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

Call Me Wrong Way George

Hot Links

Reuters Canada Bush faces pressure on Iraq as Blair leaves

U.S. President George W. Bush faced mounting pressure on Thursday from fellow Republicans as well as Democrats to show progress in Iraq within months or risk a collapse in support for the war.

On the day that Bush's closest international ally on the war, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, announced he would step down next month, Democrats in the House of Representatives refused to back away from proposals to change course in Iraq.

Bush, who vetoed a $124 billion war funding bill last week because it set a deadline for the withdrawal of combat troops, fired back by saying Congress should give military commanders more time and flexibility.

As for the House Democrats' bill providing some war funds now and possibly more later, Bush said, "I'll veto the bill if it's this haphazard, piecemeal funding."

Go ahead Dubya, its not like you are taking care of the troops now.

Bloomberg News Bush Says He'll Seek Agreement on Iraq Benchmarks (Update2)

Democrats, who hold majorities in both chambers of Congress, are threatening to restrict funding for U.S. troops in Iraq, and Republicans are telling the president that his strategy of adding more forces must show results by September.

PBS Special Frontline Spying on the Home Front

coming May. 15, 2007 at 9pm (check local listings)(60 minutes) FRONTLINE addresses an issue of major consequence for all Americans: Is the Bush administration's domestic war on terrorism jeopardizing our civil liberties? Reporter Hedrick Smith presents new material on how the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program works and examines clashing viewpoints on whether the president has violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and infringed on constitutional protections. In another dramatic story, the program shows how the FBI vacuumed up records on 250,000 ordinary Americans who chose Las Vegas as the destination for their Christmas-New Year's holiday, and the subsequent revelation that the FBI has misused National Security Letters to gather information. Probing such projects as Total Information Awareness, and its little known successors, Smith discloses that even former government intelligence officials now worry that the combination of new security threats, advances in communications technologies, and radical interpretations of presidential authority may be threatening the privacy of Americans.

Wired Spying in the Death Star: The AT&T Whistle-Blower Tells His Story

Those documents are under seal, but Wired News independently acquired and published a significant portion of them last year. They show that AT&T built a network-monitoring facility in a nondescript room at an internet switching hub in San Francisco, at 611 Folsom St. Diagrams in the document show that AT&T technicians split fiber-optic cables handling AT&T's WorldNet internet service -- as well as traffic to and from other major ISPs -- diverting copies of the traffic into the room, which was packed with internet-monitoring equipment.

In this rare interview, Klein supplies details of how he first learned about the secret room even before being transferred to the Folsom Street office. He also lashes out at Congress for failing to hold hearings, and says he won't be satisfied until he can visit the AT&T building and see that the room has been dismantled.

Wired News: How did you first find out about the special room at the Folsom Street building?

Mark Klein: In 2002, we -- the union technicians -- were notified by support that the (National Security Agency) was coming to interview someone for a special project. That's when I got wind of something. I though it was odd that the NSA was coming to a phone company because I thought they weren't supposed to be spying domestically after the law was changed in the 1970s. They told us (it was) because the place was small and we had to know to let the person in. I happened to answer the door and I directed him to the guy he was interviewing for this special job. (Editor's note: This took place at the Geary Street central office in San Francisco, where Klein worked before he was transferred to the Folsom Street office.)

See the documents Mark Klein blew the whistle on http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/05/mark_klein_docu.html

ABC News President Hears Unfamiliar Critics as Republicans Grow Wary of War

Thursday, two GOP senators -- Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine -- joined with Democrats in unveiling bills that aim to alter U.S. policy in Iraq, despite the White House's objections.

"Time is running out, and America's patience is finite," said Snowe, who traveled to Iraq last weekend. "We cannot further countenance political intransigence by the Iraqi government while our men and women are on the frontline making sacrifices each and every day."

Participants in the Tuesday meeting said Bush seemed to get the message that his administration has little time to show progress in Iraq.

The president acknowledged concern that Iraq could lead to Republican losses in next year's elections, and said at one point, "I don't want to pass this off to another president."

