Let's Stop Following the Misleader

Prissy always did have an attitude about following orders from people dumber than herself...

Dearest Readers, later today Prissy and Betty Buckaneer will be doing a pilot for our new radio show, The Progressive Revolution

Prissy will podcast as soon as the tech guys record it, later this evening or tomorrow, it should be posted. While it will be live today in Columbus, the new FM station doesn't have much range yet-but with the podcast online, that won't matter much.

To all the daddies out there today and to the men who are not bio daddies, yet put forth a good example, "Happy Father's Day!"

Hot Links

Financial Times BAE faces fresh congressional scrutiny

Congress is renewing its scrutiny of BAE Systems in the wake of allegations that the British defence company bribed a former Saudi ambas­sador to Washington to secure valuable defence contracts.

The department of justice is also considering whether it should open a full-blown inquiry into whether BAE has violated US anti-bribery laws in relation to its international arms deals.

That should be interesting...

Sure it will, from Reuters Top general says his Iraq report will be candid

The top U.S. commander in Iraq said on Sunday he will have a good idea in September how well the troop increase has worked and will be able to provide a forthright report to the policy makers in Washington.

"We can provide a reasonable snapshot of the situation at that time and how things have gone in the surge, both in the security and then in the political and economic arenas," Gen. David Petraeus said on "Fox News Sunday."

President George W. Bush has said Petraeus' September report would be important in deciding the future of U.S. involvement in Iraq, but some in his administration have started to play down its significance to relieve some of the anticipation among members of Congress.

General Sanchez actually does give "candid" reports, now that he is no longer on Dubya's payroll...

UK Times ‘Ostrich’ ruling by judge may tilt jury against Lord Black

“Here, the Government has introduced sufficient evidence to support an inference of deliberate avoidance,” the judge ruled at the trial in Chicago.

Her decision will make it harder for Lord Black to beat US charges that he looted $60 million (£30 million) in bogus “noncompete” payments and perks – including a $62,000 surprise birthday party for his wife Barbara Amiel and a trip for two on the corporate jet to Bora Bora – from the newspaper empire that he ran.

“I don’t think he is walking out of this without a few years,” said Leonard Cavise, a law professor at DePaul University.

Lord Black has loudly protested his innocence in the press, drawing a rebuke from the judge when he declared in one interview that the prosecutors’ case was “hanging like a toilet seat around their necks”. But the normally loquacious peer curtly declined a formal invitation from the judge to testify on his behalf as his lawyers put on an unexpectedly brief defence, lasting only a few days. The only words that he has spoken in court during the three-month trial are: “I decline to exercise my right to testify.”

Patrick Fitzgerald's Chicago office is also prosecuting m'lord -he's got problems on a global scale. This guy will get his goose cooked, much like Scooter. Rich guys are the worst bad guys, for sure.

What motivated the 9/11 hijackers? See testimony most didn't. Watch Lee Hamilton cut off the FBI agent giving him an answer he didn't like.

Page 147 of the 911 Commission Report: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) first came to the attention of U.S. law enforcement as a result of his cameo role in the first World Trade Center bombing. According to KSM, he learned of Ramzi Yousef 's intention to launch an attack inside the United States in 1991 or 1992, when Yousef was receiving explosives training in Afghanistan. During the fall of 1992, while Yousef was building the bomb he would use in that attack, KSM and Yousef had numerous telephone conversations during which Yousef discussed his progress and sought additional funding. On November 3, 1992, KSM wired $660 from Qatar to the bank account of Yousef 's co-conspirator, Mohammed Salameh. KSM does not appear to have contributed any more substantially to this operation.

Yousef 's instant notoriety as the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Cen- ter bombing inspired KSM to become involved in planning attacks against the United States. By his own account, KSM's animus toward the United States stemmed not from his experiences there as a student, but rather from his vio- lent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel.

He didn't say violent disagreement with American freedoms...

Wired Judge Orders FBI to Turn Over Thousands of Patriot Act Abuse Documents

The April request from the Electronic Frontier Foundation asked the FBI to turn over documents related to its misuse of National Security Letters, self-issued subpoenas that don't need a judge's approval and which can get financial, phone and internet records. Recipients of the letters are forbidden by law from ever telling anyone other than their lawyer that they received the request. Though initially warned initially to use this power sparingly, FBI agents issued more than 47,000 in 2005, more than half of which targeted Americans. Information obtained from the requests, which need only be certified by the agency to be "relevant" to an investigation, are dumped into a data-mining warehouse for perpetuity.

An Inspector General report in March found rampant errors in the small sample of NSLs examined and systemic underreporting of the powers usage to Congress. The report also found that agents issued more than 700 "expedited" letters, some containing materially false sworn statements. These letters had no legal basis and essentially asked companies to turn over data by pretending there was an emergency in order to get the data necessary to get a proper NSL. One former FBI agent says its clear the FBI violated the law.

Now the Justice Department must turn over 2,500 pages of documents a month to the EFF, including information on cozy surveillance contracts between the FBI and telephone companies and information on how data captured by NSLs were put into the FBI's massive data mining warehouse.

The Justice Department told the court that there were more than 100,000 potentially responsive documents and that ten people are working full time on filling the request for documents. Look out for a run on thick, black magic markers in D.C.

Oh yes indeed, we want to know it all...let the lawsuits begin!

Video of the Marine, loyal Bushies and the pentagon wish to make an example of. Interesting that cowards who ducked out of Vietnam are pushing for this...Sgt. Liam Madden-Justified Dissent

Patrick Fitzgerald who told Prissy his blog is a fake! Duh, Mr. Fitzgerald, Prissy's blog is a fake too. Public Service - Good Medicine

Since graduating from Amherst College 25 years ago, Patrick Fitzgerald ’82 has proved himself one of the nation’s best prosecutors, and one of its most remarkable citizens.

Think Progress Special Counsel Probe Into Rove’s Politicization Of Government Advances

The Office of Special Counsel, which has already recommended that GSA chief Lurita Doan be suspended or fired for participating in partisan activities while on the job, is now moving forward with its investigation of nearly 20 other administration agencies.

Eighteen agencies have been asked by the Office of Special Counsel to preserve electronic information dating back to January 2001 as part of its government wide investigation into alleged violations of the law that limits political activity in federal agencies.

The OSC task force investigating the claims has asked agencies, including the General Services Administration, to preserve all e-mail records, calendar information, phone logs and hard drives going back to the beginning of the Bush administration. The task force is headed by deputy OSC special counsel James Byrne.

The White House has admitted that roughly 20 agencies have received a PowerPoint briefing created by Karl Rove’s office “that included slides listing Democratic and Republican seats the White House viewed as vulnerable in 2008, a map of contested Senate seats and other information on 2008 election strategy.”

This is about Ms. Doan's deed as a "loyal Bushie."

Gov Exec Magazine GSA chief spars with House panel Democrats

Waxman said Doan cannot be an effective leader because she "has abused the trust of her employees, [and] threatened to deny [employees] promotions and bonuses for telling the truth." He also argued she has lost the public's confidence by politicizing GSA.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., on Tuesday said President Bush should fire or suspend Doan immediately. And in April, two Democratic senators called for her to resign in light of "multiple ethical lapses."

The head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent investigative agency, said in a four-page letter delivered to President Bush late last week that Doan should be "be disciplined to the fullest extent" for violating the Hatch Act and for failing to cooperate fully and honestly with OSC's investigation into the violation.

OSC concluded that Doan violated the Hatch Act's prohibition against using her authority to interfere with or affect an election through her role in a Jan. 26 meeting at GSA headquarters. After a presentation by White House official Scott Jennings, Doan allegedly asked a question about helping Republican candidates, though accounts of her exact wording vary. Doan has maintained that she does not remember making such a comment and has argued that the OSC report is flawed and omits critical evidence.

Federal Times more about Doan 2005 e-mail shows Doan record of promises to assist GOP

Before her appointment to head the General Services Administration, Lurita Doan pledged to use a prospective position atop another agency to help the Republican Party. In a draft of a May 2005 e-mail to a Republican official pitching her credentials to head the Small Business Administration, Doan, who is black, wrote: “I believe that the part[y] has a unique opportunity to make about a 5 percent swing of black votes to the GOP. One of the largest concentrations of wealth and influence lies in the black business community of small black business owners who represent the participants in various SBA programs.”

