Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Decision Time for GOP: Spit or Swallow

If Sen Craig isn't gay, how come he wasn't caught tapping his foot for sex in the ladies room?

Hot LinksMaybe the GOP should hand these around the House and Senate

Sen Craig's hometown paper, the Idaho Statesmen Sen. Larry Craig's job in doubt amid calls to resign

U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's hold on his job is growing increasingly tenuous as he loses the confidence of fellow Republicans, from President Bush to his colleagues in the Senate.

The three-term Idaho senator saw his clout and political support diminish by the hour Wednesday, as some colleagues called on him to step down and he gave up his senior role on several key committees. The growing controversy weakens his influence as a senator and calls into question how long he can fend off the growing clamor to resign, political experts say.

Two of Craig's Republican Senate colleagues, John McCain of Arizona and Norm Coleman of Minnesota, both called on Craig to resign, saying his guilty plea to charges he solicited sex from an undercover police officer makes him unfit to serve as a U.S. senator.

"I think he should resign ... my opinion is that when you plead guilty to a crime, then you shouldn't serve," McCain told CNN. "And that is not a moral stand. That is not a holier-than-thou. It is just a factual situation."

BBCIran accepts fresh nuclear plan

The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran has agreed to a plan aimed at clearing up questions about its controversial nuclear activities.

The IAEA says the development is "significant", but adds that for the plan to work, it is essential to get full and active co-operation from Iran.

It also says Iran is continuing its enrichment programme, but at a slower pace than before, despite UN sanctions.

Western powers fear Iran could try to make nuclear arms, which Tehran denies.

Guardian Bhutto close to deal with Musharraf President agrees to quit army and drop graft charges against exiled leaders

President Pervez Musharraf and his exiled rival Benazir Bhutto edged closer last night to a power-sharing deal that would see Gen Musharraf retire from the army.

An agreement was "80 to 90% complete" said Ms Bhutto from London, where she has been negotiating with a senior Musharraf adviser and the Pakistani military's spy chief.

Her key demand - that Gen Musharraf give up his uniform before impending elections - has been agreed, she told the Guardian. "A lot of progress has been made, particularly on the uniform. But it's for the president to make an announcement."

Gen Musharraf has also agreed to drop corruption charges against Ms Bhutto, her husband and dozens of other legislators, in the form of a general amnesty covering 1988 to 1999, she said.

Just say no to more world war, and let the lady negotiate. As one little boy told Prissy, "Ladies usually aren't mean." And they usually love their country and the people who reside there.

The general has seen how far George Bush will push him, including sending US troops based in Afghanistan right over the border into Pakistan so they can "find people." No reports on solid "finds." The crystal ball is saying Dick will be the next one out the White House door...

Sun Times Durbin: Fitzgerald a long shot for Gonzales job

Chicago's top federal prosecutor may have convicted a former White House aide, but Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin speculated Monday that Patrick Fitzgerald had a chance -- albeit a small one -- of being President Bush's new attorney general.

Durbin called Fitzgerald a ''long shot'' for the job, but said ''if the choice is made to bring in somebody truly independent who will be quickly confirmed, Patrick Fitzgerald's one.''

Slim to none. This for sure would be an eventual reality...

Village Voice History Will Not Absolve Us Leaked Red Cross report sets up Bush team for international war-crimes trial

While the Democratic Congress has yet to begin a serious investigation into what many European legislators already know about American war crimes, a particularly telling report by the International Committee of the Red Cross has been leaked that would surely figure prominently in such a potential Nuremberg trial. The Red Cross itself is bound to public silence concerning the results of its human-rights probes of prisons around the world—or else governments wouldn't let them in.

But The New Yorker's Jane Mayer has sources who have seen accounts of the Red Cross interviews with inmates formerly held in CIA secret prisons. In "The Black Sites" (August 13, The New Yorker), Mayer also reveals the effect on our torturers of what they do—on the orders of the president—to "protect American values."

She quotes a former CIA officer: "When you cross over that line of darkness, it's hard to come back. You lose your soul. You can do your best to justify it, but . . . you can't go back to that dark a place without it changing you."

Few average Americans have been changed, however, by what the CIA does in our name. Blame that on the tight official secrecy that continues over how the CIA extracts information. On July 20, the Bush administration issued a new executive order authorizing the CIA to continue using these techniques—without disclosing anything about them.

Discovery Channel Two Years Later, New Orleans Still Sinking

Two years after Katrina, the planet's message to southern Louisiana is loud and clear: The land is sinking there and nothing can stop it.