Seattle Times Majority of Iraqi lawmakers endorse timetable for U.S. pullout

BAGHDAD — A majority of Iraqi lawmakers have endorsed a bill calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops and demanding a freeze on the number of foreign troops already in the country, lawmakers said today.

The Iraqi bill, drafted by a parliamentary bloc loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, was signed by 144 members of the 275-member house, according to Nassar al-Rubaie, the leader of the Sadrist bloc.

The Sadrist bloc, which sees the U.S.-led forces as an occupying army, has pushed similar bills before, but this was the first time it had garnered the support of a majority of lawmakers.

The bill would require the Iraqi government to seek approval from parliament before it requests an extension of the U.N. mandate for foreign forces to be in Iraq, al-Rubaie said. It also calls for a timetable for the troop withdrawal and a freeze on the size of the foreign forces.

Geez Dubya, let's see the American people aren't minding you, the military isn't minding, the newly democratic elected government of Iraq is going their own way too and Gone-Zo just keeps inching closer to the door.

When the time is tight, Prissy predicts Gonzo will bolt... Dearest Readers, did you see Gonzo testify on C-Span III (of course) today? He just can't stop digging, even though the hole around him is caving in...

Daily Star another leader using Dubya's tactics of not me...Olmert shrugs off responsibility for failure in war, blames military

Olmert he made a pointed distinction between combat forces, whom he praised as "exceptional," and the military command, which he said "seriously let itself down." "Something in the conception of how they operated the forces, something in the conception of their control over the forces, something wasn't what we expected, unfortunately, and that no doubt led to the disparity between what we are capable of doing and what we actually achieved," he said.

Olmert told the inquiry that Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, the chief of staff who has since resigned over the military's failings in the 34-day war, had told him the armed forces were strong "and ready to carry out any mission."

A prime minister, Olmert said, could not be "a field commander" and had to rely on the military for expert assessments.

Guardian Selective MemriBrian Whitaker investigates whether the 'independent' media institute that translates the Arabic newspapers is quite what it seems

Its work is subsidised by US taxpayers because as an "independent, non-partisan, non-profit" organisation, it has tax-deductible status under American law.

Memri's purpose, according to its website, is to bridge the language gap between the west - where few speak Arabic - and the Middle East, by "providing timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, and Hebrew media".

Despite these high-minded statements, several things make me uneasy whenever I'm asked to look at a story circulated by Memri. First of all, it's a rather mysterious organisation. Its website does not give the names of any people to contact, not even an office address.

The reason for this secrecy, according to a former employee, is that "they don't want suicide bombers walking through the door on Monday morning" (Washington Times, June 20).

New Scientist Can culture dictate the way we see?

The researchers found expected differences between the age groups. There was a lower response by the hippocampus – a brain region which seems to help the mind connect a particular object to its background – among older subjects in both groups compared with their younger counterparts.

But the team also found a smaller response in a brain area involved in object recognition among elderly East Asians compared to the elderly Westerners. This occurred when the two groups viewed images with similar backgrounds but varying foreground objects. The brain region involved is called the lateral occipital region.

Importantly, they found no significant difference in the response of this particular visual processing region among young people in the US and Singapore. This, the team says, supports the idea that, over the course of decades, culture shapes how the brain perceives images.

KRQE New Mexico Blair quitting with second thoughts on Iraq

With the date for his resignation now set, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is reflecting on his time in power.

And he said while he thought going to war in Iraq was the right decision, he "may have been wrong."

CBC Government trying to 'bully' public servants, accused leaker says

Jeff Monaghan, an employee at Environment Canada, was arrested and led away in handcuffs from his office early Wednesday as co-workers looked on. At a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Monaghan called it a "politically engineered raid of my workplace."

"The spectacle of my arrest, the subsequent RCMP press release and the prepared statements from Environment Canada, including [Environment Minister John] Baird, have been crafted to bully public servants," he said.

Monaghan, 27, also called the proposed charges "vengeful" and an "extension of a government-wide communication strategy pinned on secrecy intimidation and centralization."

The RCMP said they arrested Monaghan for allegations of breach of trust under the Criminal Code. He is accused of leaking details from a draft version of the the government's regulatory framework for climate change. No charges have been laid and the investigation is ongoing, police said.