The Office of the Special Counsel reported to President Bush on June 8 that Doan violated the Hatch Act at a January meeting of GSA political employees. At that meeting, a White House political aide gave a presentation on congressional races that Republicans planned to target in 2008. After the briefing, Doan, a Bush appointee, said something like, “How can we help our candidates,” according to multiple witnesses.

Doan has denied partisan bias and said she is not interested in politics or political polling. But Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said at a hearing today that the e-mail refuted those claims.

Was she a friend of Rover's too?

FreePress Radio US-IRAN: New War Rhetoric Undercuts Iraq Talks

WASHINGTON, Jun 12 (IPS) - U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman’s call for cross-border raids into Iran appears to be the culmination of a two-week long campaign by proponents of war to put the military option centre-stage in the U.S. debate over Iran once more.

The immediate effect of reigniting the let’s-bomb-Iran discussions is the undercutting of the recently initiated U.S.-Iran talks over Iraq, which in turn will cause the military confrontation with Iran to be viewed in a new light.

Senator Lieberman out-hawked the George W. Bush administration on the television news show "Face the Nation" this past Sunday by calling for "aggressive military action against the Iranians," including "a strike over the border into Iran." Repeating by now all but abandoned accusations by the Bush administration of Iranian complicity in the killing of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, the Connecticut senator’s comments caused a storm in the U.S. media Monday. Suddenly, the military option against Iran was once more at the centre of the U.S.’s Iran debate.

Chico Beat, sent by a military Dad. Happy Father's Day, Tim Kahlor, MFSO Orange County, CA. One of the best military dads Prissy has known in our efforts to end the war. A Letter to a Child Not Yet Born To be delivered in the year 2057, to an American soldier stationed at a base somewhere in Iraq

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability... the White House said on Wednesday. The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years.

Dear Pfc. ___________. Perhaps you are 18, maybe 19, born in 2038, or 2039, a child not yet born to a child not yet born. If the teaching of history is as bad in your time as it was in ours, you may not have heard of the man who is responsible for your presence in Iraq, so I will begin this letter-sent through space and across time-by telling you that you are where you are because an American president named George W. Bush told the American people that Iraq had stockpiled weapons that were an immediate threat to the security of the American homeland. This happened before you were born, of course, and before your parents were born, too, so it will perhaps surprise you to know that decisions made by a man so very long ago were instrumental in determining the course of your life.

It was that man, George W. Bush, who also told the nation that Iraq had been responsible for an attack on American soil that brought down two skyscrapers in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, and knocked out a chunk of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. that same day. You probably read about these events when you were in middle school. They are as far removed from you in time as the Eisenhower administration was from your grandfather's time. (Eisenhower was an American president a hundred years remote from your own days.)

Anyway, because of that attack and our fear of those weapons, we launched an invasion of Iraq, a hi-tech pounding the military strategists called "shock and awe," designed to scare the bejesus out of the Iraqis and pave the way for our occupation of the place. We did not call it an "occupation," of course. We called it a "liberation," and we were told that the Iraqis would greet us accordingly.

Reuters-still suffering the effects of Vietnam. Oh but George Bush isn't...Mothers hope U.S.-Vietnam Agent Orange efforts help

"It is better to die immediately than to die this way," said Tu, who earns 2 million dong ($124) a month as a night-time cleaner at a school.

Phong, his back bent and his left arm shortened, stands up by leaning against the cot railing. He makes unintelligible noises and does not understand when he is spoken to, his parents said.

In 1975, the final year of the U.S. war in Vietnam, Phong's father Nhu Van Phuc spent time at two places now identified by scientists as "hot spots" for dioxin, a small compound within the "agent orange" herbicide that is one of the most toxic known.

The United States maintains there is no scientifically proven link between the wartime spraying and more than three million people Vietnam says are disabled by dioxin over three generations.

It should be pointed out no one in the Bush family is suffering the effects of any war, unless you include a dive in the polls...

The Local, Sweden's English newspaper Former DN Editor: 'This ruling damages freedom of expression'

Svante Nycander, former editor of Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, gives his view after local politician Dahn Pettersson is fined for hate speech. Pettersson claimed in a motion that 95 percent of all heroin that comes into Sweden comes via Kosovo.

"The ruling in Malmö District Court is damaging to freedom of expression. Many will take it as proof that the authorities are afraid of uncomfortable truths, and that lacking reasoned counter-arguments they punish those who speak plainly.

And..."This is the result of changes at various points in the clause on Agitation against a National or Ethnic Group. The ban has developed in such a way that it inhibits not only prejudiced statements, but also nearly all discussion of sensitive issues that interest a large proportion of the public. Such a law thwarts its own purpose.

Know of fraud, or where the money for Iraq went? Get it off your chest here.

FraudNET

The purpose of the Government Accountability Office's FraudNET is to facilitate the reporting of allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement of federal funds.

If you want to report such allegations, you may do so by filling out a FraudNET Form or by using one of these other methods: * Send allegations via e-mail to fraudnet@gao.gov * Send a fax to FraudNet at 202-512-3086 * Write to:

GAO FraudNET 441 G Street NW Washington, D.C. 20548

TPM Cafe A Letter to the RNC from former CIA Officers by Larry Johnson

As former intelligence officers -- most of us have served the United States in undercover positions -- we are saddened and appalled by the recent public comments of former Senator Fred Thompson, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former Governor Mitt Romney -- one a potential candidate and the other two declared candidates for the Republican nomination for president -- with respect to the perjury and obstruction of justice conviction of Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

These men misrepresent the case against Mr. Libby and call into question the integrity of a respected Federal Judge and U.S. attorney. Their positions with respect to the just and fair punishment meted out to Mr. Libby raise serious questions about their commitment to the rule of law free of partisan bias.

We are particularly concerned by the recent speech by Fred Thompson, who declared: As you may recall, for some inexplicable reason, the CIA sent the husband of one of its employees to Niger on a sensitive mission. She had suggested it. He came back to the U.S. and proceeded to publicly blast the administration. Naturally, everyone wanted to know "who is this guy?" and "why was he sent to Niger?" Just as naturally, the fact that he was married to Valerie Plame at the CIA was leaked.

Larry goes on to write "This is not an issue of Republican versus Democrat. The signatories of this letter include registered Republicans, Democrats, and Independents."

Want a good laugh? Read what some of Scooter equally shallow friends wrote in support of their criminal friend. Birds of a feather, stick together?

E&P Why the 'L.A. Times' Called for Iraq Pullout by Greg Mitchell who finally gets it. What Greg, are your own little darlings getting uncomfortably close to draft age? Better late than never or 50 years from now, like Korea...

(June 13, 2007) -- “I see no moral reason to wait until fall,” Jim Newton, editorial page editor at the Los Angeles Times told me earlier today. “We need to evaluate in real time. That’s part of the motivation for the editorial this week. Besides Gen. Petraeus, others have a right to assess the facts as well.”

Newton was referring to an editorial in his paper on Tuesday calling for peace talks and a ceasefire in Iraq. It’s the kind of talk we heard often in relation to Vietnam and later conflicts but oddly missing in regard to Iraq. But the Times is taking all sorts of bold stands on the war these days. Six weeks ago the paper advocated – hold on to your hats – that the U.S. actually start to disengage in Iraq.

That editorial was titled simply, if eloquently, “Bring Them Home.

PBS Utube clip A must watch! BILL MOYERS JOURNAL | Listening to History

Bill Moyers reflects on a conversation between Lyndon Johnson and his National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy that took place in 1964.

Bill Moyers blog Begging His Pardon

The line that should shame Libby forever...

One beltway insider reports that the entire community is grieving—“weighted down by the sheer, glaring unfairness” of Libby's sentence.

And there’s the rub.

None seem the least weighted down by the sheer, glaring unfairness of sentencing soldiers to repeated and longer tours of duty in a war induced by deception. It was left to the hawkish academic Fouad Ajami to state the matter baldly. In a piece published on the editorial page of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Ajami pleaded with Bush to pardon Libby. For believing “in the nobility of this war,” wrote Ajami, Scooter Libby had himself become a “casualty”—a fallen soldier the President dare not leave behind on the Beltway battlefield.

Not a word in the entire article about the real fallen soldiers. The honest-to-God dead, and dying, and wounded. Not a word about the chaos or the cost. Even as the calamity they created worsens, all they can muster is a cry for leniency for one of their own who lied to cover their tracks.

