge more and more of the sons of Palestine to their deaths –†knowing full well that sending young people to blow themselves up in the heart of Israel deters no enemy and liberates no land. On the contrary, [it] intensifies the aggression, and after every such operation, civilians are killed, homes are razed, and Palestinian cities and villages are reoccupied."

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

This is a truly tragic and heart-rending story. This man speaks the truth regarding the abomination that is homicide bombing. There is no justification for it whatsoever.

What do you say Saladin? How about it all of you apologists for Islamic terror?

Anyone who uses the "Smirking Chimp" as a source is certainly devoid of any semblance of taking a rational, thoughtful approach to the issues of the day.

What garbage. Unadulturated drivel.

Regime of Secrecy
"Democracies die behind closed doors."
-- Appeals court judge Damon Keith, ruling in a 2002 case that the Bushites cannot hold deportation hearings in secret
Increase in the number of government documents marked "secret" between 2001 and 2004: 81 percent

Number of government documents stamped "secret" in 2001: 8.6 million

Number of government documents stamped "secret" in 2004: 15.6 million (a new record)

Cost to taxpayers of classifying and securing documents in 2004: $7.2 billion ($460 per document)

Number of previously declassified documents that the CIA tried to reclassify as "secret" under a 2001 secret agreement with the National Archives, even though many had already been published and some date back to the Korean War: 25,315

Number of different "official designations" the government now has to classify nonsecret information so it still is kept out of the public's reach: Between 50 and 60
(They include such stamps as CBU: Controlled But Unclassified, SBU: Sensitive But Unclassified, and LOU: Limited Official Use Only.)

The only vice-president in history who has claimed that he, like the president, has the inherent authority to mark "secret" on any document he chooses: "Buckshot" Cheney

Number of documents Cheney has classified: That's a secret.
(He claims he does not have to report this to anyone -- not even the president.)

Of the 7,045 advisory committee meetings held by the Bushites in 2004, percentage that were completely closed to the public, contrary to the clear intent of the Federal Advisory Committee Act: 64 percent (a new record)

Number of times from 1953 to1975 (the peak of the Cold War) that presidents invoked the "state secrets" privilege, which grants them unilateral power in extraordinary instances literally to shut down court cases on the grounds they could reveal secrets that the president doesn't want disclosed: 4

Number of times the same privilege was invoked between 2001 and 2006: At least 24

Under Clinton, Attorney General Janet Reno issued an official memo instructing agencies to release as much information as possible to the public. In October 2001, AG John Ashcroft issued a memo canceling Reno's approach, expressly instructing agencies to look for reasons to deny the public access to information and pledging to support the denials if the agencies were sued.

2005 FOIA requests still awaiting a response at year's end: 31 percent
(a one-third increase over the 2004 backlog)

Median waiting time to get an answer on FOIA request from Bush's justice department: 863 days

Halliburton
"Halliburton is a unique kind of company."
-- Dick Cheney, September 2003
Total value of contracts given to Halliburton for work in the Bush-Cheney "War on Terror" since 2001: More than $15 billion

Amount that Halliburton pays to the Third World laborers it imports into Iraq to do the work in its dining facilities, laundries, etc.: $6 per 12-hour day (50 cents an hour)

Amount that Halliburton bills us taxpayers for each of these workers: $50 a day

Amount that Halliburton bills U.S. taxpayers for:

A case of sodas: $45

Washing a bag of laundry: $100

Halliburton's campaign contributions in Bush-Cheney election years:
In 2000: $285,252 (96 percent to Republicans)

In 2004: $145,500 (89 percent to Republicans)
Plus $365,065 from members of its board of directors (99 percent to Republicans)

Increase in Halliburton's profits since Bush-Cheney took office in 2000: 379 percent

Halliburton's 2005 profit: $1.1 billion
(highest in the corporation's 86-year history
"Since leaving Halliburton to become George Bush's vice-president, I've severed all of my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind."
Former CEO Dick Cheney, Meet the Press, September 2003
Annual payments that Cheney has received from Halliburton since he's been vice-president:
2001: $205,298
2002: $162,392
2003: $178,437
2004: $194,852
2005: $211,465

Cash bonus paid to Cheney by Halliburton just before he took office: $1.4 million

Retirement package he was given in 2000 after only 5 years as CEO: $20 million

Number of times in the past two years that Republicans have killed Sen. Byron Dorgan's amendment to set up a Truman-style committee on war profiteering to investigate Halliburton: 3

#14 Tim! It's good to see that you admit that there is such a thing as moderate Muslims! Most Muslims ARE moderate. It's the few fanatics hiding behind Islam who are the problem. To claim that these moderate Muslims are defending Bush, is to my mind, going a bit to far. They're just trying to explain that those afilliated to Islam are harming the Muslim world, which consist of one billion people. This is, thank God, far from your buddy "Factchecker"'s expression: "Kill them in large quantities!"

#17 And by the way, hwo ARE the true murderes in the Mideast??

They're just trying to explain that those afilliated to Islam are harming the Muslim world, which consist of one billion people.

One billion lost souls!

Erling, no reasoning can be done with these purveyors of reich wing BS. They are here to provoke and distract, that is all.

wow halliburton is certainly a shining example of corporate cronyism govt contracting at it's finest! go team!
STAYING THE COURSE OF COURSE!
bushco '08 (death to all terrorist)

On a lighter note: Golfers, grab your space balls! and your space suits.

Kathleen,
From previous thread. That was Gerald. He's a genius in the realm of recognizing the base levels of a political cabal.

Gerald,
You were correct and the first to recognize how the fart was in fact the most expressive and important statements coming from the Bush administration and the Republican Party.
Thank you for your hard work.

As to global warming. Where I live in Norway; on the southern tip of the country, we used to have tons of snow every winter up to about 16-17 years ago. Since then, the climate has changed gradually, and for many years now, we have had more rain than snow. I bought a large snow shovel a few years back. I've only used it a couple of times since then. Yep, something IS happening with our climate!