Asia Times All power to US's shadow army in Iraq by Jeremy Scahill

The 145,000 active-duty US forces are nearly matched by occupation personnel who currently come from such companies as Blackwater USA and the former Halliburton subsidiary KBR, which enjoy close personal and political ties with the Bush administration. Until Congress reins in these massive corporate forces and the whopping federal funding that goes into their coffers, partially withdrawing US troops may only set the stage for the increased use of private military companies (and their rent-a-guns) which stand to profit from any kind of privatized future "surge" in Iraq.

From the beginning, these contractors have been a major hidden story of the war, almost uncovered in the mainstream media and absolutely central to maintaining the US occupation of Iraq. While many of them perform logistical support activities for US troops, including the sort of laundry, fuel and mail delivery, and food-preparation work that once was performed by soldiers, tens of thousands of them are directly engaged in military and combat activities.

According to the Government Accountability Office, there are now some 48,000 employees of private military companies in Iraq. These not-quite GI Joes working for Blackwater and other major US firms can clear in a month what some active-duty soldiers make in a year. "We got 126,000 contractors over there, some of them making more than the secretary of defense," said the chairman of the House of Representatives' Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, John Murtha. "How in the hell do you justify that?" House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Henry Waxman estimates that $4 billion in taxpayers' money has so far been spent in Iraq on armed "security" companies such as Blackwater - with tens of billions more going to other war companies such as KBR and Fluor for "logistical" support. Jan Schakowsky of the House Intelligence Committee believes that up to 40 cents of every dollar spent on the occupation has gone to war contractors.

Thanks to Stonefruit on the picture

Kaiser Network, taking better care of our troops than Dubya Capitol Hill Watch | VA Should Institute Better Claims Process for PTSD, Study Finds

PTSD claims increased from 120,265 in 1999 to 215,871 in 2004, and payments increased from $1.72 billion to $4.28 billion during the same period. The panel suggested that VA develop new standards for evaluating PTSD based on those set by the American Psychiatric Association. The panel also recommended that VA establish certification programs for workers who handle PTSD claims. In addition, the panel said VA should base PTSD awards on how greatly the disorder affects all aspects of a veteran's life, not just his or her ability to gain employment (Schmid, AP/Dayton Daily News, 5/8). The panel also noted that female veterans are less likely to receive compensation for PTSD, in part because of the difficulty in some cases of proving that the sexual assault and harassment that caused the condition took place during military service (Adams, McClatchy/Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/9).

Nancy Andreasen, chair of the committee that released the report and head of the psychiatry department at University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine, said, "As the increasing number of claims to the VA shows, PTSD has become a very significant public health problem. Comprehensive revision is needed" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 5/9). VA press secretary Matt Burns said, "VA is studying the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the report to determine actions that can be taken to further enhance the services we provide." He added, "VA is a recognized leader in the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD, and we will continue to take steps to ensure veterans have timely and seamless access to compensation for which they are eligible" (AP/Dayton Daily News, 5/8). Dave Gorman, executive director for Disabled American Veterans, said, "It's a step forward. It insists on training and accountability and more thorough examinations -- a lot of the things we've been seeking for a long time" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 5/9).

BBC Blairs government taking down whistle-blowers Pair are guilty of Bush memo leak

Keogh's barrister, Rex Tedd QC, said his client had wanted to seek to reveal the truth of what was happening in Iraq while others were trying to conceal that truth.

John Farmer, defending O'Connor, said the war in Iraq was "the most controversial foreign affairs involvement of this country since Suez 50 years ago".

Earlier, O'Connor told the court he had never been "so worried and so fearful" as when he was passed the document.

O'Connor, who worked for anti-war Labour MP Mr Clarke, said he had been approached by Keogh and told about "some quite embarrassing, outlandish statements" in the four-page document.

Embarrassing to Bush and Blair that is...

Alternet Italian Pay-off From Niger Forgery?

Italian journalists and parliamentary investigators are hot on the trail of how pre-Iraq War Italian forged documents were delivered to the White House alleging that Saddam Hussein had obtained yellowcake uranium ore from Niger.

