Having a Ball With Governor Strickland

click any photo to enlarge

Governor Strickland rocked the Ohio State fairgrounds last night with his first Inaugural Ball...at least 7,000 people showed up to celebrate Ohioans moving forward with Ted. Ball organizers opened up another building, complete with heated walkway to get from one building to the next. Prissy votes this young belle "best outfit" for the 25 and younger crowd. Beautiful, isn't she?

The bands were playing, the wine was flowing, plenty of good food and dance floor was full. Even the Ohio State Highway patrol officers were in a good mood. There was more glitz and glitter than Hollywood and it was fun!

Prissy heard there were some republicans there, too, as Ted doesn't discriminate. Fred Phelps, however, did not show up...

How appropriate for the building named for a former Ohio republican governor-perhaps you remember him. It was Governor Rhodes who called out the Ohio National Guard to Kent State to put down "disturbances" during Vietnam...

Long time Inaugural Ball attenders said it was the largest party they had ever witnessed and the most energized group of people they had seen in years.

Hot Links

The Australian NGOs to sue US over WMD claims

The lawsuit by the collective will be filed at either French or Belgian courts, Kadi added.

In January 2003, US President George W. Bush accused Saddam of having bought uranium from Niger to make weapons of mass destruction.

The Niger collective said in a statement that investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), world media and US officials, all concluded that it was a "false accusation" against Niger.

That false information was used by Bush "to invade Iraq," said the collective's statement, which also called for support from Niger's President Mamadou Tandja, who back in 2003 said the US allegations were "harming Niger's image".

Neocons gone wild on CNN White House: We will send more troops in Iraq

• President Bush: "I've made my decision. And we're going forward" • Vice President Cheney says congressional critics won't influence troop plans • Cheney says Democratic critics don't have coherent alternative to Bush strategy • Cheney says giving up fight in Iraq would send wrong message to enemies

And we've made our decision...impeachment for the both of you.

Jpost US Senator Clinton meets with President Musharraf

The two discussed a range of issues, including the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East, he said, quoting Musharraf as telling Clinton that Pakistan was in favor of a "stable, strong and prosperous Afghanistan" and that Islamabad was extending full support to the world community in the fight against terrorism.

Musharraf also informed Clinton about the steps his government had taken to curb militancy and secure the Pakistani border with Afghanistan to check militants' activities, the official said.

Chicago Tribune Obama, McCain square off on war

Obama, reluctant to commit himself to any vote blocking spending for the war, is joining Democratic leaders in calling for the start of a phased withdrawal starting over the next four to six month and calls Bush's new plan "stay-the-course-plus.'' McCain, warning that a withdrawal of U.S. forces will lead to "catastrophe'' in Iraq, also acknowledges that he cannot "guarantee success'' with the president's plan.

The president, whom CBS News will feature this evening in an interview aired on 60 Minutes, vows to carry out the deployment regardless of congressional criticism for it. "I fully understand they could try to stop me from doing it,'' Bush tells 60 Minutes. "But I've made my decision and we're going forward.''

"I think the case still needs to be made,'' McCain said this morning, calling the debate so far "superficial." "This is about a new strategy, of which an increase in troop strength is an integral part.''

The deployment of 21,500 additional troops is part of a new plan to secure Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, McCain said. "We will go in and we will clear and hold and build,'' he said. "As most people know, we have gone in and cleared and left and the insurgents have returned… Do I believe it can succeed? Yes, I do.''

McCain, still thinking Vietnam too, is "doable"...

Oh Dick may waddle in with confidence...but he is sure to waddle out in a huff.

Will there be a surprise witness? The complete Plamegate Timeline KOSpedia Plame Leak timeline

January 24* CIA official Robert Walpole sends Stephen Hadley and other White House officials a memorandum in favor of the idea that Iraq had sought to obtain the uranium. The memo cites the language in the Oct. 1 intelligence estimate. (SSCI, NYT)

before January 28 * The National Intelligence Council sends and the White House receives an unequivocal memo, drafted by Robert G. Houdek, the national intelligence officer for Africa, that the Niger story is baseless and should be laid to rest. (WaPo, DailyKos)

January 28 * The 16 words are spoken by the President in the State of the Union address (transcript). "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

January 29 * Joseph Wilson meets with a friend who works at the State Department and asks why the president had cited the British intelligence report about Iraq's attempt to buy uranium, when he had debunked the allegation a year earlier. (NYT)

Reuters Cover-up is focus of CIA leak trial or is it?

A raft of books appear to back up Wilson's claim that the Bush administration manipulated intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war. Public opinion has firmly turned against the war and Democrats promise investigations of their own.

In the end, the Libby trial may seem less the culmination of a high-profile investigation than an afterthought.

"We're left with a rather modest case against a rather hapless personality," said George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley.

That is, until Fitz pulls the rabbit out of his hat, making the court audience gasp...Fitz, don't forget to say "Ta-da!"

New Scientist How to leak a secret and not get caught

According to the group's website www.wikileaks.org, its primary targets include China, Russia, and oppressive regimes in Eurasia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. It is not limited to these countries, however, and people anywhere will be able to use the site to reveal unethical behaviour by governments and corporations.

CBC and why Prissy is still mad at Dell, yes her model is included after Dell has denied this many times. Dell Inspirons inspire litigation

The claim, disclosed Friday by Rochon Genova LLP, alleges that Dell "was negligent in the design of the notebooks," so the computers are susceptible to overheating and premature failure of the motherboard.

The failures "often occur just outside of the standard one-year warranty period," the lawyers said in a release.

The Inspiron models named in the action are the 1100, 1150, 5100, 5150 and 5160.

Chicago Tribune Democrats eye alternative to U.S. troop surge plan

"Why not come back to the Congress?" Kennedy said. "Why not come back and permit us to have a vote on this surge? Let the American people speak through their elected representatives."

Bush invited top Republican leaders from the House and the Senate to Camp David for at least part of the holiday weekend.

After hearing Levin repeat the refrain that Bush's plan to increase troop levels would be a grave mistake during Friday's hearing, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) weighed in with his own critique of those who believe the president should be talking about drawing down instead of ramping up.

"Do they truly believe we can walk away from Iraq?" McCain said. "I believe these individuals ... have a responsibility to tell us what they believe are the consequences of withdrawal in Iraq. If we walk away from Iraq, we'll be back, possibly in the context of a wider war in the world's most volatile region."

Earth to John; are you still in Vietnam?