Spy, I spell Halliburton; M-O-N-E-Y-F-O-R-D-I-C-K

Pandemoniac,
from previous thread. Sent the art site off to my daughter.

I would like to know the following:
What is Dick Cheneys ties with Halliburton these days? (Both official and unofficial).
Through Taylor Diving and Ocaneering, Halliburton has been hurting Deep Sea Divers in the North Sea during the early days of the Norwegian oil adventure. I know, I'm one of the ex-divers!

The thing is...the economy would be very strong if we began working in a forward thinking way. If we looked at the problem of global warming as world project and took the project very seriously it would have positive psychological as well as economic outcomes. We would work together to save the planet. The problem is we have very powerful energy giants who manipulate and stomp on every forward movement. Look at how much the war in Iraq has slowed progress down. Instead of using resources to the brains in this country to develop new products we are investing in bombs.

Erling, I'd tell ya but then I'd have to kill ya!

Deadeye Dick is'nt giving up his secrets to his fame and fortunes, might try some googling

Micki: Nations have to stop outsourcing pollution and work together.

As my Canadian cousins might say, Not bloody likely , eh?

The fat kid has been peeing in the pool for nearly a century now, and he doesn't wanna stop. It feels so good. In fact, he wants to pee harder. So he doesn't want the skinny kids getting the idea that they should be able to do likewise.

#33
Den,
You win the spelling bee. Maybe you can go to the white house and meet the president. You know, shake his hand.

#35
Erling,
He's still making plenty of money.

Conflict of Interest Is Raised in N.S.A. Ruling

NY Times' Terrorist Tip Sheet ^ | August 23, 2006 |

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 — The federal judge who ruled last week that President Bush’s eavesdropping program was unconstitutional is a trustee and an officer of a group that has given at least $125,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan, a watchdog group said Tuesday.

The group, Judicial Watch, a conservative organization here that found the connection, said the link posed a possible conflict for the judge, Anna Taylor Diggs, and called for further investigation.

“The system relies on judges to exercise good judgment, and we need more information and more explanation about what the court’s involvement was in support of the A.C.L.U.,” said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, which gained attention in the 1990’s for ethics accusations against President Bill Clinton.

Three legal ethicists interviewed said although Judge Taylor’s role as a trustee for a supporter of the civil liberties group would not necessarily disqualify her from hearing the case, she should have probably disclosed the connection in court to avoid any appearance of a conflict.

“It certainly would have been prudent” to notify the parties in the case, including the Justice Department, about the issue, said Steven Lubet, a law professor at Northwestern University and an author of “Judicial Conduct and Ethics.”

“I don’t think there’s a clear answer as to whether she should have disqualified herself,” Professor Lubet said. “But at a minimum, she should have disclosed it.”

In a case brought by the national organization of the A.C.L.U. and its Michigan chapter, among others, Judge Taylor ruled that the surveillance by the National Security Agency without warrants that was approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks violated the Constitution and a 1978 surveillance law.

The Justice Department moved immediately to appeal Judge Taylor’s ruling.

Lebanese army takes over more positions from Israeli troops as UN Force helps villagers
UNIFIL peacekeepers in Tyre, Southern Lebanon
23 August 2006 – Lebanese army units have taken over more positions left by withdrawing Israeli troops and are now deployed in more than 50 per cent of the territory south of the Litani River, the United Nations says, adding that its interim force continues to work closely with both sides and is also stepping up its humanitarian work.
The cessation of hostilities, which came into force last week, “generally was maintained over the past 24 hours,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a press release, but added there were two air violations by Israeli helicopters yesterday.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently wrote to the Security Council informing them that he would start issuing a daily report of any violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement, and a UN spokesman said today that he had sent a report covering the period of 21 August.
“In it, the Secretary-General notes that UNIFIL has received a letter dated 21 August from the Lebanese Army stating that the IDF on nine occasions violated Lebanese air space,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
UNIFIL is also continuing its work on destroying unexploded ordnance in southern Lebanon left over from the month-long conflict, saying a team from the Mine Action Coordination Centre have performed additional controlled explosions in the areas of Yohmor, Smayieh, Ras Al Ain, Tibnin and Aita Al Jabal. The Mission also distributed almost 30,000 litres of water to villagers in El Khiam, Ett Taibe and Ebel Es Saqi to counter the chronic shortage of drinking water.

#32
Erling,
I live in Minnesota as you know. Our winters have not been as severe and our summers are more humid. My sister lives in Duluth MN on Lake Superior. The summers are warmer there.

I live near Minneapolis, St. Paul. We have opossum now living here. I had never seen that animal in my life before about 1995. The trees are much more lush and growth is more substantial.

Good stuff today at www.guardian.co.uk ,
and more , as is so often the case .......
Well, y'all , my pals at I.A.V.A. have the proud news to announce that their founder Paul Rieckhoff is in today's " Los Angeles Times" newspaper. Wherein he says that the Rumsfeld-led Pentagon suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. Okay, that's a paraphrasing. But the fact's still a fact.
Oh, and gooood stuff at www.stangoff.com today, too.
Please put yer name on the petition at www.warisaracket.org Thank YOU, and you, and you, and you, you, you, and you....... Anderson Petition

Aug. 23, 2006

-- WMR reporting today from Helsinki, Finland.

In another sign that the United States is rapidly drifting into "Third World" status as a major world debtor nation, Russia has announced that it has paid off its $31.1 billion debt to foreign countries incurred during Soviet times. Russia paid off its debt largely as a result of the increase in the price of oil -- a major Russian export. Not only has the ruble been made fully convertible but Russia is now attracting major investments and its bond rating has improved.