New links implicating Italian companies and individuals with then-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi now raise the question of whether Berlusconi received a payback as part of the deal -- namely, a Pentagon contract to build the U.S. president's special fleet of helicopters.

The yellowcake story in the United States has long been linked to the ongoing investigation into the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Plame's diplomat husband Joe Wilson had probed the Niger connection and concluded that the Bush administration was twisting intelligence reports to fit its case for war.

Two people -- Carlo Rossella and Giovanni Castellaneta -- are at the center of Italian inquiries into the transfer of the yellowcake dossier from the SISMI, the Italian intelligence agency, to the White House.

The best evidence the cabal had for war was forged, kind of like the dumb stuff Colin Powell got up there in front of the world and said...

Army Updates Regulation on Intelligence Activities

The U.S. Army issued an updated regulation (pdf) governing its conduct of intelligence activities, including domestic surveillance policy and practice. The new regulation makes several technical changes and rescinds the "For Official Use Only" status of the prior edition.

See "U.S. Army Intelligence Activities," Army Regulation 381-10, May 3, 2007.

Quotes of the Day

If all politicians fished instead of spoke publicly, we would be at peace with the world.--Will Rogers

We assume that politicians are without honor. We read their statements trying to crack the code. The scandals of their politics: not so much that men in high places lie, only that they do so with such indifference, so endlessly, still expecting to be believed. We are accustomed to the contempt inherent in the political lie.-- Adrienne Rich

What this country needs are more unemployed politicians--Edward Langley

I am never going to have anything more to do with politics or politicians. When this war is over I shall confine myself entirely to writing and painting.--Winston Churchill

I don't believe that the big men, the politicians and the capitalists alone are guilty of the war. Oh, no, the little man is just as keen, otherwise the people of the world would have risen in revolt long ago! There is an urge and rage in people to destroy, to kill, to murder, and until all mankind, without exception, undergoes a great change, wars will be waged, everything that has been built up, cultivated and grown, will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin all over again.--Anne Frank

Gonzo Dances the Legal Limbo

There is no "limbo" according to the Pope. However, Gonzo may see it different these days.

Or can he see at all? Will his defense be that he needed new glasses? Maybe that explains why he signed off on the torture, caste off Geneva as a Gold Standard of humanity for the world, fired some of our best U.S. Attorneys and tells Dubya anything he wanted to do was legally fine by him. He felt strongly in the presidents "unitary authority." What country was he talking about? Can't be this one...

But after all, this is counsel who has never tried a case- so its not like he's a real lawyer.

His stint on the hot seat Thursday proved that. RAW Story cited an article that said he had a total of 71 "I don't recall" "I don't know" "I don't remember." John Stewart said 45 before lunch!

Note to Dearest Readers: Prissy has some interesting projects going on to tell you about...more soon!

Hot Links

Prissy likes the way these JAG's think...from Military Law Review - Volume 185 - Fall 2005 (in pdf)

EMERGENCY POWERS AND TERRORISM p. 83 In his classic concurrence analyzing separation of powers, Justice Jackson pointed out that the President is on strongest ground when he acts with congressional authorization, may or may not have constitutional powers when acting in congressional silence, and must have strong independent constitutional grounds when going against the will of Congress.

p. 84 Under that reasoning, to justify military force to perform civil law enforcement after passage of the posse comitatus legislation, the President would have to persuade a majority of the court that a genuine emergency existed sufficient to justify departure from specific congressional direction. After the experience of Korematsu, Duncan, and Youngstown, it is doubtful that anything short of imminent invasion could justify unilateral action in violation of the statute.

(bold PP)

Dubya, in America you govern, you do not rule...

A Shero steps forward! Yahoo Official takes risks warning on pet drug The first hints of trouble came with vague warnings from the outer reaches of the bureaucracy. She was "pushing too hard." She was "alarmist."

In June 2005, a Wyeth manager made a sales call at an Alabama veterinary practice, where he openly blamed (Dr. Victoria) Hampshire for the Proheart 6 recall, according to a confidential letter written by a vet there to the FDA. The Wyeth employee boasted that the company had her investigated by private detectives, and she had been "taken care of," according to the letter obtained by The Associated Press. He then predicted the drug's swift return to market.

