News Olio

'Luxury' at $19 a night

2009-08-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Some luxury hotels have found a way to cope in the economic downturn by offering rooms with no luxuries. In fact, no bed, toilet paper, soap or air conditioning.

San Diego's Rancho Bernardo Inn is offering what it calls the "Survivor Package."

The most basic version: a room for $19 with no bed, toilet paper, towels, air-conditioning or "honor bar," and only a single light bulb in the bathroom for safety. The next level up adds in a bed -- sans sheets -- for $39 a night. For a bed plus toiletries and toilet paper, the rate is $59.

Maureen Carew, assistant general manager of the four-star inn, called the promotion "clever marketing in a downtime."

The usual rate for the room is $219 per night.

GM: Chevy Volt Will Get 230 MPG

2009-08-11T14:07:00.001-07:00

GM's new Chevrolet Volt will notch a whopping 230 miles per gallon, the company claims.

WARREN, Mich. — General Motors said Tuesday that its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle, scheduled for release in 2011, would achieve a fuel rating of 230 miles a gallon in city driving.

The rating number, based on methodology drafted by the Environmental Protection Agency, is somewhat abstract, one auto specialist said, given that much of the city driving of electric vehicles will rely solely on the battery charge.

We'll just wait and see.

Loner Loser Kills 3 Women, Self; Wounds 9 Others

2009-08-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

A Pennsylvania man walked into an aerobics class filled with women in Bridgeville, PA, pulled out two weapons, turned out the lights and sprayed the room with bullets killing three women, wounding nine others, then killed himself.

From the AP:

Neighbors described 48-year-old George Sodini as anti-social, and the Web page in his name showcased a resume setting forth his credentials as an unhappy loner. It listed his date of death — Aug. 4, 2009 — and his status of "Never married."

He complained of not having a girlfriend since 1984, not having a date since May 2008 and not having sex for 19 years.

"Women just don't like me. There are 30 million desirable women in the US (my estimate) and I cannot find one," he wrote. The page ended with the words "Death Lives!

His web page has been taken down.

Ohio Cops Facing Felony Charges

2009-07-31T12:20:00.000-07:00

Two Ohio police chiefs are facing felony charges in a case involving the surrogate mother for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.

From the Associated Press:

Special prosecutor T. Shawn Hervey said the men conspired to take items from the woman's eastern Ohio home to sell to celebrity photographers.

At an arraignment Friday, Martins Ferry Police Chief Barry Carpenter was charged with two counts of burglary, one count of receiving stolen property, one count of theft in office, one count of unauthorized use of property or services and one count of tampering with evidence.

Bridgeport Police Chief Chad Dojack, 30, was charged with two counts of complicity to burglary and one count of complicity to receiving stolen property.

Both men pleaded not guilty and are free on their own recognizance. Neither of the men could be reached for comment. There are no residential telephone listings for them.

Housing Market Bouncing Back

2009-07-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

With new home sales increasing 11 percent in June, economists are saying the housing market is bouncing back.

"The worst of the housing recession ... is now behind us," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities. "We're turning the corner toward increased activity in housing."

New home sales rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, from an upwardly revised May rate of 346,000, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Shares of big homebuilders soared on the news, with Beazer Homes USA up by more than 13 percent and Hovnanian Enterprises rising 8 percent in afternoon trading. But with home prices still falling, these companies won't be making much money anytime soon.

The median sales price of $206,200 was down 12 percent from $234,300 a year earlier and off nearly 6 percent from $219,000 in May.

In addition to lower prices, buyers are rushing to tax advantage of a federal tax credit that covers 10 percent of the home price or up to $8,000 for first-time buyers. Home sales need to be completed by the end of November for buyers to take advantage.

Switzerland Now in Recession

2009-06-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

Although their economy has contracted less than 2 percent since late last year, Switzerland is now officially in a recession.

. . . official figures showed that the country's economy shrank by 0.8% in the first three months of 2009.
The decline came after a contraction of 0.3% in the last quarter of 2008.
Switzerland's economic woes have been led by its major banks which, like lenders around the world, have reported significant losses linked to bad debts.
A country is generally considered to be in recession following two successive quarters of economic decline.

Who Killed the Newspaper?

2009-03-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

Traditional newspapers are dropping like flies -- the Rocky Mountain News, the Tucson Citizen -- and many more are laying off staffers and cutting costs wherever they can. Who killed the newspaper?

According to the late John Waller, once executive editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a founding editor of USA Today, the blame rests squarely on three people: A.J. Liebling, a layout editor at The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal named Arnold (first or last name is not clear in Waller's essay), and Al Neuharth.

Read Waller's essay published at Poynter Online for the details.

Bailed Out Bank Buys Jets

2009-03-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

From ABC News:

Embattled bank JPMorgan Chase, the recipient of $25 billion in TARP funds, is going ahead with a $138 million plan to buy two new luxury corporate jets and build "the premiere corporate aircraft hangar on the eastern seaboard" to house them, ABC News has learned.

The financial giant's upgrade includes nearly $120 million for two Gulfstream 650 planes and $18 million for a lavish renovation of a hangar at the Westchester Airport outside New York City.

No word yet if Chase will offer rides to taxpayers.

Call Center Workers Take A Stand

2008-10-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

TPM reports:

Some three dozen workers at a telemarketing call center in Indiana walked off the job rather than read an incendiary McCain campaign script attacking Barack Obama, according to two workers at the center and one of their parents.

Nina Williams, a stay-at-home mom in Lake County, Indiana, tells us that her daughter recently called her from her job at the center, upset that she had been asked to read a script attacking Obama for being "dangerously weak on crime," "coddling criminals," and for voting against "protecting children from danger."

Williams' daughter told her that up to 40 of her co-workers had refused to read the script, and had left the call center after supervisors told them that they would have to either read the call or leave, Williams says. The call center is called Americall, and it's located in Hobart, IN.

"They walked out," Williams says of her daughter and her co-workers, adding that they weren't fired but willingly sacrificed pay rather than read the lines. "They were told [by supervisors], `If you all leave, you're not gonna get paid for the rest of the day."

Judges Order Voting in Georgia

2008-10-27T11:52:00.001-07:00

Federal judges have taken the side of the voters in Georgia:

The state of Georgia must allow persons whose citizenship has been questioned in a new voter verification system the opportunity to cast a ballot in the Nov. 4 elections, a three-judge court ruled Monday.

The state must also notify the voters that their registrations may have a discrepancy.

New Web Site To Fight Bailout

2008-09-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

A new web site has sprung up to oppose the proposed taxpayer funded bailout of the banking system.

Check out VoteNoBailOut.org.

From their site:

Demand that the Bailout Legislation Be Rejected
We are witnessing a bankers' coup d’etat. In the name of saving the economy from a crisis created by their own greed and immense profits, the biggest bankers have taken a country and a people hostage.
“Give us your money and tear up what’s left of your Constitution or we will sink your economy,” is the message from Wall Street and the Bush Administration. “Give us the power and money we demand or you will be left jobless from a new economic depression."
Under the pretext of the banking crisis, the Bush Administration is changing the way this country operates. This is not simply taking trillions of dollars from the people and giving it to the richest bankers to do with as they see fit.
Click here to send your letter to Congress
Congress is poised to vote to give the Executive Branch of government, and specifically the White House’s political appointees in the Treasury Department, the absolute right to take our money and give it to domestic and foreign banks and corporations without any oversight of elected officials, from the courts, or from the people.
The new legislation states: “Decisions by the Secretary [of the Treasury] pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” The Legislation allows the Treasury Department to appoint the same bankers who created the crisis to administer and dictate the use of trillions of our tax dollars.
We will not stand by and let the Bush Administration formalize its vision of a “government of, by and for the richest bankers."
The new system institutionalizes theft on a grand scale. Lehman Brothers bankers will receive $2.5 billion in bonuses after their company went bankrupt last week, but the new dictatorial authority under the White House and Treasury Department has ruled out any relief for the millions of working families who are being foreclosed.

Sarah Palin to Avoid Reporters

2008-09-06T04:12:00.000-07:00

John McCain's presidential staff will attempt to keep Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, away from taking direct questions from reporters.

From Jay Carney of Time magazine:

According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads.

Why?

I bet there are a lot of undecided voters out there who were intrigued by Sarah Palin last night, but who don't yet know enough about her -- what she believes, what she knows -- to be comfortable with the idea of her as vice president of the United States. It's important to them to know if Palin can handle herself in an environment that isn't controlled and sanitized by campaign image makers and message mavens. Maybe she can, maybe she can't. As far as Wallace is concerned, it's none of their -- or your -- business.

After eight years of failure, Republicans still think they know what is best for America, so just shut up and vote.

A liberal who won't take sh*t from anyone

2008-07-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler is an unapologetic liberal who tells it like it is in his book Fire-Breathing Liberal: How I Learned To Survive (and Thrive) in the Contact Sport of Congress.

Read this BuzzFlash interview for more.

Interview excerpt:

BuzzFlash: They ran away from the so-called "L" word because the right wing has defined that as though there's something wrong with it, instead of that being a positive word, and embracing a secular society that respects the Constitution. You embrace it.

You were the first co-sponsor of the recent Dennis Kucinich 35 Articles of Impeachment against Bush. You were a co-sponsor and are a co-sponsor of the impeachment resolution submitted by Congressman Kucinich against Cheney last year. You're extremely forceful in terms of FISA and the abuse of our trust -- this Administration -- in terms of the Iraq war. Is that coming directly from you, or is this just representative of your district? Because there aren't many Congresspeople -- Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, Dennis Kucinch, other members of the Progressive Caucus -- but not a whole lot who are willing to go out that far. If you were in another district, would you be able to do that?