Russia's economic turnaround has also increased its clout at the expense of Bush's neo-con strategists. Russia has forgiven about two thirds of Syria's $13 billion debt and has initiated port development schemes in the ports of Tartus and Latakia, old Soviet naval bases. Russia's strong financial and military support for Syria checked neo-con plans to militarily attack Syria.

The paying off of Russia's debt to Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, Denmark, Portugal, France and other Paris Club creditor nations has also increased Moscow's financial and political clout in Europe at the expense of Washington's. Russia is to offer Eurobonds to commercial creditors in lieu of payment in U.S. dollars. Moscow's central bank reserves, estimated at $277 billion, are the world's third largest, ranked after those of Japan and China. On the other hand, the two Asian economic giants are America's two largest creditor nations.

Russia's economic clean bill of health would not have been possible had not President Vladimir Putin not declared war on Russia's criminal oligarch's, many of whom have fled to Israel and who reside in that country with guarantees from extradition back to Russia to stand trial. However, in 2005 Russia did jail for nine years Yukos oil oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky -- a dual Russian-Israeli citizen. Not surprisingly, George W. Bush, acting on behalf of Israeli criminal interests and neo-con advisers, led largely by Bush's favorite author, Israeli former Soviet "refusenik" Natan Sharansky, demanded that Putin free Khodorkosvky. Putin ignored Bush's plea.

Russia can now afford to thumb its nose at Bush and his neo-con cabal. From Iran to Syria, Lebanon to Palestine, and Venezuela to Central Asia, Russia is flexing its political and economic muscles and the neo-cons are finding their moves checked at every turn by a Russian government that long ago declared war on the neo-cons and their Russian criminal facilitators.

Finally, someone big enough to get in the neoconartists way.

The Chimpster is pissed? Oh gee, too bad.

Congress better get out from under the skirts of the lobbyists and get busy formulating an effective monetary policy, starting with the Federal Reserve Bank, before we are all chasing for scraps of food.

When George W. Bush...said: "When communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm.....So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday,...."

Bush knew what he spoke..."When communities are REBUILT..."

On my Florida vacation, as usual, we drove to allow visits to multi-parts of Florida. On the way there, we drove along the beach between Pass Christian and Biloxi, a 20/25 mile stretch of total devastation! Standing on the now-empty several rows of lots fronting the Gulf and imagining a storm surge of 25 ft., it's clear to me these communities should NOT be REBUILT; at least not like they were.

From the number of `For Sale' signs, it was also clear many, many owners do NOT intend to rebuilt or COULD NOT due to lack of insurance. As someone familiar w/construction, I noted that while a few homes left standing, were being repaired/renovated, there wasn't a single brand-new construction underway! My guess is the local governments have not defined whatever new building codes should be enacted to prevent future Katrinas! At the very least, all residential structures within the up-to-half-mile wide surge zone ought to be built on 10 ft. high piers....Not Cheap!

As a philosophical question, and this ties back to yesterday's article on ever-increasing coastal developments, why should all taxpayers subsidize these folks' leisure-living lifestyle for the next however-long before the next Big One hits?

Moving on to Bush's remark to "...restore all that we have cherished from yesterday..."

On the way back from FL, we spend a night in New Orleans' French Quarter. Of course, we drove around the city, including the low-income areas and the nicer Lakeview subdivision by Lake Pontchartrain where the worst, and most-televised levee breech occurred. I dare say that the low-income areas were not "cherished" by anybode even if it WAS home to many New Orleanians.

Overall in NO, there are proportionally more rebuilding (than the MS coast) going on, especially the solidly middle-class areas like Lakeview SD. Even there, there are numerous `For Sale' signs.

I'm dubious of rebuilding any part of New Orleans that was flooded! The levees will fail again, not if, but when! Less known is the simple fact that New Orleans continues to sink. As for the lower-income areas, they should be scraped clean & allowed to revert back to nature! Those low-income residents are mostly now Houstonians! Regardless of whether they are still welcome by most Houstonians, most are here probably to stay!

There were deficiencies before, during and after Katrina and blames can be apportioned to everybody and there is no sense to get into it now. As to the rebuilding, I would rank it very high in difficulty simply because we will never be able to come to a fair consensus as to what is best!

PS: While I disagree w/David's tone on the rebuilding, I appreciate his forum for me to record my observations and thoughts on the most devastating natural disaster to ever hit our country!

Jeanne, I had a Marmot in my yard in Fridley, they like easy pickins for food, possums too.

Sidebar; when did they drop the "O" from opossum, its been missing for a while now.

Good report on unexploded bombs in Lebanon on Democracy Now today.

Also a good report on the sexual misconduct by military recruiters. The fact that the military has been ignoring that misconduct for so long is going to haunt them like it has haunted the Catholic Church. Indiana has been very wise in their policy change regarding rucruitment policy.

I watched a few minutes of the Today show today. Men got to dress their fiances and then we the viewers were treated to a fashion show. One of the guys picked really nice shoes.

#47
Another spelling fact. I have no idea.

A marmot? Is that the same as a woodchuck?

After the world's economies come into conflict over energy resources to maintain their standards of living or to raise them from abject poverty, we won't need to worry about global warming. We can just expect the nuclear winter resulting from the conflicts to balance out the global warming. Eliminating lots of consumers will also help cut the carbon emission budget too. Hell, even air bursts with electromagnetic pulse over big cities would fry most of today automobiles and make them worthless piles of junk. Our governments should be laying out strategies on how we can exploit our urban wastedumps for the resources we buried there when times were fat.

Jeanne, Yup same critter.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Instead of using resources to the brains in this country to develop new products we are investing in bombs

the bomb industry is very lucrative - you can only use a bomb once! then you have to buy a new one. the war on arabs is no where near it's peak yet, but they are already making bombs hand over fist - just wait 'til the war on arabs is in full swing! then we will see the mighty u.s. production force in action - as it was meant to be!
they are STILL picking up unexploded (defective) bombs from the previous war on arabs i mean war on cambodians 30 years later.