Times of India India may be birthplace of tuberculosis, says study

India may be the birthplace of one of the world's deadliest killers tuberculosis.

In a first of its kind study called "Predominance of Ancestral Lineages of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in India", that examined the diversity of the presence of TB strains, a joint team of Indian and French scientists found that the ancestral strains of the TB bacterium was widespread in India, an indication that it might be the ancient reservoir for TB, from which more recent strains evolved and spread to other countries.

Although India has the highest prevalence of TB worldwide, the genetic diversity of the virus in India was largely unknown.

Sign on SandiegoVice president calls former aide, heading to trial in CIA leak case, 'one of the more honest men I know'

The special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, spent three years investigating that claim but filed no charges based on the leak itself. He says his work is done except for trying Libby, who resigned after being indicted in October 2005.

Given that Libby probably will be the only official charged in the leak investigation, Cheney said, “I have strong views on the subject. I am likely to be a witness in this trial. It would be inappropriate for me, at this point, shortly before the trial begins, to enter into a public dialogue ... about my views on this issue.”

The vice president replied, “That's correct,” when asked if nothing he had heard or read would shake his confidence in Libby's integrity.

Cheney was interviewed on “Fox News Sunday.”

Bold by Prissy. Fitz using some Orwellian speak himself, saying his "work is done".

Personalize M&M's for your Sweetheart for Valentine's DayPersonalized M&M's

International Herald Tribune Cellphones on planes are almost a reality

After years of debate over the use of mobile phones aboard airplanes in flight, the moment of truth has — very nearly — arrived.

Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, installed satellite-based technology enabling voice calls and text messaging on one of its Boeing 777 jets late last year and expects to begin offering the service to passengers on a yet-to-be announced international route early next month. The service has already obtained approval from air safety and telecommunications regulators in 25 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, covering about 30 different routes that Emirates flies. The carrier expects to outfit its entire fleet with the technology within a couple of years.

A half-dozen other airlines, including Air France-KLM, Ryanair and Qantas, are due to offer similar services in Europe and Australia later this year. Travelers in North America, meanwhile, will have to await the conclusion of ongoing reviews of the technology by both the Federal Communication Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The public was told cell phones were used by airline passengers on 9/11...

Reuters Cheney: U.S. must show "stomach" to win in Iraq

How about you show yours, old boy?

Time Guilty Plea In HP Spy Probe

Wagner admitted using the personal information to set up online accounts in the targets' names between April 2005 and September 2006 to access their call logs and billing records.

Wagner's defense lawyer, Stephen Naratil, said his client would testify for the prosecution as it pursues other figures tied to the scandal. He declined to say whom Wagner would testify against or what he had already told prosecutors. His sentencing was set for June 20 in San Jose federal court. There was no sentencing agreement included in the plea deal.

Wagner faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of two years on the identity theft charge, and a maximum of five years for conspiracy, but prosecutors can ask the court for a more lenient sentence if they're satisfied with his level of cooperation.

Naratil has described his client as the "little guy" who was tricked by other people higher up in the HP investigation's chain of command into thinking the investigative methods were legal. Wagner never had any contact with anyone inside HP, Naratil said. "He was your classic dupe," Naratil said outside the courthouse. "It sounds preposterous now, looking back at it all, for him to think that it was legal ... But he was assured it was legal. He feels that he was used."

Gee Scooter, know the feeling? Daniel Ellsberg said that even when he was facing potential jail time, his only regret was not releasing the Pentagon Papers earlier.

Quotes of the Day

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye." --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power."-- David Brin

If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking.--Lyndon B. Johnson (1908 - 1973)

To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.--Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894)

Nothing’s better than the wind to your back, the sun in front of you, and your friends beside you.--Aaron Douglas Trimble

Bringing the Clean Up Crew to Ohio Politics

Not ready for French fries, yet they still fantasize of having a French maid

Dearest Readers, blogging should be more regular this week. The investigation Prissy was working on has been wrapped up, with a final report being readied.

If the case ends up in court, Prissy will post the filing here- as it will be big news here in Columbus...and could easily have ramifications on a national level regarding our election systems.

Rest assured, everything possible was done to ensure integrity in the vote and election process.

Yesterday there was a lovely event at the Columbus Athletic Club, with Ohio's new Governor-elect Ted Strickland.

Let Prissy be the first to tell you, our Ted could go all the way-once he is done fixing Ohio.Inside the lobby of the Columbus Athletic Club.

Ted let everyone know last night-"Have fun, and be prepared to get back to work to reclaim Ohio January 1st." You've got it, Governor! Prissy can't wait to get started.Ted, Ohioans are ready for change. We know the state needs a good scrubbing

Hot Links

From the desk of Patrick J Fitzgerald 24 - 7 - 365.2425

Harder working than Santa's elves, the dedicated team of professionals working in the field and at the J. Edgar Hoover - FBI Building 'round the clock (even on Christmas and Leap Day) investigating graft and corruption (my pet peeve) and locking up evildoers - an endless and often thankless task. Talk about results...

From Project on Goverment Oversight (POGO) and Patrick Fitzgerald...two of Prissy's favorite crime fighters.

CS Monitor Could Iran help the US stabilize Iraq?

Feeling vulnerable, Iran sent an unprecedented secret letter to the White House, offering to talk about everything from its controversial nuclear program to support for Hizbullah and Hamas militants.

But the Bush team dismissed the offer, and even scolded the Swiss ambassador in Tehran at the time for passing the message on. Today, with the US bogged down in Iraq and looking for a facesaving way out, it is the Iranians who want to define the terms of any cooperation.

They often cite Afghanistan in 2001, when Iran helped the US defeat the Taliban and push out Al Qaeda with extensive intelligence and diplomatic aid, only to be labeled part of the "axis of evil" weeks later.

"It's a game. We think the US wants to use Iranian power to solve their problem in Iraq before the presidential election in 2008," says Mr. Mohebian. "After victory ... then it will be back to the old 'axis of evil.'

Media Info Public Records Bill, Backed by Papers, Passes in Ohio

A bill that mandates public-records training for elected officials and stiffens penalties for withholding records has cleared the Ohio Legislature this week.

The bill also would increase the likelihood that those denied records will get their attorney's fees paid.

Times of India Saddam-era soldiers invited to join army

"The national unity government will pay pensions for those who are not reintegrated," added the premier, who has presented the broad-based talks as a fresh opportunity to end Iraq's vicious sectarian bloodletting.