That Wyeth manager, Glen Kimmorley, did not answer AP messages left at a home phone in his name. The Wyeth spokesman said Kimmorley "was expressing his own opinion and was not authorized to speak on behalf of the company." However, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has been investigating Hampshire's case, says Wyeth "tried to destroy a reputation."

He added: "Her own agency sold her down the river."

Hampshire still feels edgy, less trusting, shamefully naive about corporate influence on government. Her husband, Bob Balaban — himself a senior scientist at the National Institutes of Health — says she's "not the same person." They hope for more answers from Senate investigators.

This retaliation against people trying to make something better must stop. Prissy will have to note that when she gripes at Congress.

Good grief, have Dubya's people gone feral?

Angus-Reid PollingRussians Have Good Opinion of China

More people in Russia see China as an amicable country, according to a poll by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center. 27 per cent of respondents perceive China as a friendly state and an ally, up five points since July 2005.

An additional 36 per cent regard China as Russia’s strategic and economic partner, while 21 per cent consider it an economic and political rival and a competitor.

How do they see us? Don't ask...

This is London Power lines link to cancer in new alert

The report was drawn up by scientists, electricity company bosses, the National Grid, government officials and campaigners over two years after the Health Protection Agency accepted there was a weak statistical "association" between prolonged exposure to power fields and childhood leukaemia.

But the 40 members of the panel have clashed over the final details and conclusions.

It stops short of specifically recommending a ban on new homes and schools within 60 metres of power lines, or vice versa, which could wipe a total of £2 billion off property prices across Britain and limit land for housing developments.

But the report concludes that the Government should consider such a move, stating: "We urge government to make a clear decision on whether to implement this option or not."

Channel News Asia Iraq PM to lobby for Egypt talks

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will begin a regional tour on Sunday to drum up support for next month's international conference in Egypt aimed at quelling the raging bloodshed in Iraq.

His tour comes to the backdrop of a warning by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to Iraqi leaders that they need to work faster to reconcile their rival factions as American support cannot be taken for granted for ever.

Coffeyville Journal, more proof evangelicals need more than God... Female teacher charged with sexual relationship with student

Marsha Mote, a 37-year-old Tyro Community Christian School teacher, was charged Tuesday at the Montgomery County, Kansas courthouse with aggravated indecent liberties with one of her 14-year-old students.

Court documents filed Tuesday by Montgomery County Attorney Larry Markle accused Mote of unlawfully, feloniously and intentionally having sexual intercourse with a girl on March 1. The girl was both a student at the school and a member of the church. The incident involved penetration and is alleged to have occurred off of school and church property.

Tyro Christian Church Pastor David Bycroft stated Tuesday that he became aware of the incident on March 3 when Mote called him to her home. "Marsha admitted to having been in a compromising position with a minor," Bycroft stated. "She immediately resigned her teaching position at Tyro Community Christian School and was relieved of all of her volunteer duties at the Tyro Christian Church. I then contacted the sheriff of Montgomery County."

Mote is the wife of Tyro Christian School Associate Pastor Kevin Mote. He has taken a leave of absence.

It will, I believe, everywhere be found, that as the clergy are, or are not what they ought to be, so are the rest of the nation -- Jane Austen

WaPo Congress Skeptical of Warhead Plan Lawmakers and Experts Question Necessity, Implications of a New Nuclear Weapon

Congressional hearings over the past several weeks have shown that the Bush administration's plan to move ahead with a new generation of nuclear warheads faces strong opposition from House and Senate members concerned that the effort lacks any strategic underpinning and could lead to a new nuclear arms race.

Experts inside and outside the government questioned moving forward with a new warhead as old ones are being refurbished and before developing bipartisan agreement on how many warheads would be needed at the end of what could be a 30-year process. Several, including former senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), suggested linking production of a new warhead with U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, a move the Bush administration has opposed.

Bush eliminated the "Mutual Assured Destruction Theory" that most military strategists took into account while planning national defense. Not so much a "theory " as it is common sense. Leave it to these guys to extinct the human race. Does Prissy believe they are that stupid? YES...