Business A and business B both make a product P. They both sell P for the same price. It takes both of them the same amount of money to make each unit. Business A moves their factory to a country that doesn't have certain laws and can produce product P for a fraction of the cost. Which one does better, business A or business B? Obviously, business A, because it doesn't have to worry about pollution controls. But hey, that's the way of the market - you know, those invisible hands that are magically supposed to solve our problems.

How can we rely on the market to cut pollution? There's that documentary out about electric cars and why they have been squeezed off the market. Someone dared to say "nobody wanted them, there was no demand, so that's why they were taken off the market". I highly doubt people rejected NEVER PAYING FOR A TANK OF GAS AGAIN. The invisible hands want you to buy big trucks with shitty MPG. Don't believe me? The "genius" behind making the cars bigger was a psychologist who worked for various advertising firms. He suggested that the reason why people like big trucks is because they want to dominate the road. Oh. So you mean the market only plays on people to get them to buy something, and not to help make this world a cleaner place?

Gee. What a let-down.

Now I have a question for any free-marketers (or anybody) here: If green technologies were more profitable, we would imagine they would quickly subsume fossil-fuel technologies. And I just don't see much of an incentive, from a business/financial perspective, for companies to reduce emissions. So, we don't have green technologies here. But we do need them. How can the market make green technologies work? What will get those invisible hands to alter the way we use energy?

This is a legitimate question seeking legitimate answers.

THANKSGIVING QUIZ!

1. What was the name of the ship that the pilgrims used to sail to America?

2. On what day is Thanksgiving celebrated in the U.S.?

3. which u.s. president staged a photo-op using a plastic turkey with soldiers so that the u.s. public would believe that he actually cared about human life?

4. What year was the first Thanksgiving celebrated?

Conflict of Interest Is Raised in N.S.A. Ruling

NY Times' Terrorist Tip Sheet ^ | August 23, 2006 |

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 — The federal judge who ruled last week that President Bush’s eavesdropping program was unconstitutional is a trustee and an officer of a group that has given at least $125,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan, a watchdog group said Tuesday.

The group, Judicial Watch, a conservative organization here that found the connection, said the link posed a possible conflict for the judge, Anna Taylor Diggs, and called for further investigation.

“The system relies on judges to exercise good judgment, and we need more information and more explanation about what the court’s involvement was in support of the A.C.L.U.,” said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, which gained attention in the 1990’s for ethics accusations against President Bill Clinton.

Three legal ethicists interviewed said although Judge Taylor’s role as a trustee for a supporter of the civil liberties group would not necessarily disqualify her from hearing the case, she should have probably disclosed the connection in court to avoid any appearance of a conflict.

“It certainly would have been prudent” to notify the parties in the case, including the Justice Department, about the issue, said Steven Lubet, a law professor at Northwestern University and an author of “Judicial Conduct and Ethics.”

“I don’t think there’s a clear answer as to whether she should have disqualified herself,” Professor Lubet said. “But at a minimum, she should have disclosed it.”

In a case brought by the national organization of the A.C.L.U. and its Michigan chapter, among others, Judge Taylor ruled that the surveillance by the National Security Agency without warrants that was approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks violated the Constitution and a 1978 surveillance law.

The Justice Department moved immediately to appeal Judge Taylor’s ruling.

good news from baghdad

august 23, 2006

ABC News finds that the U.S. re-deployment of troops to Baghdad, and their placement in large numbers in the most dangerous neighborhoods, appears to be working. Preliminary reports show a significance decrease in violence. Iraqi authorities say the number of violent attacks has gone down by 30 percent. The U.S., using different calculations, says such attacks have decreased by 22 percent.

On the same note, the Washington Times quotes Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, who sees "life coming back to some normalcy" in Baghdad. "We are cautiously optimistic and encouraged by all the indicators that we are seeing," says General Caldwell.

Hm, people that care about civil liberties finding the NSA wiretapping illegal. Imagine that. Oh, and imagine sending more troops to an area to subdue the violence that was instigated by sending those same troops there a few years ago.

#47 DEN

O'possum

They dropped the "O" when they found out the possum is a Marsupial and not Irish.

Iranians Upset at Government's Financial Aid to Hezbollah in Lebanon

Asharq Alawsat ^ | 8/23/06 | Ali Nouri Zadeh

London, Asharq Al-Awsat- The Iranian government's pledge of 500 million dollars to Hezbollah has angered many Iranians who say they are still awaiting money to help rebuild their homes that were damaged by wars and natural disasters, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The anger is particularly fierce in the Khuzestan district, which sustained severe damage during the Iran-Iraq war, and in Bam, which was hit hard by an earthquake three years ago.

Hezbollah is reportedly handing out wads of cash to residents of southern Lebanon to help rebuild their homes. The money is thought to originate from Tehran, but Iran is downplaying allegations that it has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Lebanon.

Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Hamid Reza Asefi, said on Sunday that Iran was examining ways to help Lebanon, but added that “nothing has been decided yet.”

“Informed sources” told Asharq Al-Awsat that spontaneous demonstrations were staged in Bam and in Khuzestan on Friday as protesters shouted slogans critical of Hezbollah and the government. They were demanding their homes be rebuilt instead of the government intervening in Lebanese affairs.

Iran is reportedly Hezbollah's main benefactor, providing the organization with weapons, funding and fighters. But Tehran insists the support it provides to Hezbollah is moral, not material.

Elsewhere, Hezbollah's representative in Iran has ruled out the disarmament of their Lebanese counterparts and said the group will buy new weapons if necessary.

"There will not be disarmament, the UN resolution has not demanded that either," Abdullah Safieddin told Shargh newspaper in an interview published Monday, on the eighth day of a UN-brokered ceasefire to end the month-long Israeli offensive in Lebanon aimed at crippling Hezbollah.