Before the conference began, delegates said that, for the first time, the talks would include former members of Saddam's Baath party and representatives of some of the armed groups fighting the US forces.

Dubya, remind Prissy again why you went in there? One good reason will be sufficient...

LA Times Data mining won't catch terrorists

Many business travelers prefer to sit in an aisle seat. Many also prefer to sit near the front of the plane so they may be among the first off when the plane lands.

Those also happen to be seats that might be desirable for terrorists bent on hijacking an airplane.

That common seat preference shared by business fliers and violent extremists could be earning innocent passengers additional scrutiny as they cross the U.S. border.

Last month, in a little-noticed filing buried deep in the Federal Register and first reported by the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that for several years, it had been using a so-called Automated Targeting System to screen passengers entering and leaving the United States

.

And that's why ATS will have to go away, it targets airlines best customers. Duh

Centcom tells tall tales for Dubya Elections Represented Hope for Iraqis

The ballot for the Dec. 15, 2005, election was incredibly complicated, with hundreds of candidates running for office. Some were affiliated with nascent political parties, others ran on their own. Some parties were affiliated with a particular sect or tribe. Others cut across ethnic and religious boundaries.

Election Day (2005) in Iraq was also a triumph for the Iraqi security forces. "All the time and money you have spent training the Iraqi army, you harvest it today," Iraqi army Maj. Gen. Mobdir Hatim Hothya al-Delemy told then-3rd Infantry Division Commander U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Webster following a tour of polling places that day.

Middle East Times Baghdad kidnapping sows terror as Blair backs Iraq PM

The latest in a series of mass kidnappings spread terror in Baghdad Sunday as British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise visit to support his embattled Iraqi counterpart Nuri Al Maliki.

More than 25 aid workers were hauled off at gunpoint from a Baghdad office of the Iraqi Red Crescent aid agency by a gang of 50 gunmen sporting police uniforms, the second such mass abduction in Baghdad in three days.

Yet our delusional Bush administration sees "progress". Perhaps it depends on ones view of "unnecessary deaths."

MSNBC Witnesses in Libby trial all expected to testify

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has signaled that none of the government witnesses he intends to call will refuse to testify in the upcoming trial of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Fitzgerald did not say if Cheney or other top White House officials were on his witness list. But, he says, that none of the proposed witnesses intend to assert executive privilege, in an attempt to exclude their testimony.

The vice president himself has said in a CNN interview in June, "I may be called as a witness."

He sure will be up there on the witness stand. Prissy hopes his testimony is public, its worth going to DC to blog live! Get him, Fitz...

The Economist Blair's rotten week

Worse, in the end, may be government efforts to deflect attention away from the two pieces of unwelcome news this week. Both the questioning of Mr Blair, and the government announcement that it was bowing to Saudi pressure over the corruption inquiry, took place on the same day that a much-awaited report was published into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Whether or not this was intentional, it looks as if the government was trying to bury bad news on a day when Britain’s aggressive media might have been distracted. For all his efforts to leave his mark on Britain and the world, he risks being remembered most for formidable efforts to “spin” the news.

Hat tip to Fitz. Here's what Prissy will be wearing when "Fitzmas" finally arrives...

Testimony of Robert S. Mueller, III Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation Before the Senate Judiciary Committee December 6, 2006

Over the last two years, the FBI has convicted more than 1,060 government employees involved in corrupt activities, to include 177 federal officials, 158 state officials, 360 local officials, and more than 365 police officers. In FY 2005 alone, the Public Corruption Program saw a 25% increase in public corruption cases investigated, resulting in 890 indictments, 759 convictions, and 2,118 cases still pending. There are 622 agents currently working public corruption matters, an increase of 264 since 2002.

TPM Muckraker Roll Call Provides Scandal Scorecard of 19 members investigated of the 109th Congress

More to follow...

Rocky Mountain News The Suit that Jack Built one reporters tale

I found Sabatini at the impressive James Clothiers boutique at Tysons Galleria in McLean, Va. He still had those suits and the expense that came with them.

Sabatini beamed as I walked through the door. He said I was built just like big Jack. A quick fitting confirmed it.

I bought two double-breasted suits in different shades of pinstripes and a spiffy blue blazer.

On the lining of one jacket, embroidered in bright gold script, is the name "Jack Abramoff."

Chicago CBS2Reid: Ailing Senator Shows Some Progress

Sen. Tim Johnson has shown significant improvement after brain surgery and doctors say "everything is going to be just fine," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Sunday.

Yet when asked whether the 59-year-old South Dakota Democrat was conscious, Reid said in a television interview: "I'm not a doctor. I have heard and talked to his family. You should talk to them. It's not appropriate to talk to me about that."

Reid, who has visited Johnson frequently after the surgery Wednesday following a brain hemorrhage, said "he's doing very well. ... His improvement has been significant."

The governor of South Dakota will have a fight on his hands if he attempts to fill the democrat senators spot.

Reuters Ahmadinejad's allies struggle in Iran elections

Friday's twin elections for the clerical Assembly of Experts and local councils, the first nationwide vote since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, will not directly impact policy.

But turnout of around 60 percent and Ahmadinejad's close identification with some candidates, particularly in Tehran, suggested a shift toward more moderate policies and away from the president's ultra-conservative line.

Although not Iran's most powerful figure, Ahmadinejad's anti-Israel and anti-Western statements alarm the West, which fears Iran is seeking an atomic bomb despite Tehran's denials.

"The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support ... moderate figures," the daily Kargozaran said in an editorial.

MSN Japan Japanese, US nuclear envoys head to Beijing for six-way North Korea talks

However, both Washington and Pyongyang have demanded concessions from each other while offering little in return.

The U.S. says North Korea must take concrete steps toward dismantling its nuclear arsenal, but the North has said the U.S. must first abolish its hostile stance toward Pyongyang and lift financial sanctions.

"I hope they come ready to make some progress, because we need progress," Hill told reporters in Tokyo early Sunday, before he left for Beijing.

"The issue is implementing the September (2005) statement," Hill said, referring to the North's agreement to abandon its nuclear weapons program in exchange for security guarantees and aid. "The question is what part of the September statement are they prepared to move on?"

Quotes of the Day

The real distinction is between those who adapt their purposes to reality and those who seek to mold reality in the light of their purposes.--Henry Kissinger (1923 - )

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.--Philip K. Dick (1928 - 1982), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Humankind cannot stand very much reality.--T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd.--Edith Sitwell (1887 - 1964), Taken Care Of ,1965

Bush Family War Profiteering...It's a Family Tradition

This year Fitz will have more justice packages to put under the tree

Begin the countdown to the expiration of the CIA leak case grand jury on November 6 and the November 7 election.