Rep. Robert Wexler: This is representative of what I believe in my heart and soul, and the good news from me is I have been fortunate to have the support of an overwhelming majority of my constituents. My book, Fire-Breathing Liberal, is a liberal call to action, and it proudly says that the liberal agenda, the progressive agenda, is the best agenda for America. That's what will put us on track both domestically and in terms of our foreign policy. That's what's going to help us. With respect to our health care, with our jobs, with our housing, with our schools -- that's what's going to enable us to relieve our dependency on foreign oil. We need to invest in alternative energy sources. What we don't need to do is open up pristine beaches in Florida and throughout the country to oil drilling. We've got to invest tens of billions of dollars here in America on solar energy, wind power, clean coal technology, wave currents, nuclear power, if it's safe, like they do in France.

How ridiculous -- pathetic -- it was when we were begging the Saudis last week to just pump a little bit more oil so that we could possibly have more of this addiction, like Tom Friedman said in The New York Times the other day. We need to end that dependency. That's how we begin to bring America back. This is a liberal call to action. It's time for progressives to have their surge in America, and the time is right for that. And I'm proud to call myself a liberal.

More Bad News for The GOP

2008-05-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Uh-oh. President Bush plans to campaign for the Republican Party this year. That can't be good news.

The White House on Monday sidestepped a question about how much Bush will campaign with McCain but said the president would actively hit the trail in support of Republican candidates despite his low approval ratings and questions about whether his presence would help or hurt the likely GOP nominee.

"The president believes very strongly that, if we get out and take our message to voters, that we can be successful," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.

What message is that? More unprovoked invasions of other countries. More tax breaks for the super rich at the expense of the rest of Americans? Continual depletion of the Treasury?

Oh, the mind boggles.

Realtors in the News

2008-04-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

With all the recent reports focusing on the mortgage crisis and the impending doom and gloom for the real estate industry we have decided to post a few briefs of realtor news.

If we get a lot of interest, will make our Realtor News Section a regular feature at News Olio. If you're interested, be sure to let us know.

Realtors: Median home price up ever so slightly
Bizjournals.com, NC - 16 hours ago
The median home price in metro Portland in March was $286500, an increase of $300 from a year ago. While local home prices are holding their own against a gloomy national backdrop, news from the Regional Multiple Listing Service noted that both pending and closed sales have tanked. Closed sales dropped nearly 40 percent and pending sales dropped nearly 37 percent, the Realtor group said Tuesday.

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Washington REALTORS endorse Dino Rossi for governor

The Washington Association of REALTORS, the state’s largest professional organization of 25,000 members, has endorsed Dino Rossi for governor. The endorsement follows interviews of both Rossi and Gov. Christine Gregoire by a 17-member Statewide Candidate Interview Team. Good news for him.

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Prudential Parks & Weisberg Realtors sold
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY - 21 hours ago
Prudential Parks & Weisberg Realtors has been sold to two children of president and managing partner Pat Parks, the firm announced in a news release.

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Local realtors discuss increase in housing market activity
Log Cabin Democrat, AR - Apr 15, 2008
By RACHEL PARKER DICKERSON Last week, news from the Arkansas Realtors Association showed Faulkner County's home sales in February were down only 1 percent from the same month in 2007.

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For up-to-the-minute reports, check out National Realty News.

Accompa Offers Free Trial

2008-03-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

All product development managers must keep track of the various requirements of the products on which their teams are working, and until recently this has been an ominous task of juggling spreadsheets, emails, memos and Post-It notes.

Accompa, a Silicon Valley company founded by people who managed requirements for products and projects at some of the most successful high-tech companies, has developed software to make that job much easier.

And the best thing of all is that Accompa is offering a Free Trial of their On-Demand Requirements Management Software.

Accompa's software is different from others in that it is web-based, thus it can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. (It works in both Internet Explorer and FireFox.) Their product is also customizable to meet the individual needs of each company. They offer unlimited custom fields, custom reports to extract just the data needed, and custom views to assist in the management of requirements for multiple products or projects.

If you are a product, project or program manager trying to keep track of requirements using paper and pencil, you should take advantage of the free trial offer from Accompa.

Bailout Could Signal Worse Times Ahead

2008-03-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

The Federal Reserve's emergency loan to Bears Stearns may signal that things are getting worse for the economy.

. . . with Friday's surprise announcement that the Fed would temporarily inject its own money into tottering brokerage giant Bear Stearns Cos., many Wall Street pros say they have little confidence that the move is a prelude to better times for beleaguered markets and the economy.

Indeed, some experts say Bear Stearns' woes warn of potentially larger calamities that will severely test the Fed, the economy and, ultimately, taxpayers as the government gets more deeply involved in fixing the markets' troubles.

"We will lose, in some form, several major financial institutions before this is over," said veteran economist Allen Sinai of Decision Economics Inc. in New York.

The heart of the problem is that the nation is living through an unwinding of a 25-year-long, consumer-led borrowing binge. Bear Stearns was a key player in financing that binge, most notably in high-risk mortgages.

Wall Street in recent years designed ever more creative ways to transform loans into bonds and sell them to investors who were hungry for interest income. That alchemy reached its zenith with sub-prime mortgages -- loans to people with dubious credit.

Canada's Economy Booming

2008-03-10T05:25:00.000-07:00

The Canadian economy added five times as many jobs as expected in February, surprising nearly everyone.

Statistics Canada said on Friday that the economy added 43,300 jobs last month, defying market forecasts of a more tepid gain of 8,000 amid signs of softer growth. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at a 33-year low of 5.8 percent.

The news sent the Canadian dollar flying to a one-week high against the U.S. dollar and left economists scratching their heads.

"Mind boggling," said Derek Burleton, senior economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank. "I'm obviously a little shocked right now," he told Reuters.

KBR Water Sickens Soldiers

2008-03-09T06:54:00.001-07:00

Water supplied by Halliburton subsidiary KBR, is responsible for illnesses reported by U.S. troops in Iraq.

A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq.

The Pentagon's inspector general found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc., and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations.

It was impossible to link the dirty water definitively to all the illnesses, according to the report. But it said KBR's water quality "was not maintained in accordance with field water sanitary standards" and the military-run sites "were not performing all required quality control tests."

"Therefore, water suppliers exposed U.S. forces to unmonitored and potentially unsafe water," the report said.

The problems did not extend to troops' drinking water, but rather to water used for washing, bathing, shaving and cleaning. Water used for hygiene and laundry must meet minimum safety standards under military regulations because of the potential for harmful exposure through the eyes, nose, mouth, cuts and wounds.

Does Cell Phone Use Disrupt Sleep?

2008-01-22T06:37:00.000-08:00

Cell phone use will disrupt sleep, says a study conducted by Sweden's Karolinska Institute and Wayne State University in Detroit.

The study of 35 men and 36 women between 18 and 45 years old was funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum, the trade group for the industry. At this writing, however, its site has not posted a news release or the study results.

But a spokesman for British mobile phone operators called the findings inconclusive, according to Telecoms.com He said on BBC radio this morning that using a phone before or in bed was no worse than having a cup of coffee before turning in. The report also said manufacturers called into question the size of the study sample.

Explanation of the Writers Strike

2007-11-08T11:42:00.001-08:00

If you wonder what the writers strike is all about, check this explanation.

Howard A. Rodman offers an excellent explanation of the strike by the Writers Guild of America in terms everyone can understand. Like everything else in this world it involves money and the greed of those who have it and want more at the expense of those whose efforts provide it.
As re-runs and syndication dry up, and a decent formula is replaced by an indecent one, our members stand to lose roughly 80% of their residual income--of what tides them over.

This is why we're asking for four cents more for every DVD. And that's why we're asking that the DVD rate--calculated when cassettes were in their infancy, when DVDs were a gleam in no-one's eyes, when the internet was still ARPANET and closed to commercial interests, when George Michael was in Wham!--not be the determinant of how we're compensated for downloads in this brave new world.

In simplest terms: the costs of manufacturing videocassettes were relatively substantial. The costs of DVDs (stamped rather than spooled) were much less. The costs of internet downloads are smaller still: no box, no disc, no shrinkwrap, no warehouse, no inventory, no shipping, no rackjobbers, no damaged merchandise, no returns. Yet the media giants want to compensate us at the same fraction-of-a-fraction rate.

As you know, the media conglomerates are not charitable. If you believe Fox wants to compensate writers fairly, you probably believe that The No Spin Zone is a no spin zone. And just as in other industries, the gap between what the CEO makes and what the lowest-paid worker makes has multiplied exponentially. The fact that we create the intellectual property, that none of their earnings would be possible absent what we being to the table, is not a matter of large concern to them. It is truly a new Gilded Age, no less so in the IP industry than in real estate or hedge funds.

Affiliate Elite Promises 'Unfair Competition'

2007-10-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Now, here's something new. It's called Affiliate Elite and it promises to show you how to find the best affiliates to promote your product through "unfair competition." No, it's not cheating, it just gives you a leg up on your competition by making your research easier.

Got a great piece of software you want to promote to the masses, or a new widget you are taking to the market? This appears to be the program for you.

Affiliate Elite is part of the family of "Elite" programs developed by Brad Callen, but it's not yet quite ready. However, you can get a sneak preview on how it works through a series of videos developed by Shawn Pringle.

These videos demonstrate several features of the software, including a list of all the profitable affiliate programs, a reverse Google search, analyzing Adwords competition and how to find "Super" affiliates, those sites that successfully promote products.

Oh, yeah. Those taking advantage of Pringle's review of the the software are eligible for an exclusive tips and tricks interview of Callen by Pringle not available elsewhere.

If you've been trying to "wing it" by setting up your own affiliate network, but are not having the success you deserve, try it out.