However, UN Resolution 1701 which laid out the ceasefire calls for the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon and prohibits any sales or supply of arms and related materiel to Lebanon except as authorized by its government.

"God willing, we will have no problem. If anybody wants to resist they will seek to buy arms if need be," Safieddin said. "As long as the army does not have the capability to defend the country we have to defend it."

The UN resolution calls for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and the deployment of Lebanese army as well as 15,000 international peacekeepers to the Hezbollah stronghold of south Lebanon.

Israel wants Hezbollah guerrillas pushed back to the north of Litani River -- 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border -- in the hope of ending the hail of rocket attacks that were unleashed during the 34-day war.

Safieddin dismissed the call, saying: "Hezbollah does not have a (military) base. It is the residents of south Lebanon. They cannot send them out.

"Hezbollah will remain as it is. We even believe this war made the spirit of resistance more serious. We will do our political work but we will defend our country too."

Iran as well as Syria is accused of channeling weapons to Hezbollah -- an allegation Tehran denies saying it only provides "moral support

Hm, people that care about civil liberties finding the NSA wiretapping illegal. Imagine that.

“It certainly would have been prudent” to notify the parties in the case, including the Justice Department, about the issue, said Steven Lubet, a law professor at Northwestern University and an author of “Judicial Conduct and Ethics.”

“I don’t think there’s a clear answer as to whether she should have disqualified herself,” Professor Lubet said. “But at a minimum, she should have disclosed it.”

Oh, and imagine sending more troops to an area to subdue the violence that was instigated by sending those same troops there a few years ago.

Iraqi authorities say the number of violent attacks has gone down by 30 percent. The U.S., using different calculations, says such attacks have decreased by 22 percent.

How ould cut and run effect this percentage?

i bet the republicans could make some political hay out of the fact that the democrats are soft on global poisoning i mean warming! global warming!
oh john kerry, why do you hate the globe?

STAYING THE COURSE OF COURSE!
bushco '08: a strong leader on terror! a strong leader on the environment!

Harper says comparison of Hezbollah, Nazis is fair

CanWest News Service ^ | August 23, 2006 | Meagan Fitzpatrick

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday it's not unfair to liken Hezbollah to the Nazis, who once ruled Germany, because both stand for the destruction of the ''Jewish nation.''

In an interview with CanWest News Service, Harper was asked if the comparison made earlier in the day by his parliamentary secretary Conservative MP Jason Kenney, was appropriate.

''Like all comparisons, it's true in some ways, and not in others,'' he said, ''but as near as I can tell, both Hezbollah and the Nazi party stand for the elimination of the Jewish nation. So I think that's pretty fundamental and, in that sense, I don't think it's unfair.

''I think those who associate themselves with Hezbollah in this country are operating beyond the pale, and they're frankly operating in defence of an organization that is an illegal criminal organization in this country," said Harper.

2006 Tropical Storm Season Now Below Normal (Global Warming Idiocy Alert)

Weather Street ^
(21 August 2006) What a difference a year makes. After the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, the 2006 season is now below normal. As of yesterday (20 August) three tropical storms will have formed in the Atlantic in an "average" year, which is the same number that have formed this year so far. Because of multi-year averaging, that means that today (August 21) slightly more than three storms would have formed, making this year (statistically speaking) just below normal.

Environmental news and commentary -- Grist Magazine

#58 Micki, what you got against the Irish?

I have a few in my back yard called Pati-O-Furniture.

BLAST FROM THAT PAST --

capt, I was searching for a photo of bush's speech in Jackson Square last September 15, and one thing that came up in my search was this, which you posted to David's article about "Bush's Big (and Easy) Speech in New Orleans":

All hat and no cattle ~!

It will be used as a way to enrich his wealthy pals with more public money. SCI, Halliburton, Bechtel.

Same players as always, wanna bet the Carlyle group is going to get their share as well.

The proof is in the eating and the pudding is the same old retread recipe of rich pals screwing the tax payer.

The Idea that Bunnypants can BUY his way out of this one by spending OUR money is an insult.

Where is the money coming from? The trickle down from the last round of tax breaks?

The median income has not increased in five years. Hmm, that would be about the time the supreme idiots selected Bush for the (p)resident.

To him reconstruction IS making his pals into billionaires. The people are really making out nicely already and they were underprivileged anyway, just ask Barbara.

Posted by CAPT 09/16/2005 @ 01:27am
++++++++
Gee, things haven't changed much, eh? Except get worse... |

#66 With a name like mine, nothing! ;-))

#67,

Seems things are just getting worse.

UGH!

capt

Nation pays a high price for president's Iraq delusions

CHICAGO President Bush is confident of ultimate success in Iraq, and he is patiently waiting for its achievement. I'm certain that unicorns exist, and I'm willing to hang around till they show up in my yard.

We may both be deluded, but my delusion is a good deal less costly than his.

In the nearly 3 1/2 years we have been in Iraq, there have been few months worse than July. As someone said of the economy during the Carter administration, everything that should be going up is going down, and everything that should be going down is going up.

The killing of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in June was welcome but ineffective in curbing the violence. Last month was the most lethal one yet for ordinary Iraqis, 3,438 of whom were killed, an increase of 9 percent from June. Americans still feel the shock of the Sept. 11 attacks five years later, but Iraq has suffered the equivalent of three Sept. 11 attacks in the last three months.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Sure - smooth sailing for the delusional.

capt

#70

What would you suggest we do in Iraq now?

In No. Calif. House are not selling at the previous brisk rate. People are not spending money on big ticket stuff. I have a motorcycle and a rare Corvair I have been trying to sell for 3 weeks with no lookers much less buyers. My business is slooooow, my friends' motorcycle shop is sloooow.

Like the frog in the frypan, little by little buying stuff is dwindling down for the average worker bees.

People are pretty overextended on money with Zero down, pay interest and ARM loans and credit card debt.

