Iran welcomes unconditional talks on nukes - Yahoo! News

Condi won't buy this. (It isn't high heel boots from NYC)

Iran welcomes unconditional talks on nukes - Yahoo! News:

"TEHRAN, Iran - A breakthrough in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program is possible, the republic's president told the U.N. chief Saturday while welcoming unconditional talks with all parties, including the United States.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech later Saturday that his government would not rush to judge an incentives package offered by Western countries to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program.

State television reported that Ahmadinejad spoke by phone to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and told him the crisis could be settled as long as the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency preserved Tehran's right to use atomic energy."

Thousands demonstrate against US in Somalia - Boston.com

We are really hated all over the world.

Thanks Junior.

Thousands demonstrate against US in Somalia - Boston.com:

"MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Mogadishu on Friday angrily condemning the United States for supporting warlords involved in clashes with Islamic militias that claimed 16 more lives overnight.

'America is responsible for the death of our children and the elderly,' Sheikh Nur Barud, a respected cleric in Mogadishu, told the crowd chanting anti-American slogans.

'We are ready to defend our religion from the big American evil,' read a banner held high by Mogadishu resident Ureji Yusuf at the rally protected by Islamic militia armed with machine guns, anti-aircraft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades."

Nitwits for regime change in Iran

Right Web Profile Iran Policy Committee:

"Iran Policy Committee (IPC) is 'comprised of former officials from the White House, State Department, Pentagon, intelligence agencies, and experts from think tanks and universities.' According to IPC, 'Iran is emerging as the primary threat against the United States and its allies,' but says that the policy debate in Washington is wrongly focused on two alternatives: engagement and military strikes. 'By calling for change in Tehran based on Iranians instead of Americans,' IPC says that it is offering a 'third alternative,' namely: 'Keep open diplomatic and military options, while providing a central role for the Iranian opposition to facilitate regime change.

IPC's slogan is 'Empowering Iranians for Regime Change.'

Members of IPC: James Akins, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia (ret.); Lt. Col. Bill Cowan, USMC (ret.); R. Bruce McColm; Lt. General Thomas McInerney; Captain Charles T. 'Chuck' Nash, USN (ret.); Lt. General Edward Rowny, USA (ret.); Professor Raymond Tanter; Major General Paul E. Vallely, USA (Ret.); Clare M. Lopez. " (Read On ^

FEC FINDS FRIST 2000 VIOLATED LAW - CREW

It is becoming more and more apparent that nothing is seriously going to be done about campaign finance reform, let alone election reform until the people throw a huge hissy fit.

This is 2006. These shennanighans went on in 2000. Now, the FEC fines the Frist campaign for mere pocket change.

Frist is retiring from the senate, this year. I don't think he should be allowed to run for federal office again. It is that damn simple. Cheat and, when you are caught, you lose. For good. I am so damned sick and tired of manipulaters, cheaters, de-frauders and slick Willies, not matter to which party they belong.

FEC FINDS FRIST 2000 VIOLATED LAW - CREW:

"Washington, DC: Earlier today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) received notice from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) indicating that in response to a complaint filed by CREW, the FEC found that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's 2000 Senate campaign committee, Frist 2000, Inc. violated federal campaign finance laws.

CREW's complaint alleged -- and the FEC agreed -- that Frist 2000, Inc. failed to disclose a $1.44 million loan taken out jointly by Frist 2000, Inc. and by Frist's 1994 campaign committee, Bill Frist for Senate, Inc. The result of the discrepancy was to make it appear that Frist 2000, Inc. had significantly more money that it actually had.

In June 2000, Senator Frist took $1 million of the money that had been contributed to his 2000 Senate campaign and invested it in the stock market, where it promptly began losing money. In November 2000, Senator Frist sought to collect $1.2 million he had lent his 1994 Senate campaign committee. As a result of the stock market losses, however, Frist 2000, Inc. did not have enough money to repay the loan. Senator Frist solved this problem by having the 1994 and the 2000 campaign committees jointly take out a $1.44 million bank loan at a cost of $10,000 a month interest. Frist 2000, Inc. did not report this debt on its FEC disclosure forms."

A COulter, Big Mouth and Liar, is is deep doo-dooo.

Hear come da judge!

Come on, Your honor, Coulter's just being a good Rethug. The more election fraud the better, they always say.