The Corruption Chronicles Imprisoned Mayor Says Pay Up

A former Connecticut mayor and once-prominent Republican politician serving a lengthy federal prison sentence for child sexual abuse had the audacity to claim that the city he once headed owes him tens of thousands of dollars in personal benefits.

Former Waterbury Mayor Philip A. Giordano was convicted in 2003 of 17 counts of child abuse involving the use of city-owned equipment to set up sexual liaisons with two young girls. He was sentenced to 37 years in federal prison and now claims that Waterbury owes him $61,000 for unused vacation, sick and personal days.

Giordano, a three-term Waterbury mayor, had also served as a Connecticut state representative and was the Republican challenger against popular incumbent Senator Joseph Lieberman in 2000. The child sex charges surfaced in 2001, during a federal corruption investigation into Giordano's administration. He was accused of taking kickbacks involving city contracts, making him Waterbury's third consecutive mayor to end up in court and the second to go to prison.

Have some time to donate for a good cause without leaving your favorite chair? Comb through Freedom of Information Act documents obtained by the good folks at CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Crew FOIA Documents

CREW explains the missing email scandal THE FACTS BEHIND THE WHITE HOUSE EMAIL SCANDALS

There are two separate email scandals:

- Top White House officials’ use of RNC email accounts and RNC destruction of those emails

- Five million EOP emails missing from White House (EOP) server from period 3/03 to 10/05

Times Online UK Secret memo on Iraq talks at the White House seen by 87 people

He was giving evidence for the prosecution in the trial of David Keogh, a civil servant who worked in a Cabinet Office communications centre, and Leo O’Connor, a political researcher working for a Labour MP, both of whom have pleaded not guilty to charges under the Official Secrets Act 1989 in relation to the unauthorised disclosure of the document. They face a maximum of two years in prison if found guilty.

Mr Rycroft, the first of several Downing Street witnesses expected to give evidence at the trial, said that he had stipulated at the top of his letter from Washington that “the document must only go to those who really need to see it”, and should not be copied to anyone else.

He said that he was surprised to discover that it had been given much wider circulation and had ended up on the desks of a number of officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Cabinet Office, MI6 and the Joint Intelligence Committee. A number of duty clerks and communications specialists had also seen it as part of their role to distribute it around Whitehall. All were in a position to have read the contents, Mr Rycroft said.

The prosecution accuses Mr Keogh of making an unlawful copy of the document, which had been faxed to the communications centre where he was on duty, and passing it to Mr O’Connor in the hope that it would end up in the public domain. Mr O’Connor slipped the document into a pile of papers belonging to Anthony Clarke, Labour MP for Northampton South. The MP handed it to Special Branch.

Forgive Prissy if she's mistaken, she was under the impression it was part of ones job not to allow illegal activity to occur while holding a position of public trust.

Forward Rumors Abound as Israel Levels Secret Charges Against Arab Pol

Despite the secrecy of the investigation — or because of it, according to Bishara — the case has touched off a furious political and ethnic fracas.

Bishara’s face was splashed across the front pages of Hebrew- and Arabic-language Israeli newspapers for days after the case was first leaked to the Arab-Israeli newspaper A-Sinara. Even the country’s embattled president did not get such extensive coverage after the initial reports that he was suspected of sexual misconduct.

Bishara has yet to be charged with wrongdoing; the investigation reportedly is ongoing. But the uproar has added a climactic element to a series of recent events that have combined to deepen mistrust between Arab and Jewish Israelis in the wake of last summer’s war in Lebanon. Various Arab political statements and initiatives have sparked Jewish fears of Arab radicalization. Jewish reactions, in turn, have sparked suspicions among Arabs of a looming crackdown on their freedom of speech.

The Bishara case has brought these mutual suspicions to a head, with many Arabs claiming that the investigation is a government attempt to silence critics, while Jewish commentators speculate that Bishara must be guilty of some act of disloyalty — typical, some charge, of his community as a whole.