Economic Data Confirms Fragile Housing Market

Sales of previously owned homes plummeted in July to the lowest level in 2 1/2 years while the number of unsold homes peaked to a new record high as buyers waited on the sidelines for prices to come down.

Sales of existing homes dropped 4.1 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million, the lowest level since January 2004, according to the National Association of Realtors.

"It's worse than I thought," said David Lereah, chief economist of the Realtors' group. "The housing markets are fragile."

"These are very disappointing numbers," echoed Phillip Neuhart, economic analyst at Wachovia Corp., one of the country's largest lenders.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

The housing bubble will either burst or fizzle, I think fizzle is more likely and has already started.

capt

What would you suggest we do in Iraq now?

who is we? the taxpayers?

bushco could start by fixing all the things that they had their army blow the holy fuck out of. like the electrical systems. they could further start by ensuring that all the iraqis have fresh water again. like they did before bushco had their army blow the holy fuck out of everything.
then maybe they could begin trying to mop up every speck of DU that they have spread around as if it were bug killer. then perhaps they might repair the oil pipelines and get the ball rolling on oil production. isn't iraq located on top of one of the biggest oil deposits in the world?
there are any number of things that bushco COULD do to improve the quality of life for the iraqis. and if bushco's intentions really were honorable that's what they WOULD do.

but instead bushco promotes violence and provokes arabs into a furious frenzy so as to paint arabs including iraqis as the international bad guy just for the sake of selling arms to their crinies and peers in a bogus war on terror. (war on arabs)

New York Times' Eavesdropping Story Wasn't The Only One Squashed For Bush During 2004 Campaign

[..]

When Calame asked Keller why the paper had reported (vaguely and inaccurately) that the story had been held "a year", Keller conceded, "It was probably inelegant wording." Adding, "I don't know what was in my head at the time." When Calame pressed Keller whether the inelegant wording ("a year") and the sensitivity of the election-day timing issue had been discussed internally, Keller responded improbably, "I don't remember."

That was too much for some Times readers.

"It is depressing to think that the executive editor of The Times would even be able to speak this way," wrote Holly Ketron from Princeton, N.J., just one of many who lectured Keller in print about the proper role of journalists in a democracy.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

After what Keller pulled I am surprised that the NYT's is not been hit hard by subscription cancellations. I never subscribed but how can anybody believe anything they print?

"As long as people will accept crap, it will be financially profitable to dispense it." ~ Dick Cavett

capt

#74

I'm not interested in what you think Bush should do.

My question is what would you do? How would you rebuild the infastructure without any stability? Do we keep the militray there until the infastructure is complete or pull them out now?

Try not to get too excited in your response.

#74

Are you saying that Bush provoked Hezbollah to attack Israel?

jerry dice --- The warming, global temperature vs. time, is assuredly not linear. For example, the artic sea ice is highly reflective, sending much of the heat from the sun back out again. As it shrinks, less of this happens. So the artic warms some more, more ice melts, and away we go...

It's called positive feedback and leads to exponential growth, not just parabolic.

The sun spot cycle has been considered and is not thought to be contributory to the climate, up or down, on scales of more that 15 years. The relationship between hurricanes and global warming is contentious. I will point out that the West Pacific, Australia, China and Japan are having a more than average year.

For much more on all this, see

Real Climate

Paul Hackett on Hardball

Paul Hackett debated the Iraq war with Republican TX-17 candidate Van Taylor, (updated)

Video-WMP

Video-QT

Hi-Res:

Video - WMP

Video - QT

Taylor who did fight in the Iraq war for some reason uses the most unoriginal "we're fighting them over there" Ken Mehlman talking points which are sounding more and more like an Abbott & Costello routine.

dday has a diary posted about the segment on Kos.

Many more Iraq veterans are running as Democrats this year than as Republicans, I wonder why?

They call themselves the Band of Brothers, about 50 men - and a few women - all Democrats, all opposed to the Bush administration's handling of Iraq, and all military veterans. One more thing: They're all running for Congress this year. Not since 1946 have so many vets from one party come together in a political campaign, they claim. Their wildest dream is to give the Democratic Party the extra edge it needs - by boosting its weak image on defense and patriotism - to end Republican control of the House.

read on

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

"Ken Mehlman talking points which are sounding more and more like an Abbott & Costello routine"

It would be funny if it were not so true. I never watch "Hardball" so I am glad there is streaming video.

capt

President on Another Planet

[..]

Now, whatever you think about George Bush's intellect, he knows full well that the Hamas government in Gaza was democratically elected. He also knows full well that Hezbollah participates in the democratically elected government of Lebanon, or what's left of Lebanon. And so he has to know full well that U.S.-backed Israeli assaults on Gaza and Lebanon -- even if you believe they were justified -- had the impact of crippling, if not crushing, two nascent democracies of the kind the Bush administration wants to cultivate throughout the Middle East.

He also knows that the Iraqi government has real sovereignty over only the Green Zone in Baghdad -- a fortress made secure by the presence of U.S. troops -- and assorted other enclaves where American and British troops enforce the peace. He has heard the leader of that nominal government praise Hezbollah and denounce Israel.

So when the president lauds democracy as the magic elixir that will cure the scourge of terrorism, is he really putting faith in his favorite mantra rather than his lying eyes? Is his view of the world so unchangeable that he dismisses actual events the way he dismisses mere "talk''?

Or is he just trying to hold on until January 2009, when all this will become somebody else's problem?

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

I think all of the above. Lies, lying eyes and waiting to make it the next guys problem. That is the script by which Dumya has always lived.

capt

#72
Den,
The businesses kept the economy alive with those 0 interest for 2 year loans. Now they are all coming due and there is no money to pay it.