There are contrarian voices: “This is an open and shut case of perjury and obstruction of justice,” said Pat Buchanan. “The Republican Party stands for the idea that high officials should not be lying to special investigators.” From the former Governor of Virginia, James Gilmore, a staunch conservative, comes this verdict: “If the public believes there’s one law for a certain group of people in high places and another law for regular people, then you will destroy the law and destroy the system.”

Yikes, Prissy just agreed with Pat Buchanan and other female disrespectors...Bill Moyers is one of the best journalists in America. That's why they put him on PBS, so no one else will know what he is saying.

Quotes of the Day

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.-- Henry David Thoreau

The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours breaking through.--Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and author of Democracy in America(July 29, 1805 – April 16, 1859)

If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.--Aristotle

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.--CS Lewis

There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an advantage and security to all, but especially to democracies as against despots. What is it? Distrust.--Demosthenes

Dems Drag America Back Down into the Muck

Thanks for nothing Democrats. You didn't save the troops, you funded their demise...we military families won't forget the Dems sold out to corporate interests, yet again.

Dearest Readers, Hope you caught some of Ms. Goodling's testimony. Check out the Comedy Central clip on Raw Story about it. Sums it up very well.

A good girl who got in way over her head, she blindy served her AG and her president knowing full well it could catch up to ensnare them all, but thinking/hoping maybe they knew something she didn't. They of course didn't.

Interesting how Gonzo's DOJ (could there be a lawful, shadow DOJ somewhere?)subordinates Sampson and Goodling-not one of them took responsibility for the list.

McNulty and Gonzo said they didn't do it either. You're darn skippy right knowing it couldn't have come from James Comey.

Who could have possibly had such motive, such cunning, such craft of manipulation?

Isn't it strange how at least two of the US attorneys fired were said by Gonzo's Dept that they were under performing in the area of cracking down on illegal immigration. But wait a minute-doesn't Dubya want to legalize the illegal residents?

Oh well, Prissy learned a long time ago while working in the prisons that crazy peoples actions never make sense. Sometimes not even to them...

Hot Links

Findlaw, the latest from John Dean Recent Developments in the Scandal over the Attorney General's Performance

This week, Gonzales was again shown to have lied to Congress; his ineptitude as Attorney General has resurfaced in litigation that is going to damage the government; and after ignoring a subpoena from the Senate, he made a belated but insufficient response following an angry letter from the Senate. Click here to find out more!

It's been clear for a while - and is becoming ever clearer - that the Attorney General ought to resign, or to be fired. Now, it seems that Congress is determined to force Gonzales from office or send him to jail, whichever they can do first.

This is plainly the right move - and anyone who does not understand why Congress is insisting on getting rid of Gonzales, does not appreciate the important and sensitive role the Department of Justice has in our government.

Statesman UT professor cancels speech, cites antisemitism Steven Weinberg condemns anti-Israel actions in Great Britain

Weinberg, who had been scheduled to speak at Imperial College in July, said in a letter that his decision was triggered by the National Union of Journalists' boycott of Israeli products, the Guardian reported.

"I know that some will say that these boycotts are directed only against Israel, rather than generally against Jews," Weinberg wrote. "But given the history of the attacks on Israel and the oppressiveness and aggressiveness of other countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, boycotting Israel indicated a moral blindness for which it is hard to find any explanation other than antisemitism."

Weinberg canceled a visit to another British university last year over a boycott of Israeli academics.

Well Professor, what do you wish those who disagree with Israeli foreign policy to do? Start a war?

Consortum News flashback Oct 2006 Al-Qaeda's Fragile Foothold

“My judgment is, if we weren’t in Iraq, they’d find some other excuse, because they have ambitions,” Bush said. “They kill in order to achieve their objectives.”

But a growing body of evidence, including the intercepted al-Qaeda letters, appears to undercut Bush’s conclusions about both the prospects for “a totalitarian Islamic empire” and a disconnect between the continuing Iraq War and terrorism.

According to a National Intelligence Estimate, representing the consensus view of the U.S. intelligence community in April 2006, “the global jihadist movement is decentralized, lacks a coherent global strategy, and is becoming more diffuse.” [Emphasis added.]

The NIE also concluded that the Iraq War – rather than weakening the cause of Islamic terrorism – had become a “cause celebre” that was “cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.”

Good going war prez.

Ashland Daily Tidings Son, soldier and center of congressional controversy May 4, 2007

If we patriotic Americans disagree with the president's denial of reality on the ground in Iraq, then we are accused of being against our troops. That line of reasoning is false, as well as un-American.

Here is our reality.

Shortly before Neil and his unit were deployed from Fort Benning, my wife, Virginia, and I got a call from Neil. During the conversation, he told her his men did not have some basic equipment they needed for combat. He told us that his unit needed a number of essential items.

My wife raised $12,000 so they could be properly equipped for their deployment. Family and friends who support Bush offered no help and one family member told us to quit our whining. All of the money came from people who support the troops but want to de-fund the war.

From WhatReallyHappened.com:

And as reported by KKCI Des Moines on 21 May, 2007, (http://www.kcci.com/news/13358786/detail.html), the Iraq war itself is creating an ammo shortage, which is having an impact on local US police departments.

The article states: "Experts said ammunition shipments are being delayed for up to a year because the Army has more than tripled its demand for small-caliber ammunition."

Dearest Readers, do you suppose Blackwater's ammo is on back order?

CNN, in part responsible for this young mans health problems Iraq vet: 'My brain will not let go'

A year after coming home from Iraq, AJ Jefferson is still fighting the war in eerie nightmares about the bomb that left him and two comrades seriously wounded.

"I've been told it's normal," the Army specialist said with a smile, "considering what I've gone through."

The 21-year-old soldier has been diagnosed by doctors with several ailments blamed on the attack, including severe post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. He's also been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, or TBI, which often is accompanied by forgetfulness and restless sleep.

"I have the dreams every night," said Jefferson, who also suffered severe leg wounds that left him unable to run or stand for long periods. "There are nights when I can't sleep because all I'm thinking about is just re-enacting what happened in my head. My brain will not let go of it."

Emotional trauma is more difficult to recover from than physical trauma many victims have told Prissy. Understandable.

Look, Dubya has given himself new powers, just like a real dictator NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/NSPD 51, HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD-20

The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government. In order to advise and assist the President in that function, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (APHS/CT) is hereby designated as the National Continuity Coordinator. The National Continuity Coordinator, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), without exercising directive authority, shall coordinate the development and implementation of continuity policy for executive departments and agencies. The Continuity Policy Coordination Committee (CPCC), chaired by a Senior Director from the Homeland Security Council staff, designated by the National Continuity Coordinator, shall be the main day-to-day forum for such policy coordination.

(7) For continuity purposes, each executive department and agency is assigned to a category in accordance with the nature and characteristics of its national security roles and responsibilities in support of the Federal Government's ability to sustain the NEFs. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall serve as the President's lead agent for coordinating overall continuity operations and activities of executive departments and agencies, and in such role shall perform the responsibilities set forth for the Secretary in sections 10 and 16 of this directive.

The gist of it is, he decides what is an emergency and then he takes full control.

Truthout Bush Anoints Himself as the Ensurer of Constitutional Government in Emergency

The subject of the document is entitled "National Continuity Policy." It defines a "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function."

This could mean another 9/11, or another Katrina, or a major earthquake in California, I imagine, since it says it would include "localized acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack-related emergencies."

The document emphasizes the need to ensure "the continued function of our form of government under the Constitution, including the functioning of the three separate branches of government," it states.

But it says flat out: "The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government."

We know what a fine job he's done with the constitution so far...

The Future of America Has Been Stolen

Investigative reporter Greg Palast says 4.5 million votes will be shoplifted in 2008, thanks largely to the “Rove-bots” that have been placed in the Justice Department following the U.S. Attorney firings. Being the guy who uncovered the voter “purge lists” of 2000 that disenfranchised black voters, he’s worth listening to, even if the mainstream press chooses not to.

This time around, he claims to have 500 emails that the House subpoenaed and Karl Rove claims were deleted forever. They prove definitively, says Palast, that the Justice Department is infested with operatives taking orders from Rove to steal upcoming elections for Republicans and permanently alter the Department.

The “clownocracy” of Bush and Rove is criminal and even evil in its attempts to steal past and future elections, according to Palast, and can only be stopped if “Democrats…find their souls and find their balls.”

And the interview with Palast, a Prissy Patriot hero!

