MIDEAST TRUCE PACT

Yah, like this will work. Israel will just claim being attacked whenever it wants to do some more damage, or they, along with the U.S, "need" a conflict. I still believe those Israel soldiers were on the Lebanon side of the border when captured, and they were sent there intentionally.
When an administration wants war.....they will do whatever they have to in order to start it. Lies and propaganda go back a long way to starting wars. So does having the MSM on the side of the warmongers.

A little history regarding the Spanish-American War of 1898 from The Sorrows of Empire by Chalmers Johnson:


In 1898, in Havana harbor, which was part of the Spanish colony of Cuba, a mysterious explosion destroyed and sank the American battleship USS Maine. The blast killed 262 of its 374 crew members. The Maine had arrived in Havana three weeks earlier as part of a "friendly" mission to rescue Americans caught up in an ongoing Cuban insurrection against Spanish rule. Its unspoken missions, however, were to practice "gunboat diplomacy" against Spain on behalf of the Cuban rebels and to enforce the Monroe Doctrine by warning other European powers like Germany not to take advantage of the unstable situation.

Two official navy investigations concluded that an external blast probably caused by a mine, had ignited one of the battleship's powder magazines, though Spain maintained that it had nothing to do with the sinking of the Maine. Later analysts, including Admiral Hyman Rickover, have suggested that spontaneous combustion in a coal bunker may have been the cause of what was likely an accidental explosion. Though the Navy raised and subsequently scuttled the Maine in 1911, what happened to it in 1898 remains a puzzle to this day.

But there was no puzzle about the reaction to the news back in the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt instantly declared the sinking to be "an act of dirty (Spanish) treachery." The French ambassador to Washington advised his government that a "sort of bellicose fury has seized the American nation." William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal published drawings illustrating how Spanish saboteurs had attached a mine to the Maine and detonated it from the shore. Hearst then sent the artist, Frederic Remington to Cuba to report on the Cuban revolt against the Spanish oppression. "There is no war" Remington wrote to his boss. "Request to be recalled." In a famous reply, Hearst cabled, "Please remain, You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war." Thanks to Hearst's journalism and that of Joseph Pulitzer in his new York World, the country erupted in righteous anger and patriotic fervor. On April 25, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain.

So you see folks, nothing new here. And anyone who believes the government and media don't sleep together..... you yourself are asleep at the wheel.The U.S. has spent years building up their military empire. They have to keep the wars going in order to justify funding this empire. And they will.......

By the way, great book this is....I'd recommend you read it.

Question Girl

DeLay, Coulter, Kristol Defend Lieberman

John Nichols
08/04/2006 @ 5:32pm

The polls show Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is falling far behind anti-war challenger Ned Lamont as the state's August 8 Democratic primary approaches.

But it's not all bad news for the embattled senator. At least Tom DeLay's rooting for him.

The former House majority leader from Texas is a Republican who may not agree with the Bush White House's favorite Democrat on every issue but who thinks the Senator is right-on when it comes to foreign policy.

"[Lieberman's] very good on the war," DeLay said during an interview this week on the Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" program.


With the Connecticut primary, in which Iraq War-enthusiast Lieberman trails war-critic Lamont by 13 points in the latest poll, just days away, the incumbent's neoconservative allies are rushing to his defense.

Lieberman's latest campaign contribution list features a $500 donation from Bill Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard, a publication so Pravda-like in its cheerleading for the Iraq imbroglio – and for an attack on Iran -- that Vice President Dick Cheney has stacks of each new edition delivered to the White House for distribution to the staff.

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter's defending Lieberman, as well, going on at some length during an interview with Fox's Neal Cavuto to explain how much she admires the senator and suggesting that, instead of fighting for the Democratic nomination in Connecticut, Lieberman ought to switch parties. "I think he should come all the way and become a Republican," argues Coulter, who says of Lieberman and the GOP: "at least he'd fit in with the party."

the rest of the article...

"I think he should come all the way and become a Republican" -Coulter

How much further does ol' Joe need to descend???

Anonymous

REPUBLICANS ASHAMED TO IDENTIFY AS REPUBLICANS

"Most people don't care if you're red or blue." Ahhhhh I wouldn't take that one to the bank.....

On Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy (Minnesota) and Sen. James M. Talent (Missouri) are known as loyal Republican soldiers, reliable votes for President Bush on tax cuts and the Iraq war. In elections past, they have aired advertisements featuring the president and have stumped with him at public rallies.

This year, both are running for Senate seats, but their television ads have made no mention of Bush - and have been conspicuous in distancing the candidates from their partisan affiliation. "Most people don't care if you're red or blue, Republican or Democrat," Talent's ad states. A recent ad from Kennedy says, "He doesn't do what the party says to."

For months, political analysts have waited to see how GOP candidates would navigate the challenge of running in the face of what polls show are dismal approval ratings for Bush and the Republican-led Congress. The ads give an answer: Endangered candidates are presenting themselves as independent-minded problem solvers who are not part of Washington's partisan wars.

Even Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, who heads the National Republican Congressional Committee, has run TV ads in his Buffalo, New York, area district that do not identify his party affiliation.

Continue reading here

Question Girl

GOOOOOOOD MORNING

joe walsh rocky mountain way crossroads guitar festival


Joe and the James Gang are playing at a great outdoor venue in Boca tonight .....wishin I got tickets this morning!!

Question Girl

GAZA AS BAD AS LEBANON

After reading about all the death and destruction in the world this week, I'm spent. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how anyone thinks this is ok. I think I have problems, and then I look at what these people suffer through day in and day out.
You can go here to contribute to relief efforts.

By Lucy Williamson
BBC News, Gaza

Israeli air attacks occur several nights a week in Gaza
The United Nations has called on world leaders not to forget the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying it is at least as serious as that in southern Lebanon.

More than 140 people have been killed during Israel's operations there over the past month, many of them civilians.

Delivery of food and other essential items has been reduced to a trickle.

Thirty aid agencies backed the appeal, and one charity spoke of a sense among aid agencies that Gaza's population was being terrorised.

Full article here

Question Girl

IT'S SATURDAY.......GO HAVE SOME FUN!!

Now THAT looks like fun.....

Question Girl

DAY TO DAY AMONG THE VIET CONG

A young doctor kept an intensely personal journal of her life on the front lines before she was killed in 1970. It's a bestseller in Vietnam.

