Monday, September 04, 2006

Tis' the Season to Indict Them

Is Prosecutor Fitzgerald gearing up to clean house this fall, after all the corporate media nay-saying?

Well, why wouldn't he... How many would you like?

Hot Links

The Next Hurrah Debunking the Runaway Prosecutor Claims by emptywheel

In other words, before Fitzgerald even got named as Special Prosecutor, the FBI had established that:

* Rove had a suspicious conversation with Novak before he finalized his story for his October, 2003 column

* Libby had apparently lied when he told the FBI he learned of Plame's identity from journalists

* Libby apparently knew Plame's identity was sensitive before Novak received a leak

* Libby might be protecting Dick Cheney with his apparent lies about his knowledge of Plame

Even with all this pre-Fitzgerald evidence of further involvement, geniuses like David Johnston presents the following faux-balanced paragraph:

But Mr. Fitzgerald’s defenders point out that the revelation about Mr. Armitage did not rule out a White House effort because officials like Mr. Libby and Karl Rove, the senior white House adviser, had spoken about Ms. Wilson with other journalists. Even so, the Fitzgerald critics say, the prosecutor behaved much as did the independent counsels of the 1980’s and 1990’s who often failed to bring down their quarry on official misconduct charges but pursued highly nuanced accusations of a cover-up.

Um, no, David. It's not a question of "ruling out" a White House effort. Even Bush cronies like Ashcroft and McCallum and Israelite apparently found there to be enough evidence supporting further crimes that they couldn't squelch the investigation. By the time Fitzgerald was appointed, the FBI had already uncovered clear evidence that Libby and Cheney were directly involved in this smear, that Libby had lied to protect Cheney, and that Rove may have coordinated with Novak to cover up his own role. Yet Johnston considers this clear evidence nothing but "nuance"?

Note to corporate owned media: Back-off of Prissy's hero, or we bloggers will give you no rest...

C'mon Fitz, Prissy's ESP knows it should be Fitzmastime in the Fall

Dearest Readers, Fitz probably won't tell us until he is ready to call a press conference. Not even a Prissy Patriot catching him under the mistletoe would gain "actionable intelligence" on this matter.

But that won't stop us from reading between the lines...Reuters even reads what blogs are writing about Fitz. They know something will be going down soon too, which is why they read the blogs!

One red site complained how Fitzgerald uses "some kind of code language" on his site, that only his readers understand. Freepers, the language Fitz uses most is called English...

Hey Fitz, how about next time using ig-pay atin-la so the freepers will understand too.

Prissy reminds you corporate media was camped out by the courthouse in May, waiting for something to go down on Rove-and we got "Sealed Vs. Sealed" to look at instead. There were even little warning articles, like "White House no comment on ongoing investigation of CIA Leak case...

Let's say for speculations sake-if that indictment was Rove May 12th, then why couldn't this be the following: Dick Cheney, Stephen Hadley and maybe Andrew Card?

However, if Sealed Vs. Sealed was used only to delay Rove's indictment, Prissy goes with Cheney, Rove and Hadley.

What do you suppose their defense will be? Prissy says "bad legal advice." See below:

Prissy finally fixed comments since moving to new blogger beta. Please write your own guesses below! What about the others, you say? Perhaps a military tribunal is in order for the rest of the evil doers...

Boston Globe Iraq says senior Al Qaeda figure held Insurgents seen facing leadership vacuum

``The Al Qaeda organization in Iraq has been seriously weakened and is now suffering from a leadership vacuum," Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, said at a news conference. Twenty senior Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters have been captured or killed based on information from Saeedi since his arrest within the past few weeks, Iraqi officials said.

The Mujaheddin Shura Council, an insurgent coalition that includes Al Qaeda in Iraq, denied Saeedi was a member of Al Qaeda. A leader of another group in the council, however, confirmed that Saeedi belonged to Al Qaeda.

``But he is not that famous or any sort of leader," Abu Abdullah, a leader of the Islamic Army of Iraq, said in a phone interview from Salahuddin Province. ``He is only a normal fighter."

Iraqi officials said Saeedi, a former intelligence officer for president Saddam Hussein, was captured within the past few weeks as he hid among women and children in an unspecified location just north of Baghdad. Saeedi, who is in his early 40s, confessed he had joined Al Qaeda three years ago and is being held by US-led coalition forces, the officials said.