JD: Talk a little bit about the relevance of Tim Griffin — the perp who became prosecutor — and Arkansas in 2008.

GP: It was Griffin who directed the “caging” ops for the GOP. Caging, by the way, is illegal. Law Professor Bobby Kennedy pointed out it violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — and I’d add, as a former racketeering investigator, mail fraud statutes. So Griffin’s a felon — now U.S. Attorney.

JD: Is Kennedy still actively publicizing this?

GP: Yes. The incriminating email is reproduced right in Armed Madhouse. That’s why Griffin and Goodling were high-fiving over the fact that no one’s picked up the investigations of that “British reporter” Palast.

The key thing is, Griffin is not just “involved,” he is directing the scheme. His denial was confidential — had to be subpoenaed. Remember, as Goodling testified, the line of the Bushies is that Griffin had nothing to do with caging.

Pre-War Intelligence Was Pretty Good Booman

They predicted electoral success for radical Islamists (see Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Egypt). Also, see Musharraf's current problems in Pakistan.

The Intelligence Community also underscored that "in some countries an increase in Islamist sentiment also probably would take the form of greater support for Islamic political parties that seek to come to power through legitimate means."

They predicted that Iran would cause trouble if not constructively engaged, or if threatened.

The Intelligence Community assessed that "the degree to which Iran would pursue policies that either support or undermine U.S. goals in Iraq would depend on how Tehran viewed specific threats to its interests and the potential US reaction. The Intelligence Community assessed that the "more that Iranian leaders perceived Washington's aims did not challenge Tehran's interests or threaten Iran directly, the better the chance that they would cooperate in the post-war period, or at least not actively undermine US goals."

The Intelligence Community assessed that "guaranteeing Iran a role in the negotiations on the fate of post-Saddam Iraq might persuade some Iranian officials to pursue overt and constructive means to influence reconstruction in Iraq."

Liberty Forum, public forum with a high degree of accuracy Whatever happened to the WTC HARD-DRIVE recoveries?

The CONVAR data salvage has made it completely clear that more than $100 million in insider credit card transactions took place in the hours and minutes before the twin towers collapsed. The mainframe computers in the towers processed these transactions; and the credit card data would have been lost forever had it not been for the successful data reconstruction of the CONVAR specialists.

A German company, CONVAR of Pirmasens near the French border, was given more than 400 computer hard drives from the wreckage of the World Trade Center. These are extremely sensitive computer components that went through the collapse of the World Trade Center. Using blue laser technology, CONVAR succeeded in reconstructing all the data from the computer debris.This includes diverse financial data and telecommunication protocols up to a few seconds before the collapse of each tower. (Source: e-mail from CONVAR Germany on October 16, 2003.) The U.S. government's blatant lie about the allegedly missing black boxes is outright made ludicrous by this fact.

The reconstructed data was given by CONVAR to the FBI. The FBI was held by law to investigate, based on the reconstructed data, who placed the inside transactions. The FBI is doing no such thing.

And from the same forum, isn't this interesting?

Richard Wagner, a data retrieval expert at the company, said illegal transfers of more than $100 million might have been made immediately before and during the disaster.

"There is a suspicion that some people had advance knowledge of the approximate time of the plane crashes in order to move out amounts exceeding $100 million," Wagner said. "They thought that the records of their transactions could not be traced after the main frames were destroyed."

Criminals always make mistakes, even white collar criminals.

Wired 6 Navy Commanders Sacked in 6 Weeks

For the sixth time in as many weeks, the lead officer of a Navy ship has been suddenly relieved of command, DANGER ROOM pal Andy Scutro reports for Navy Times.

Cmdr. E.J. McClure, captain of the destroyer Arleigh Burke... had a “loss of confidence in her ability to command” following the May 15 “soft grounding” of the Burke off Norfolk as the ship was heading back into port. No one was injured in the incident, but damage to the ship is still being assessed, according to the official.

"The Norfolk grounding is especially odd given the well-charted waters," Navy Times adds, in a second story. But it's hardly the only strange incident in recent weeks. On May 10th, the captain of the USS Constitution -- a 19th century warship, serving largely as a floating museum -- was relieved, for unspecified "lost of trust and confidence." Two days earlier, the Navy sacked the commanding officer of the destroyer Higgins for "loss of confidence in his ability to command."

Let us hope they weren't sacked for failure to be "loyal Bushies."

Check out this ad ran in the Washington Post by Gonzo's Harvard law school fellow grads dish it out just how they don't like his ways... 60 of Gonzo's Classmates tell him he failed the law

MN Campaign report Ellison: "Goodling was Forthcoming," but Issues Remain

"Gonzales had 71 lapses in memory his Senate testimony and at least as much trouble recalling key facts before the House Judiciary. But Goodling was candid and admitted that she "inappropriately" used political affiliations in making hiring decisions. I wish Gonzales - and Bush - were that honest," said Ellison, who recently requested Justice Department documents relating to the issues surrounding the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's office.

However, when Goodling was questioned about former Minnesota U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger, Ellison says "It appears that Heffelfinger was put on the list because he was spending too much time on the Native American Subcommittee. I'm not sure that I believe that Goodling doesn't know more. I suspect his name was put on that list because of the tribal ID issue that sparked the disagreement between Kiffmeyer and Heffelfinger."

Additionally, regarding Goodling's claims that she never communicated with White House officials Karl Rove and Harriet Miers regarding hiring decisions, Ellison remains skeptical: "I don't buy that. On the level, Goodling was candid and of course it's possible, but I just don't buy that one."

CNN Team working up new strategy for Iraq war

The U.S. military is joining forces with the State Department to prepare a new Iraq strategy that includes negotiating cease-fire and power-sharing agreements with some enemy combatants, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

A "joint campaign plan redesign team" is preparing the diplomatic and military strategy for Iraq, which is expected to be approved by the end of the month.

The team laying out the new course for how to proceed in the four-year-old war is led by Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, the officials told CNN.

One element of the plan is to try to identify groups of people -- possibly including Sunni extremists and militia groups -- with whom U.S. officials feel they can do business, such as negotiating power-sharing and cease-fire agreements and granting economic aid, the sources said.

Yahoo Al-Sadr reappears, says U.S. must leave

While the call for a U.S. pullout was nothing new, al-Sadr also peppered his speech with nationalist overtones, criticizing the government for not providing services, appealing to his followers not to fight with Iraqi security forces and reaching out to Sunnis.

"To our Iraqi Sunni brothers, I say that the occupation sows dissension among us and that strength is unity and division is weakness," he said. "I'm ready to cooperate with them in all fields."

Al-Sadr did not address his reasons for returning.

However, during his time in absentia his militia appeared to have split into a faction calling itself the "noble Mahdi Army" and more extremist elements that it accuses of killing innocent Sunnis and embezzling funds. Some members of the more moderate faction were even willing to provide the U.S. military with information on their rivals in an effort to purge the militia.

WaPoSpecial Prosecutor Seeks 30 to 37 Months in Prison for Libby

Libby "showed contempt for the judicial process when he obstructed justice by repeatedly lying under oath about material matters in a serious criminal investigation," Fitzgerald said.

Libby's attorneys have said their client should be pardoned, something top Democrats have warned against.

President Bush has said he is "pretty much going to stay out of" the case, at least until the legal process has run its course.

Yes indeed, you tell them Fitz. Sure we may have wanted 25 years, but three is reasonable considering. As everyone knows, Libby is the poster boy of a white collar criminal. Most likely he prefers white collar crime because it pays a little better and the sentences are lighter. Don't forget his fines, team Fitz.

NYT, don't you believe it...Bush is silently bumping up troop numbers, he will have 200,000 there by Christmas its said, and will claim a draw down-right back to regular presence of 130,000 troops. White House Said to Debate ’08 Cut in Iraq Troops by 50%

But the ideas under discussion, from the National Security Council to the Pentagon, envision reductions beginning well before then. The last time American troop levels in Iraq were anywhere near 100,000 was in January 2004, when they fell briefly to about 108,000.

One of the ideas, officials say, would be to reduce the current 20 American combat brigades to about 10, which would be completed between the spring of 2008 and the end of the year.

Several administration officials said they hoped that if such a reduction were under way in the midst of the presidential campaign, it would shift the debate from whether American forces should be pulled out by a specific deadline — the current argument consuming Washington — to what kind of long-term presence the United States should have in Iraq.