The software will be ready in early November, but you can preorder. Callen products are proven to work well, so check it out. Like everything else he promotes, it does come with a money-back guarantee.

Iraq Says Blackwater Guilty of Murder

2007-10-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

From Common Dreams:

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi prime minister’s office said Sunday that the government’s investigation had determined that Blackwater USA private security guards who shot Iraqi civilians three weeks ago in a Baghdad square sprayed gunfire in nearly every direction, committed “deliberate murder” and should be punished accordingly.

Iraqi investigators, supported by Iraqi witness accounts, have said unofficially that they could not find evidence of any attack on the Blackwater guards that might have provoked the shooting on Nisour Square, which the Iraqis say killed 17 and wounded 27. But the statement by Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the prime minister, is the first indication that the government considers its investigation completed and the shootings unprovoked.

“This is a deliberate crime against civilians,” Mr. Dabbagh said. “It should be tried in court and the victims should be compensated.”

Those conclusions contradict Blackwater’s original statement on the shooting, which said that a convoy operated by the company’s guards “acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack.” The Iraqi findings are also at odds with initial assertions by the State Department that the convoy had received small-arms fire.

Real Estate Sales See Benefit From Virtual Reality

2007-09-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

It's true.

The use of virtual reality tours of homes from real estate does increase sales. The home buyers searching online and taking the virtual tours are more likely to visit the homes and are more ready to buy than their more traditional counterparts.

This is especially true if the sites include real estate video virtual tours. In fact, web visitors stay on a site 78 percent longer when the site includes video, according to information from Real Networks.

In addition, nearly 90 percent of visitors will watch the videos on the site. It's probably closer to 100 percent if it's a real estate site offering video tours. What potential home buyer wouldn't want to see a video of the property before calling the agent?

Just look at the popularity of sites like YouTube to see how effective video has become on the Internet.

If you have a real estate site and are not offering video virtual reality tours you are missing out on the hottest thing on the Web.

Let's face it. If buyers want to look at pictures of house they can get the local paper or pick up a free magazine at the convenience store.

Don't be left out, Ms. Real Estate Agent. Invest a little and join the 21st Century.

Mexican Gas Pipelines Attacked

2007-09-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

Explosions hit natural gas pipelines owned by Pemex, the Mexican oil monopoly, causing fires and forcing evacuations. The explosions were deliberate, according to a statement released by Pemex.

Mexican state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, issued a statement saying it believed the explosions, which happened about 2 a.m. and forced the evacuation of 12,000 people, were deliberate.

In July, a small, left-wing guerrilla group claimed to have attacked a major Pemex gas pipeline extending from central Mexico City to Guadalajara, the industry-rich capital of the western state of Jalisco.

Those attacks forced at least a dozen major companies, including Honda Motor Co., Kellogg Co. and The Hershey Co., to suspend or scale back operations, and sent the Mexican government scrambling to increase security at "strategic installations" across Mexico.

At the time, the group pledged to continue its attacks against government installations.

Four of the explosions Monday produced fires, which Pemex said were under control.

It was not clear what security measures were in place at the pipelines that exploded Monday. Except for small businesses prevented from opening by the evacuations, there did not appear to be any major effect on area businesses.

Pemex said at least five pipelines were affected, but said it had no reports of deaths or injuries.

Bush Seeking to Delay Iraq Chaos, says Biden

2007-08-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

On the campaign trail Sen. Joe Biden charged that President Bush is seeking to delay any chaos from Iraq until the Bush leaves office.

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Democrat Joe Biden charged Tuesday that President Bush's policies in Iraq are designed to confuse voters and ensure that a chaotic end to the war is delayed until after he leaves office.

Biden pointed to the turmoil that accompanied the end of the Vietnam War, with Americans plucked from the roof of the U.S. Embassy as enemy troops poured into Saigon. He said Bush wants to avoid such a stain on the end of his presidency.

"They would not be the ones who would have to deal with the reality of picking people up off the roofs of the embassy," said Biden, a Delaware senator and presidential candidate.

Biden, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Congress will launch hearings on the Iraq war the first week it's back in session. He rejected Bush's assertion that an increase in the number of troops has improved the situation in Iraq.

Speaking at a news conference, Biden called for a diplomatic offensive that would reach out to major industrial nations as well as Iraq's neighbors.

Try Tooth Implants to Fight Aging

2007-08-24T09:34:00.000-07:00

No, tooth implants will not make you younger or stop the aging process, but according to information from one Calagary dentist, implants can make you look younger.

It seems that when you lose a tooth your jawbone can shrink which will make you look older. Implants will help to prevent this process.

Now these aren't your father's implants. Dentistry has come a long way since dear old dad's time.

From Dr. Wasik:

A dental implant is a small titanium cylinder that is inserted into the bone of the jaw to replace the root of a missing tooth. It behaves exactly like a real root - even bonding naturally with the jawbone. The new ceramic tooth is attached permanently on top of the implant. The new tooth looks, feels and works like your existing teeth.

If you haven't lost as tooth, but just want a better looking smile, you can try whitening existing teeth, or having veneers put on.

Veneers will give you a beautiful smile by with improvement of the color and shape of your teeth. A veneer is a thin shell of porcelain, pretty much like a fake fingernail, that is bonded to the front of the tooth.

Either way you go, dental aesthetics can improve your look and self confidence.

New Service Offers SEO Outsourcing

2007-08-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

The folks at techndu.com, the home of free webhosting, is now offering a variety of services for webmasters including SEO Outsoucing.

Their SEO services are not guaranteed to bring a web site up to No. 1 on Google, but they do guarantee positive movement which is more than you can ask from many others.

The prices for their services are quite reasonable with packages starting at $250.

If you need scripting, database-driven solutions, graphic ads, directory submissions, server maintenance and security, they can handle it.

How can they do all this? We'll let them tell you:

We know a LOT of people here with a wide range of skill sets. Ahmedabad, India is home to several world class universities and it is fast becoming an outsourcing center able to rival Bangalore. There are a LOT of really smart and talented people here and there is a strong IT community. Anything we can’t do in-house, we can find someone locally with very similar rates that we can call on. WE CAN DO THE JOB! We can do it right and we can do it on time for much less than you’d expect.

Give 'em a try.

Attorney General to fix image at Justice Department

2007-07-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said he will stay at the Justice Department because he knows how to fix the agency's image.

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he's staying at the Justice Department to try to repair its broken image, telling Congress in a statement released Monday he's troubled that politics may have played a part in hiring career federal prosecutors.
Senators already skeptical of Gonzales' ability to lead the department were preparing to hammer him about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys and conflicts between his earlier statements and the testimony of a former aide.
The attorney general's comments were included in 26 pages of prepared testimony released on the eve of his scheduled appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearing comes during an escalating executive-privilege standoff with the White House over the firings.
Across the Capitol, the House Judiciary Committee was readying votes on contempt citations for White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet Miers for disregarding subpoenas to testify and provide documents on the firings. The White House has said that any such materials are covered by executive privilege and that the president's current and former immediate advisers are immune from congressional subpoenas.

Another Republican Hypocrite

2007-07-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

David Vitter, a Republican senator from Louisiana, has been fingered for calling a Washington, DC, escort service. Just another GOP hypocrite.

From Capitol Hill Blue:

In a statement last Monday night, Vitter apologized for committing a "very serious sin in my past," acknowledging that his Washington phone number was among those called several years ago by an escort service that prosecutors say was a prostitution operation. Telephone records show that the service called Vitter's number five times from 1999 to 2001, while he was a U.S. House member.
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., told reporters Friday that, based on e-mail exchanges with Vitter, he expects his colleague to return to the Capitol by Tuesday. Vitter, 46, missed votes on Iraq policy matters on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
DeMint said of Vitter's admission: "It's a huge moral failure that reflects on the whole body. And for that he's very sorry."
Several GOP colleagues in Washington and Louisiana have rallied to Vitter's side, saying politicians deserve forgiveness when they err and repent. Some opponents have accused him of hypocrisy, noting that his career is built largely on an image as someone more ethical than the average politician.

DA Handing Out Child Porn?

2007-07-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

From The Associated Press:

ATLANTA - District Attorney David McDade has handed out some 35 copies of a video of teenagers having sex at a party.

McDade says Georgia's open-records law leaves him no choice but to release the footage because it was evidence in one of the state's most turbulent cases — that of Genarlow Wilson, a young man serving 10 years in prison for having oral sex with a girl when they were teenagers.

McDade's actions have opened him up to accusations that he is vindictively misusing his authority to keep Wilson behind bars — and worse, distributing child pornography.

"This has been a ferocious, vindictive prosecution of Genarlow Wilson," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat. "What is going on is a vendetta."

McDade, who is district attorney in Douglas County, in suburban Atlanta, did not immediately return calls Thursday.

He has said that while the law required him to release the video, he also believes the footage helps his case — by showing that Wilson is not the squeaky-clean football star and honor student portrayed by his supporters.

"Most of those who do not want people to see the tape know that it's damning to their position," McDade told The Associated Press.

He released the video after receiving an open records request from the AP, and said he has given it to about three dozen people, including reporters, lawmakers and several members of the public who requested it.

It shows Wilson, then 17, receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old girl and having intercourse with another 17-year-old girl. It was shot at a 2003 New Year's Eve Party at a hotel room by another partygoer.

House Raises Its Pay

2007-06-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to increase their salaries by $4,400 to nearly $170,000 per year. This at a time when they continue to accomplish nothing.

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON - Despite low approval ratings and hard feelings from last year's elections, Democrats and Republicans in the House are reaching out for an approximately $4,400 pay raise that would increase their salaries to almost $170,000.