#71
I don't know what we do with Iraq now but throwing it back at the people who never wanted the war in the first place is a little self defeating. I have no idea at this point what you do with Iraq. It's a mess. I think the leaders in Iraq have suggessted bringing in a multi national force including many middle eastern countries to put out the fires. Bush doesn't want to go that route. If I was the Iraqis I'd say. "We don't care what you want. This isn't your country. Get the hell out. We'll fix it. Stay the hell away from us....you a**holes."

Thanks Capt for linking that Stewart piece. Stewart has even been willing to be sarcastic and truthful about some of Israel's twisted policies and strategies.

This is new territory for Stewart.

Rich this was such an insightful and concise statement I took the liberty to post it. Thank you for your clarity.

#260 Rich (last thread)
Sorry but if a Democratic Congress does some stupid dog and pony show and doesn't hit this white house with the ferocity of the law that it deserves they will lose the respect of many, many people. I hate to say it but there is a sizable percentage of this country that wants revenge, plain and simple, and are looking for a Democratic Congress to take that revenge. A Republican Congress in the 90's impeached Bill Clinton with almost nothing to go on. Now we've got a staggering litany of violations and if nothing is done then a precedent will be set that we will take decades to recover from. Sorry, David, usually I think your column is spot on but this time you're dead wrong. You're talking like the same Democratic advisers that helped Gore lose in 2000 and helped Kerry lose in 2004 and it truly disgusts me. If the Democrats take back Congress I want flesh torn out of that man who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and nothing less.

Posted by: Rich Woods at August 23, 2006 03:

188 `Reich' thread
...Happy, You can relax a little about your misguided backing of Joe Lieberman.....Give more money! Give till it hurts....

Posted by: Pandemoniac at August 23, 2006 12:51 AM
=================================================
At DailyKos, found the following boasting of fund-raising:

"....we've amassed over 1,600 separate donations and raked in over $41,000 - in just two days. Not too shabby for the middle of August."

What should I make of these First-Teamer Nutroots? They seem Happy with averages of 800 donations per day & $25 each donaiton.....spread over a dozen candidates listed!

I don't know what is Kos' regular reader base but it seems to me, the "Give till it hurts" stage has been reached by the Nutroot donors!

I ain't impressed with this little peek into Ko$' fund-raising prowess! As for Joe, let's just see if he needs me to "Give till it hurts"! Hopefully not but if he needs my $, trust me, my self-discipline won't allow me to "Give till it hurts"!

Oh, one thing that stood out: Lamont led the list with the number of donors! Why folks would take their $25 and toss it to Lamont? The low end of his fortune estimate: $90 Million! LOL

76)... what is that? morse code for S?

My question is what would you do?
that was not your question. your question was:
What would you suggest we do in Iraq now?
who is we? are you included in this we?
i didn't want this war on arabs. it is a travesty.
is this your new question?:
My question is what would you do?
what would i do if i was in suddenly in charge?
i would insist that bushco get the ball rolling on my suggestions @74.

David Corn --- All the articles in the September issue of Scientific American are quite good. Your quotations, and the tenor of your piece today, help to show just why I am discouraged.

Each of the suggested solutions, other than 'energy efficiency', needs some form of govenment regulation or support. So the USG (that is, inside the beltway, James Ha) needs to act. Not only nationally but internationally to help convince China and India not to increase, substantially, carbon dioxide in the air. Maybe others, too.

Bushco seems stuck in neutral. This congress is, well, disorganized is the polite way to say it.

And while 70% believe in global warming, I don't sense any national will to FIX IT!

I was watching CNN and the numbers look good for the repugnants. The repugnants have been a disaster for this country and they still poll good numbers. 48% say the repugs would do a better job against terrorists and 38% say the Democrats would do a better job against terrorists. The 2006 will be decide on who will do a better job against terrorists. Forget about Iraq, the dead, and the money being spent. Human life is irrelevant to most Americans as long as they feel safe.

I have been predicting a slaughter against the Democrats mainly to not feel too badly when the repugnants still remain in power. Hitler will be more emboldened after this election to declare martial law in 2008 and cancel the elections.

I mentioned these numbers and my wife says that America is primarily repugnant and that fact will not change. I am 67 years old and there are times that I cry like a baby with our country's direction.

David Corn "We now return to the latest on the JonBenet Ramsey case".... YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN

John Stewart had a great piece on his show about the ad nauseum coverage about JonBenet Ramsey and the "alleged" killer/rapist.

I like to think about one of George Carlin's statements about the condition of the planet

"When ol' Ma Nature gets tired of us, she'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. There is little we can do that she cannot trump ...

Re #82: Jeannne, I am under the impression that all opinion polls show that the vast majority of Iraqis want the Americans to leave.

#82

Thanks for the honest answer. I stll have to ask: would you pull the troops out now or leave them until they get some kind of stability?

You say the Iraqis didn't want this war but yet they seem to be at war with each other because of the autrocities Saddam let the Sunnis commit over the Shites and Kurds. It looks as if they were just waiting for an opportunity to get some revenge. Is Bush the blame for this also? Would you say that Saddam is innocent of any violence now being commited in Iraq?

It's Not Bush's Fault!

It's so wrong of nasty libs to blame every social ill on Dubya. After all, he means well. Right?

[..]

Here, then, is my answer to the cute claims of rampant, unfair Bush-bashing: Indeed, Dubya may not be in the lousy cup of coffee I recently had at a downtown cafe. He might not be in the crappy sitcoms or in the price of designer jeans or in the sad fact that Led Zeppelin has yet to join iTunes.

But you know what? He might as well be. Because this is the feeling. It is a general sickness, a vague nausea, a sense that, in fact, far beyond just miserable foreign policy and tax breaks for the rich and a single nasty, botched war, the whole system, all aspects of culture and American life have somehow been tainted, darkened, poisoned.

George W. Bush may have attained the ignoble status as one of the least popular presidents in American history, but the fact is, he's accomplished something far more impressive: He's proven himself to be one of the most systematically, comprehensively toxic. And really, whose fault is that?