“It stems from a recognition that the current level of forces aren’t sustainable in Iraq, they aren’t sustainable in the region, and they will be increasingly unsustainable here at home,” said one administration official who has taken part in the closed-door discussions.

Quotes of the Day

In the beginning of a change the Patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot.--Mark Twain

The war on Iraq was a disaster, clearly carried out under false pretences. --Joe Wilson

In most communities it is illegal to cry "fire" in a crowded assembly. Should it not be considered serious international misconduct to manufacture a general war scare in an effort to achieve local political aims?--Dwight D. Eisenhower

All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.--Thomas Jefferson

Dubya- King of the FUBAR Providence

Dearest Readers, Prissy has been down, but not out, with an illness typical of primary grade children!

It was a worse week for Bushies... And that former U.S. Attorney James Comey, thinking he needs to go around spreading the truth to anyone who will listen. He really knows how to make the prez mad.

Prissy sure did enjoy his testimony, the "hospital scenario" was straight out of a scene from the Sopranos.

Oh Prissy, what does FUBAR stand for, you may ask? It's an old military cliché for equipment or a situation which is seen as "F*$%ed-Up Beyond All Repair." Dubya may not be familiar with the term just yet...

Hot Links

IHT Iraq's hidden casualties: 13,000 working for contractors

Martin said she waited three weeks for her father's body to be returned home and expressed resentment that dead contractors were treated differently from soldiers who fall in battle.

"If anything happens to the military people, you hear about it right away," she said in a telephone interview. "Flags get lowered, they get their respect. You don't hear anything about the contractors."

Military officials in Washington and Baghdad said that no Pentagon office tracked contractor casualties and that they had no way to confirm or explain the sharp rise in deaths this year.

Major General William Caldwell 4th, the top spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq, declined through an aide to address the matter. "Contractors are out of our lane, and we don't comment on them," said the aide, Lieutenant Matthew Breedlove.

While Prissy feels for any family suffering a loss, no one ordered contractors to Iraq. Unlike our soldiers, contractors are well compensated for their risk. So no, they can't really complain...if they don't want to keep getting popped off, they should just stop going. Contractors are resented by ALL other "sides" of this war, since they are directly profiting while the others stand by in misery. Notice the Lt.'s clipped phrase.

Army Times White House opposes 3.5 percent pay raise

Bush budget officials said the administration “strongly opposes” both the 3.5 percent raise for 2008 and the follow-on increases, calling extra pay increases “unnecessary.”

MSNBC Report: At least 2 abducted GIs believed alive Gen. Petraeus says U.S. knows who kidnapped three American soldiers

The top U.S. commander in Iraq thinks he knows who kidnapped three U.S. soldiers last weekend and believes that at least two of them are alive, the Army Times newspaper reported.

“We know who that guy is,” Gen. David Petraeus said in an interview posted Saturday on the Army Times Web site.

According to the newspaper, Petraeus said he did not know for certain whether the three 10th Mountain Division soldiers were alive.

“As of this morning, we thought there were at least two that were probably still alive,” he said. “At one point in time there was a sense that one of them might have died, but again we just don’t know.”

You can see how the General has come by his nickname.

Telegraph, more bad news for Dubya Bush gets ready for Iraq U-turn by Brown

Gordon Brown is prepared to risk the future of the "special relationship" with the United States by reversing Tony Blair's support for the Iraq war, President George W Bush has been warned.

He has been briefed by White House officials to expect an announcement on British troop withdrawals from Mr Brown during his first 100 days in power. It would be designed to boost the new prime minister's popularity in the opinion polls.

The President recently discussed with a senior White House adviser how to handle the fallout from the expected loss of Washington's main ally in Iraq, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.

Prissy hopes those neorepublicans clinging to hopes of a Bush rebound, soon allow those fantasies to be laid to rest right now. Wolfiewitz is gone, Generals continue to speak out against Bush-practically fresh from the field and Gonzo is hanging by a thread (or is it threat)...oh my. The house of cards is coming down.

Reuters 6 U.S. soldiers in Baghdad, Dead for Bush Lies

Six U.S. soldiers and an interpreter were killed by a roadside bomb in western Baghdad on Saturday, the U.S. military said in a statement on Sunday.

MSNBC, Prissy warned you about this weeks ago; the corporate media still playing catch up to the blogs. Tainted food exposes Chinese import woes What few contaminated products FDA discovers are often shipped again

Dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical.

Frozen catfish laden with banned antibiotics.

Scallops and sardines coated with putrefying bacteria.

Doesn't look like they will be killing us with kindness anytime soon.

Democracy Now George Monbiot: "If We Don’t Deal with Climate Change We Condemn Hundreds of Millions of People to Death"

Every week seems to bring new warnings on the consequences of rising global temperatures caused by human activity. A new report from the British charity Christian Aid predicts global warming will create up to one billion refugees by the year 2050. The World Health Organization recently said it expects deaths and injuries from climate change to more than double in the next twenty-five years. The yearly death toll linked to weather patterns is forecast to top 300,000 by the year 2030.

The U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared earlier this year the warming of the earth's climate system is unequivocal and attributable to human activities. The panel has called for humans to make sweeping cuts in greenhouse gas emissions over the next 50 years to keep global warming in check.

The Bush administration's stance is well known. President Bush laid out his opposition to the Kyoto Accords in his first State of the Union address in 2001.

Dubya is convinced global warming is not real, but he does believe we are "winning hearts and minds" in Iraq.

UK Times Decline and fall of the neocons Paul Wolfowitz’s departure from the World Bank signals the end of an ideological era in Washington

Wolfowitz, the cerebral neocon, and Falwell, the braying theocon, had nothing in common personally. Indeed, Falwell blamed “the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians” for provoking the 9/11 attacks, an explanation uncomfortably close to the views of the Taliban. But the unlikely alliance between their two movements provided the brains and the brawn behind Bush. Now the neocons have been ousted, one by one, from their positions of influence and trust while the Republican party base is desperately thrashing around for a successor to Bush that it can back in 2008.

The cleavage between the two marks the end of an era in which Bible Belt conservatives became the surprise champions of radical nation-building in the Middle East in the hope of crushing terrorism and halting the march of militant Islam. After Bush, such reforming zeal is unlikely to be repeated.

The fall of Wolfowitz is already entering the annals as a morality fable for the Bush administration in which the arrogant, narcissistic former Pentagon official and a handful of his cronies were foisted on an unwilling international institution until it finally found a way to spit them out. By this reckoning, Wolfowitz’s appointment as president of the World Bank in 2005 was an “Up yours” similar to the way the Iraq war was imposed by Bush against the wishes of the international community – with predictably dire results.

According to Juan Cole, a professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Michigan and a persistent critic of the Iraq war: “Wolfowitz has demonstrated a penchant for cronyism and for smearing and marginalising perceived rivals as tactics for getting his way. Indeed, these tactics are typical of what might be called the neoconservative style.”

The Hill Hoyer to Dems: We’ll stay put until Iraq bill passes

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told Democratic lawmakers on Friday that they would remain in session until they passed legislation to pay for the war in Iraq, according to an announcement that he sent to members.

Republicans have tried to capitalize politically on the absence of a supplemental war spending bill after President Bush vetoed the first version, and Democrats lack the votes to override the veto.

Stupid Steny, not smart enough to run out the clock on Dubya's war hole money...

UPI Japan seeks making patriotism compulsory

A bill was passed Friday by the Diet's Lower House to make teaching patriotism and "love of country" part of compulsory education. If passed, it will be the first time since World War II that Japan will make teaching patriotism part of the national curriculum for all elementary and junior high school students.

McClatchy News- Inside Iraq Just Do It

Yesterday and for the first time, I could spend some time watching TV in my room because I asked my brother to ask the power generator owner to double our share. I used to pay 60 thousands Iraqi Dinars a month (more than 47 $)for six hours of electricity a day.we receive 5 amperes through a cable that we linked to the generator. the 5 amperes are enough only to switch on the refrigerator and an air cooler. If we switch on another instrument, there would be a power failure and we have to call the owner of the generator to re connect us. The generator owner provides us with electricity for 6 hours a day only from 2 pm until 4 pm ( the hottest two hours in Iraq summer)then he switches off the generator until 8 pm when he switch it on for another 4 hours. We have to spend the rest of the day without electricity power because the Iraqi government and the Great US leaders spent the billion on painting the pavements and planting some flowers here and there and of course the big share of money went to the pockets of the security companies which the Iraqi officials and American officials in Iraq depend on. Anyway, Now I have to pay 120 thousands Iraqi Dinars (95 $) because now we buy 10 amperes. Now , I can switch on my room air cooler and the water pump. So yesterday. Myself and my wife and my son celebrated the great day by watching some movies in our room and enjoying the cool air from our cooler.