The cost-of-living raise endorsed Wednesday evening gets lawmakers back on track for automatic pay raises after a fight between the parties last year and again in January killed the pay increase due this year. That was the first interruption of the annual congressional pay boost in seven years.

The blowup came after Democrats last year fulfilled a campaign promise to deny themselves more pay until Congress raised the minimum wage. Delays in the minimum wage bill cost every lawmaker about $3,100 this year.

On a 244-181 vote Wednesday, Democrats and Republicans alike killed a bid by Reps. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Lee Terry, R-Neb., to get a direct vote to block the COLA, which is automatically awarded unless lawmakers vote to block it. The Senate has not indicated when it will deal with a similar measure.

With Signing Statements Bush Doesn't Need Congress

2007-06-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

As this GAO report shows, President Bush believes he is the law.

GAO report faults President

President George W. Bush breaks the law by failing to follow provisions of legislation passed by Congress and illegally modifies those bills through the use of "signing statements" that add his own interpretations or limitations.

That's the conclusion of an investigation by the General Accounting Office, an independent investigatory arm of Congress.

Administration critics say the report is another indication of how the Bush Administration ignores the law of the land.

War?

2007-06-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

A Bush diplomat accuses Iran of arming the Taliban. Road to war?

PARIS - A senior U.S. diplomat accused
Iran on Tuesday of transferring weapons to Taliban insurgents in
Afghanistan — the most direct comments yet on the issue by a ranking American official.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, speaking to reporters in Paris, said Iran was funding insurrections across the Middle East — and "Iran is now even transferring arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan."

"It's a country that's trying to flex its muscles, but in a way that's injurious to the interests of just about everybody else in the world," he said. "I think it's a major miscalculation."

Bush Down in the Dumps

2007-06-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

King George of Bush is feeling a little down because Lewis "Scooter" Libby's family is suffering.

Excerpt from Ravel Babel:

Leave it to Mad King George to have his priorities screwed up. He says he feels "terrible" for the family of convicted felon Lewis "Scooter" Libby. However, there is no mention of Valerie Plame and the loss of her career, or all the people put in danger when her cover as a CIA agent was exposed. Nor was there mention of his feelings about the law being broken. But what else can we expect from a man who thinks he is the law.

Some Republicans Abandoning Bush Over Iraq

2007-05-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Maybe there is hope now that members of his own party are starting to see the light concerning Bush's Iraq policies.

As opposition to his failed war in Iraq mounted, President George W. Bush always knew he could count on the unwavering support of hard-core Republicans.

That was then. This is now.

Increasingly, Republicans express weariness with the war and his lack of progress and support for candidates who back Bush without question is eroding.

And more and more Republicans now admit, belatedly, that they may have been wrong to back the President without question.

Ink Cartridge Refill Kits

2007-05-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

An inkjet refill kit is a set of tools and a certain amount of ink used to refill ink cartridges. The specific tools and the amount or type of ink depends on which cartridge the kit is designed for. The purpose of an inkjet refill kit for consumers is that it offers a low-cost alternative to buying new cartridges.

Typically, a refill kit comes with a cartridge holder, bottles of ink and needles. The exact tools that come with the kit can vary by manufacturer or by which cartridge the kit is for. Some tools are found in all kits because they are necessary to refill, but others, like the cartridge holder or a needle to withdraw air from the cartridge, are optional.

The most common refill kits come with either: bottles of black ink for black refill kits; or one bottle each of cyan, magenta and yellow for color refill kits; or one bottle each of photo cyan, photo magenta and photo black for photo-color refill kits; or combination of all colors for combo refill kits.

The main benefit of using a refill kit is the savings. The average price for these kits is $10-$20 and they usually yield about three refills. Based on that, a person could be getting a new cartridge for about $5, versus the $25-30 they would pay at the store for a new one. There is also the environmental benefit, as you are reusing a cartridge that would have otherwise been thrown away after one use.

The downside to refill is the time associated with it and the unpredictability. Refilling a cartridge can take 10-15 minutes for those unfamiliar with the process, and some may prefer buying a new cartridge to the effort it takes to refill. Also, ink cartridges usually last for 4-5 refills, but there are those that can only be refilled one time before they are worn out.

The biggest perceived downside to refilling is the mess associated with it. Many consumers shy away from refilling either based on past experiences or stories they have heard. Many of the unsuccessful refill kits of the past were so-called "universal" kits, meaning they were designed for use with multiple cartridges. Because all manufacturers use different types of ink, and because different cartridge designs require different refilling processes, these universal kits had a high failure rate. Today these kits are harder to find, as refill kits made for specific cartridges have become more the norm, but perception that all refill kits are messy still remains.

Resource: Wikipedia

Olbermann: Democrats give in to Bush

2007-05-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Keith Olbermann, in one of his better special comments, highlights the fact that the Democrats in Congress have betrayed the American people by giving in to the worst president in history.

The entire government has failed us on Iraq

Democratic Cowards

2007-05-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

From The Progressive Daily Beacon:

These embarrassing, weak-kneed and spineless Democrats didn't even have the political courage to challenge a President with a 28 percent approval rating.

Cowards!

These sorry, sad, and hapless Democrats couldn't even muster the political guts to take on a President that 39 percent of the people want to see impeached.

Cowards!

Great Article on Google Linking Stategies

2007-05-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

If you are a webmaster trying to figure out a linking strategy in Google for you site, this is the article for you.

The author, Jake Lowrey, evidently spent a lot of time reading through one of Google's patent applications and has gleaned valuable information out of the legalese.

Lowrey, an accomplished writer and editor, explains the hidden nuggets in the application in clear, easy-to-understand language.

Excerpt:

The age distribution of a document's links is one area where the discerning webmaster will pay particular attention. According to the patent:

... the dates that the links to a document were created may be determined and input to a function that determines the age distribution. It may be assumed that the age distribution of a stale document will be very different from the age distribution of a fresh document.

The very next paragraph in the application expands on this and warns against "spam," but at the same time says any large spike in the number of back links may indicate a topical event, specifically mentioning the CDC and an illness outbreak. The application does not say how Google will determine if a sudden increase is natural or the result of spamming, but it does leave the implication that they know when a webmaster is purchasing or exchanging links.

Gonzo should Go Go

2007-05-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

From Capitol Hill Blue:

Gonzales is not a Broadway actor who reads with dismay his damning reviews after the premier of a Broadway show destined to close by the Sunday matinee.

He is a Bush actor following a Bush script playing the lead in a Bush show that doesn't depend on reviews and word of mouth to keeping playing, even if it's to an empty theater.

So of course Bush won't fire him. It would be like firing himself.

Bush has done more to dismantle the Constitution than any other American president. Congressional Republicans who are marching lockstep under his leadership aren't about to call for his impeachment.

But they ought to at least do what they can easily do. They should join Democrats in impeaching the attorney who has done more to corrupt the Constitution than any other attorney general.

RFK: Jail for Rove, Rove's Brain

2007-05-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

From Greg Palast:

NEW YORK — Voting rights attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for prison time for the new US Attorney for Arkansas, Timothy Griffin and investigation of Griffin’s former boss, Karl Rove, chief political advisor to President Bush.

“Timothy Griffin,” said Kennedy,”who is the new US attorney in Arkansas, was actually the mastermind behind the voter fraud efforts by the Bush Administration to disenfranchise over a million voters through ‘caging’ techniques - which are illegal.”

Frist not charged in scandals

2007-05-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Capitol Hill Blue Reports:

Former Senate Republican leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, is keeping low key about his vindication in two federal probes over the timing of his 2005 sales of all his family's stock in HCA Inc.

When the 19-month-long probes ended with no charges, Frist simply issued a brief written statement to the news media Friday saying he was "pleased" that the findings echoed what "I've said throughout this matter ... (that) I acted properly."

Frist disclosed that he had been notified by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York that they concluded their inquiries and are taking no action. Neither office disputed his report.

The offices apparently were looking into published reports of whether Frist had insider information before directing his qualified blind trust in June 2005 to sell any of his family's remaining shares of stock in HCA, a company founded in the 1960s by his father and brother.

McCain wants to do to Stewart what he want to do to Iran

2007-04-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain not only wants to bomb Iran, but now he's after Jon Stewart.

Obama Continues Call for War's End

2007-04-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Barak Obama is not backing down from his call to end the Iraq war. He has been against it from the start.

From Capitol Hill Blue:

On Monday, Obama reiterated his call for a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and said bringing a responsible end to the war was one of the ways the country could begin to lead again if he is elected president.

Another would be to increase the overall size of the military by adding 65,000 soldiers to the Army and 27,000 Marines, forces stretched thin fighting wars abroad and protecting the homeland.

An affiliate program that pays

2007-04-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

The affiliate program at Team Link Network is everything they say it is.

They pay 25% commissions and on a weekly basis. All we had to do is put up one of their banners and sit back and collect the money.

If you don't take advantage of this, you are making a mistake. It's a can't lose deal.

TLN delivers.

Just saying no to strings

2007-04-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

Some states are saying no way to federal funding of sex ed programs:

In Ohio, Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland said that regardless of the state's sluggish economic picture, he didn't see the point in taking part in the controversial State Abstinence Education Program anymore.

Five other states — Wisconsin, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Montana and New Jersey — have dropped out of that grant program or plan to do so by the end of this year. California has refused all along to participate in the program, which is managed by a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Unhappy Congressman

2007-03-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Rep. Dennis Kucinich is not at all happy with the House military funding bill. Who can blame him?

ravelbabel.com:

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is not at all happy with the Military Funding Bill passed by the House last week, calling it "a disaster for America."

Kucinich made the comments in an exclusive telephone interview with the editors at truthdig.com, and he didn't hide his displeasure with the Democratic party.