The Mujaheddin Shura Council? So much for a "rag-tag coaltion of irregular fighters" aye, Rummy? As one blogger noted "Is Al Qaeda management top heavy?" We catch all the main players, but the fighting goes on...sure.

International Herald Tribune Canadian NATO soldier killed, 5 wounded by 'friendly fire' from US planes in Afghanistan

"Two ISAF (NATO's International Security Assistance Force) aircraft provided the support but regrettably engaged friendly forces during a strafing run, using cannons," it said in a statement.

How and why?

Mike Malloy of Air America has been fired. For telling the truth? Sign a petition here-let Air America know how you feel! Mike Malloy petition created by Eric Blumrich-he also does great flash films.

The Independent 'Deluded': Extraordinary attack on Blair by Cabinet

But senior Labour MPs say they need a public commitment to a timetable at the party's conference or they will begin collecting support for a public call on Mr Blair to quit.

The fallout from his instruction to MPs to stop "obsessing" about his departure showed little signs of abating yesterday. He was dogged during a visit to Edinburgh by reporters' shouted questions on his exit plans.

And the internal battles convulsing Labour were set to intensify last night with fresh interventions from Ed Balls, Mr Brown's most trusted adviser on one side, and Alan Milburn, an ultra-Blairite, on the other.

Mr Balls is set to repeat his warning to Mr Blair that he must not make the mistake of Margaret Thatcher by staying too long in power.

Oh, if only we had a Mr. Balls in our Senate!

Lycos News Bush Warns on Foreign Oil Dependence

PINEY POINT, Md. (AP) -- President Bush said Monday the economy is growing steadily and jobs are plentiful, but America must work harder to break its dependency on foreign oil. Making a Labor Day appearance at Maryland's Paul Hall Center for Training and Education, which offers vocational training to Seafarer's International Union members, Bush said "dependence on foreign oil jeopardizes our ability to grow."

"Problem is, we get oil from some parts of the world and they simply don't like us," he said. "The more dependent we are on that type of energy, the less likely it will be that we are able to compete and so people can have good paying jobs."

Bush also said he is interested in new technology that advances that produce battery-operated cars and allows people to fuel their vehicles with ethanol, particularly in Farm Belt states. And he made a fresh push for greater development of nuclear energy.

"Nuclear power is safe and nuclear power is clean and nuclear power is renewable," the president said.

But not safe and clean for you, Iran...or anyone else who "simply doesn't like us." Prissy thinks that it is you they don't like, Dubya.

FBI looking for this guy Adam Yahiye Gadahn Aliases: Abu Suhayb Al-Amriki, Abu Suhayb, Yihya Majadin Adams, Adam Pearlman, Yayah

SBS Australia AL-QAEDA'S CALL FOR CONVERTS

Al-Qaeda has called on non-Muslims, especially in the United States, to convert to Islam and abandon their "misguided" ways or else suffer, according to a videotape posted on a website.

The speaker was identified as Azzam the American, also known as Adam Yahiye Gadahn - an Islamic convert from California wanted for questioning by the FBI and who US authorities believe is involved in a propaganda campaign for al-Qaeda.

"To Americans and the rest of Christendom, we say either repent (your) misguided ways and enter into the light of truth or keep your poison to yourself and suffer the consequences in this world and the next," Gadahn said in English.

Prissy is confused, as WRH said Adam was born a Jewish American ...and Adam wants us all to convert to Muslim?

Forbes Must You Work Until You Drop?

Now, here's the bad news for workers: A little-noticed provision in the new law allows employers who use automatic enrollment to contribute less to their workers' 401(k)s and still get out of something called "nondiscrimination testing." These tests limit what highly paid workers can put in a tax-deferred retirement plan if rank-and-file workers don't also save. It sounds like sour grapes, but the point is to give the bosses an incentive to get lower-paid workers into the plan.

Under the old law, if a worker contributed 5% of his pay to a 401(k), the company had to kick in 4% to get out of the nondiscrimination test. And that 4% had to be immediately vested--meaning if an employee left, it was his to keep.

Under the new law, if a company uses automatic enrollment and wants to get out of the nondiscrimination test, it need only give a 3% contribution to a worker who saves 5%. Moreover, that 3% doesn't have to be fully vested until an employee has been with the company two years. Happy Labor Day from Congress.