Fitzmas left us wanting last year, with one tiny Scooter Libby indictment, but look for the special prosecutor to have more justice under the tree this year for you and me...Prissy would like it wrapped with a big red bow please, Fitz!

Dubya and Rove must be sweating profusely these days. The only way they can win the upcoming election is if they cheat. The public knows this, so Prissy is really hoping they aren't going to carry through with such a plan. They are marking themselves as investigation targets, and maybe worse, should they try it.

They have spent years perfecting their methods, however, other people have caught onto their dirty tricks. Lot's of other people. People who are much smarter than these traitors ever dreamed of being.

Prissy couldn't help but snicker when Poppy Bush (41) went on TV to say it bothered him when people called his son "dumb." Well, if he learned all that in college, his Alma maters should be challenged.

For Dubya, scamming his own country is as easy as breathing, you could even say it's in his blood- see below. Prescott Bush- nazi connection

Prescott Bush is from Ohio, Prissy is sorry to say.

Hot Links

Le Monde US: world empire of chaos

In Iraq, the second front in the global war against terror, the US occupation has entered its fourth year with no end in sight. This summer’s escalation of violence has destroyed the optimism that followed the death of the local al-Qaida leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and disproved the claim of the US vice-president Dick Cheney that the resistance was in its “last throes”. >

The head of Marine Corps Intelligence in Iraq concluded in a recent secret report that “the prospects for securing Iraq’s western Anbar province are dim and that there is almost nothing the US military can do to improve the political and social situation”. The number of Americans who have been killed in Iraq has surpassed the number who died in the 9/11 attacks (6).

The severity and complexity of the violence are polarising Iraq’s Sunni and Shia, exacerbating tyranny and escalating anti-US feeling as never before. The Baghdad morgue registered over 1,500 deaths in June and 1,855 during July. In August, despite the deployment of 8,000 US and 3,000 Iraqi soldiers in the capital, the morgue reported 1,526 fatalities, an embarrassing contradiction of the US military’s claim of a 52% drop from July’s figures. Now the Ministry of Heath has taken over body count statistics and morgue officials who divulged the figures have been “retired” (7).

Washington’s three-year war has resulted in two unattractive alternatives. If, as expected, the situation deteriorates further, Iraq “will go under” according to the parliamentary speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani. If by some miracle it survives the current deterioration, the quagmire will render Operation Iraqi Freedom an unwinnable war. In either case, the multiplication of organised insurgencies, resistance groups, death squads, criminal gangs and splintering paramilitary groups is complicating counterinsurgency and reconstruction efforts, the interdependent pillars of any success in Iraq.

Crooks and Liars Bill Maher Smacks Around Some NeoCons

The News, Austraila Bush calls summit amid Pentagon exit reports

US President George W.Bush met top military commanders yesterday to consider possible changes to the administration's Iraq strategy, amid reports the Pentagon is drawing up an exit plan and has held secret talks with the insurgents.

The Pentagon is developing a plan that would set target dates for handing control to the Iraqis. US troops would pull back to their bases, leaving military advisers "embedded" with Iraqi security forces.

Sources suggest troops would be concentrated in the most violent areas of Iraq, such as Baghdad. They could be reinforced with soldiers from pacified regions.

US officials also held talks in Amman, Jordan, last week with insurgent leaders, including the Islamic Army in Iraq, one of the main Sunni militias.

BBC Rice: 'N Korea escalating crisis'

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has accused North Korea of wanting to escalate international tensions over its nuclear weapons programme.

She said she doubted claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had agreed not to carry out a second nuclear test, or that he regretted the first.

Her comments follow media reports that Mr Kim made the pledge to Chinese envoy Tang Jiaxuan when he visited Pyongyang.

Ms Rice is in Moscow for talks expected to focus on the North Korea crisis.

The Coalition casualty count is now 2792.

Salon The implosion of Ken Blackwell

At the moment someone -- and we're not saying it was someone in the Blackwell campaign, though it apparently was a Blackwell fan -- is mounting a challenge to Democratic candidate's Ted Strickland's voter registration, charging that Strickland doesn't live where he says he does. And if that's true, then Strickland could potentially be disqualified as an Ohio voter, meaning, under state law, that he would be ineligible to run for governor.

The person who would ultimately be responsible for deciding whether Strickland is eligible to vote, not to mention run?

That would be Ken Blackwell, Ohio secretary of state ... and Republican candidate for governor.

Think Progress Bush: ‘We’ve Never Been Stay The Course’ Don't watch if he angers you!

During an interview today on ABC’s This Week, President Bush tried to distance himself from what has been his core strategy in Iraq for the last three years. George Stephanopoulos asked about James Baker’s plan to develop a strategy for Iraq that is “between ’stay the course’ and ‘cut and run.’”

Bush responded, ‘We’ve never been stay the course, George!’

From Prissy's friend GEF. Help for voters

1. For those voting Absentee Ballot... DON'T FORGET TO MAKE A COPY OF YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR YOUR RECORDS BEFORE YOU MAIL YOUR ORIGINAL IN... IF YOU'RE REALLY SMART YOU CAN HAVE YOUR COPY OF THE ABSENTEE BALLOT NOTARIZED!!

2. Insider Information on Diebold Voting Machines and Voter Fraud! Amazingly, Diebold makes other products such as ATM machines that do dispense paper receipts. They also make cash registers that print receipts to it's customers. People do ask: Why can I get a receipt for my Slurpee but I can't get a receipt for my Vote ?! This proves that Diebold and other e-Voting companies have an agenda.

3. Empowered at the Polls. Voters and especially minority voters are encouraged to bring Handheld Portable Video Cameras or Voice Recorders to film any disenfranchisement or harrasment outside their polling places. Record any problems runarounds to vote or not being allowed to vote. Record Harrasment or discouragement to vote at the polls. If you're internet savvy you can upload your video or audio to google video or youtube. Don't take the law into your own hands. If you feel you've been wronged, contact an attorney!