Or that's the message from geologists, anyway. The latest science on the sinking comes from a study in which researchers modeled how the Earth's rigid crust, or lithosphere, there is responding to the weight of Mississippi River sediments.

"Every geologist knows if you put a load on top of the Earth, it's going to cause the lithosphere to bend," said geologist Roy Dokka of Louisiana State University. Dokka, along with Caltech's Erik Ivins and Ronald Blom, published their results in the August issue of Geophysical Research Letters.

ABC Secret Signals: How Gay Men Cruise for Sex

"Police officers will investigate areas that have known histories of this sort of activity. They rely on their own knowledge and experience to tell what is happening. Most officers know the difference between an intentional signal and a stray motion," he said.

The public has a right to enter public areas without worrying about inadvertently seeing lewd acts, Gregson said. The 35-year veteran police chief said he believed this sort of activity took place "in every jurisdiction" and heard stories of "off-duty officers and even judges being caught and arrested."

With many other options available for gay men to meet each other, Gershen Kaufman, a professor emeritus of psychology at Michigan State University and author of the book "Coming Out of Shame," said public cruising is practiced mainly by deeply closeted men.

"Cruisers are not sex offenders. They are deeply, deeply closeted. There is a lot of self-hatred and shame and they can't allow themselves to come to terms with their sexuality. There is also the added element of danger and being discovered," he said.

One commenter noted "It's too bad the foot tapping thing doesn't work with women."

US News & World Report Bush to Stay the Course

In the wake of the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, White House insiders don't want to encourage expectations that President Bush will turn into a born-again accommodator in the final year and a half of his administration.

Their concern is that the mainstream media and many members of Congress will expect a more conciliatory president to emerge as more and more of his original loyalists from Texas leave the government. The insiders say that while Bush wants to score legislative victories before he leaves Washington, such as continued funding for the Iraq war and congressional approval for terrorist surveillance programs, he isn't going to give up on his principles. Bush advisers point out that while Bush has lost or is losing several of his most trusted confidants from his years as Texas governor, including Gonzales, political strategist Karl Rove, and counselor Dan Bartlett, he still has a strong team around him and isn't isolated, as his critics often suggest.

Good old US News...still shilling until the end. Corporate media has bastardized real news.

Forbes Delta Chief Operating Officer Resigns

Delta Air Lines Inc. said Wednesday that Chief Operating Officer James Whitehurst, who was passed over for the carrier's top job, has resigned effective immediately.

Scotsman Israel wages war on army of refuseniks

WHEN Arik Diamant's mother discovered her son was to refuse to do reserve duty for the Israeli army she pleaded with him to reconsider his decision, even offering to resign her job and work in a charity of his choice.

But the former paratrooper and now software engineer was determined. "My parents were terrified that the ramifications of such a decision would destroy my life and endanger my career opportunities," said the 34-year-old co-founder of the Courage to Refuse movement.

While Diamant and 600 fellow reservist refuseniks are making headlines over their choice, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is becoming increasingly worried that the numbers of Jewish men evading army service is on the rise. The trend is particularly noticeable among those aged 18 to 21, who under Israeli law must serve three years in the military.

New figures reveal that 27% of potential male draftees do not now serve in the IDF, with this year's draft being the smallest in recent times.

Remember the saying, 'what would happen if they held a war and nobody showed up?'

Arizona Daily Star Cancer in Iraq vets raises possibility of toxic exposure

After serving in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago — and receiving the Bronze Star for it — the Tucson soldier was called back to active duty in Iraq. While there, he awoke one morning with a sore throat. Eighteen months later, Army Sgt. James Lauderdale was dead, of a bizarrely aggressive cancer rarely seen by the doctors who tried to treat it.

As a result, his stunned and heartbroken family has joined growing ranks of sickened and dying Iraq war vets and their families who believe exposures to toxic poisons in the war zone are behind their illnesses — mostly cancers, striking the young, taking them down with alarming speed.

The number of these cancers remains undisclosed, with military officials citing patient privacy issues, as well as lack of evidence the cases are linked to conditions in the war zone. The U.S. Congress has ordered a probe of suspect toxins and may soon begin widespread testing of our armed forces.

Financial Times Sterling falls on Bank’s emergency lending

Sterling lost ground on Thursday after the Bank of England revealed it had lent £1.6bn through its standing facility to an unnamed borrower, sparking renewed fears over liquidity in the wake of the recent turmoil on credit markets.

The BoE’s standing facility allows market participants to borrow unlimited amounts at a penalty rate of 1 per cent over base rates.

The facility was last used on August 20 by Barclays, although the bank said it was not related to liquidity concerns.

The pound fell 0.4 per cent to $2.0090 against the dollar and eased 0.1 per cent to £0.6785 against the euro.