McClatchy Coast Guard program to upgrade its fleet is taking on water

Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., calls the failed 110-foot conversion program "the poster child" of what's wrong with Deepwater.

"They stopped after ruining eight boats," said Taylor, a former Coast Guard reservist who commanded patrol boats. "What angers me is we have eight ruined boats, $100 million spent and no one is held accountable. No one has been demoted."

The 13-foot section added to lengthen the ships ended up causing the hull to buckle under the stress of rough waters. In addition, whistleblowers alerted congressional investigators that small search-and-rescue boats that the 123-foot vessel carried had radios that were not waterproof - a finding an incredulous Taylor said was "bizarre."

However, the company vigorously defends its performance.

Of course they do-they have already been paid!

Lester Thurow, Professor of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and recent dean of the MIT Sloan School of Business. Harvard Square Library Speak Out Against the New Right-Analysis

President Johnson's refusal to raise taxes to pay for the Vietnam War is legitimately remembered as one of the key factors leading us into our current economic mess. He wanted both the Great Society and the war. But if he were to have both and not wreck the economy, his only option was to raise taxes sharply. He chose not to do so, and he wrecked the economy.

President Reagan wants both dramatic tax cuts to encourage investment and an even more extensive military build-up. But he cannot have both without wrecking the economy further unless he is willing to raise taxes dramatically on private consumption. He has chosen not to do so. If his current program is carried out, he too will wreck the economy.

Military spending is a form of consumption. It does not increase our ability to produce more goods and services in the future. While it may be necessary, it is consumption nonetheless. And as in any private budget, if you allocate more to one form of consumption, you must allocate less to some other form of consumption.

This means equivalent cuts must be made in other forms of consumption. The proposed military increase is so large that it cannot be fully paid for with cuts in civilian expenditures unless the president is willing to abolish major social programs such as Social Security. If he is not willing to do this, taxes must be raised to cut private consumption.

Still using the same play book from Vietnam, more evidence that 'conservatives' lack creativity.

More "uh-oh" for Dubya-The National Journal The Coming Appropriations War

On the other hand, not vetoing an appropriation after the Portman letter guaranteed it would happen will make the president's resolve look weak and raise questions about what he might do for the other bills. This will embolden congressional Democrats and Republicans alike to challenge the White House further on other issues.

The better strategy for the White House would have been not to issue the blanket challenge in the Portman letter so that it had some room to maneuver on a bill-by-bill basis. The administration could have simply complained about the overall level of spending in the budget resolution without taking any responsibility for it because that legislation isn't subject to a veto and it would have been solely Congress' decision. Then, the White House could have evaluated the support for each appropriation bill individually and vetoed only those it was certain of winning.

The Portman letter makes that strategy impossible. It also puts congressional Republicans in a very difficult position by forcing them to choose between supporting the White House and hurting themselves back home.

It's hard to see how those Republicans will side with the White House under these circumstances and, therefore, how the administration's latest budget strategy can succeed.

It's hard to see how Republicans will continue to hold a job-let alone a vote- with the administration's latest "strategy."

Cooperative Research Complete 911 Timeline Sibel Edmonds and Related Scandals

Late 1990s-Early 2001: FBI Investigation Discovers Turkish Nationals Attempting to Bribe Members of Congress

An FBI investigation finds that Turkish nationals are involved in efforts to bribe members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat. Targets of the FBI’s investigation include individuals at Chicago’s Turkish Consulate and the American-Turkish Consulate, as well as members of the American-Turkish Council and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations. Wiretaps obtained by investigators also contain what appears to be references to large scale drug shipments and other crimes. In 1999 some FBI investigators call for the appointment of a special prosecutor to continue the investigation. But after the Bush administration comes to office, higher-ups in the Department of State pressure the bureau to shift the attention of its investigation away from elected politicians and instead focus on appointed officials. [Anti-War (.com), 8/15/2005; Vanity Fair, 9/2005]

April 2001: FBI Translators Point to Explicit Warning from Afghanistan

FBI translators Sibel Edmonds and Behrooz Sarshar will later claim to know of an important warning given to the FBI at this time. In their accounts, a reliable informant on the FBI’s payroll for at least ten years tells two FBI agents that sources in Afghanistan have heard of an al-Qaeda plot to attack the US and Europe in a suicide mission involving airplanes. Al-Qaeda agents, already in place inside the US, are being trained as pilots. By some accounts, the names of prominent US cities are mentioned. A report on the matter is filed with squad supervisor Thomas Frields, but it’s unclear if this warning reaches FBI headquarters or beyond. The two translators will later privately testify to the 9/11 Commission. [WorldNetDaily, 3/24/2004; Salon, 3/26/2004; WorldNetDaily, 4/6/2004; Village Voice, 4/14/2004] Sarshar’s notes of the interview indicate that the informant claimed his information came from Iran, Afghanistan, and Hamburg, Germany (the location of the primary 9/11 al-Qaeda cell). However, anonymous FBI officials will claim the warning was very vague and doubtful. [Chicago Tribune, 7/21/2004] In reference to this warning and apparently others, Edmonds will say, “President Bush said they had no specific information about September 11, and that’s accurate. However, there was specific information about use of airplanes, that an attack was on the way two or three months beforehand, and that several people were already in the country by May of 2001. They should’ve alerted the people to the threat we were facing.” [Salon, 3/26/2004] She will add, “There was general information about the time-frame, about methods to be used but not specifically about how they would be used and about people being in place and who was ordering these sorts of terror attacks. There were other cities that were mentioned. Major cities with skyscrapers.” [Independent, 4/2/2004]

NBC 4 3,000 Campers Flee S. Calif. Wildfire

GORMAN, Calif. (AP) -- A fast-moving wildfire had burned more than 2,500 acres Sunday and chased thousands of people from campsites near Los Padres National Forest, authorities said.

No injuries were reported. The fire was 50 percent surrounded by early Sunday morning, said Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mike Brown.

More than 3,000 people were evacuated from four campsites in the area, Brown said.

The fire was reported at about 2 p.m. Saturday near the Golden State Freeway about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. By early Sunday it had scorched nearly 4 square miles.

The 250 firefighters on the lines were helped by lower nighttime temperatures.

Another reason to keep the National Guard reserves at home.

Asia Times, about that "surge" plan Iraq 'surge' strategy shows weaknesses

WASHINGTON - More than three months into the implementation of President George W Bush's "surge" strategy, skepticism over the likelihood of its success is still running high in Washington.

Except among neo-conservatives, who have been the strategy's most enthusiastic champions, most analysts believe it is doomed to failure in the absence of major moves - of which there have so far been virtually none - by the Shi'ite-led government of Iraqi

And while killings in Baghdad itself may be down compared with late last year, they have been steadily creeping upward over the last two months, according to published reports. Even the super-protected "Green Zone" - the nerve center of US operations and the Iraqi government - has become increasingly insecure.

"In any other embassy, we would have been evacuated," one State Department staffer told McClatchy Newspapers this week. "They are going to wait until 20 people die, then the people back in Washington will say we have a problem."

Calgary Sun Battered Radler winds up testimony at Black tria

CHICAGO -- The Conrad Black trial saw the last of David Radler yesterday as a prosecution witness, with lawyers shaking their heads and saying they'd never before seen such self-immolation of a star witness -- helped, one might add, by defence lawyers who supplied the matches.

Ron Safer got Radler to acknowledge his plea bargain deal of 29 months would normally have been 51 to 71 months, had he not stuck to a 37-page script written by the government for his grand jury appearance which led to the sweetheart deal -- which will be reduced to six months and served in Canada.

Lead prosecutor Eric Sussman in his rebuttal examination tried to undo the damage. He got Radler to reiterate that he was telling the truth and that "I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and I am guilty." But guilty of one fraud charge, instead of 10.

Personally, I doubt there's anyone following this trial who thinks Radler is capable of not lying. Or even knowing when he lies. He knows all deals are off and he'll go to jail for a long time if he's caught lying in this case. So he resorts to not recall testimony given yesterday, which seems his version of the Fifth Amendment.