By Richard C. Paddock
Times Staff Writer
Posted August 4 2006

"No, I am not a child. I am grown up and already strong in the face of hardships, but at this minute why do I want so much a mother's hand to care for me? … Please come to me and hold my hand when I am so lonely, love me and give me strength to travel all the hard sections of the road ahead."

— Final diary entry of Dr. Dang Thuy Tram

Read more about this book here

Question Girl

AMERICA'S MOST WANTED

IRAQ THIS WEEK

08/04/06 Reuters: Two civilians killed and four others wounded in Baghdad
Two civilians were killed and four others wounded when gunmen opened fire in the Doura district of south Baghdad, police sources said. They said the casualties may have been participants in a rally called earlier in the day by radical Shi'ite...
08/04/06 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Kurt E. Dechen, 24, of Springfield, Vt., died Aug. 3 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment
08/04/06 Centcom: TWO SOLDIERS DIE IN AL ANBAR PROVINCE
Two Soldiers assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province today.
08/04/06 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Sgt. George M. Ulloa Jr., 23, of Austin, Texas, died Aug. 3 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force...
08/04/06 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. Joshua A. Ford, 20, of Wayne, Neb., died on July 31 during combat operations in Al Numaniyah, Iraq. Ford was assigned to the Army National Guard 189th Transportation Company, 485th Corps Support Battalion, Norfolk, Neb.
08/04/06 wcpo: Sergeant's Disappearance Treated As Missing Person's Case
Eight months after returning from Iraq, a Hamilton, Ohio, Army sergeant has gone missing. Garry Jones, 24, was last seen leaving his apartment last Saturday morning, driving a late 1980's maroon Chevrolet Cavalier.
08/04/06 Reuters: In Iraq, bomb turns engagement party into funeral
Sabreen Saad never had time to grieve after a car bomb killed her fiance an hour before their engagement party. She died two days later from wounds sustained in the same blast.
08/04/06 timesonline: 17 die in roadside bombs in northern Iraq
Insurgents detonated a series of car bombs in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul this morning, killing at least 17 people including a police colonel.
08/04/06 postcrescent: Bellevue soldier recovering after Iraq explosion
Sgt. Jeff ...was wounded July 24 by a roadside bomb explosion while on convoy duty near Tallil, Iraq. He was serving with the Wisconsin National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry. Spc. Stephen Castner, 27, of Cedarburg was killed in the same attack.
08/04/06 Reuters: US forces killed suspected militants
Three suspected militants linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq were killed in U.S. raids and an air strike southeast of Baghdad on Thursday...U.S. soldiers killed an suspected insurgent they believed to be burying a roadside bomb north of the capital
08/04/06 Reuters: U.S. soldiers killed two suspected militants on Thursday
U.S. soldiers killed two suspected militants on Thursday in Mahmudiya...after they were shot at from a yellow van, the U.S. military said. The military said that the van was subsequently stopped and the bodies of two men...
08/04/06 Reuters: Mortar attack aimed at U.S. marines in Ubaydi kills 3 civilians
Three Iraqi civilians were killed and nine wounded by a mortar attack apparently aimed at U.S. marines in Ubaydi, 315 km (200 miles) west of Baghdad, near the Syrian border, the U.S. military said. The attack was on Thursday
08/04/06 AFP: Civilian killed in botched attack on police patrol
And, a short distance south of Baghdad, a bystander was killed in a botched attempt to target a police patrol with a roadside bomb.
08/04/06 AFP: Former member of Hussein's security services killed in Amara
former member of one of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's security services was shot dead in the southern city of Amara, police said.
08/04/06 AFP: Roadside bomb kills couple en route to maternity hospital
In the early hours of the morning, a roadside bomb killed a pregnant Iraqi woman and her husband as they raced to hospital to deliver her child. Police said the couple were taking a taxi...from the village of Huweidar towards the maternity hospital
08/04/06 AP: Suicide car bomber kills 3 policemen
Friday, a suicide car bomber drove into a football field and blew up the vehicle and himself, killing three policemen who were among the players. The incident occurred in Hatra, 70 kilometre southeast of Mosul, police Col. Abdul Karim Ahmed Khalaf said.
08/04/06 pakistantimes: 1,000 civilians, 135 security forces killed in July
According to figures compiled from Iraqi security and health department figures, more than 1,000 civilians, 135 members of security forces and 143 insurgents were killed nationwide in July. In addition, 1,800 civilians were injured
08/04/06 CNN: Car bomb kills Mosul police official
A car bomb in the northern city of Mosul killed an Iraqi police official along with two other police officers Friday morning, Nineveh Governor Duraid Kashmoula told CNN.
08/04/06 al.com: Mobile soldier wounded in Baghdad
Pfc. Jeremy Hardy...is recovering in a hospital in Germany from wounds he received Monday in Baghdad, his father, Phillip Hardy of Mobile, said. The soldier's dad said he is expected to recover from his injuries
08/04/06 AFP: Nine Iraqi police killed as 'al-Qaeda' assaults northern city
Nine Iraqi police officers have been killed when insurgents detonated a series of bombs and fierce fighting erupted in the northern city of Mosul. At least six car and roadside bombs were triggered, and mortar shells were fired at police posts, he said.
08/04/06 AP: Tens of thousands of Shiites gather in Baghdad for pro-Hezbollah rally
Tens of thousands of Shiites draped in white shrouds gathered in Iraq's capital Friday for a pro-Hezbollah rally, while violence around the country left eight people dead.
08/03/06 AP: Military says soldier committed suicide
Army Spc. Andrew Velez, the second of two brothers to die during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, committed suicide, his family and military officials said Thursday.
08/03/06 AP: 6 Marines charged in Iraq assault
Assault charges were filed against six Marines on Thursday as the result of an incident that occurred in April in the Iraqi village of Hamdania and was uncovered during an unrelated investigation into the slaying of an Iraqi civilian later ...
08/03/06 timesonline: Running the gauntlet in a land of militias
It was an impromptu football match on a makeshift pitch in a Shia area of Baghdad. Two bombs were apparently buried in the middle of the waste ground. When they exploded on Wednesday evening 16 young people, many of them children, were killed.
08/03/06 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Hai Ming Hsia, 37, of New York, N.Y., died Aug. 1 during combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Hsia was assigned to the 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.
08/03/06 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Cpl. Joseph A. Tomci, 21, of Stow, Ohio, died Aug. 2 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force...
08/03/06 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. Dustin D. Laird, 23, of Martin, Tenn., died on Aug. 2 during combat operations in Rawah, Iraq. Laird was assigned to the Army National Guard 913th Engineer Company, 46th Engineer Battalion, Union City, Tenn.
08/03/06 greatfallstribune; Cause of death reported for Wolf Creek Marine
Marine Cpl. Phillip Baucus and the two Marines who perished with him were killed by a suicide bomber last weekend in Iraq...They were killed in the Al Anbar province, Iraq when a suicide bomber drove a car loaded with explosives into a building...
08/03/06 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. Ryan D. Jopek, 20, of Merrill, Wis., died in Tikrit, Iraq on Aug. 2 of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy. Jopek was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment...
08/03/06 Reuters: Roadside bomb wounds 2, Gunmen snatched car in Latifiya
A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol exploded in Latifiya, 40 km south of Baghdad, wounding two policemen, a police source said...Gunmen snatched a car with its driver after wounding a man and a woman in Latifiya, police said
08/03/06 CNA: Kidnapped Turkish Technician in Iraq Released
A Turkish national kidnapped in Iraq in mid-June was released on Wednesday, said a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman. The kidnapped Turkish technician, Hasan Eskimutlu, is expected to arrive in Turkey on Thursday.
08/03/06 NYTimes: U.S. Troops Kill 2 Iraqis on Way to Anti-Israel Protest
American troops opened fire today on a vehicle carrying armed Shiites to an anti-Israel demonstration in Baghdad, killing two occupants and wounding at least 16, officials said.
08/03/06 AP: Wounded journalist Kimberly Dozier released from hospital
CBS News journalist Kimberly Dozier has been released from a rehabilitation hospital, where she had been recovering from critical injuries suffered during a May 29 car bomb attack in Iraq.
08/03/06 Centcom: TWO MARINES DIE IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS
Two Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 died, in separate incidents, due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province today
08/03/06 NYTimes: In Iraq, It’s Hard to Trust Anyone in Uniform
The camouflaged Iraqi commandos who kidnapped 20 people from a pair of central Baghdad offices this week used Interior Ministry vehicles and left little trace of their true identities. Were they legitimate officers? Members of a Shiite