4. Watch the News for Exit Polling. Exit polling is a method for gauging voter mindset. Keep a lookout for poll issues. quote: An exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks who the voter plans to vote for or some similar formulation, an exit poll asks who the voter actually voted for. Pollsters - usually private companies working for newspapers or broadcasters - conduct exit polls to gain an early indication as to how an election has turned out, as in many elections the actual result may take hours or even days to count. -endquote

The current Poll information is pointing towards 74% of Citizens feel that the GOP is out of touch with issues. This gives one a good indication of voting attitudes. As was the case in the 2004 Election, the Actual votes did not match the exit polling. This is a good indication of Voter fraud and there are lawsuits still pending to attest to those allegations.

Telegraph We were 'arrogant and stupid' over Iraq, says US diplomat

Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, told the Al-Jazeera news channel: "We tried to do our best, but I believe that there is a great room for strong criticism, because - undoubtedly - there was arrogance and stupidity in US (dealing) with Iraq.

"We should practise some humbleness in the question of Iraq. Undoubtedly - and as the United States did acknowledge - there have been many mistakes in the foreign policy in Iraq."

Mr Fernandez added that the US was ready to talk with all factions in Iraq - except for al-Qa'eda - to try to end sectarian bloodshed.

His remarks came in response to a statement read on al-Jazeera allegedly from a representative of the Ba'ath party - the party of Saddam Hussein - offering to negotiate a US withdrawal from Iraq based on "recognition of the resistance ... as the sole representative of the Iraqi people".

Time Exclusive: Feds Probe a Top Democrat's Relationship with AIPAC

The sources tell TIME that the investigation by Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has simmered out of sight since about the middle of last year, is examining whether Harman and AIPAC arranged for wealthy supporters to lobby House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Harman's behalf. Harman said Thursday in a voicemail message that any investigation of — or allegation of improper conduct by — her would be "irresponsible, laughable and scurrilous." On Friday, Washington GOP super lawyer Ted Olson left voicemail messages underscoring that Harman has no knowledge of any investigation. "Congresswoman Harman has asked me to follow up on calls you've had," Olson said. "She is not aware of any such investigation, does not believe that it is occurring, and wanted to make sure that you and your editors knew that as far as she knows, that's not true... . No one from the Justice Department has contacted her." It is not, however, a given that Harman would know that she is under investigation. In a follow-up phone call from California, Olson said Harman hired him this morning because she takes seriously the possibility of a media report about an investigation of her, even though she does not believe it herself.

A spokesman for AIPAC, a powerful Washington-based organization with more than 100,000 members across the U.S., denied any wrongdoing by the group and stressed that it is not taking sides in regards to the committee assignment. Spokespersons for Justice and the FBI declined to comment.

Mercury News More human remains found at ground zero

City officials said that about 15 more pieces of remains had been recovered, bringing the total to nearly 100 this week.

Upset relatives of some Sept. 11 victims called for a federally led new search for remains in and around ground zero after construction workers discovered bones in one manhole excavated as part of work on a transit hub, officials said.

The 80 bones and fragments found earlier this week ranged from a little less than an inch to 12 inches long, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the city medical examiner's office. The bones possibly include ribs, arms, legs and vertebra, she said.

The active search for the dead ended at the site in 2002 after a massive cleanup of 1.5 million tons of debris. About 20,000 pieces of human remains were found, but the DNA in thousands of those pieces was too damaged by heat, humidity and time to yield matches in the many tests forensic scientists have tried over the years.

Truthdig After Pat’s Birthday By Kevin Tillman

Editor’s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.

WaPo How Foley Skirted Rules To Pursue Relationships Former Pages Describe Lawmaker's Advances

The messages were innocent at first. But after the young man moved home, he recalled, Foley started asking about "my roommates, if I ever saw them naked." Within months, the congressman was dangling a job offer, "because I was a hot boy," he said. Two years later, when he contacted Foley for advice on D.C. hotels, the congressman wrote back: "You could always stay at my place. I'm always here, I'm always lonely, and I'm always up for oral sex."

The experience of the young man, now 22, who agreed to recount his interactions with Foley on the condition of anonymity, was characteristic of the way the six-term House member pursued the online relationships that, once revealed, forced him to resign from Congress late last month. No one interviewed for this article could cite any instance in which Foley had sex with a former page. Foley's lawyer, David Roth, declined to comment for this story.

And...

Based on the interviews with pages, who spanned most of Foley's dozen years in the House -- and interviews with parents and former program employees -- the congressman's behavior went unchecked because he operated within accepted norms of the program's culture.

CNN Money Skilling's long shot Despite a last-ditch effort to overturn his conviction, former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling could face 20 to 30 years in prison at his sentencing next week.

More than 4,000 Enron employees lost their jobs when the company declared bankruptcy in December 2001. Many of those workers also lost their life savings and investors lost billions of dollars. Under the law, these victims are allowed to voice their grievances during sentencing, although its unlikely that the judge will make any changes to sentencing based on their statements.

Zamansky said Skilling is likely to receive 25 years in prison - identical to former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers's sentence for orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud.

And like Ebbers, Zamansky expects Skilling will likely remain out on $5 million bail pending appeal. Attorneys for Skilling already filed a motion to allow Skilling to remain free until an appeals court renders its verdict.

"If someone isn't involved in a violent crime and there's no real concern about risk of flight, a judge may grant a stay," Zamansky said. "But whether he goes in now or three months from now, he's facing a life sentence."

Robbing the ruthless manner these guys used and looking at a life sentence for it, doesn't make them a flight risk?

Threats Watch.org Rice: No Sign of Kim Jong-Il's 'Regret'

While Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice applauded China’s newly active role in reining in the Kim Jong Il regime, primarily economically by freezing the North’s bank accounts, she expressed doubts about reports of North Korea stepping back from the brink of crisis. While reports circulated and were widely repeated Friday that Kim had apologized to Tang Jiaxuan, China’s former foreign minister, and promised not to carry out further tests, the Secretary of State said that Tang told her of no such development in their meetings.

“Tang did not tell me that Kim Jong-Il either apologized for the test or said that he would not ever test again,” Ms. Rice said. She continued, “The Chinese did not, in a fairly thorough briefing to me, say anything about an apology. The North Koreans, I think, would like to see an escalation of the tension.”

Condi, please continue reading and fire your briefer, they don't tell you anything. NY Sun Report: N. Korea 'Sorry' for Nuke Test, Says No More Tests Planned

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea showed signs Friday it could be backing away from its nuclear showdown with the world, even as it staged a show of domestic support in Pyongyang, where tens of thousands gathered to laud the country's first atomic test.

Coming under united international pressure, Kim Jong Il reportedly apologized for the Oct. 9 nuclear detonation and said he wouldn't test any more bombs.