Governments must understand that when they support actions coupled with secrecy and potential injustice or use devaluing methods in conducting their investigations-it will not be secret for long no matter which country or ethnic background. Nor should it be.

Zogby Zogby Poll on MSN: Most Don't Believe Stricter Gun Control Policies Will Prevent Mass Shootings Released: April 20, 2007

Two-thirds (69%) believe Virginia Tech shootings were the actions of a deranged man and could not have been prevented

Most Americans don't believe that stricter U.S. gun control policies would help prevent tragedies such as this week's shootings at Virginia Tech, a new MSN-Zogby poll shows.

While 59% don't think stricter gun control policies would help, 36% believe they could make a difference by helping to prevent future shootings. More than two in three Americans (69%) believe the recent shootings at Virginia Tech were the actions of a deranged man determined to inflict mayhem and could not have been prevented. But 16% believe stricter controls of guns and ammunition would have prevented the tragedy.

Lot's of gaps in the V Tech story...

BBC Afghanistan's bloody new year

It seems as if the Taleban's much-hyped spring offensive may have finally begun, but not in any formal sense, at least not in the contested provinces of southern Afghanistan.

There the British, American and other Nato forces remain on the front foot.

But since the country celebrated Nowruz - the Persian New Year - with picnics, dancing and kite flying competitions about a month ago, the insurgents have stepped up their attacks elsewhere.

In the past week alone, bombers have killed 25 people - most of them policemen and private security guards - in the normally peaceful northern town of Kunduz, in the Taleban's home city of Kandahar in the south and near the eastern border with Pakistan, in Khost.

Downing Street.org Record of Iraq War Lies to Air April 25 on PBS by David Swanson

Bill Moyers has put together an amazing 90-minute video documenting the lies that the Bush administration told to sell the Iraq War to the American public, with a special focus on how the media led the charge. I've watched an advance copy and read a transcript, and the most important thing I can say about it is: Watch PBS from 9 to 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25. Spending that 90 minutes on this will actually save you time, because you'll never watch television news again – not even on PBS, which comes in for its share of criticism.

While a great many pundits, not to mention presidents, look remarkably stupid or dishonest in the four-year-old clips included in "Buying the War," it's hard to take any spiteful pleasure in holding them to account, and not just because the killing and dying they facilitated is ongoing, but also because of what this video reveals about the mindset of members of the DC media. Moyers interviews media personalities, including Dan Rather, who clearly both understand what the media did wrong and are unable to really see it as having been wrong or avoidable.

Lebanon Daily Star Bush claims 'direction' in Iraq 'beginning to shift'

On the ground, US troops and helicopters fought with gunmen around a Shiite mosque in western Baghdad before prayers, killing two suspected insurgents, the American military said. US troops have started building a wall around a Sunni enclave in Baghdad, part of a strategy to "break the cycle of sectarian violence" in the Iraqi capital.

Two days after attacks in Baghdad killed more than 200 people, Bush defended the operation in the capital.

"There are still horrific attacks in Iraq, such as the bombings in Baghdad on Wednesday, but the direction of the fight is beginning to shift," he said.

Bush added that the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, "reports that it will be later this year before we can judge the potential for success, but the first indications are beginning to emerge. And they show that so far the operation is meeting expectations."

Yes, Dubya is going to "break the cycle" of violence with overwhelming violence. He doesn't yet understand they want us to leave and his "methods" only work for a day, at best.

Flashback Tue, Oct. 25, 2005CIA leak illustrates selective use of intelligence on Iraq

A Knight Ridder review of the administration's arguments, its own reporting at the time and the Senate Intelligence Committee's 2004 report shows that the White House followed a pattern of using questionable intelligence, even documents that turned out to be forgeries, to support its case - often leaking classified information to receptive journalists - and dismissing information that undermined the case for war.

The State of the Union speech was one of a number of instances in which Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and their aides ignored the qualms of intelligence professionals and instead relied on the claims of Iraqi defectors and other suspect sources or, in the case of Niger, the crudely forged documents.

Like the Niger allegation, almost all of the administration's claims that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had to be ousted before he could develop nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, use them against America or give them to al-Qaida terrorists have turned out to be false. No such weapons or programs have been found, and several official inquiries have concluded that there was no cooperation between Iraq and al-Qaida.