Wa PoReport Finds Little Progress On Iraq Goals GAO Draft at Odds With White House

Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress, according to a draft of a Government Accountability Office report. The document questions whether some aspects of a more positive assessment by the White House last month adequately reflected the range of views the GAO found within the administration.

The strikingly negative GAO draft, which will be delivered to Congress in final form on Tuesday, comes as the White House prepares to deliver its own new benchmark report in the second week of September, along with congressional testimony from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. They are expected to describe significant security improvements and offer at least some promise for political reconciliation in Iraq.

The draft provides a stark assessment of the tactical effects of the current U.S.-led counteroffensive to secure Baghdad. "While the Baghdad security plan was intended to reduce sectarian violence, U.S. agencies differ on whether such violence has been reduced," it states. While there have been fewer attacks against U.S. forces, it notes, the number of attacks against Iraqi civilians remains unchanged. It also finds that "the capabilities of Iraqi security forces have not improved."

"Overall," the report concludes, "key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high, and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion in reconstruction funds," as promised. While it makes no policy recommendations, the draft suggests that future administration assessments "would be more useful" if they backed up their judgments with more details and "provided data on broader measures of violence from all relevant U.S. agencies."

Seattle Times Bush warns of peril if U.S. fails in Iraq

President Bush warned Tuesday that the Middle East faces a bleak future if the United States fails in Iraq, evoking a "dark vision" of terrorist havens, disrupted energy supplies and a regional weapons race triggered by a nuclear-armed Iran.

"The region would be dramatically transformed, in a way that could imperil the civilized world," Bush said in a speech to the American Legion's national convention.

Bush also cited recent evidence of Iranian weapons in Iraq and renewed his demand that the Iranian leadership halt its support for attacks on U.S. troops.

"Until it does, I will take the actions necessary to protect troops," he said. "I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities."

Name one day Dubya has ever protected the troops. Name a day Prissy hasn't tried to protect them...A job according to his true ability thanks to SPB for the picture

CS Monitor Active-duty US troops become outspoken critics of Iraq war Their public critiques represent a shift in the military's culture.

Part of this reflects weariness with the war. But it also represents a shift in military culture where speaking up publicly is more usual and acceptable than in previous conflicts, experts say, thanks to changes in technology and society.

"This is the first post-Internet, post-digital-camera war" in which "the line between private lives and public lives has been blurred," says Eugene Fidell, a former military lawyer who teaches military justice at Yale.

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), as long as uniformed critics do not speak or write using "contemptuous words" regarding the president or other senior officials, they are free to voice their opinions, notes Mr. Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice. "We're a nation built on free expression, and it can get pretty noisy."

Part of this criticism reflects weariness with the war, especially among those serving multiple extended combat tours.

Any military wishing to publish an opinion piece anonymously can send it to The Prissy Patriot. It will be published and your identity will be held in confidence. Bella ciao(in favorite links) also offers self publishing and has a large international audience.

Fight Fox, become a Fox attacker Call FOX News advertisers near you and hit FOX where it hurts

This site tells you how to fight the propaganda by going after Fox advertisers.

CNN China's finance minister resigns

No details were given in the statement Resignation follows days of rumors Central Bank Vice Governor Su Ning says monetary policy would not be affected Jin's tenure saw China's foreign currency reserves surge past $1.3 billion

Irish Times Govt denies Musharraf has quit army

Asked about a claim by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto that Musharraf had decided to quit his military post and that she expected him to take the step before the vote, spokesman Mohammed Ali Durrani said: “No decision has been made.”

Did he get a phone call from Bushco?

Salon John Edwards turns on his fellow Democrats

Last week in Hanover, N.H., John Edwards shot off a rhetorical signal flare. "I want to go one step further," he said. Something new was coming. This wasn't going to be just another stump speech about the "Two Americas" -- one for the rich and one for everyone else. He was about to attack his own party, the Democratic Party, which he likes to call "the party of the people."

"The choice for our party could not be any clearer," he continued. "We cannot replace a group of corporate Republicans with a group of corporate Democrats, just swapping the Washington insiders of one party for the Washington insiders of the other.

Edwards would make an excellent president. Prissy liked him until he voted for the war. He has since come to regret that and has spoken out against the war well before others, like Hillary, would come clean.

Quotes of the Day for the Grand Old Pervert Party

Whatever you condemn, you have done yourself. ~Georg Groddeck, The Book of the It, 1950

That which we call sin in others is experiment for us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Experience," Essays, 1844

All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance. ~Theodore M. Hesburgh

Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo. ~H.G. Wells