Question Girl

Unemployment Rate Hits 5-Month High

Employers Add Just 113,000 Jobs in July As Unemployment Rate Hits 5-Month High; Wages Solid

Eannine Aversa, AP

WASHINGTON Aug 4, 2006 (AP)— Hiring slowed in July as employers added just 113,000 new jobs, propelling the unemployment rate to a five-month high of 4.8 percent and providing fresh evidence that companies are growing cautious amid high energy prices.

The latest snapshot Friday from the Labor Department added to the evidence from a variety of economic barometers that the economy is slowing. That raised hopes among investors and some economists that the Federal Reserve can take a breather next week from its rate-raising campaign and leave interest rates alone.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher. The Dow Jones industrials gained 54 points and the Nasdaq was up 15 in morning trading.

The tally of new jobs last month was weaker than the 124,000 added in June and was the lowest total since May, when payrolls grew by 100,000.

"Businesses are guarded as they see a downshifting of economic growth, rising energy prices and higher interest rates," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

The civilian unemployment rate jumped from 4.6 percent in June to 4.8 percent in July, matching the jobless rate in February. The last time the unemployment rate was higher was in December, at 4.9 percent.

Economists had forecast a gain of about 145,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent.

article

Any ideas on how this will be spun?

Anonymous

Lieberman More Popular With Republicans Than Democrats

Favorable image dips further among Democrats

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ -- U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman has faced mounting difficulties among fellow Democrats in his home state of Connecticut over his pro-Iraq war stance, possibly culminating in his defeat in the Connecticut Democratic primary election for his seat that takes place on Tuesday. Local polling suggests he may very well lose that election to ardently anti-war challenger Ned Lamont. Although many pundits insist all politics is local, new Gallup polling shows that Lieberman's reputation has been sinking among Democrats nationally, not just among those from his home state.

The latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds Lieberman with the worst ratings from Democrats nationally since Gallup first measured his image in 2000. As a result, he is now more popular with Republicans than with supporters of his own party. Among Republicans and Republican "leaners," a plurality of 46% view Lieberman favorably, while 27% view him unfavorably. Democrats are more evenly divided in their attitudes, with 38% viewing him favorably and 32% unfavorably.


Overall, 40% of Americans view Lieberman favorably, while 29% have an unfavorable view and 31% have no opinion. Although there have been significant shifts in the way partisan groups view him, his overall rating now is similar to where he has stood with the general public for the past three years.

full article

With these trends, why doesn't Joe just give up and switch parties? Don't say it's for party loyalty. We all know that's a lie.
I'm not one for conspiracy theories. But when JL starting showing us his true colors, I had a thought. He ran with Gore in 2000. If Gore had taken the presidency, could there have been another 'grassy knoll' situation occur? I'm being silly, aren't I??

Anonymous

Senate Rejects Minimum Wage Hike, Estate Tax Cut

Kai Sandvig
CNSNews
August 04, 2006

Senate Democrats late Thursday refused to accept a bill raising the nation's minimum wage because the bill also would have eliminated the "death tax" on estates up to $5 million.

Republicans needed 60 votes to cut off debate and bring the bill to a vote -- but in the end, they managed to muster only 57 votes.

Furious Democrats called it "sham" legislation and they accused Republicans of "trickery."

"Americans are too smart to be tricked into foregoing middle class tax relief, so America can borrow hundreds of billions of dollars to give tax breaks to a wealthy few," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

According to Reid, the bill would have "bankrupted" the country by adding $800 billion to the national debt.

"It's unimaginable Republicans would deny millions of small business a research and development tax credit, it's unimaginable Republicans would deny 15 million workers a $2.10 raise, it's unimaginable Republicans would deny millions of middle class families tax relief, if 8,000 of their wealthy friends don't get billion-dollar tax breaks first," Reid said.

Reid said the American people will "see through these political games."

full article

Rethuglicans will get that "death tax" eliminated some how. Mark my words...

Reid said: "Americans are too smart to be tricked..." and "see through these political games." Are you sure about this, Harry? I think a high percentage of Americans are pretty much gullible and will swallow just about anything. The last six years has proven that.