I can't help it; this is funny as hell.


Channel 5 reporter says ex punched her:

"What? Ted Olson wasn't available?

Conservative pundit and best-selling political writer Ann Coulter has hired a white-glove, White House-connected law firm to fight allegations she voted illegally in February's Town of Palm Beach election.

And the attorney from the Miami-based Kenny Nachwalter firm is no stranger to Palm Beach voting. Marcos Jimenez, who was, along with the more famous Olson, one of the lead attorneys who fought for George W. Bush's side in the 2000 presidential election snafu here. was assigned to Coulter."

Press Accounts Suggest Military 'Cover-up' in Ishagi Killings

My God, will this nightmare ever end?

Press Accounts Suggest Military 'Cover-up' in Ishagi Killings: "NEW YORK The U.S military said Saturday it had found no wrongdoing in the March 15 raid on a home in Ishaqi that left nine Iraqi civilians dead. But, as with the apparent massacre in Haditha, will a military 'coverup' in this case come undone? E&P coverage from back in March, and other evidence, suggest that the official story may soon unravel.

The Iraqi police charge that American forces executed the civilians, including a 75-year-old woman and a 6-month-old baby. The BBC has been airing video of the dead civilians, mainly children, who appeared to be shot, possibly at close range. Photographs taken just after the raid for the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, and reports at the time by Reuters and Knight Ridder, also appear to back up the charge of an atrocity.

After the attack, American officials said that they had demolished the house in an airstrike after insurgents fired from the building. One insurgent, two women and a child were killed in the attack, they said.

After the Haditha killings, the military said all of the Iraqis had been killed in an explosion or a firefight. "

Our current goverment never ceases to amaze...

OR HORRIFY!

Finding a Voice: Our current goverment never ceases to amaze...:

"Our current government never ceases to amaze, operating as it does at a positively stunning level of ineptitude. Its major players seem to function without comprehending the consequences of their actions. Their message machine is constantly in play, but it has become obvious the message is an empty one, 'full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.' This administration has proven itself incapable of fulfilling its obligations or attaining its stated goals.

When it is revealed that U.S. troops may have slaughtered civilians in Iraq and covered up the matter for months, the president and the high command jump right in and order 'ethics' training, as if things might have been different if only those involved had been better instructed on how to behave in the midst of an insurgency. Little attention is paid to the confusion and stress experienced by those serving multiple tours of duty in an area where it is increasingly difficult to identify the enemy and define the mission. Attacks on unarmed civilians cannot be tolerated, but our leaders need to know the terrible toll their decisions exact not only on those we claim to have liberated but on our military as well."

| Santorum calls marriage amendment an opportunity to end 'we should treat people nicely' approach

So, Little Ricky says we should get beyond the idea that we must treat people nicely, eh? How freakin' Christian of him!

Well, I will say one thing, I have about come to the same conclusion; except for differnt reasons.

It is Mr. Santorum and his ilk, who cause me to get passed the idea that we must be polite to people who are, apparently, insane and hide it behind their religiosity.

How did it come to this? How did we become a nation of people with a twice elected leader who tells other leaders around the world that God talks to him? Not only does God talk to him, but God says some pretty psychotic stuff. God tells him who to bomb.

What's more, how did we become a nation too tolerant to ask for a psychiatric exam of anyone who says such things, let alone someone with the biggest arsenal on Earth.

So, Ricky, I agree with you. We need to get beyond being polite, especially with people like you.

The Raw Story Santorum calls marriage amendment an opportunity to end 'we should treat people nicely' approach:

"While Parshall and Santorum acknowledged the FMA's bleak prospect of passing a full Senate vote, Parshall cast the bill as an attempt to 'speak back to the culture.' Santorum agreed, declaring that the debate over the FMA would be 'an opportunity for us to get beyond, you know, 'We should treat people nicely.'''

Crashing the Wiretapper's Ball

Indeed....

Wired News: Crashing the Wiretapper's Ball:

"You really need to educate yourself,' he insisted. 'Do you think this stuff doesn't happen in the West? Let me tell you something. I sell this equipment all over the world, especially in the Middle East. I deal with buyers from Qatar, and I get more concern about proper legal procedure from them than I get in the USA.'
'
Well, perhaps the Qataris are conscientious,' I said, 'and I'm prepared to take your word on that, but there are seriously oppressive governments out there itching to get hold of this stuff.'