Reuters Bush faces political nightmare if Democrats win

"In some ways it would be a nightmare for Bush, but in other ways it could be an opportunity," said Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Ornstein said Bush, who denounces Democrats as soft on terrorism, could move toward the political center and reach out to Democrats in his final two years in office to overhaul U.S. immigration laws and the Social Security retirement program, two goals he has failed to accomplish.

But Ornstein said that was unlikely. "I've talked to a lot of people who know him well and are really close to him. I have yet to find one who thinks he will change his modus operandi dramatically," he said.

Democrats deny Republican claims they would try to impeach Bush and remove him from office.

Norm seems like a very nice man who never makes waves, which is one reason Prissy doesn't listen to Al Franken. Birds of a feather.

As for dems not attempting to remove Dubya with impeachment? Dubya and Rover really need to stop wiretapping everyone and using it to make those dems heel on command.

More fodder for Bushie nightmares, from Salon magazine.

Federal judge: White House must release or explain Cheney logs A federal judge in Washington has just told the Bush admnistration that it has until the end of next week either to release two years' worth of logs showing who visited Dick Cheney's home and office or to identify the records and explain why they're being withheld. With midterm elections less than three weeks away, anyone want to hazard a guess as to which choice the White House will make?-- Tim Grieve

Update on Sgt. Ricky Clousing by David Swanson (Hello David;-) Ricky Clousing Stands Up for All of Us

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A Fort Bragg paratrooper who says he left his military base because he disagreed with the U.S. mission in Iraq was sentenced to three months of confinement after pleading guilty Thursday to going absent without leave.

Sgt. Ricky Clousing, 24, of Sumner, Wash., also will receive a reduction in rank and will forfeit two-thirds of his pay during the time of his confinement before getting a bad conduct discharge. His plea allowed him to avoid a more severe sentence for desertion.

Uncle Sam, that was better than Prissy's fears of what the Army would decide to do. However, it is absurd to lock him up for refusing to follow an illegal order.

Toledo Blade Wife of Noe dangled tape of '04 roast; 2 top Democrats spoke with her, attorney

COLUMBUS - In the months leading to her husband's trial on felony charges that he stole from the rare-coin funds he managed for the state of Ohio, Bernadette Noe held out a tantalizing prospect for Democrats.

It was the videotape of Tom Noe's 50th birthday party roast - a tape that could launch 30-second TV attack ads against GOP candidates like so many shells from a cannon.

The event, held Aug. 24, 2004, at the Holland Gardens dining hall as a fund-raiser for the Lucas County Republican Party, starred U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, Gov. Bob Taft, Auditor Betty Montgomery, and Attorney General Jim Petro - all reminiscing about Tom Noe with a blend of humor and seriousness less than a year before scandal erupted.

Cleveland Plain Dealer Blackwell's legacy looming over race for secretary of state

Brunner, a Columbus Democrat, has campaigned relentlessly against the policies of current Secretary Ken Blackwell, who is running for governor, including questioning his officiating of the controversial 2004 presidential vote tally in Ohio.

"What we have not had in the secretary of state's office is a secretary of state who will really act as the chief elections officer," said Brunner, a former county judge. "Things have sort of evolved to where we kind of have this patchwork of elections procedures in the state."

Hartmann, a Cincinnati Republican, is a quieter campaigner who until recently wondered if he would ever get his opponent's attention - though he figures Brunner will regret focusing so much on Blackwell and not him.

"Everywhere we go, she wants to mention Ken Blackwell's name," said Hartmann, the Hamilton County clerk of courts. "That's her whole campaign strategy, talk about how the '04 election was stolen. But I don't think it's going to work for her."

Keep talking Jennifer, Ken will be the one explaining to do in the end. Bushies will throw him under the buss first, when the election mess goes mainstream and Ohioans realize they lost the right for their vote to count.

Quotes of the Day

Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.-- Barry Switzer

Anger at lies lasts forever. Anger at truth can't last.--Greg Evans, Luann (comic), September 27, 2003

History is moving, and it will tend toward hope, or tend toward tragedy.--George W. Bush (1946 - )

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. --Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10

Attention All GOP, Abandon Ship, We're Taking on Water Update

Talk about desperate, from the Cincinnati ENQUIRER

Governor's race turns ugly Blackwell campaign links Strickland to predators, hints he's gay BY JON CRAIG | ENQUIRER COLUMBUS BUREAU

COLUMBUS - With Republican Ken Blackwell trailing by double digits in almost every poll, Blackwell's campaign Tuesday tried to link his Democratic opponent to child sex predators - and the state Republican spokesman even raised questions about Ted Strickland's sexuality.

Blackwell and the state GOP say they are only questioning Strickland's integrity and judgment.

The Strickland campaign said the GOP ought to be "ashamed."

Yes they ought to be. Blackwell, Prissy knows you had your people looking for a "gay link." What does one expect from an African-American man willing to take money from white supremists...

Hot Links

For Prissy's NY readers Different Drummer

Our Mission TO PROMOTE the free and uncensored exchange of ideas and information among military personnel and civilians. This includes, but isn't limited to, issues of war and peace, foreign policy, the military mission of our soldiers both at home and abroad, and the proper balance between the rights of citizen soldiers and military authority in a democratic society.

Different Drummer Cafe, 12 Paddock Arcade,1 Public Square, Watertown, NY 13601, Phone 315-728-0595 Grand Opening Friday, October 27, 2006 11:00 am.

Dearest Readers what do you think of Prissy's new boyfriend He's a real joker, so you can see why Prissy would like him.

Prissy is a prankster too.

Professor Juan Cole The End of Habeas Corpus

This law creates two classes of persons inside the United States, citizens with rights and non-citizens (12 million persons? Equivalent to the entire state of Michigan!) without rights.

Basically, Bush can issue them what the French kings used to call lettres de cachet: ' In French history, lettres de cachet were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal, or cachet. They contained orders directly from the king, often to enforce arbitrary actions and judgements that could not be appealed. . .'

We Americans made a revolution against such arbitrary practices of the French and other Empires.

Habeas Corpus from Wikipedia:

This procedure, part of English common law, was considered important enough to be specifically mentioned in the United States Constitution, which says, "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." (Article One, section nine).

Reuters U.S. military says 11 soldiers killed in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Eleven U.S. soldiers were killed on Tuesday, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, in one of the sharpest spikes in attacks on American forces battling soaring sectarian violence and a Sunni Arab insurgency.