Anonymous

JUAN COLE, THOUGHTS ON THE MIDDLE EAST, HISTORY AND RELIGION

Friday, August 04, 2006

Israelis Kill 7 Civilians in Massive Air Raids
on Beirut, South, Baalbak
Hizbullah Rockets Kill 8 Civilians in Israel

Israel resumed a heavy bombardment of South Beirut on Thursday, hitting al-Awza'i 24 times in the space of two hours. There are no Hizbullah facilities in al-Awza'i, according to LBC (a Christian-owned Lebanese satellite channel). AFP says that Israeli war planes fired missiles at "the Rweiss and Haret-Hreik districts in south Beirut, police said. Rweiss, which had initially been spared, was first targeted the previous night after a week's respite in strikes on the capital's suburbs. Haret-Hreik and Bir al-Abed, where Hezbollah's headquarters is located, were pounded for two weeks and are in ruins."

Read more here

Question Girl

INSTRUCTOR TOLD TO TONE IT DOWN

Wisconsin Republicans want him fired or they will cut funding to the University??? So, now unless you share their opinions.....now they will dictate what will be taught....oh nevermind.

By Jodi S. Cohen
Tribune staff reporter

August 3, 2006, 9:48 PM CDT

As University of Wisconsin administrators defended their decision to employ instructor Kevin Barrett, a top university official suggested in a letter to Barrett last month that he should be less outspoken about his personal views.

Barrett, a Muslim convert who will teach a class on Islam this fall, believes the U.S. government orchestrated the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to create support for a larger military budget and a long-term Middle East war.

Among other views, he thinks the World Trade Center buildings fell after a controlled demolition and that Osama bin Laden is probably dead.

Continue reading here

Question Girl

NEWS NEWS NEWS

U.S LAWMAKERS DRAFTING BILL TO FUND CUBAN DISSIDENTS
Give me 80 mil and I'll get a group together to fight for Democratic change here!

SECURITY PROBLEMS DELAY PORT WORKERS ID'S
Does Chertoff still have his job, and if so, why???

TOP TEN BIZARRE MUSEUMS

MIAMI VICE.....SOUTH BEACH THEN AND NOW

U.S. TO HELP TRAIN AND EQUIP LEBANON ARMY
Gee, I hope we don't get the shipments of military equipment mixed up....Israel, Lebanon, Israel, Lebanon....now where was this going again??

CARTER/MONDALE TEAMING UP AGAIN

GOVERNMENT FIGHTS RECORDS REQUEST

DISPATCHES FROM THE MIDDLE EAST

CHAVEZ WITHDRAWS AMBASSADOR IN ISRAEL

VANITY FAIR/ 9/11 NORAD TAPES

KATHERINE HARRIS THINKS SHE'S GONNA WIN
Talk about a delusional bitch...

GROWING SEAWATER ACIDITY CREATING A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE

IRAQ AL-QUEDA CHIEF JAIL MYSTERY

Question Girl

FOR BUCKNESS.....CAUSE WE LOVE YOU, TOO!!

Cyndi Lauper - True Colors

Question Girl

HILLARY'S SMACKDOWN

Senator Clinton Makes Rumsfeld Squirm at Iraq Hearing

Question Girl

GOTTA LOVE UNCLE LOU ...... AT TIMES

Lou Dobbs Calls Out Senator Bennett's Economic Lies

Question Girl

Iraqi President promises US troops out by end of year

Michael Rowland
The World Today
Thursday, 3 August , 2006

ELEANOR HALL: In a statement which appears to have taken the Bush administration by surprise, Iraq's President has told a news conference today that US led forces will be out of his country by the end of the year.

President Jalal Talabani's announcement comes less than a week after US President George W. Bush met Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, and agreed to strengthen the US military presence in Baghdad, after an upsurge in what Mr Bush described as terrible violence.

More than 8,000 people have died in mostly sectarian attacks in Iraq in the last three months. And of the more than 50 people killed in bomb blasts yesterday, several were children who were at a Baghdad football game when two bombs exploded in the middle of the pitch.

But despite the violence, the Iraqi President is insisting that a transfer of authority from US led troops to Iraqi forces across the country will be completed by the end of 2006.

article link

I'll believe it when I see it.

Anonymous

Evolution Scores in Kansas Primary

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
ScienceNOW Daily News
2 August 2006

Two years after being checkmated by proponents of intelligent design (ID), supporters of evolution are set to win back control of the Kansas state board of education. Their victory paves the way for the revoking of the state's science standards, which are widely seen as being favorable to the teaching of ID.

In Republican and Democratic primaries conducted on Tuesday, pro-evolution candidates won party nominations for three of the five board seats that are up for re-election in November. Three of the board's other five seats are held by moderates. The results of the primary races mean that regardless of the individual winners in the November election, the board's composition will flip from its existing 6-4 conservative tilt to at least a 6-4 majority controlled by moderates.

"This is a great day for Kansas," Sally Cauble, a moderate who won the Republican primary in western Kansas, told Science. The former elementary school teacher from Liberal, Kansas, had a tough race against incumbent Connie Morris, who has repeatedly mocked evolution as "a nice bedtime story." Cauble, who ended up winning by a margin of 54% to 46%, says she wants to vote out the pro-ID standards that were adopted last year in favor of standards issued earlier by a panel of scientists and teachers appointed by the board (ScienceNOW, 9 November 2005). Those standards, rejected by the current board, emphasize the teaching of evolution.

full story...

Sanity finally wins in Kansas... thank God!

Anonymous

Spotlight on tips in minimum-wage bill debate

PAYCHECK:Employees in seven states, including Minnesota, could be affected if Congress passes a measure cutting base pay for workers earning tips.

Erica Werner
AP - Thu, Aug. 03, 2006

WASHINGTON - Tip money earned by waitresses in Duluth, manicurists in Hollywood and bartenders in Seattle is on the table in the nation's capital, as lawmakers scrap over an election-year, minimum-wage bill.

Minnesota, California and Washington are among seven states where workers get to keep their tips on top of getting paid their state's full minimum wage. In other states, tip-earning workers get paid less and make up the difference with tips.

A provision in GOP-written minimum-wage legislation passed by the House and under consideration this week in the Senate could change the law in those seven states -- the others are Montana, Alaska, Nevada and Oregon. It would deal a pay cut of $3 or more an hour to thousands of waiters, bellhops and hairdressers in those states, according to Democrats and labor groups.