The indictments that may come in the CIA leak case this week aren't expected to delve into the administration's use of intelligence. The Senate Intelligence Committee agreed to examine the issue in 2004, when it reported on the spy agencies' errors, but it hasn't done so.

Word Yard The U.S. attorney purge and Watergate

U.S. attorneys are prosecutors who have enormous latitude and power to go after potential wrongdoing. They operate under the Justice Department’s direction but they have a tradition of independence, and both parties agree that they should be insulated from political pressure. They are political appointees — not political operatives.

The evidence continues to mount that the purged attorneys — loyal Republicans and Bush appointees all — were fired because (a) they weren’t aggressively pursuing an agenda of “cracking down on election fraud” that was a cornerstone of Karl Rove’s long-term strategy and (b) Rove wanted to ease them out so some of his young-turk up-and-comers could pad their resumes before the Bush administration sinks into its terminal mire.

At this point it sounds like we’re just dealing with some ugly political hardball. But as Josh Marshall (whose site has been a font of reporting and insight on this story from the beginning) has argued, the whole “election fraud” dimension has fouler partisan implications.

“Cracking down on electoral fraud” is a GOP code phrase; in practice, it means finding ways to keep poor and minority voters away from the polls. Two lengthy New York Times pieces — yesterday’s and today’s — have chronicled how little fire there is behind the GOP “election fraud” smoke. Gonzales and Rove kept pushing their U.S. attorneys to trump up election fraud cases, even as impartial or bipartisan investigations poking into these charges kept coming up empty.

From Project on Government Accountability, interesting book The Art of Anonymous Activism: Serving the Public While Surviving Public Service

Military.com Navy Commander Relieved of Post

The Navy gave no details on why Rankin's commander, Capt. Scott Stearney, lost confidence in his abilities. Stearney leads Carrier Air Wing 7, which includes Rankin's squadron.

"It's inappropriate to discuss the details because an investigation is ongoing. It's an internal situation," Aandahl said. "There could be a (criminal) charge. It's possible."

Aandahl said the loss of confidence in ability to command could be triggered under a broad range of scenarios from bad judgment to inappropriate conduct. For now, he said, Rankin will remain with the Eisenhower strike group, patrolling the Gulf and adjoining Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.

The Eisenhower is currently visiting a port in the Persian Gulf that Aandahl declined to name.

Reuters Congress set to defy Bush on Iraq war

Bush has promised to veto any bill setting dates for removing U.S. combat soldiers from the Iraq war, now in its fifth year.

But when a Democratic-controlled panel of Senate and House of Representatives members meets on Monday to iron out differences between their respective bills, the product is expected to contain 2008 withdrawal dates.

Many lawmakers have been speculating those dates might be nonbinding, as sketched out by a Senate-passed bill.

"The longer we continue down the president's path, the further we will be from responsibly ending this war," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who on Thursday said the war in Iraq was "lost."

Tell congress "End the War" or be replaced!

UK Sunday Times Al-Qaeda‘planning big British attack’

Another plot could be timed to coincide with Tony Blair stepping down as prime minister, an event described by Al-Qaeda planners as a “change in the head of the company”.

The report, produced earlier this month and seen by The Sunday Times, appears to provide evidence that Al-Qaeda is active in Iran and has ambitions far beyond the improvised attacks it has been waging against British and American soldiers in Iraq.

There is no evidence of a formal relationship between Al-Qaeda, a Sunni group, and the Shi’ite regime of President Mah-moud Ahmadinejad, but experts suggest that Iran’s leaders may be turning a blind eye to the terrorist organisation’s activities.

The intelligence report also makes it clear that senior Al-Qaeda figures in the region have been in recent contact with operatives in Britain.

Quotes of the Day

A conservative is a man who believes that nothing should be done for the first time.-- Alfred E. Wiggam

Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself. Lao Tzu, The Art of War

Man's enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself.--Lao Tzu

The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it. – John Hay, 1872

We have it in our power to begin the world again. -- Thomas Paine in "Common Sense" (1776)