The bloodshed brings to at least 69 the number of U.S. troops killed in October, an exceptionally high toll that is likely to bring renewed attention to the Iraq war in the run-up to U.S. congressional elections in November.

President George W. Bush's popularity has been hurt by growing discontent over the war and his Republican Party risks losing control of Congress in the November 7 vote.

At least 2,778 U.S. troops have died since the 2003 invasion. Many more Iraqis have been killed.

Enough is enough, bring them all home. The war is illegal and how can you win an illegal war? What measurement of progress shall we use? The DOD cannot seem to provide a satisfactory or coherent explanation or strategy.

Radar Online, hat tip to Fitz for finding the dirt;-) Kinky Porn-Loving Adulterers for Allen!VALUES SUMMIT Evans and Schelske in happier times with Dubya

And now comes word that among the conservative Allen's campaign contributors is, according to recently filed court documents, a porn-loving, adulterous, abusive drunk who likes to advertise on Craig's List for three-ways and anal sex and takes naked pictures of himself standing at attention.

The contributor in question is Craig T. Schelske, the latest sanctimonious Christian Republican to be outed as a wannabe Rick James. Schelske is the husband and former manager to Nashville singer and Dancing With the Stars contestant Sara Evans. He is also a failed Republican congressional candidate, the executive director of American Destiny, which seeks to teach children about "the role of God and Christianity in America's story," and chairman of CRAIGPAC, a vanity political action committee that gives to Republican candidates.

AP News Google to Convert HQ to Solar Power

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google Inc. (GOOG) is converting its renowned headquarters to run partly on solar power, hoping to set an example for corporate America.

The Internet search leader announced what is believed to be the largest solar project undertaken by a U.S. company during a solar energy conference in Silicon Valley on Monday. Google believes the sun eventually can deliver as much as 30 percent of the power at its 1-million-square-foot campus in Mountain View - a suburb about 35 miles south of San Francisco.

The ambitious project will require installing more than 9,200 solar panels on a high-tech mecca nicknamed the "Googleplex." After leasing the offices for several years, Google bought the campus for $319 million earlier this year.

Once they're in place next spring, the solar panels are expected to produce about 1.6 megawatts of electricity, or enough power to supply about 1,000 homes.

Go Google! Take note corporate America, lead follow or get outta Google's way! These Google guys make them look really out of date...as Bobby F. Kennedy said "corporate America is not a good steward of the land." And that's a bad business practice.

UK Times 'Consigliere' draws up routes out of Iraq for embattled President

The report of the Iraq Study Group, led by Mr Baker, is expected to propose significant changes to American strategy, including negotiating with Iran and Syria or even pulling US troops out of harm’s way to bases beyond Iraq’s borders.

The report will not be published until after votes have been counted, when President Bush will know if the Republicans have lost control of one or both Houses of Congress.

Even then there is considerable doubt whether an Administration that has invested so much American blood and treasure on the war will accept the advice from the bi-partisan ten-member commission.

“There will probably be some things in our report that the Administration might not like,” Mr Baker said last week. The former Secretary of State under the first President Bush — and the Bush family’s most trusted confidant — became co-chairman of the panel in March with strong backing from the White House at a time when officials might have hoped that he would endorse existing policy.

Click to enlarge any photo

How does your state rate? Wayne Madsen STATE BY STATE GOP SCANDAL SCORECARD Ohio is outdone only by Washington, D.C. in corruption, although Kentucky is close.

911 UK The British 9/11 Truth Campaign

The 9-11 Commission has ‘failed’ in its mandate to provide an independent, impartial, “full and complete accounting” of the attacks of September 11, 2001. We believe the Commission is wrong in crucial respects and the available evidence indicates that US officials authored or facilitated the attacks and their cover-up. We demand full disclosure and accountability through a further independent investigation. We demand answers to the questions. We seek the truth.

Some of the people whose testimony or writings challenge the official account: Michael Meacher MP, John Pilger (journalist), Richard Clarke, Republican Congressman Curt Weldon, Sibel Edmonds (FBI interpreter), Josef Bodansky, (director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare), David Shayler (former MI5 officer), Morgan Reynolds (economist in GW Bush administration), Scott Ritter (UN Weapons Inspector), Republican Congressman Ron Paul (2, 3), Andreas von Buelow (2) (German government minister), Indira Singh (whistleblower), Max Cleland (Former 9/11 Commissioner), US Green Party (2), Fire Engineering Magazine, Greg Palast (BBC journalist), Catherine Austin Fitts, Charles Grassley (Republican Senator), David Schippers (Attorney), Peter Dale Scott (1),William Rodriguez, Gore Vidal (journalist), Cynthia McKinney (US Congress), former ISI director-general Lt-Gen Mahmud Ahmad, Dan Ellsberg (Former Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (ISA), DOD), over 100 family members (1,2, 3), senior military, intelligence, and government critics of 9/11 Commission Report and many, many more

US public opinion: Zogby poll In a 2004 opinion poll conducted by Zogby International amongst New York City residents, 66% called for another full investigation of the "still unanswered questions"

"We must speak the truth about terror. Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories concerning the attacks of September the 11th, …" GW Bush at the UN 11/10/2001 Consider this statement when you watch this:

This should have been big news. Prosecutors doing such remarkable work should always be big news...Transcript of Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty at the Press Conference on Bankruptcy Fraud

We are here today to mark the anniversary of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, and we're announcing the results of a major crackdown on bankruptcy fraud.

Over the past two months, the Department of Justice has charged more than 78 defendants in 36 districts with bankruptcy fraud and related counts, including 15 indictments and three criminal complaints just yesterday.

This initiative and these unprecedented enforcement results reflect the commitment and teamwork of the FBI, the United States Attorneys and the United States Trustees program. Together with our partners at the Postal Inspection Service, IRS, Criminal Investigation, the Offices of the Inspectors General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Social Security Administration, and the United States Secret Service.

We are calling this large interagency effort Operation Truth or Consequences, because that's the essence of what's at stake when the bankruptcy process is abused. Tell the truth, or face the consequences.

Another GOP pervert strikes again...Political consultant sentenced for imprisoning students

A veteran GOP consultant was sentenced today to 5 to 10 years in prison for luring two male college students into his home on separate occasions, holding them captive in his spartan apartment and threatening them with Mafia retaliation if they contacted their friends or family.