The Facts Theories abound for cause of gas costs

“There is a disconnect today,” he said. “All the price of oil does is establish a floor of what the price is going to be in the country. What’s going to tell you the maximum price is going to be the supply of refined product. Supply of the finished product is short, and the price is going up accordingly, and it’s all profit for the refineries.”

Lundberg Survey Inc. cites reductions in refining capacity during the past two weeks as a cause for the tightening of the gasoline market. Refineries have been recuperating from normal turnarounds, repairs from 2005 hurricane damage and foreign merchant events inhibiting export volumes, it says.

Regina Slaydon, public relations director for ConocoPhillips’ Sweeny refinery, could not comment directly about Lundberg’s assessment, but said, “prices are set in the market place by market conditions” and refineries have no say over the price at the pump.

Thank you to the government teacher in Ohio who sent the picture. If only all children were blessed with a government teacher who actually knows what is going on in their government!

Quotes of the Day

One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork.-- Edward Abbey

The United States government must not undertake to run the Churches. When an individual, in the Church or out of it, becomes dangerous to the public interest he must be checked.--Abraham Lincoln

The most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments.-- Friedrich Nietzsche

Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects?--James Madison

Ultimately, America's answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.--Robert F. Kennedy

Should They Stay or Should They Go Now?

Someone should have told Dubya money will not buy class-Prissy blames his parents

Dearest Readers, Prissy is in DC this week and will be blogging about our military active duty soldier's Petition for Redress Here's more:

All participants are asked to arrive at Lafayette Park between 11 and 11:30 am on the 14th. The event starts at NOON. The group will wait up to 1 hour for a representative of President Bush to appear and to tell the group when they might expect to receive a response to the Petitions for Redress of Grievances.

If no such representative appears, the participants will move to the front entrance of the Treasury Department where they will wait up to hour for a representative of Secretary Paulson to appear. If no such representative appears, the group will move to the Justice Department where they will wait up to hour for a representative of Attorney General Gonzales to appear. If no such representative appears, the group will move to the Reflecting Pool by the Capitol where they will wait up to 1 hour for a representative of Speaker Hastert or Majority Leader Frist to appear..

With Rummy gone and most of the neorepublicans voted out, much to Sanitorum and DeWines everlasting surprise...what or who will it be next?

Will the Dick trickier than the original Dick, step down for "health related reasons" -or will he and Dubya be forced out?

Prissy is sure Dubya blames Karl for not cheating as well as he used to...

Don't you listen to that Nancy Pelosi when she claims "impeachment is off the table". Impeachment is NOT off the table-neither is indictment. Unlike Dick Nixon, Dubya may not be given options...

Nixon was told if he didn't resign, the Guard would be coming in to get him...officials waited eight hours for Nixon to decide.

He did resign of course, and the rest is history. Dick, Dubya, Rummy, Rover and Gonzo make Nixon look almost angelic...

Elizabeth Holtzman, Esq, at a forum in Philadelphia, PA, on Nov. 11, 2006, calls for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and V.P. Richard Cheney. She is a former Congresswoman from NYC, and an ex-member of the legendary House's Judiciary Committee, in 1974. It drove President Richard M. Nixon out of office for his Watergate-related crimes.

Hot Links

Breitbart News Lieberman: Call Me a Democrat

So will he count as a Democrat or an independent who caucuses with the majority Democrats? In an e-mail message late Thursday, Lieberman spokesman Dan Gerstein said the senator will begin his new term as a Democrat.

With the Democratic takeover of the Senate, Lieberman is in line to become chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Joe, its just like when some people announce they are gay-it rarely comes as a surprise to folks paying attention...its only offensive when they are in deep denial.

Center for Constitutional Rights WAR CRIMES COMPLAINT AGAINST DONALD RUMSFELD

On November 14, 2006, CCR will file a criminal complaint against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in German Court. The complaint requests the German Federal Prosecutor open an investigation and, ultimately, a criminal prosecution that will look into the responsibility of high-ranking U.S. officials for authorizing war crimes in the context of the so-called "War on Terror." Former White House Counsel (and current Attorney General) Alberto Gonzalez, former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, and other high-ranking U.S. officials are also charged in the complaint. The complaint is brought on behalf of 12 torture victims – 11 Iraqi citizens who were held at Abu Ghraib prison and one Guantánamo detainee – and is being filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Republican Attorneys' Association (RAV) and others, all represented by Berlin Attorney Wolfgang Kaleck. The complaint is related to a 2004 complaint that was dismissed, but the new complaint is filed with substantial new evidence, new defendants and plaintiffs, a new German Federal Prosecutor and, most important, under new circumstances that include the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense and the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 in the U.S. granting officials retroactive immunity from prosecution for war crimes. For full background on the complaint, please see the attached briefing paper.

Daily Mail-UK Outrage at London sting by US spies

In a recent operation, agents from America's Department of Homeland Security set up a suspect by posing as dealers wanting to illegally sell night-vision goggles for export to Iran.

The spies arranged a series of clandestine meetings in London hotels, which they secretly filmed as evidence. It is thought to be the first time American agents have been caught using such sting tactics in Britain.

Urgent questions were being asked about whether the British Government had been aware of the operation. If so, it raises issues of the State collaborating with foreign agencies to entrap suspects - and if not it raises the spectre of American spies working unchecked on British soil.

Dearest Allies, Dubya does not ask permission to do anything. Prissy suspects you all have figured this out by now-and no, she does not approve. What will your poodle do about it?

CNN Prescription: Dance for heart's sake

Italian researchers have come up with a novel way for cardiac rehabilitation patients to exercise their damaged hearts without having to squeeze into spandex or gyrate in a gym: waltzing.

The dance proved to be just as effective as bicycle and treadmill training for improving exercise capacity in a study of 110 heart failure patients. Dancers also reported slightly more improvement in sleep, mood, and the ability to do hobbies, do housework and have sex than the others.

Questions-The World Trade Center A Critical Review of WTC 'No Plane' Theories

With the amount of attention that the Pentagon no-plane theories have received, it shouldn't be surprising that some would also make the bizarre claim that no 767s hit the World Trade Center, despite voluminous video and photographic evidence to the contrary. My previous articles dealt with the core of these claims at length. Those articles were lengthy, so the purpose of this review is to provide a somewhat condensed and updated summary for those new to the subject or lacking in the time to delve into the details of the image analysis.

There have been two no-plane hypotheses put forward: The first, that small planes or missiles hit the towers and these were covered over in the videos and photos of the impact by synthetic 3D graphic images of 767s (including real-time superimposition of these images on all live TV footage as it was broadcast). The no-planers have labeled this scenario "TV Fakery." The second argument holds that the planes (at least the second plane) was in fact a hologram generated by classified technology. This hypothesis has since been abandoned. The proponents argue that anomalies in the visual record indicate the fraudulent nature of the computer generated second plane and show that the plane in the Naudet video of the first hit was not the size or shape of a 767.

The over-arching weakness of the TV fakery argument is this: how could the perpetrators have ensured control over all the images taken of the planes that approached the WTC? Only one unmodified image posted to the web would have exposed the operation. New York is a media capital of the world, with national networks, local network affiliates and independent TV stations, international media bureaus, and many independent video companies like the kinds I've worked for, and professional photographers. Professionals would have been rushing out to document whatever they could, through professional pride or the hope for making a buck off it. Evan Fairbanks and war photographer James Nachtway are some examples. And then there are also cameras in the possession of ordinary citizens and the thousands of New York's ever-present tourists. In addition, one should consider the possibility of foreign intelligence assets acquiring their own images of the attack (which so many knew was coming) which could be used for blackmail.

There are detailed photos with the above article.

UK Daily Mail Al Qaeda internet audio clip boasts of 12,000 terror 'troops

An audio clip purportedly recorded by the leader of Iraq's al Qaeda wing, has been posted on the internet gloating over the resignation of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and boasts that the group has 12,000 armed fighters ready to fight US troops in Iraq.

Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, said in the recording posted on the Internet that the group has 12,000 armed fighters and 10,000 others waiting to be equipped to fight US troops in Iraq. "I tell the lame duck (US administration) do not rush to escape as did your defence minister ... stay on the battleground," he said.

Um, yeah sure we know who really wants this war to continue and its not the people living it. Bold by Prissy...

Think Progress McCain and Lieberman Express Support For Sending More Troops to Iraq

Only 8 percent of Americans support sending more troops to Iraq. The other 92 percent were not represented this week on Meet the Press.