Reuters U.N. general says Israel's Lebanon pullout on track

The commander of U.N. peacekeepers said a joint meeting with Lebanese and Israeli officers on Monday had brought closer a full Israeli troop withdrawal from south Lebanon in line with a U.N. resolution.

Lebanon had become increasingly agitated by what it sees as a delay in the Israeli withdrawal and the lifting of an eight-week-old Israeli sea and air blockade.

The United Nations has said the Israeli pullout would be completed once the number of peacekeepers, which now stands at 3,100, reaches 5,000

NZ Scoop- Freepress Saving The Ballot Evidence From Ohio 2004 by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

This weekend was to be "D-Day" in Ohio. It marked the September 2 deadline after which federal law allows the destruction of ballots from the 2004 election.

It didn't happen, at least on a statewide basis. But the fight to preserve that vital evidence is far from over.

Republican election officials here have been chomping at the bit to shred, burn or otherwise destroy the ballots and other related materials from the dubious vote count that gave George W. Bush a second term. Yet, in several rural southwest Republican-dominated counties, you have to trip over boxes of ballots and election material from earlier elections dating back as far as 1977 in order to see the stickers "Destroy on 9/3/06" on the 2004 ballot boxes.

J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State, is running for governor. His dual role as administrator of the election and state co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign has raised deep-seated embarrassment and ire throughout the Buckeye State.

The disturbing revelations of irregularities, theft and fraud continue to pour from the ballots still stored by election boards around the state. Statistician Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips has been instrumental in the research process along with a volunteer crew of election protection activists. This summer, Dr. Ron Baiman of Loyola has also been analyzing ballots and other election records from the 2004 election in a project funded by the CICJ. Many have spent countless hours pouring through and photographing piles of voter records and thousands of ballots, some of them stacked in filthy, leaky warehouses. Through this work, the evidence that the 2004 election was stolen continues to build. We will cover some of these new revelations in a future piece.

Thank you Bob and Harvey! Keep fighting the good fight, the people are winning.

Prissy wants to mention Cliff Arnbeck, with Ohio Lawyers for Public Integrity filed ethics violations against Blackwell also. Prissy will keep you posted on the outcome.

Well blow me over with a feather...Editor and Publisher George Will: So Maybe Iraq War IS All About Oil?

No more time for George, he's had plenty...

The Guardian UK tourist dies in gun attack

Nasser Judeh, a government spokesman, declined to say if the assailant was believed to be linked to any known terror organisation.

"The investigation is under way and it's still early to tell," he said.

The group Al Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for last November's attack and is believed to have militants who operate in Jordan.

The gunman struck outside the Roman amphitheatre, a popular tourist destination in Amman, in broad daylight.

Maybe the Brits will need to consider "good will ambassadors" to repair their own image in the Muslim world, once they kick Tony to the curb.

ABC Blade dispute continues

If you're driving through Toledo, chances are you'll spot one of the billboards featuring a picture of a lock and chain and a message: "This is the way the Blade negotiates. Stop your paper. Stop their attacks."

Newspaper unions have posted these billboards across town after many of them were locked out. Larry Vellequette has worked at the Blade some twenty years. His union, the Guild, is still at work inside, but Vellequette explains all eight unions are standing together. "These are people that did not go on strike. These are people that were involuntarily forced out of their jobs temporarily." Luann Sharp, spokesperson for the Blade, calls the lockout a strong message: let's come to an agreement. "That's our intent is we want to get signed agreements with our unions, period. That's what we want."

In the six months without a new contract, two billboards have popped up. The first proclaimed "Our families are under attack" and also asked subscribers to cancel their papers. Sharp told us, "I mean, I don't like to lose one subscriber. So, it's unfortunate. It's our business. We are suffering financially. We are in the red financially. So to try to make it even more red doesn't help anybody." So far, the unions have turned in 500 cancellations and they're planning to drum up some more at the upcoming Labor Day parade.

My, my look at the discrepancy in these different poll taker numbers GENERIC BALLOT � U.S. House of Representatives from recent nonpartisan and partisan national polls CNN, FOX, etc.

Quotes of the Day

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.--e e cummings (1894 - 1962)

The best index to a person's character is (a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can't fight back. --Abigail van Buren (1918 - )

People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news.--A. J. Liebling (1904 - 1963)

Once a newspaper touches a story, the facts are lost forever, even to the protagonists.--Norman Mailer (1923 - ), "Esquire", June 1960

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