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

A pretty good piece!

capt

Dr. B, I think there is no national will to fix global warming because people aren't afraid of it -- they think of global warming as something that will not happen in their lifetimes, therefore, they are unconcerned, in denial. They will not make demands on government to get off the dime. (I've even read here that some think that government should stay out of it!)

If the time comes that the safety of the planet and its citizens is viewed as more important than protecting the "safety" of business, i.e. the botton line, there will be movement on global warming. If that time never arrives, our goose will be cooked!

90
give it a rest morse code!
there was little violence in iraq under saddam because terrorists were brutally exterminated. women could walk the streets unmolested - now even men cannot. the bushco army has destroyed iraq and scattered so much DU around that both human and animal babies will be born deformed for generations to come.

it appears that you are of the bushco are good because saddam was bad mindset. that doesn't hold any water. saddam was merely a bushco protege. just because it was expedient for his bushco mentors to eliminate him at this time hardly qualifies bushco as good.

#87 Gerald ...It is interesting that Americans conveniently forget that 9/11 took place under the Bush administrations watch. Why people feel more confident in our national security with the Republicans in control is a real mystery.

if bushco were the benevolent heroes that some of you bushco wannabees would like to believe then they would take care of iraqis instead of destroying them.

This area inside the vagina has a different texture; it’s ridged, not smooth like the rest of the vagina, and when aroused has a spongy feel.

The G-Spot is not easily located. Sometimes even women have a hard time finding it and some don’t even believe it exists, but it does.

Bondage Sex Toys

Strap Ons

Sex dolls

xxx adult videos on demand

Anal Beads

huge Cocks

Jelly Dildos

Sex Bondage

Bondage restraint

Anal stimulation toys

Dildos

double Dildos

Lesbian strap ons

butterfly vibrator

rabbitt Vibrator

This key bit of information has important ramifications for how you should structure your strength and conditioning program as a ball player. Every position requires overhand throwing (except softball pitching) so properly training to enhance arm throwing strength will make any ball player more valuable to their team. No doubt you know of coaches who have their pitchers perform Long Slow Distance running (or bicycling). Well, these coaches correctly realize that the trunk and legs are important to throwing. What they don't know are the appropriate conditioning principles to train these body parts so as to directly benefit the pitcher during game performance - which is the point, is it not?

Resources for major league baseball tickets buy baseball tickets
Baseball Tickets where mlb baseball tickets are bought
Baseball Tickets U2 tickets cheap concert tickets has scored another box office bonanza, grossing $48.4 million on tour during the first half of 2005.
Concert Ticketsinfo to purchase cheap concert tickets
Cheap Concert Tickets info to purchase cheap concert tickets
Concert Schedule You can buy nba basketball tickets
Basketball Tickets for all basketball games with nba finals tickets
NBA Finals Tickets where to buy nba tickets Basketball TicketsNFL Football tickets NFL Football , American, distinct type of nfl football tickets
NFL Tickets that developed in the United States in the 19th century now get your super bowl tickets.
NFL Tickets As NHL Hockey tickets spread across the continent with the national hockey league
National Hockey League , there was a marked increase in the number of organized NHL hockey tickets
Hockey Tickets leagues. Hockey Tickets wwe tickets world wrestling federation or as it is know the wwe buy wwe tickets for all wrestling tickets events with wwe smackdown tickets
WWE Tickets also wwe wrestling tickets. WWE Tickets rodeo tickets rodeo tickets are becoming even more popular these days the pro bull riders or known as the pbr tickets and the national finals rodeo tickets also known as nfr tickets
Rodeo Tickets are flying through the roof. Rodeo Tickets soccer tickets or what they call in european countries football tickets in the US as us soccer tickets go World Cup Soccer Tickets buy world cup soccer tickets.
Soccer Tickets Part of the Los Angeles Center Theatre tickets Group with los angeles theater tickets, along with the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre tickets or as you would say ahmanson theater tickets don't forget to get the hard to get wicked tickets.
Theater Tickets buy los angeles tickets like los angeles dodgers tickets Dodgers Tickets or buy los angeles lakers tickets
Los Angeles Lakers Tickets or relax and buy los angeles theater tickets
Los Angeles Theater don't for get those los angeles clippers tickets have a good time los angeles concert tickets. Los Angeles Theater well you won't lose out if you go to live horse racing tickets there is plenty of enjoyment at the fairgrounds at thoroughbred horse racing.
Horse Racing buy boxing Schedule with boxing schedule Boxing Tickets. autoracing or the term for today really would have to be nascar tickets with nascar schedule along with nascar racing
Nascar Racing people these days are scrambling to buy nascar tickets for all the nascar races.
Nascar Tickets buy sports tickets Sports Tickets for all events what sports tickets are you going to buy?
rose bowl tickets rose bowl tickets singles singles
the big lebowski the big lebowski dvd
Lakers Tickets buy sports tickets
Sports Tickets for all events like lakers tickets what sports tickets are you going to buy?
home security home security
best affiliate program best affiliate program free affiliate program free affiliate program
dodgers tickets dodgers tickets big lebowski dvd big lebowski dvd the big lebowski big lebowski dvd
Los Angeles Lakers Tickets buy los angeles lakers tickets at staples center for all events like los angeles lakers tickets what los angeles tickets are you going to buy for sports tickets?
Blues Brothers blues brothers dvd movie
rumble fish dvd rumble fish dvd
carlito's way rise to power carlito's way rise to power carlitos way rise to power carlitos way rise to power
angels tickets angels tickets sports tickets sports tickets
Los Angeles Concert Tickets buy los angeles tickets for all los angeles concert tickets Los Angeles events like los angeles dodgers also los angeles angels tickets events like los angeles clippers tickets what los angeles tickets are you going to buy for los angeles concert tickets? Affiliate Program ticket affiliate program