"Everything that has been achieved in seven states to support low-wage workers who earn tips is destroyed by this bill," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "This bill would slash the salaries of thousands of workers."

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid,D-Nev., called the provision a "travesty."

full article

Anonymous

For the Ladies of NYCA: Suzette & Elizabeth

Helen Reddy - I Am Woman

Anonymous

NEWS NEWS NEWS

Here's some news you need to know......

WHITE HOUSE PROPOSAL WOULD EXPAND AUTHORITY OF MILITARY COURTS
You reallllly need to know this

WORST EVER SECURITY FLAW FOUND IN DIEBOLD MACHINES

U.S. STARTS TO BUILD GERM WAR DEFENSE CENTER
No, this isn't a bad dream....

PENTAGON'S STORY ON 9/11 A LIE
Will we ever know the truth????

COURT OK'S LOOK AT TIMES PHONE RECORDS

JOURNALISTS CALL FOR INQUIRY OVER IRAQ DEATHS

COURTS WEIGHTS LEGALITY OF BUSH'S FOREST SERVICE ROAD PLAN

Let me just add one more tidbit of insanity

MARINE NAMES MURTHA IN DAFAMATION SUIT

Question Girl

Uncertainty reigns in Cuba

Few details of Castro's condition released after surgery -- leader reportedly says: 'My ... health has become a state secret that cannot be continually divulged'

James C. McKinley Jr.
New York Times
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Mexico City -- Cuba was wrapped in uncertainty on Tuesday as the communist government released a statement suggesting that Fidel Castro had survived intestinal surgery but revealing few details of his condition.

After a long day of speculation and rumor, an announcer on state-run television and radio said Tuesday evening that he had spoken to Castro and read a statement he said had been written by the Cuban leader. In the statement, Castro said his condition was stable but that the full extent of his illness would not be known for several days.

...

Monday night, Castro -- who will be 80 Aug. 13 -- handed over power temporarily to his brother Raul to undergo surgery to repair intestinal bleeding, according to a statement read on Cuban television.

...

Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, made it clear Tuesday that the United States would be active in shaping events on the island if the Cuban leader died.

"The United States and the American people will do everything that we can to stand by the Cuban people in their aspirations for a democracy," he said.

President Bush said on Monday, before Castro's illness was announced, that the U.S. policy would be to undermine Raul Castro's rise to power. "We are actively working for change in Cuba," the president said, "not simply waiting for change."

There were unconfirmed reports the Cuban military had been placed on high alert Tuesday morning, and civil-defense militias had been warned to brace themselves for any attempts at unrest and to watch for signs of a U.S. invasion, Havana residents said in telephone interviews.

full story

Let's all hold hands and pray that one day our president Gilligan will end up a castaway in Cuba

Anonymous

Senate Approves More Offshore Drilling

H. Josef Hebert
AP, Wednesday, August 2, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The Senate wants to expand oil and gas drilling to a large chunk of the Gulf of Mexico that has been off limits to energy companies.

But the House has a more ambitious plan: Open coastal waters to drilling everywhere unless a state objects.

Opening the Outer Continental Shelf to oil and gas rigs has moved to the center of the energy debate in Congress where lawmakers for months have struggled to respond to growing anger among voters over high energy prices _ a particular problem in an election year.

By a vote of 71-25 Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill directing the Interior Department to begin selling leases for oil and gas development in 8.3 million acres of the east-central Gulf of Mexico _ about 100 miles from the nearest land and 125 to 310 miles from Florida beaches.

the rest of this crappy story...

"Open coastal waters to drilling everywhere unless a state objects."

And if they DO object??? Yeah, just what I thought...
I know my state will object. We Kentuckians won't put up with that shit!

Anonymous

Budget underruns... Surprized?

Straddled with this country's largest-ever deficit, money literally flying out the window (and much of it unaccountable), now the National Guard is facing a budget crisis.

CNN
Tuesday, August 1, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready, mostly because of equipment shortages that will cost up to $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum spoke to a group defense reporters after Army officials, analysts and members of Congress disclosed that two-thirds of the active Army's brigades are not ready for war.

The budget won't allow the military to complete the personnel training and equipment repairs and replacement that must be done when units return home after deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan, they say.

"I am further behind or in an even more dire situation than the active Army, but we both have the same symptoms, I just have a higher fever," Blum said.

One Army official acknowledged Tuesday that while all the active Army units serving in the war zone are "100 percent" ready, the situation is not the same for those at home.

"In the continental United States, there are plenty of units that are rated at significantly less than a C-1 rating," said Lt. Col. Carl S. Ey. "Backlogs at the depots, budget issues and the timeliness of receiving funds to conduct training are all critical to the Army's ability keep their force trained, ready and at the highest readiness level possible."

full story

WHODATHUNKIT???

Anonymous

Bush Passes Physical, but Adds 5 Pounds

Jennifer Loven
AP, 08.01.2006

President Bush's doctors pronounced him healthy and in better shape than most men his age Tuesday, but the president himself seemed a little upset about packing on some extra pounds.

Doctors treated a small precancerous lesion on his left arm but indicated it was nothing serious. They told him to use sunscreen and wear a hat.

Bush got the works at his annual physical. It took more than four hours and was conducted by a team of nine doctors, overseen by White House physician Richard Tubb and Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the president of the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. The group included skin, hearing, heart, eye and sports medicine specialists.

"I find him to be fit for duty and have every reasonable expectation that he will remain fit for duty for the duration of his presidency," they said in a written statement.

full article...

Damnit... damnit... damnit... damnit... DAMNIT!

Anonymous

LET'S LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

pie chart	It's obvious to me that our foreign policy, especially when dealing with Islamic populations, is not working. And I'd think this would be a major concern, and something we'd want to work on, being that 21% of the world population is Islamic.
Bush and Rice are met with huge protests by that population everywhere they go. Being that they account for 21% of the population, you'd think there'd be some concern about that. You'd think they'd be brainstorming to find a way to better our foreign policy.	protesters in Palestine
protesters in Jakarta	To better our relationship with the Islamic population of the world. Instead, they seem to be inflaming that population, and in doing so, creating more and more hatred for the U.S, more and more terrorists and an ever eroding political situation in the Middle East.
What has our recent action/reaction to the Israel/Lebanese conflict done to further grow the hatred for the U.S. around the world?	protesters in Pakistan
protesters in India	If you ask me, I think it's time we start thinking more about how to get along with that 21%........ what do you think?