"The Democrats should have been voting—or come up with a plan to get out of Iraq," Kucinich said. "Not one that’s going to keep us there a year or two. It’s the same kind of thinking that led us into Iraq—that we didn’t have any alternatives."

He said the Democrats should be listening to the American people and taking steps to immediately end the war and bring the troops home.

" ... that means to set in motion a plan to end the occupation, close the bases, bring the troops home using money that’s already in the pipeline to do so. At the same time there’s a parallel process of bringing in international security and peacekeeping forces to stabilize Iraq. And we can get that help once we end the occupation."

Support for Gonzo slipping

2007-03-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is losing more supporters.

Three key Republican senators sharply questioned his truthfulness over the firings last fall of eight federal prosecutors. Two more Democrats on Sunday joined the list of lawmakers calling for Gonzales' ouster.

Several Republicans also urged President Bush to allow sworn testimony from his top aides about their role in dismissing the U.S. attorneys — a standoff threatening to result in Capitol Hill subpoenas of White House officials.

Gonzales faces the toughest test of his two-year tenure at the Justice Department with the release of documents suggesting he was more involved with the firings than he indicated earlier.

Cancer Strikes Elizabeth Edwards Again

2007-03-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

The cancer is back. They are in our thoughts.

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (CNN) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday his wife's cancer has returned but his bid for the White House will continue.

"The campaign goes on," the former senator from North Carolina said at a news conference, contradicting earlier media reports to the contrary.

John Edwards said tests this week had shown his wife, Elizabeth, had cancer in a rib on her right side. He said the cancer is treatable but not curable.

"We are very optimistic about this," he said, noting that the tumor is small in size and has a "relatively minimal presence."

Elizabeth Edwards said she was "incredibly optimistic" and said her expectations about the future were unchanged.

"I expect to do next week all the things I did last week. And the week after that, and next year at the same time," she said.

And she wanted her husband to continue his run for the presidency.

Terror on the School Bus

2007-03-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

From the Houston Chronicle:

WASHINGTON — Suspected members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States, counterterror officials said Friday, in a cautionary bulletin to police. An FBI spokesman said parents and children have nothing to fear, however.

Asked about the alert notice, the FBI's Rich Kolko said, "There are no threats, no plots and no history leading us to believe there is any reason for concern," although law enforcement agencies around the country were asked to watch out for kids' safety.

Well, which is it? Either we have something to fear or not.

Looks like the Bush administration is up to its old trick of scaring the masses, then telling them to go shopping.

How much more are we going to take from these fools?

Watch out for Dick

2007-03-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

From Robert Kutttner:

One bumper sticker proposes: Impeach Cheney First.

Vice President Dick Cheney has now suffered back-to-back humiliations, with the conviction of his former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, and the wresting of key foreign policy decisions by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But if anything, he is even more dangerous wounded.

The Bush administration keeps handing the opposition party loaded guns, the latest being the clumsy, politically motivated firings of eight U.S. attorneys, a rare oasis of professionalism. These prosecutors are appointed by the president, but, unlike ordinary presidential appointees, they are not normally removed except for cause. In every case, the purpose seems to have been either to punish a prosecutor who did not capitulate to political pressure or to open up a slot for up-and-coming politicians. All this will now be laid bare in congressional investigations.

In another new case of lawlessness, the Justice Department's own inspector general issued a withering report on how the FBI has issued thousands of "administrative" subpoenas, fishing for information without the knowledge of the target. These are permitted under the Patriot Act, subject to narrow guidelines and special "exigencies," but the FBI has not been following its own internal rules.

With Democrats now in the congressional majority, the administration has lately been running on two tracks. On one track, grown-ups seem to have regained a measure of control. Rice was able to negotiate a long-delayed deal with the North Koreans to limit that nation's nuclear ambitions in exchange for the beginning of normalized relations. The deal has been available for six years. Rice was able to win its approval only by keeping Cheney out of the loop and requesting National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley to take the agreement directly to President Bush.

Rest of Article

SoonerThought Podcast Interviews RabelBabel

2007-03-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

Alex who runs the liberal SoonerThought Podcast interviewed a guy named Jake who claims he invented the internet. No, wait, that was Al Gore.

Jake is the force behind RavelBabel, what he call a hybrid blog, or hyblog. Readers can upload their own video comments to either agree with or rebut what Jake has to say.

Check out Alex's podcast first, then go over to RavelBabel.

Report back here when you are finished.

2007-03-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

Evan Derkacz, writes in an article posted at AlterNet about a connection between Walter Reed, Halliburton and FEMA. Check it out.

Exerpt:

Not only is the scandalous treatment of American Troops at Walter Reed military hospital connected to Halliburton and Katrina-era FEMA (see video right) but it's also, at its core, a deeply, deeply conservative scandal.

"Privatization," or the transfer of any and all services into the hands of market morality, is a fundamental part of the conservative project.

For its past performance in the public sector, see Energy Crisis, California.

This time, under some shady circumstances, a private firm IAP was given the contract to take over a number of services at Walter Reed, despite the fact that the employees' bid was lower.

Can you say scapegoat?

2007-03-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

The commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command as well as Walter Reed hospital, was relieved of command by Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey.

The Army said they had “lost trust and confidence” in Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman’s leadership abilities “to address needed solutions for soldier outpatient care” at Walter Reed.

The move sure takes a lot of heat off the Pentagon who have ultimate control. Remember that Walter Reed was set to be closed down until the invasion of Iraq.

How convenient.

UN reports bad US intel

2007-02-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

Seems the Bush Administration still can't get it right.

From The Los Angeles Times:

VIENNA — Although international concern is growing about Iran's nuclear program and its regional ambitions, diplomats here say most U.S. intelligence shared with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has proved inaccurate and none has led to significant discoveries inside Iran.

The officials said the CIA and other Western spy services had provided sensitive information to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency at least since 2002, when Iran's long-secret nuclear program was exposed. But none of the tips about supposed secret weapons sites provided clear evidence that the Islamic Republic was developing illicit weapons.

"Since 2002, pretty much all the intelligence that's come to us has proved to be wrong," a senior diplomat at the IAEA said. Another official here described the agency's intelligence stream as "very cold now" because "so little panned out."

Feds Cook the Anti-Terror Books

2007-02-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

Federal prosecutors are caught padding anti-terror statistics. Are we surprised?

From Capitol Hill Blue:

Federal prosecutors counted immigration violations, marriage fraud and drug trafficking among anti-terror cases in the four years after 9/11 even though no evidence linked them to terror activity, a Justice Department audit said Tuesday.

Overall, nearly all of the terrorism-related statistics on investigations, referrals and cases examined by department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine were either diminished or inflated. Only two of 26 sets of department data reported between 2001 and 2005 were accurate, the audit found.

State Farm Abandons Mississippi

2007-02-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

Consumer Affairs is reporting that State Farm will no longer write policies in Mississippi after losing a lawsuit.

Paraphrasing Richard Nixon, Mississippi won't have State Farm Insurance to kick around anymore.

Stinging from defeat in a Hurricane Katrina damage claim in Biloxi, the company says it will no longer insure homeowners and businesses in the state, where it is the largest single insurer with a 30 percent market share. Allstate pulled out of Mississippi's six coastal counties last year.

"It is no longer prudent for us to take on additional risk in a legal and business environment that is becoming more unpredictable," said Senior Vice President Bob Trippel, in a statement.

Media reporting on war rhetoric

2007-02-12T06:10:00.000-08:00

From The Independent:

The United States is moving closer to war with Iran by accusing the "highest levels" of the Iranian government of supplying sophisticated roadside bombs that have killed 170 US troops and wounded 620.

The allegations against Iran are similar in tone and credibility to those made four years ago by the US government about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction in order to justify the invasion of 2003.

From The New York Times:

After weeks of internal debate, senior United States military officials on Sunday literally put on the table their first public evidence of the contentious assertion that Iran supplies Shiite extremist groups in Iraq with some of the most lethal weapons in the war. They said those weapons had been used to kill more than 170 Americans in the past three years.

Never before displayed in public, the weapons included squat canisters designed to explode and spit out molten balls of copper that cut through armor. The canisters, called explosively formed penetrators or E.F.P.s, are perhaps the most feared weapon faced by American and Iraqi troops here.

In a news briefing held under strict security, the officials spread out on two small tables an E.F.P. and an array of mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades with visible serial numbers that the officials said link the weapons directly to Iranian arms factories. The officials also asserted, without providing direct evidence, that Iranian leaders had authorized smuggling those weapons into Iraq for use against the Americans. The officials said such an assertion was an inference based on general intelligence assessments.

Looks like the Bush Administration is using the same old tactics that got the U.S. into Iraq.

Will they be stopped this time?

Banning Smoking From Condos

2007-02-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

The Christian Science Monitor has an article on the new battleground over smoking: communal environments.

Exerpt:

Not only are some condos and apartment houses banning smoking inside private units, but there is talk in Belmont, Calif., of a city law next month that would mandate that all complexes keep a portion of their units smoke-free.

The war against smoking first ramped up in the 1980s when some of America's public buildings became smoke-free. Then, in the 1990s, a slew of restaurants and bars in US cities banned smoking.

Now, seniors are leading the way in the new battle in part because many live in communal environments and they feel they are susceptible to the health and safety hazards of smoking.

Found: Miss Brazil

2007-02-07T04:10:00.000-08:00

We didn't even know she was missing.

From CNN:

The former Miss Brazil, who disappeared five months ago, has contacted Brazilian police from London to say she is well and does not want to be bothered, authorities said earlier this week.

Taiza Thomsen, 24, had not talked to her family since September, prompting her parents to request help from authorities last month. In her last conversation with her family, she said she was in London.