Full transcript: McCAIN: The question is, is what’s the solution? And I believe that a withdrawal or a date for withdrawal will lead to chaos in the region, and most military expercent think the same thing. I believe that there are a lot of things that we can do to salvage this, but they all require the presence of additional troops.

RUSSERT: Should we send more troops?

LIEBERMAN: I think we have to be open to that as a way to succeed, to achieve a free and independent Iraq, which would be an extraordinary accomplishment.

Prissy heard McCains 18 year-old son is now in the service. But old man McCain, just like his pop, Admiral McNasty, is more than willing to "make the sacrifice."

Is that young'un as much trouble as you were, John? Or is it your shot at the presidency, that is worth your son's life?

Forget it McCain-only 8% of the loonies are on your side.

More proof he is unbalanced:

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006 3:56 p.m. EDT McCain: ‘Suicide’ If Democrats Win Senate Arizona Sen. John McCain, a likely Republican presidential contender in 2008, joked Wednesday he would “commit suicide” if Democrats win the Senate in November. McCain, on a visit to Iowa to campaign for Republican congressional candidates, was asked his reaction to a potential Democratic takeover of the Senate in the Nov. 7 elections.

“I think I’d just commit suicide,” McCain told reporters, to accompanying laughter from Republicans standing with him. “I don’t want to face that eventuality because I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

Pick your poison John or better yet, drop out of politics and get intensive therapy. Take your son with you...

Reuters McCain says to mull presidential bid over holidays

"I am going to sit down with my family over the holidays and make that decision," the four-term senator, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2000, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Der Spiegel "End of a Six Year Nightmare"

In Britain, where any blow to Bush can be used to bash Prime Minister Tony Blair, John McDonnell a ruling Labour Party MP, said "The message of the American people is clear -- there needs to be a major change of direction in Iraq. Just as in Britain, people in the US feel that they have been ill advised, misled and ignored." McDonnell, a possible candidate for the Labour Party leadership when Blair steps down, said: "These election results have not only damaged Bush, they mean that Blair is now totally isolated in the international community."

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said that he was convinced that the election defeat was a result of Bush's Iraq policy. Speaking on Italian radio, he said that the president would now "have to negotiate with the opposition on all issues." The Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi described the election defeat as "a political judgement which follows the administration's political actions that we consider wrong."

In France, Laurent Fabius, the former prime minister and possible Socialist Party candidate in the 2007 presidential elections, said: "A lot of Americans have realised that Mr. Bush has lied to them." And Francois Fillon, a conservative politician close to Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy -- the current frontrunner for the French presidency -- said: "I am happy to see American foreign policy criticized by the American people because it is bad."

Thank you allies, know they were looking at riots if they stole our votes again...

Mercury News Iran vows retaliation if Israel strikes

The warning came two days after Israel's deputy defense minister suggested Israel might be forced to launch a military strike against Iran's disputed nuclear program as "a last resort."

"If the Zionist regime commits such stupidity, the response by the Iranian military will be swift, strong and crushing," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini said. "Iran will take no longer than a second to respond."

The comments by Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh were the clearest yet from a high-ranking official of possible military action against Iran. However, the Israeli government later said the comments did not necessarily reflect its views or those of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Israel bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981 to destroy Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program. While Israel neither acknowledges nor denies possessing nuclear arms, it is thought to have about 100-200 nuclear warheads, according to a 2006 report by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Much like Israel's "excursion" into Lebanon, their pre-emptive bombing of the nuclear reactor was considered by most military experts to be a strategic failure.

Mainichi MSN Japan Officer in charge of Israeli ship that killed 7 Japanese sentenced to community service

The ship's officer in charge of an Israeli cargo ship that rammed a Japanese fishing boat, killing seven people, was sentenced Sunday to six months of community service in a local hospital, following a plea bargain.

Second Officer Pilastro Zdravko, a Montenegrin citizen, was in command of the Zim Asia container ship when it crashed into the fishing boat in darkness on the morning of Sept. 28, 2005, about 25 miles off the northern coast of Japan, killing seven of the eight men on the boat.

The Israeli ship's crew initially denied involvement in the accident, but confessed when confronted with evidence. The behavior caused a diplomatic incident between Israel and Japan, which demanded a full investigation and punishment of those responsible. Zdravko was the only crew member charged.

Swiss Info News Baghdad morgue took in 1,600 bodies in October

National statistics issued last week by the Interior Ministry for Iraqis killed in specifically political violence, as opposed to incidents put down as criminal, put civilian deaths last month at 1,289, up 18 percent from the 1,089 seen in September, itself a record for this particular series of data.

Such figures have become increasingly controversial, notably since the United Nations put the monthly civilian toll at over 3,000 this summer and a group of medical statisticians estimated that over 650,000 may have died since the U.S. invasion of 2003.

Iraq's health minister was quoted last week as saying the total number of dead was closer to 150,000, although it was not clear how he arrived at that figure.

U.S. officials, who dismiss the statisticians' estimate, question the reliability of Health Ministry data, noting the department is controlled by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, some of whose followers are accused of sectarian killings

Boston.com FBI: L.A. man mailed threatening letters

Authorities claim he mailed threatening letters to Pelosi, Letterman, New York Sen. Charles Schumer, Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and MSNBC host Keith Olbermann.

Some letters included phrases like "Death to Demagogues" and pictures of victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami, authorities said.

Authorities said they watched Castagana, who is unemployed, walk from his home to a public mailbox Thursday and deposit several letters. One was allegedly addressed to someone previously targeted and contained the white powder, the FBI said

One of your buddies, Dubya? But Bushie man isn't angry about not having a job...

IHT Israeli unease grows over fraying U.S. ties

Although Israel was grateful to see Saddam Hussein overthrown, officials here have long focused on what they consider a much bigger concern - preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons. They say that the American policy of empowering Iranian-backed militias in Iraq has been counterproductive to Israel's interests.

That is bound to be the subtext when Olmert goes to the White House on Monday. And now the Democratic electoral sweep causes fresh concerns that the administration, whose muscular approach to Islamist terror and Iran has brought comfort here, will turn more to accommodation and compromise. Bush has chosen as his next secretary of defense Robert Gates, who in the past has been highly critical of the administration's refusal to engage in dialogue with Iran.

Forbes Putin Works To Restart Iran Nuclear Talks

Lavrov said Russia and Iran would work to restart talks between Tehran and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany.

"We think it's possible, if there is a goodwill, to find mutually acceptable basis for the resumption of talks on the basis of the proposals of the six and Iran's response to them," Lavrov said.

Larijani, said Friday that Tehran would push ahead with its nuclear program, and suggested it could break off ties with the U.N. nuclear watchdog if the world inflicts punishments proposed by European nations.

Online Journal Colonial hubris: Why Americans should organize to stop the war

"I think the US deserves a better president," declares one Iraqi student, after writing that the American invasion "ended a brutal dictatorial regime [but] it brought the American occupation which the Iraqis can't stand."

Another Iraqi student writes soberly, with more journalistic acumen and integrity than some of the top-paid reporters at The New York Times, "[The war] was about the oil, that damned liquid made a lot of people die for nothing and a lot of nations fight for it. . . . All we want is peace on this beautiful earth."

Yet another response: " . . . Don't be sorry. it's not your fault that we were invaded, we are living in a world where 'Power and Money' is the vital element that is running the show. Military troops were sent to Iraq for oil."

Compare this choral harmony issuing from Iraqi high-school students on the motivation for the war to its causal assessment by a ”young captain from Michigan, not long out of West Point.” "Why do you think you're here?" asks Ferner. “To get rid of Saddam Hussein; to give Iraqis their freedom; to fight terrorism.” One “bone-tired” US soldier, however, perhaps because his brain escaped the coddling, doctrinal massage of a superior military academy, utters a single word -- "Oil." He and the Iraqi students share the same common sense in examining the evidence. Had Iraq been rich in turnips instead of oil, they both imply, there would have been no war.

Quotes of the Day

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”--Bishop Desmond Tutu

“Injustice never rules forever”--Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”--Elie Wiesel

“Extreme law is often extreme injustice”--Terence (Ancient Roman comic Playwright and Dramatist of the Roman Republic. 195 BC-159 BC)

“INJUSTICE, n. A burden which of all those that we load upon others and carry ourselves is lightest in the hands and heaviest upon the back.”--Ambrose Bierce (American Writer, Journalist and Editor, 1842-1914)