Question Girl

MORE POWER OUTAGES

By Jason Meisner
Tribune staff reporter
Posted August 1 2006, 11:13 AM EDT


An overnight power outage on the South Side prompted the evacuation of hundreds of senior housing residents from high-rise buildings as the temperature was expected to reach near 100 degrees for a second day in a row.

A Commonwealth Edison underground distribution line failed around 7:30 p.m. Monday, causing about 20,000 people to lose power. Included were the residents of 19 mid- to high-rise buildings, including 11 senior-citizen buildings, authorities and ComEd officials said.

Read and listen here

Question Girl

ANOTHER DAY OF VIOLENCE IN IRAQ

By VIJAY JOSHI
Associated Press Writer
Posted August 1 2006, 5:51 AM EDT


BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Bombings and shootings across Iraq killed at least 52 people Tuesday, including 24 people in a bus destroyed by a roadside bomb. The attacks further damage the U.S.-backed government's efforts to establish control over the country.

The bus, carrying many Iraqi soldiers, was struck in the northern industrial city of Beiji, killing everyone on board, said Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari.
>

Read more here

Question Girl

BUSH: WE WON'T SEND TROOPS TO LEBANON

Well, the guy has pretty much sealed it in cement now with his continued cold, uncaring comments. We are the most hated country in the world. There will be an enormous amount of blowback for this asshat's stance on this conflict, and his actions around the world. Our kids kids will more than likely suffer the blowback. It won't happen overnight...... but it will happen. What is it with this guy and death.....does he drink so much that it just doesn't phase him??? We won't send troops to Lebanon.....but we'll send Haliburton and Kellogg and the rest of them in with our money. Garrrrroooontttteeeeeddd

Bush: We won't send soldiers to Lebanon

American president says that he would be happy to help organize multinational force in southern Lebanon, but won't send US soldiers. Reiterates Israel's right to defend itself: 'Terrible situation where innocent people lose their lives. And yesterday's situation was awful, but it's also awful that million Israelis worried about rockets'

Read the article here

Question Girl

MIAMI WAS ONE BIG STREET PARTY LAST NIGHT

(CBS4 News) MIAMI From the moment CBS4 first broke into programming to announce a historic change for Cuba, the transfer of power from Fidel Castro to his brother Raul, people started to pour into the streets of South Florida to celebrate.

In Little Havana, Hialeah, Westchester, and other areas, people lined the streets to cheer, shout, and make noise, while in the street people jumped atop cars, waved Cuban flags, and hoisted signs proclaiming the end of the Castro regime.

Those signs may be overly optimistic, but the celebration went on for hours, not breaking up until the wee hours Tuesday morning.

Watch the un-edited video of the various live cameras CBS4.com tracked throughout the celebration, and re-live the moment.

View videos here and here

Question Girl

BUSH POSTPONES 2008 ELECTION

Perhaps not so far off.....

WASHINGTON, President Bush, citing his authority as Commander in Chief of the armed forces and his inherent constitutional power over foreign affairs, today ordered a postponement of the 2008 presidential election in order "to protect the American people in our war on terror."

In a speech during a surprise visit to Baghdad, where he celebrated the summer solstice with the troops, Mr. Bush told the nation that the election will be "rescheduled as soon as a change in leadership does not create a security threat and not a second later. When the Iraqis stand up, we'll vote."

Read the rest here

Question Girl

TROPICAL STORM CHRIS FORMS NEAR LEEWARD ISLANDS

Keeping my fingers crossed. I do NOT want to put up hurricane shutters!!

Associated Press
Posted August 1 2006, 5:18 AM EDT


MIAMI -- Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, developed early Tuesday near the Leeward Islands, forecasters said.

Chris had sustained winds near 40 miles per hour, just above the threshold for a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A tropical storm warning was posted for the islands of Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barthelemy and St. Martin.

Read more here

Question Girl

NED AND COLBERT

Ned Lamont on the Colbert Report

Question Girl

CASTRO RELINQUISHES POWER TO HIS BROTHER

Hold onto your hats.....cause Bushco plans on spreading liberty and democracy in Cuba, too.....

ANITA SNOW
Associated Press

HAVANA - Fidel Castro temporarily relinquished his presidential powers to his brother Raul on Monday night and told Cubans that he had undergone surgery.

The Cuban leader said he had suffered intestinal bleeding, apparently due to stress from recent public appearances in Argentina and Cuba, according to the letter read live on television by his secretary, Carlos Valenciaga.

Continue reading here

Question Girl

A MOMENT OF OPPORTUNITY

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, July 31, 2006; 1:42 PM

President Bush's "moment of opportunity" in the Middle East is increasingly looking like an opportunity for disaster.

Bush's official position is that some blood-spilling in the Middle East is worth it in pursuit of the region's positive transformation.

Even in the wake of an Israeli airstrike Sunday that killed 57 civilians in the Southern Lebanese town of Qana, every terse presidential acknowledgment of the human toll is accompanied by soaring rhetoric about freedom and democracy and lasting stability.

Read full article here

Question Girl

FOX NEWS.....FAIRLY UNBALANCED

By Christine Kearney

NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - Fox News has agreed to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, on behalf of former female employees who said a vice president routinely cursed and denigrated women in the workplace.

The settlement, submitted for approval in Manhattan federal court on Monday, includes a total payout of $225,000 to four women who said Joe Chillemi, vice president in the advertising and promotions department, created a hostile work environment.

Continue reading here

Question Girl

IRAQ NEWS

By ROBERT H. REID

Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Gunmen dressed in military fatigues burst into the offices of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce and a nearby mobile phone company Monday, seizing 29 people in a daylight raid in a mostly Shiite area of the capital.

Also Monday, at least 30 people were killed or found dead in political or sectarian violence across the country, police said. They included four Iraqi soldiers killed in a suicide bombing in northern Iraq, the first such attack in the Kurdish-ruled province of Dahuk.

Read more here

Question Girl

COLLEGE AID FALLS FAR SHORT FROM NEED

And the world passes us by........ no child left behind, eh George? What about our college kids???? There isn't one single important thing that this administration hasn't totally fucked up. If their goal is to eliminate the middle class, they're doing a heck of a job!!!!! Give em a raise!!!
My son's girlfriend, who lost both parents and grandparents in highschool, has struggled along trying to make it through college. She had to drop courses last year to work full time and try and save enough money to continue on. As yet, she hasn't been able to return.