The Brazilian federal police said on Monday that Thomsen called investigators on Saturday to say she was in England and nothing had happened to her.

"Thomsen informed that she was doing well in London and that she didn't want to be found, not even by her parents," the police said in a statement.

The investigators said it did not appear she was being pressured or coerced by anybody, and that they would close the case.

Escaped Con's Memory Faulty

2007-02-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

A convict in Oklahoma who escaped prison and took a warden's wife with him told investigators he can't remember if he kidnapped the woman or if she went willingly. They were on the lam for 10 years.

This came out at his sentencing on the escape charge.

The New York Times reports:

MANGUM, Okla., Feb. 1 — A confessed murderer who slipped out of prison with the deputy warden’s wife and hid for more than 10 years before being recaptured was sentenced Thursday to the maximum seven years for escaping.

Questioned by prosecutors about details of the relationship, the escapee, Randolph F. Dial, said he could not remember.

The warden’s wife, Bobbi Parker, 44, disappeared from the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite with Mr. Dial in August 1994. They were discovered living together in a trailer on a chicken farm in East Texas in April 2005.

“I took her with me,” Mr. Dial testified under cross-examination after offering a rambling account from the witness stand of what he portrayed as plots by prison authorities to kill him.

“Did she help you or assist you?” asked an assistant district attorney, Eric Yarborough.

“I don’t know,” Mr. Dial responded, after acknowledging that the couple had driven off together in Ms. Parker’s van. To follow-up questions, he also replied, “I don’t remember.”

Miami to celebrate Castro's death

2007-01-30T07:38:00.000-08:00

From the WTF files:

MSNBC reports that the city of Miami has appointed a commission to plan a party in the event of the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Exerpt:

MIAMI - With Fidel Castro seriously ill, the city of Miami is making plans to throw a party at a local football stadium when the Cuban president dies, complete with themed T-shirts.

The city commission earlier this month appointed a committee — whose official job is to "Discuss an event at the Orange Bowl in case expected events occur in Cuba" — to plan the party. Such a gathering has long been part of the city's Castro death plan, but the specifics have become more urgent since Castro became ill last summer and turned over power to his brother, Raul.

Regardless of how one feels about the reign of Castro, is it appropriate to celebrate his death? We think not.

Major media adopting Bush spin on health care plan

2007-01-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

Katie Couric is the latest major news figure to parrot the Bush administration spin on its new health care plan without a critical review of what it really means.

Exerpt from Media Matters:

On the January 25 edition of the CBS Evening News, anchor Katie Couric echoed the Bush administration claim that its proposed "tax break" would "help" the uninsured "buy" health insurance, without noting that the plan would reportedly do little to help many of those who currently lack health insurance. In fact, even the Bush administration has reportedly stated that the tax deduction would help only an estimated 3 million to 5 million of those currently uninsured to be able to purchase health insurance, likely leaving more than 40 million people without insurance.

Whatever happened to "real" journalism?

Ford Motor Co. Losses Mounting

2007-01-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

From the "Buy American, No One Else Will" files:

DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. lost $5.8 billion in the fourth quarter amid slumping sales and huge restructuring costs, pushing the automaker's deficit for the year to $12.7 billion, the largest in its 103-year history.

The annual loss reported Thursday surpassed its previous record for a year of $7.39 billion set in 1992. The 2006 loss amounted to of $6.79 per share versus a profit of $1.44 billion, or 77 cents a share, in 2005.

Seems to us that if they made a product that really lasted they wouldn't find themselves in this shape.

Did Jane Smiley go too far?

2007-01-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

By calling George W. Bush the worst president possible, did Jane Smiley go too far?

Exerpt from her post:

Little George isn't the same guy he was in 2000, the guy described by Gail Sheehy in her Vanity Fair profile--hyper-competitive and dyslexic, prone to cheat at games, always swinging between screwing up and making up, hating criticism and disagreement, careless of others but often charming. He is no longer the guy who the Republicans thought they could control (unlike, say, McCain). The small pathologies of Bush the candidate have, thanks to the purposes of the neocons and the religious right, been enhanced and upgraded. We have a bona fide madman now, who thinks of himself in a grandiose way as single-handedly turning the tide of history.

Is this too much?

Bush Ignoring Generals

2007-01-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

President Bush has said over and over again that he leaves military decisions up to his generals. That may be true up to a point because if they tell him the truth he gets rid of them and promotes those who agree with his insanities.

Read this from The Washington Post.

Exerpt:

Pentagon insiders say members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have long opposed the increase in troops and are only grudgingly going along with the plan because they have been promised that the military escalation will be matched by renewed political and economic efforts in Iraq. Gen. John P. Abizaid, the outgoing head of Central Command, said less than two months ago that adding U.S. troops was not the answer for Iraq.

Payback or Oversight?

2007-01-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

Media Matters for America reports:

On the January 4 editions of CNN's The Situation Room and Anderson Cooper 360, CNN correspondent Brian Todd warned that "[n]ewly empowered Democrats ... are poised to launch an onslaught of subpoenas that might drive an already embattled White House to distraction." Todd suggested that the investigations may be seen negatively by voters as "payback," a prediction similar to one made by National Public Radio political editor Ken Rudin. However, polling indicates that a majority of the public favors oversight of certain aspects of the Bush administration, which would be Congress' job.

It seems to us that by perpetuating the "payback" angle, the media are doing a grave disservice to America.

For five years, the Bush Administration has had its way with America and the Republican, rubber stamp Congress.

A majority of the American people showed they want things done differently with the 2006 elections. They will not think of subpoenas as "payback."

The ones who cry "foul" over Congress finally doing its job should probably be investigated themselves.

American death toll in Iraq continues climbing

2007-01-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

From Capitol Hill Blue:

The U.S. military said two American soldiers, assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, were killed Sunday in an explosion in Iraq's Diyala province. Their deaths, announced Monday, raised to at least 3,002 the number of Americans killed since the war began in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

At least 113 U.S. service members have been reported killed in December, the bloodiest month of 2006. The latest announcement brought the toll of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 822 in 2006, according to the AP count.

Despite the U.S. deaths, there was a relative lull in the bombings and assassinations that have threatened to rip Iraq apart along sectarian seams. Police reported finding 12 bodies dumped in Baghdad Sunday as well as 12 other violent deaths nationwide, both relatively low numbers by recent standards.

Ford gave rise to Dubya

2006-12-30T04:54:00.000-08:00

In addition to the pardon of Richard Nixon, thereby depriving the American citizenry of the full story of Watergate, Gerald Ford is responsible for the current crisis in Washington: George W. Bush.

Read this from Robert Parry at consortiumnews.com: Gerald Ford's Mixed Legacy

Only the people can stop this war

2006-12-28T06:18:00.000-08:00

From AlterNet:

Ultimately, it is up to the American people to step up to the plate and stop this war. It's fine to tell the pollsters we want our troops out of Iraq. But that's not doing the trick. The Vietnam War ended after thousands of people marched in the streets. We may not have the draft to get the college kids off their duffs. But we do have our consciences. And that should be enough.

What the GOP leaves in its wake

2006-12-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

After a reign of 12 years, the Republican Party leaves a trail of missed opportunities.

Capitol Hill Blue reports:

In November, the voters ended the Republicans control of Congress and maybe just in time. In 12 years of GOP control of the House and 10 of the Senate, the 109th that just adjourned was the worst yet.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., called it "the most useless Congress in modern times." That might be dismissed as partisan excess except that many Republicans share his assessment.

This Congress finally ended in the wee hours of Saturday with the leadership congratulating itself on passing a $45 billion tax and trade bill, filled with unrelated issues, and several major health care initiatives.

The Rest>>>

Blacks more likely Taser victims in Houston

2006-12-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

The LA Times reports that two-thirds of people hit by stun guns used by Houston police are black.

This fact has outraged many in Houston's black community.

And the resulting outcry from black community activists and a City Council member has led Mayor Bill White to call for an independent review of Taser use by the Houston Police Department.

"The mayor took a positive first step, but what will he do when the information comes back and clearly shows that race is a direct factor in who gets Tasered?" said Quanell X, a community activist and leader of the New Black Panther Nation. "We already know that African Americans are Tasered more often than whites."

Quanell X saw blatant racism in the split-second decision by an officer to use a Taser on Weary during his Nov. 14 traffic stop: "This was a small white woman who was intimidated by a big black man and panicked," he said.

At a town hall meeting set for today, Quanell X said, he plans to highlight cases of people shocked by stun guns — including one in which a black man who was having an epileptic seizure was Tasered for failing to comply with an officer's orders.

More>>>

Science Teachers Group Refuses DVDs

2006-11-28T03:13:00.000-08:00

From Common Dreams:

The National Teachers Association (NSTA) has spurned 50,000 free DVDs of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and is squandering a golden opportunity to educate tens of millions of youth in the United States! Why? This 55,000- member organization of teachers and scientists could use Al Gore's film to orchestrate the single most influential educational goal in human history: the awareness and subsequent solving of climate change. There is no denying the escalating list of climate change evidence: from the potential extinction of Polar bears and retreating glacial environments to the increase of global temperatures in unison with increased carbon dioxide levels.

Laurie David, a producer on the film An Inconvenient Truth, helped to broker a "sweet deal" for the NSTA. Sitting in an LA warehouse are 50,000 free DVDs just waiting to be given out to every member of the NSTA. No strings, no catches, just a clear and simple agenda: provide teachers with a spectacular and scientifically acclaimed production to engage millions of students nationwide. And the NSTA states, "No?"

Is the NSTA placing economic expediency over "true science education", do they fear the alienation of funders such as Exxon and the fossil powerhouse the American Petroleum Institute? Laurie David, who is also the founder of StopGlobalWarming.org received an email refusal of the free teaching materials from the NSTA that is ominous and foreboding.