A jury convicted Leon Abramovitz, of Shadyside, in July on charges of theft, coercion, false imprisonment, unauthorized practice of law, simple assault, indecent assault and making terroristic threats. His victims, 24-year-old and 22-year-old University of Pittsburgh students, were lured into his home with the promise of jobs tailored to their career goals.

He had pleaded guilty to coercing a teenage boy and a 27-year-old and holding them captive in 1999 and 2000.

The bespectacled defendant appeared before Common Pleas Judge Cheryl Allen in a wheelchair, his white beard making him look decades older than his 59 years. He told the judge he feared for his safety after inmates in his pod at Allegheny County Jail got their hands on a discovery folder from his trial and began calling him a "baby raper" and threatening to have inmates at the state prison "take care of him."

Yahoo Iran must be intimidated, says Israeli leader

MOSCOW (AFP) - Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stepped up rhetoric against Iran, saying the its controversial nuclear program could be prevented through intimidation.

Speaking to reporters following meetings with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, Olmert said he had told Putin that "there was no chance of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear arms if Iran is not afraid.

"The Iranians should be afraid that something they don't want to happen will occur," he said.

Olmert went on to say that "I made it clear why in my opinion it is important that the Iranians are afraid," but he fell short of mentioning what measures that be taken against the Islamic state.

Try diplomacy! It works better and is longer lasting than intimidation.

OpEd News Voting against nuclear war with Iran

There were fears that the US would use nuclear weapons in the Iraq attack, which did not materialize, hence some will argue that the current fears of nuclear use against Iran may not materialize either. Some will argue that there were many other occasions in the past 60 years where the US appeared to come close to using nuclear weapons and did not, that the threshold for using nuclear weapons always was and remains extraordinarily high, and that the US nuclear "saber rattling" is just trickery to scare our opponents ( "madman theory"). These arguments are wrong. The US is much closer than it has ever been since Nagasaki to using nuclear weapons again. This year for the first time in its history the American Physical Society, representing 40,000 members of the profession that created nuclear weapons, issued a statement of deep concern on this matter: "The American Physical Society is deeply concerned about the possible use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states and for pre-emptive counter-proliferation purposes".

In the case of Iraq, our adversary was so weak that there was no way a US nuclear weapon use could have been justified in the eyes of the world. Iran is different: it possesses missiles that could strike US forces in Iraq and the Persian Gulf as well as Israeli cities, and a large conventional army. 150,000 US soldiers in Iraq will be at great risk if war with Iran erupts, and Americans will support a nuclear strike on Iran once the administration creates a situation where it can argue that such action will save a large number of American or allies' lives.

In previous US wars, nuclear use did not occur because it carried an unacceptably high risk of triggering a nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union or China. Because North Korea appears to have now a nuclear deterrent, and because of the possibility that China could get involved, there is no danger that the US will attack North Korea. In fact, Bush will use the fact that North Korea has joined the nuclear club, and charges that he was not "tough enough" on North Korea, as an argument to "justify" attacking Iran before it achieves that status, notwithstanding the fact that unlike North Korea Iran has stated no intention to follow that path nor is there any evidence that it is doing so. The nuclearization of North Korea only helps the plan to nuke Iran, which is why the administration did everything it could to encourage it.

No nuclear country is likely to intervene nor threaten to intervene when the US uses nuclear weapons against Iran, hence there is no military deterrent to such use. The US has now achieved vast nuclear superiority, and is about to demonstrate to the world that its 5-trillion nuclear arsenal is not "unusable".

Remember what happened last time they went to war?

Al-Jazeera Iraq panel to back talks with Syria, Iran

Baker heads the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan commission that since March has been researching and preparing ideas for changing course in Iraq.

"If our report is going to be worth anything, it has to be independent and it has to be our telling it like it is" "Everybody knows how close I am to the Bush family. But if our report is going to be worth anything, it has to be independent and it has to be our telling it like it is. And I'm here to tell you that's the way it's going to be, as far as I'm concerned," Baker said. So far, Bush's strategy has been to support Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, in the hope he can overcome sectarian differences in the country.

However, Bush is under strong pressure to consider changes in the wake of a new wave of US military deaths. Ten American soldiers were killed on Tuesday.

Asia Times AMERICA'S ACUPUNCTURE POINTS PART 1: Striking the US where it hurts

I Electro-magnetic Pulse (EMP) attack China and Russia are two potential US adversaries that have the capability for this kind of attack. An EMP attack can either come from an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), a long-range cruise missile, or an orbiting satellite armed with a nuclear or non-nuclear EMP warhead. A nuclear burst of one (or more) megaton some 400 kilometers over central United States (Omaha, Nebraska) can blanket the whole continental US with electro-magnetic pulse in less than one second.

An EMP attack will damage all electrical grids on the US mainland. It will disable computers and other similar electronic devices with microchips. Most businesses and industries will shut down. The entire US economy will practically grind to a halt. Satellites within line of sight of the EMP burst will also be damaged, adversely affecting military command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR). Land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles will be rendered unserviceable in their silos. Anti-ballistic missile defenses will suffer the same fate. In short – total blackout. And American society as we know it will be thrown back to the Dark Ages.

Of course, the US may decide to strike first, but China and Russia now have the means of striking back with submarine-launched ballistic missiles with the same or even more devastating results. But knowing China's strategy of "active defense", when war with the US becomes imminent, China will surely not allow itself to be targeted first. It will seize the initiative as mandated by its doctrine by striking first.

China has repeatedly announced that it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons. But as an old Chinese saying goes: "There can never be too much deception in war." If it means the survival of the whole Chinese nation that is at stake, China will surely not allow a public statement to tie its hands and prevent it from seizing the initiative. As another saying goes: "All is fair in love and war."

Well, it isn't fair when this country is lead by incompetents and China by commies...

Quotes of the Day

“A war regarded as inevitable or even probable, and therefore much prepared for, has a very good chance of eventually being fought”--Anais Nin quotes (French born American Author of novels and short stories, 1903-1977)

“The world is full enough of hurts and mischance without wars to multiply them.” --J.R.R. Tolkien (English Writer and Author of richly inventive epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings, 1892-1973)

“Chance is perhaps the pseudonym of God when he does not wish to sign his work.” --Anatole France (French Writer, member of the French Academy and Nobel Prize for Literature in 1921, 1844-1924)

“They can call me crazy if I fail, all the chance that I need, is one-in-a-million and they can call me brilliant if I succeed.”--Ani Difranco(American Singer, Song Writer and Guitarist. b.1970)

“I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five.”--Stephen Wright quotes (American Actor and Writer, b.1955)