He sneered again. 'Do you think for a minute that Bush would let legal issues stop him from doing surveillance? He's got to prevent a terrorist attack that everyone knows is coming. He'll do absolutely anything he thinks is going to work. And so would you. So why are you bothering these guys?'

'It's a valid question,' I insisted. 'This is powerful stuff. In the wrong hands, it could ruin political opponents; it could make the state's power impossible to challenge. The state would know basically everything. People would be getting rounded up for thought crimes.'"

Clinton uses Pederson fundraiser to blast GOP - The Business Journal of Phoenix:

Yeah, Yeah, whatever, Bill...

Clinton uses Pederson fundraiser to blast GOP - The Business Journal of Phoenix::

"Former president Bill Clinton keynoted a Phoenix Democratic fundraiser Thursday evening, saying the Republican Party is dominated by 'right-wing, white Southerners.'

Clinton also hit the GOP for favoring the rich and practicing 'crony capitalism'. "

Teaching Remedial Decency

The word tragic comes to mind, among others.

Rozius: Maureen Dowd: Teaching Remedial Decency:

"Before the war, America railed against the Iraqi leader for slaughtering innocent Iraqis. Now the Iraqi leader is railing against America for slaughtering innocent Iraqis."

Kennedy: Vote against Iraq war my best - Yahoo! News

Yep, competent government would be nice.

Kennedy: Vote against Iraq war my best - Yahoo! News:

"WORCESTER, Mass. - Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) on Friday declared his vote against the Iraq war the best he has cast since being elected in 1962.

The Massachusetts Democrat also predicted that his party would regain control of both chambers of Congress this fall.
'Americans aren't looking for big government or small government, liberal government or conservative government. They're looking most of all for competent government,' Kennedy told delegates gathered for the start of the state Democratic convention.

American Tryranny; It's Here...

Just as was predicted long ago, American Tryanny has arrived and the cowed and/or complicit Congress has done nothing to stop it.. Read On:

Consortiumnews.com:

"Despite new disclosures about government spying on Americans and a flurry of interest in the erosion of U.S. constitutional rights, the near-term outlook appears to be for a consolidation of George W. Bush's boundless vision of his own authority, at least until the November elections.
None of the promised investigations into Bush's alleged abuses has made much progress, as the traditional checks and balances of the Republic, the press, Congress and the Judiciary, have either backed away or looked helpless in the face of Bush's grab for more and more power.

In frustrating a few hesitant challenges to his so-called 'plenary,' or unlimited, powers as Commander in Chief, Bush has insisted that only he can decide how to enforce laws, what reality is and when release of information endangers the national security."

Karl Zinsmeister moves on up to the White House

Never assume anything when it comes to this W.H..

Is it just me, or does just about everyone, who has anything at all to do with the American Enterprise, have a name that sounds like it belongs to a prisoner or a gaurd at a Nazi concentration camp?

Karl Zinsmeister moves on up to the White House:

"We can't say with absolute certainty, but we suspect that unlike his predecessor, Karl Zinsmeister, the Bush Administration's newly appointed top domestic policy advisor, has not been ripping off Target, Hecht or any other D.C.-area department store. We can only assume that his credit card record is clean, and that the vetting process was a lot more thorough than the one used when former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was nominated by George W. Bush to head up the Department of Homeland Security. Soon after being nominated, Kerik -- a longtime buddy and business partner of former NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani -- was forced to withdraw his name after admitting to employing an illegal immigrant as a nanny, and revelations surfaced about extramarital affairs and past conflicts of interest."

Haditha Massacre: In An 'Atrocity-Producing Situation' Who Is to Blame?

Everyone, from top to bottom, must be held accountable.

I have heard people say that the troops should not be blamed because war is hell and it is not their fault they have been put in this untenable situation.

While it is not their fault they were put in an untenable situation, troops who murder innocent civilians must be held accountable. Yes, war is hell, that is why we should not go to war on trumped up evidence. Troops have the responsibility to obey lawful orders. The untenable situation they have been put in involves saying no to their commander-in-chief. Some have had the courage to do just that. They have refused to go to Iraq. Good for them.

When a war is illegal, meaning prosecuted on false evidence, it is called a war of aggression, the mother of all war crimes. Everything that happens after that, becomes a war crime.