The NSTA wrote that acceptance of the DVDs would place an "unnecessary risk upon the (NSTA) capital campaign, especially certain targeted supporters." Also in the email, NSTA claimed that they didn't want to offer "political" endorsement of the film and they saw "little, if any benefit to NSTA or its members" in accepting the free DVDs. No benefit to teachers? Science teachers across the country are under-funded, overworked and often grab on to free lessons and materials as a matter of "educational survival 101." What I find despicable is that the NSTA if fully aware of that need and sadly, often aids and abets the "Fossil fuel cartels." They often deny or mislead on climate change and provide teachers with everything from "coal coloring books" to misleading videos such as "Fuel-less-You Can't Be Cool Without Fuel." Simply stated, the NSTA's refusal to distribute Al Gore's film is an unmitigated disaster that will tarnish their reputation as "brokers" of credible science materials, while squandering a prolific moment in educational history: the chance to allow students to become energy pioneers.

More>>>

General criticizes Bush Iraq policy

2006-11-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

The top military man in the Middle East on Thursday criticized the Bush administration policy of starting the war in Iraq with too few troops.

From the New York Times:

General Abizaid also publicly said for the first time that the American position in Iraq had been undermined by the Bush administration’s decision not to deploy a larger force to stabilize the country in 2003. That decision was made after Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, the Army chief of staff at the time, told Congress that several hundred thousand troops would be needed. His testimony was derided by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, and the general was ostracized at the Pentagon before his retirement a few months later.

“General Shinseki was right that a greater international force contribution, U.S. force contribution and Iraqi force contribution should have been available immediately after major combat operations,” General Abizaid said. “I think you can look back and say that more American troops would have been advisable in the early stages of May, June, July.”

The testimony, given to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, was the first by the American commander since August, and it followed several months of setbacks in Iraq that helped to fuel the Democratic victories in last week’s election. Skepticism among lawmakers from both parties was palpable, and the concerns of the lawmakers were reinforced by intelligence officials who testified later in the day and who painted a more pessimistic portrait of the violence in Iraq than General Abizaid did.

RIP: Ed Bradley

2006-11-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

Veteran CBS newsman Ed Bradley died of leukemia yesterday.

He'll be sorely missed.

Dems Take Control; Rummy Cuts and Runs

2006-11-08T14:33:00.000-08:00

Funny that just last week Dear Leader was praising his minister of war and now, following a mandate from the people, Rummy is cutting and running.

Allies: Iraq invasion unjustified

2006-11-06T08:14:00.000-08:00

A recent poll shows that U.S. allies think the invasion of Iraq was unjustified.

Exerpt:

Voters in three of the four countries surveyed also overwhelmingly reject the decision to invade Iraq, with only Israeli voters in favour, 59% to 34% against. Opinion against the war has hardened strongly since a similar survey before the US presidential election in 2004.

In Britain 71% of voters now say the invasion was unjustified, a view shared by 89% of Mexicans and 73% of Canadians. Canada is a Nato member whose troops are in action in Afghanistan. Neither do voters think America has helped advance democracy in developing countries, one of the justifications for deposing Saddam Hussein. Only 11% of Britons and 28% of Israelis think that has happened.

As a result, Mr Bush is ranked with some of his bitterest enemies as a cause of global anxiety. He is outranked by Osama bin Laden in all four countries, but runs the al-Qaida leader close in the eyes of UK voters: 87% think the al-Qaida leader is a great or moderate danger to peace, compared with 75% who think this of Mr Bush.

The Truth About Diebold

2006-11-03T07:01:00.000-08:00

From Rebecca Abrahams:

n September, 2003 Linda Lamone, the Administrator of Maryland's State Board of Elections and President of the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) hands over a critical study on the security of the Diebold Election Systems machines that count all of Maryland's votes.

Between the time that the State of Maryland commissioned the highly respected Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to evaluate the effectiveness and security of their electronic voting machines and the time that the study is made public, critical pieces of information have been edited, omitted and, in some cases words added, to fundamentally alter the original meaning of the report's conclusions.

Enter the world of electronic voting machines, the "cure" to hanging and dimpled chad.

It is a seamy world of secrecy, proprietary software, partisan executives "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President", politicians asking programmers to design software to flip vote totals, and lots and lots of money.

And it is a world of completely inconsistent realities. Diebold and the other manufacturers insist that their machines are safe and secure yet every single cyber security expert and computer scientist has, for years, been screaming into an empty wilderness of media attention, that . . .

The machines can be hacked, by the implanting of malicious code, at the factory.

The machines can be hacked during transport from the factory.

The machines can be hacked while on "Sleepovers" before the election.

The machines can be hacked (in 1 minute with a .50cent mini bar key) during the election, and

These machines can be hacked, at the tabulator, after the election.

More>>>

Voice of Experience, Reason

2006-11-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

Gen. Wesley Clark on Iraq:

But with just a few days to go, it's time to return to the real issue of the campaign: Iraq. It was a war of choice, a war that has defined the Bush Presidency, and captured the almost unanimous support of the Republican-led Congress. For three long years after US troops occupied Baghdad, and as the country spiraled deeper into chaos and violence, loyalty to the President and his party demanded many members of Congress to follow his motto: "Stay the course". There have hardly been any Congressional hearings on the course of the war, but those that have been held have been firmly controlled. National security seemed to require that the Congress forfeit its independent oversight role. Critics were often demonized, public accountability minimized and policy alternatives were rejected.

But by early September and through October, a combination of leaked intelligence and briefing documents and mounting American casualties has kept Iraq front and center in the minds of voters. Neither a record fall in gasoline prices at the pump nor a record rise in the DOW Industrials index seemed significant enough to distract the eye of the electorate. Even the spectacle of a Republican Congressman soliciting underage Congressional pages vanished quickly from the airwaves., to be replaced by reports of daily American casualties in Iraq, and a leaked preview of the dismal policy alternatives to be submitted by James Baker's bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

Polls show a distinct and steady decline in public support for the war effort, and, more ominously, increasingly the American public has begun to doubt that the invasion of Iraq is in any way connected to winning the war on terror. Sitting Congressmen began to distance themselves from the President, the White House signalled that its "Stay the Course" motto was being refined, and more and more Republicans began to call for Rumsfeld's resignation. The vast majority of Americans wanted to see America succeed in its mission in Iraq, and now that seems increasingly unlikely. Democrats offered a more realistic, accurate appraisal of the situation, but there are no panaceas at this point. To many, every alternative seemed simplistic, wrong-headed, or even more prone to failure.

Complete Post By The General

If you can't win, cheat

2006-10-31T09:34:00.000-08:00

From Capitol Hill Blue:

Before Election Day has even arrived, Republicans in one New York state Senate district have started challenging the right of some registered voters to cast ballots.

The dispute is shaping up to be a replay of the last race between Republican Nicholas Spano and Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Two years ago, Spano won re-election over Stewart-Cousins by just 18 votes — but not before a recount that took three months.

During the recount, GOP lawyers successfully challenged hundreds of paper ballots cast by likely Stewart-Cousins voters. This year, they have filed 5,929 challenges based on change-of-address cards received by the Postal Service.

GOP workers compared the change-of-address cards with the voting rolls and found thousands of discrepancies, said Republican lawyer John Ciampoli, who led the recount fight for Spano two years ago.

"My No. 1 goal here is to keep this election as absolutely free of fraud as I can," he said.

The Stewart-Cousins campaign said more than 5,000 of the challenges filed during this election were to Democrats — mostly blacks, Hispanics and other minorities. Ciampoli said that the challenged voters were from every political party but that he did not know how many were Democrats.

Stewart-Cousins, who is black, set up a telephone hot line for any challenged voter to call. Spano is white.

"They cannot win in a fair fight, so they are trying to scare registered voters into staying away from the polls," Stewart-Cousins said.

Are we winning in Iraq?

2006-10-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

President Bush said this yesterday about Iraq:

''We're winning and we will win, unless we leave before the job is done.''

However, a great number of American disagree.

Check out this unscientific survey at AOL: The Daily Pulse

Doug Thompson Nails it Again

2006-10-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

Good ole Doug Thompson at Capitol Hill Blue.

He sure knows how to put in writing what millions of Americans are thinking:

Bush claims the war will be just a "comma" on history. Sadly, this "comma" is a deadly and expensive one - costing more American lives than the 911 terrorist attacks along with the lives of many more thousands of Iraqi civilians and billions upon billions of taxpayer funds.

This "comma" stands as testament to Bush's callous disregard for human life, the rule of law, truth, dignity or morality. It is a war waged on lies, fought through deception and continued by ignoring reality.

It is a war that threatens to outweigh Vietnam in shame and damage to the American psyche, one that may forever cast this country as an international bully with no regard for human rights.

We have become a nation that routinely lies to its allies, disregards the laws that we demand that others obey and promotes torture and suffering as matters of policy.

Who's safe?

2006-10-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

From Robert Parry at Consortium News:

“Any person is punishable as a principal under this chapter who commits an offense punishable by this chapter, or aids, abets, counsels, commands, or procures its commission,” according to the law, passed by the Republican-controlled Congress in September and signed by Bush on Oct. 17.

Another provision of the law states that “any person subject to this chapter who, in breach of an allegiance or duty to the United States, knowingly and intentionally aids an enemy of the United States, or one of the co-belligerents of the enemy [presumably U.S. military allies, such as Great Britain and Israel], shall be punished as a military commission … may direct.” [Emphases added]

Bush's 'Get-Out-of-Jail-Free' Card

2006-10-18T03:12:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK - October 17 - The following is a statement by The Hon. Elizabeth Holtzman about President Bush signing the military tribunals bill into law today. The new law not only guts detainee protections of the War Crimes Act and Geneva Conventions, but perhaps most significantly and least well known, grants a stealth pardon for President Bush and high cabinet officials by quietly conferring on them immunity from prosecution for detainee abuse crimes like the ones committed at Abu Ghraib, retroactive to 9/11/01.