College aid falls far short of need
July 31, 2006

BY DAVE NEWBART Staff Reporter

Needy students at Illinois' public universities are straddling the biggest gap ever between skyrocketing tuition bills and stagnant pools of financial aid. Now more than $200 million short of funds to meet financial need, Illinois public universities must count on students to pay a far larger portion of the tuition bills.

In the last five years, the amount of unmet need at Illinois universities rose nearly 50 percent.

Full article here

Question Girl

LOST ILLINOIS MAN SHOT DEAD IN FLORIDA WHILE ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS

This story jumped out at me this morning. I live in South Florida, and this Illinois man is from the area I grew up. The crime here is unbelievable. And the fact that only one person would help this man in a heavily populated area where many people saw what happened sickens me. Is this what America is coming to? A society where we are able to walk away from a person in need? Very sad, indeed. I hope they catch the bastard who did this.

By Marlene Naanes
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 31 2006


MIAMI -- Authorities were searching Monday for a man who witnesses said shot and killed an Illinois tourist who was asking for directions.

After dropping his son off at a shopping mall, Ronald Gentile, 54, pulled over in the Coconut Grove area Saturday afternoon, police said. Witnesses reported seeing Gentile roll down the window on his rented white Chevrolet Cobalt. A man dressed in black then apparently approached the vehicle, robbed and shot Gentile.

``We are speculating that because he was not familiar with the area, he stopped to ask for directions,'' said Miami police spokesman William Moreno.

Full article here

Question Girl

Kerry proposes universal coverage by 2012

Glen Johnson, AP

BOSTON - Sen. John Kerry on Monday will propose requiring all Americans to have health insurance by 2012, "with the federal government guaranteeing they have the means to afford it."

The Massachusetts Democrat, whose name is figuring prominently in 2008 White House speculation, will repeat his 2004 presidential campaign call for expanding the federal Medicaid program to cover children.

In a speech scheduled for midday Monday at Faneuil Hall in Boston, he will advocate creating a program to cover catastrophic cases so an employer providing insurance doesn't have to pass the cost to his other workers, and offering Americans the ability to buy into the same insurance program used by federal workers, such as members of Congress.

Kerry will propose to pay for the program by repealing tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration that benefit those earning over $200,000 annually. He is not expected to immediately elaborate on how he would get his insurance mandate enacted into law.

"One of my biggest regrets is that fear talk trumped the health care talk, and that we are less safe abroad and less healthy at home because of that," Kerry will say according to the prepared text of remarks he planned to deliver.

full story

Big talk there, Kerry. Where were you in 2004?

Anonymous

ISRAEL CARRIES OUT AIRSTRIKES AFTER THEY AGREE TO 48 HOUR CEASE FIRE.

There's no other way to put this. They fucking lied. And the longer the U.S. goes along with this bullshit, the more blowback there will be for us. Israel is not disarming the military arm of Hezbollah, they are destroying a country and increasing terrorism in the world, just as the U.S. has done by invading Iraq. War is not the answer folks..... violence begets violence.

By THOMAS WAGNER and KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writers
1 hour, 36 minutes ago

JERUSALEM - The Israeli air force carried out strikes Monday in southern Lebanon despite an agreement to halt raids for 48 hours after nearly 60 Lebanese civilians were killed in an Israeli bombing, the army said.

The airstrikes near the village of Taibe were meant to protect ground forces operating in the area and were not targeting anyone or anything specific, the army said.

Read more here

Question Girl

Court to hear DeLay ballot case arguments

KELLEY SHANNON
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas - U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay was once one of the most feared Republican legislators on Capitol Hill, nicknamed The Hammer for his ability to play political hardball. But this election cycle, his biggest champions are Democrats.

The fight over whether to keep DeLay's name on the Texas ballot or replace him with another candidate was to move Monday to a federal appeals court in New Orleans.

Republicans want to honor DeLay's June 9 resignation and pick another nominee to face Democrat Nick Lampson in November. Democrats sued to keep DeLay on the ballot so they could make the indicted former House majority leader their poster boy for claims that the Republicans are corrupt.

full article...

Republicans want to honer Delay's resignation? I think it's called 'distancing'. What a transparent bunch of bastards.

Anonymous

Oil spill occurs on Russia export pipeline

HENRY MEYER
Associated Press

MOSCOW - A serious oil spill has occurred on one of Russia's largest export pipelines near the border with Ukraine and Belarus, the Natural Resources Ministry said Monday, warning it could cause an environmental disaster.

The ministry said that oil from the pipeline had contaminated local water sources and forests in the western province of Byransk, adding that the spill affected an area of nearly 4 square miles.

"Judging by information reaching the ministry from representatives of environmental organizations ... the consequences of the accident may be an environmental catastrophe in the region," a ministry statement said.

An official from state pipeline operator OAO Transneft, however, downplayed the spill, saying it had only affected an area of 3,875 square feet and had already been cleaned up.

"Now there is no problem," said Mikhail Sayapin.

The 2,485-mile-long pipeline has the capacity to ship over 1.2 million barrels a day to eastern and central Europe and generally works at or close to its full capacity. It was not immediately clear whether the spill had affected supply to European customers.

Ministry spokesman Rinat Gizatulin said the spill happened on Saturday but only became public on Monday.

link

Anonymous

SUNDAY NIGHT OPEN THREAD MY COCKATIEL MORGAN DIED THIS EVENING R.I.P. MORGAN

I had two cockatiels. Captain, and Morgan. Morgan died this evening. I don't know what happened. She was the loviest little bird. Shy. They've been alone more than usual lately with my move...and then there was the move. Sad day for me.....

The Beatles -

Question Girl

SHIT FOR BRAINS HAS ARRIVED IN TOWN

I don't think any other King.....errrrr.... I mean President, has ever fucked up traffic the way this guy does. My daughter caught in Chicago on his birthday. He will have traffic, which is always fucked up to begin with in Miami, messed up for two days. I can't wait to see what the "brief delays" will be. On a good day that could be an hour. Who invited him, anyway????? Wonder if he'll be lunching with Katherine.