Therefore, while it lets no troop off the hook for murder, the major blame for these murders belongs squarely in the White House and its agencies. The people in this administration who told lie after lie, frightening the American people with verbal paintings of Mushroom clouds rising over American cities and plagues sprayed all over the eastern seaboard by Saddam's cardboard aerial drones must be held accountable for these murders, along with many others.

By held accountable, I mean tried in a court of International Law, and imprisoned for life. In addition, all of their financial assists should be taken.


Haditha Massacre: In An 'Atrocity-Producing Situation' Who Is to Blame?:

"Is it enough for the media to accept that incidents such as the apparent massacre at Haditha are inevitably a part of war? The type of war we are waging in Iraq makes atrocities more likely, and responsibility for the crimes at Haditha extends to top commanders, the secretary of defense, and the White House. "

30 Flew Into the Cuckoos Nest

TomDispatch - Tomgram: Proliferation Wars in the Intelligence Community:

"All this news involving what we call 'intelligence' -- and much more -- played out on the front pages of the nation's newspapers and on TV, replete with copious leaks from within the intelligence community, threats from the White House to prosecute journalists reporting those leaks, outraged press editorials about sundry intelligence topics, and a great deal of heat and noise.

Each scandal came and went, the news spotlight flickering from one to the next; and yet, as Hayden's testimony before the Senate made clear, just about no one seemed to have the urge to ask the obvious what's-it-all-about-Alfie question. Nobody wondered what this thing called 'intelligence,' over which so many tens of thousands of analysts, code breakers, and agents labor with so many tens of billions of our dollars, really is; what sort of knowledge about our planet all those acronymic intelligence organizations really deliver. The value of the 'intelligence community' to deliver this thing called 'intelligence,' whatever mistakes or missteps might be made, is simply taken for granted. "

Some Good News For Democracy!

Could it be that Fox Veiwers are waking up, or are they all so broke they can't pay their cable bills?

Channel Island: The TV Industry Blog:

"You may recall my column last month noting the recent ratings cool-off for Fox News Channel, where, as I put it, 'explosive growth appears to be, like the president�s 90% approval rating in the days following Sept. 11, a relic from the first Bush term.'

I know I'm risking another cascade of hysterics from right-wing bloggers here, but the May ratings prove this trend has legs. Fox News' average prime-time viewing audience tumbled 6%, to 1.3 million total viewers, compared with May 2005, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. By comparison, CNN climbed 13%, to 687,000, while MSNBC was also up 13%, to 322,000. "

Noe pleads guilty to illegally funneling money to Bush

Printer-friendly version:

"Former GOP fund-raiser Tom Noe admitted today that he used politicians, former aides to Gov. Bob Taft, coworkers, and friends to illegally pour thousands of dollars into the effort to reelect President Bush.

Noe entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge David Katz in Toledo to all three felony charges he faced for violating federal campaign finance law. Appearing with his sister and brother-in-law and three attorneys, Noe was calm and responsive to Judge Katz' questions during the 47-minute hearing.

Then, in a brief, 10-second statement, Noe said he voluntarily agreed to change his plea 'to accept responsibility to spare my family and friends the further embarassment of any additional court proceeding. Therefore, I plead guilty.'
No date was set for sentencing pending a pre-sentencing report to the judge. Noe, who lives in Florida, remains free on $350,000 bond."

Cheney Starts New Cold War Over Oil

How many times do we have to say this?

The Cold War never ended.

Cheney is only ramping it up again.

AlterNet: Cheney Starts New Cold War Over Oil:

"Cheney's brazen oil grab strategy in Central Asia has launched a new Cold War with Russia -- and this time we're losing. "

Is Osama bin Laden running DHS?

Another, in a long list of reasons why we don't believe the Bush administration expects another terrorist attack on American soil.

Unless the need one, of course.

D.C. at Low Risk Of Attack, Says Federal Agency:

"The Department of Homeland Security has ranked the District in a low-risk category of terrorist attack or catastrophe, putting it in the bottom 25 percent of U.S. states and territories, as part of a decision that will cost the city millions in anti-terror funds, according to city and federal officials.

The news came as irate officials from New York and Washington demanded explanations for why the department slashed funds in a separate urban anti-terrorism program by 40 percent for the metropolitan areas hit hardest by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."