Holtzman is a former four-term Congresswoman from New York who served on the House Judiciary Committee during Nixon's impeachment. She co-authored the 1973 special prosecutor statute, and has co-written a new book (with Cynthia L. Cooper) analyzing illegal, unconstitutional and/or impeachable actions of the current administration, "The Impeachment of George W. Bush" ( http://www.impeachbushbook.com ). Her recent op-ed analyzing under the new military tribunals law grant of immunity to President Bush is posted here.

-----

Statement by Elizabeth Holtzman on Granting Immunity to President Bush Under the Military Tribunals Law

"Today will go down in the annals of infamy. By signing the military tribunals bill into law, President Bush has taken this country down a long dark road of shame.

"The bill countenances abuse of detainees in defiance of the Geneva Conventions and the country's past moral values and it suspends habeas corpus in defiance of the constitution. As bad as these features is the bill's grant of a pardon to President Bush and his top Cabinet officials for any crimes they may have committed under the War Crimes Act of 1996.

"When a president violates the country's criminal laws and then gets a secret grant of immunity for those crimes, he makes a mockery of the rule of law. Then all lawlessness is permissible.

"This provision in the bill creates a culture of impunity for torture and abuse of detainees. It was slipped into the bill in secret, without hearings or debate. Most members of Congress, most reporters and most Americans have no idea that this has happened.

"By doing this the President has stuck a horrific blow at our basic democratic values and our constitutional system.

"Instead of pardoning himself with the complicity of Congress, the President should be making public what acts of prisoner abuse he authorized the CIA to undertake or what acts of theirs he ratified."

Bush to sign torture bill

2006-10-17T03:46:00.000-07:00

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON - President Bush is signing a law that sets tough standards for interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects, a major White House victory that demonstrates Bush still has the political power to set the rules of war even as
Iraq clouds his presidency.

Too Much Politics, Too Little Substance

2006-10-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

From Harold Meyerson at The American Prospect:

Let’s stipulate at the outset that if the Republican Congress had done a decent job addressing the nation’s problems over the past two years, the Foley scandal and cover-up wouldn’t now be plunging the Republicans into political perdition. Instead, the scandal has served chiefly to crystallize in the public’s mind much that it has come to loathe about both the Congress and the Bush administration -- above all, their unwavering focus on the politics of a problem rather than the problem itself.

It’s not just that congressional Republicans have neglected to do anything about the conduct of the war in Iraq, or diminishing medical and retirement benefits, or the 12 million undocumented immigrants living and working here. It’s also that they’ve fabricated crises if the politics seemed propitious. (Remember Terry Schiavo?) Or they’ve concocted public problems in order to go after groups that pose political problems for them. So they’ve contended that trial lawyers, who are a major funding source for Democrats, are a major reason for the high cost of medicine (which they’re not) and sought to reduce jury awards by legislative fiat. Similarly, they periodically attack unions, the linchpin of the Democratic coalition, by pointing up the perils they pose -- some of them so dire they don’t, in fact, really exist.

More >>>

How religion is fleecing the taxpayer

2006-10-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

From The New York Times:

For tens of millions of Americans, the Rev. Rick Warren is best known for his blockbuster spiritual guide, “The Purpose Driven Life,” which has sold more than 25 million copies; his success as the founder of the 22,000-member Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.; and his efforts on behalf of some of the world’s neediest people.

But for tens of thousands of ministers — and their financial advisers — Pastor Warren will also be remembered as their champion in a fight over the most valuable tax break available to ordained clergy members of all faiths: an exemption from federal taxes for most of the money they spend on housing, which typically represents roughly a third of their compensation. Pastor Warren argued that the tax break is essential to poorly paid clergy members who serve society.

Moonies at the UN?

2006-10-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

Are the moonies set to take over the United Nations. The Wayne Madsen Report thinks so.

Did Woodward finally wake up?

2006-09-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

From CBS News:

Veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward tells Mike Wallace that the Bush administration has not told the truth regarding the level of violence, especially against U.S. troops, in Iraq. He also reveals key intelligence that predicts the insurgency will grow worse next year.

In Wallace’s interview with Woodward, to be broadcast on 60 Minutes this Sunday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. ET/PT, the reporter also claims that Henry Kissinger is among those advising Mr. Bush.

According to Woodward, insurgent attacks against coalition troops occur, on average, every 15 minutes, a shocking fact the administration has kept secret. "It’s getting to the point now where there are eight-, nine-hundred attacks a week. That's more than 100 a day. That is four an hour attacking our forces," says Woodward.

Bush Spin on Intelligence

2006-09-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Bush continues to create his own reality. Haven't we had enough?

From The Progressive Daily Beacon:

To say George W. Bush's attempt at spinning the findings of both the leaked and released versions of his very own National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was surreal, would be an understatement. The President's bungled and often irrational responses were in stark contrast to the once cocksure, often arrogant, and swaggering persona of bygone days. His answers to questions contradicted the agreed upon and summarized results contained in the NIE that is written for him by the nation's 16 intelligence agencies. The discrepancy between spin and reality was, perhaps, best summarized by the lead paragraph in an Associated Press report that stated, "President Bush on Tuesday said it is naive and a mistake to think that the war with Iraq has worsened terrorism, as a key portion of a national intelligence assessment by his own administration suggests."

Bush Policies Making Terror Worse

2006-09-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

Bush's own intelligence people have said his policies are making terrorism worse in the world:

An official government intelligence estimate of the terrorism threat in the United States states flatly that President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq has spawned a new generation of Islamic radicalism and increased the terrorist threat against the United States.

The bottom line: The Iraq war has not, as the Bush Administration claims, made America safer but has actually increased the danger for this country and all Americans.

Another Group Call for ATV Law Changes

2006-09-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

Consumers Union is calling for a ban of anyone under the age of 16 from riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV).

From their news release:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, urges the
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Congress, and States to pursue prohibiting the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) by children 16 years old and younger and to offer States incentives to improve the safety of ATV use. The announcement of the CPSC's education program to highlight the hazards of ATV's is commended, but it is not enough to prevent children from dying on these dangerous vehicles.

"Self regulation by the ATV industry has led to one thing-an increase in injuries and deaths," said Janell Mayo Duncan, senior counsel for Consumers Union. "Congress, the CPSC, and States need to take more comprehensive action to make all-terrain vehicle use safer. "Recreation should not be life-threatening," she added.

Many states have seen an increase in traumatic brain injuries in children riding an ATV.

A study published in the May 2005 Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association which reviewed ATV-related traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries and deaths in Oklahoma for an 11-year period, from 1992 through 2002. The study found that almost 400 people received a traumatic brain or spinal cord injury, including children as young as 3 years old.

What free press?

2006-09-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Aren't we glad we don't live in Iran where the government's cracking down on the media that disagrees with it.

Oh.

Never mind.

2006-09-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

According to an article in The New York Times, the Bush administration's effort to protect the American people from biological attacks, the $5.6 billion Project BioShield, is largely a failure.

It is so mostly to the reluctance of Big Pharma to participate:

The first disappointment with the new anthrax vaccine occurred in early 2004 when bids to test and manufacture it came in. None were from big pharmaceutical companies; they considered the effort unappealing because the potential market was relatively small and profits limited. They were also concerned about liability if someone became ill or died after being inoculated. Project BioShield did not offer immunity from lawsuits.

So, if the large pharmaceuticals can't make a large profit, they aren't interested in protecting the American people.

Typical.

FCC Destroys Ownership Study

2006-09-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

As reported in Capitol Hill Blue:

The Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage, a former lawyer at the agency says.

The report, written in 2004, came to light during the Senate confirmation hearing for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. received a copy of the report "indirectly from someone within the FCC who believed the information should be made public," according to Boxer spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz.

Adam Candeub, now a law professor at Michigan State University, said senior managers at the agency ordered that "every last piece" of the report be destroyed. "The whole project was just stopped _ end of discussion," he said. Candeub was a lawyer in the FCC's Media Bureau at the time the report was written and communicated frequently with its authors, he said.

Is anyone shocked at this?

Help put an end to evildoers

2006-09-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

Join the fight against evildoers!

Tossing gasoline on a fire

2006-09-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Republicans must really be scared. This from House Majority Leader John Boehner about Democrats:

I wonder if they're more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people. They certainly don't want to take the terrorists on and defeat them.

Quote of the decade

2006-09-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

From Doug Thompson at Capitol Hill Blue

George W. Bush is a liar, a war monger and a murderer - drenched in the blood of every American soldier and Iraqi civilian who has died in his war launched with falsified evidence and trumped up rationales.

A must read on 'Path to 9/11'

2006-09-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

Check out this on the controversy surrounding ABC's "The Path to 9/11."Exerpt:

ABC's heavily promoted miniseries, The Path to 9/11, billed as being "based solely and completely on the 9/11 Commission Report" has now proven to be a fraudulent attack on former President Bill Clinton and whitewash of President Bush's record.

Filmmakers have acknowledged basing the film in part on a book by a Bush administration PR official.

They acknowledge making up scenes.

The film's star, Harvey Keitel, said the film has factual errors that should be fixed.

Scholastic, the educational publishing company, has renounced all ties to the film and pulled a discussion guide tied to the movie it had distributed to accompany the film.

ABC News completely disavows the film.

Five members of the 9-11 Commission -- including one who served as a consultant to the film -- said The Path to 9/11 is flawed.