President Bush Starts Miami-Dade Visit Today
Road Closures Planned As The President Travels
Complete live coverage at CBS4.com
(CBS4 News) MIAMI President Bush will be in Florida today for the start of a two-day visit in which he will speak about the economy.

Bush will travel to Florida tonight, arriving at about 6:30 p.m. and attend a dinner with community leaders in Miami Beach.

The President will spend the night at the 4 Seasons hotel on Brickell Avenue, which will be partially closed for the duration of his visit.

A breakfast with business leaders is planned for Monday in Miami. Later in the day, the President will also visit the National Hurricane Center, tour the Port of Miami and attend at a Republican-sponsored luncheon before returning to Washington.

Roads will be closed in a number of areas to allow for the movement of the presidential motorcade, often without much advance notice. Miami-Dade police are warning motorists to plan for brief delays, as traffic will be stopped in some areas to let the motorcade pass.

Question Girl

ISRAEL AGREES TO HALT AIR STRIKE FOR 48 HOURS

How nice of them. Another "accident." I'll tell ya what, they have one fucked up military what with all the "accidents" they've made through the years. Are we giving them faulty equipment or what?

They drop flyers all over the area telling the citizens to leave the area. A very impoverished area. They have bombed the roads and exit routes. Then they bomb the area that they warned they were going to bomb.....and then say it was an accident. Hellloooooo...... how stupid do you think we are???

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted July 30 2006, 6:41 PM EDT


Israel agreed Sunday to halt air attacks on south Lebanon for 48 hours in the face of widespread outrage over an airstrike that killed at least 56 Lebanese, mostly women and children, when it leveled a building where they had taken shelter.

The announcement of the pause in overflights -- made by State Department spokesman Adam Ereli -- appeared to reflect American pressure on Israel. Ereli, who was in Israel with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said Israel reserved the right to hit targets if it learns that attacks are being prepared against them.

Read more here

Question Girl

4 MORE MARINES KILLED IN IRAQ

No let up in the violence or death count in Iraq! The U.S. troops count is up to 2578.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Four U.S. marines have been killed in action in restive Anbar province, the U.S. military said on Sunday.


The marines, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7, died on Saturday. No further details were available.

The casualties followed the deaths of four other marines in Anbar, west of Baghdad, on Thursday.

U.S. President George W Bush last week boosted U.S. troop levels in Iraq after increasingly savage sectarian violence raised fears that the country could slip into civil war.

A great source for the latest in Iraq

Question Girl

BUSH & BLAIR RENEW THEIR THREATS AGAINST SYRIA AND IRAN

I hate it that I think like this, but I do. Perhaps Israel is bombing civilian areas and killing innocent Lebanese to escalate the war. Why? So Bush can go into Syria and Iran. Backdoor man. Hang onto your hats folks.....

July 30, 2006

In their joint press Conference at the White House , President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair renewed in no uncertain terms their threats against Syria and Iran. These threats are now backed by concrete military plans.

"The message is very, very simple to them. It is that, you have a choice. Iran and Syria have a choice. And they may think that they can avoid this choice; in fact, they can't. And when things are set in train like what has happened in Lebanon over the past few weeks, it only, in my view, underscores the fact they have this choice. They can either come in and participate as proper and responsible members of the international community, or they will face the risk of increasing confrontation.

This and other statements point to escalation where Lebanon is slated to be used as a casus belli, a just cause for war on Iran and Syria, due to their alleged support to Hizbollah.

Link here

Question Girl

Too harsh?

The dark silouette of the creature
poised, crouched on the corner of a cliffs edge
waits eagerly, eyes glare patiently.
Red eyes filled with fire and torment
gleam in the frenzied brightness
across the shadowed vallies below.
A crack of thunder breaks the deafening silence
which once ruled the planes, the creature is unmoved
by the commotion and the noise, and the blinding fork
of lightening which strikes only a few yards from where
lays it wait for something...


(Venom At War With Satan)

Anonymous

U.S. agency hid costs of Iraqi projects - paper

Reuters
Sun Jul 30, 2006

WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department agency in charge of $1.4 billion (751 million pounds) for reconstruction projects in Iraq used an accounting shell game to hide cost overruns and failed to tell Congress about schedule delays, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

A report by the independent Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said the U.S. Agency for International Development listed project overruns as overhead or administrative costs.

USAID is the agency is charge of administering foreign aid and began working on Iraq reconstruction soon after the 2003 invasion began.

The inspector general's report did not give details on all projects being conducted under the $1.4 billion budget, but noted several examples including a children's hospital in Basra and a power station in Baghdad.

Bechtel, the contractor in charge of the Basra hospital, said in April construction costs would be $98 million, up from an original budget of $50 million, due to escalating costs for security and other problems. USAID pledged to cut contractor overhead, but the inspector general found no effort to do that.

In a report later that month to Congress, the agency reported the cost as $50 million with the rest reclassified as "indirect costs."

Bechtel also told USAID in March the project was 273 days behind schedule, but in its April report the agency mentioned no delay problems to Congress.

Joseph A. Saloom, the newly appointed director of the reconstruction office at the U.S. Embassy, said in a letter he would take steps to improve the reporting of the costs of reconstruction projects in Iraq.

link

Where is the public outcry? Where is the admonishment by our elected officials? What the hell is wrong with this country???

Anonymous

Lieberman's Eroding Base

Many Democratic Faithful Support a Political Newcomer Rather Than the Senator Who Has Not Toed Party Line

Shailagh Murray
Washington Post
Sunday, July 30, 2006

Irving Stolberg is not just another Connecticut Democrat who wants Joe Lieberman out of office.

The former speaker of the Connecticut House is one of Lieberman's oldest allies in state politics. The two met as antiwar activists in the late 1960s and won seats to the legislature together in 1970, and Stolberg remained an admirer when Lieberman drifted to the political center, while Stolberg stuck to his liberal roots.

But this year, as Lieberman battles for a fourth term in the Senate, Stolberg has reluctantly endorsed his ally's Democratic primary opponent, multimillionaire businessman and political neophyte Ned Lamont. "It's been a wrenching decision. I've supported him every step," Stolberg said of Lieberman. "But the issues and the principles trump 40 years of friendship."

full article...

Why are our politicians so in the dark? Joe, check out the job description. High and mighty arrogance won't be on there. Catering to the wants, needs and concerns of 'the people', (your base), IS!
It's called thumbing your nose at the very people that helped get you in office. And, Joe, the people don't like it.

Anonymous