judge cheuvront CHAUVINIST declares a mistrial (it's HIS fault)

he should be THROWN off of this case entirely, THEN have ALL of his credentials stripped THEN put in a room with a bunch of people who had UNWILLING, NONCONSENSUAL, VIOLENT, FORCED 'sex'

Word-banning judge declares mistrial in rape case because of ban

LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) -- Before a jury was even seated, a judge declared a mistrial Thursday in a sex-assault case where he had barred the words "rape" and "victim," among others.Judge Jeffre Cheuvront CHAUVINIST of Lancaster County District Court said protests and other publicity surrounding the rape case against Pamir Safi, 33, would have made it too difficult for jurors to ignore everything they heard before the trial, which had been expected to begin next week.
A jury was in the process of being selected when Cheuvront CHAUVINIST declared a mistrial.
Safi is accused of raping Tory Bowen in 2004. He said they had consensual sex, but she said she was too drunk to agree to sex and that he knew it.
Cheuvront CHAUVINIST barred attorneys and witnesses from using words including "rape," "victim," "assailant" and "sexual-assault kit," and ordered witnesses to sign papers saying they wouldn't use the words. Words such as "sex" and "intercourse" were allowed.
State law allows judges to bar words or phrases that could prejudice or mislead a jury....


hey, isn't nebraska the state where ANOTHER judge gave a CONVICTED pedophile NO JAIL time because he was SHORT?

???more progress??? (my big fat ass)

U.S. Forces Kill 6 Iraqi Police

even robbers need a hug

you really DO have to read this. it's the MOST unusual robbery story i think i've ever heard

A Gate-Crasher's Change of Heart
The Guests Were Enjoying French Wine and Cheese on a Capitol Hill Patio. When a Gunman Burst In, the Would-Be Robbery Took an Unusual Turn.


By Allison KleinWashington Post Staff Writer


A grand feast of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp was winding down, and a group of friends was sitting on the back patio of a Capitol Hill home, sipping red wine. Suddenly, a hooded man slid in through an open gate and put the barrel of a handgun to the head of a 14-year-old guest.
"Give me your money, or I'll start shooting," he demanded, according to D.C. police and witness accounts.
The five other guests, including the girls' parents, froze -- and then one spoke.
"We were just finishing dinner," Cristina "Cha Cha" Rowan, 43, blurted out. "Why don't you have a glass of wine with us?"...........

war is hell

and we all know that. of course this one is especially so since it is for NO cause what so ever EXCEPT to line the pockets of a few in the good ol' white boy network. please don't EVER believe (and a great many do. i don't know why but they really do) iraq had ANYTHING to do with 9/11. THEY DID NOT. look it up if you don't believe me.

yet, even with the horrors of war we're all familiar with, there are even deeper darker secrets.

i'm not a psychiatrist and i never was in the service. i cannot perport to know what it's like to be 18, to be in a foreign country where you don't know the language. where MANY people not only don't want you there, but are trying to kill you. where and why you're there you JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND. where you've seen your friends hurt or killed. where the customs are just not in the realm of your comprehension.

well i'm not sure how i would do under those conditions either. I AM IN NO WAY CONDONING criminal acts or war crimes. i'm just saying those men and women, OUR men and women NEVER should have been put in that place to begin with



The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness

Chris Hedges & Laila Al-Arian

Over the past several months The Nation has interviewed fifty combat veterans of the Iraq War from around the United States in an effort to investigate the effects of the four-year-old occupation on average Iraqi civilians. These combat veterans, some of whom bear deep emotional and physical scars, and many of whom have come to oppose the occupation, gave vivid, on-the-record accounts. They described a brutal side of the war rarely seen on television screens or chronicled in newspaper accounts.
Their stories, recorded and typed into thousands of pages of transcripts, reveal disturbing patterns of behavior by American troops in Iraq. Dozens of those interviewed witnessed Iraqi civilians, including children, dying from American firepower. Some participated in such killings; others treated or investigated civilian casualties after the fact. Many also heard such stories, in detail, from members of their unit. The soldiers, sailors and marines emphasized that not all troops took part in indiscriminate killings. Many said that these acts were perpetrated by a minority. But they nevertheless described such acts as common and said they often go unreported--and almost always go unpunished. ....

the news is WORSE each and every day

we're falling further and further into the well and guess what? THERE IS NO LASSIE TO SAVE US

timmy ain't EVER getting out of that well

the king gives a speech yesterday where he says THERE IS PROGRESS BEING MADE. yet, each and EVERY story EVEN THE ONES COMING OUT OF CONSERVATIVE SOURCES says that is NOT true

how long are the democrats and republicans (this INSANITY is FAR BEYOND party lines now) going to allow the king to continue on living in his fantasy world? it would be ONE THING if there were no lives at stake. THERE ARE

HE MUST BE BOOTED OUT OF OFFICE AND I MEAN NOW
(remember NOT ONE BENCHMARK HAS BEEN MET - but the king says we are making progress. THAT IS INSANITY)


Iraqi Military's Readiness Slips
Report Says That Since January, Fewer Units Can Operate Independently


By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, July 13, 2007; Page A04
Despite stepped-up training, the readiness of the Iraqi military to operate independently of U.S. forces has decreased since President Bush's new strategy was launched in January, according to the White House progress report released yesterday.
Combat losses, a dearth of officers and senior enlisted personnel, and an Iraqi army that has expanded faster than the equipment available for it have resulted in a "slight reduction" in the number of units designated at Level 1 status, or "capable of independent operations," the report said.......

the nutmeg grater: plan b at one way fare (in simsbury) will open today!!!#links#links

the nutmeg grater: plan b at one way fare (in simsbury) will open today!!!#links#links

the nutmeg grater: plan b at one way fare (simsbury) CONTINUED - OPENING TODAY!!!#links#links

the nutmeg grater: plan b at one way fare (simsbury) CONTINUED - OPENING TODAY!!!#links#links

i'm not violent

i scream a lot (i had a GIANT fight with a stranger in public the other day*) but i don't hit. man, i just have a GIANT urge to slap these assholes

Christian Right Activists Disrupt Hindu Chaplain In The Senate

By Eric Kleefeld bio
Today was a historic first for religion in America's civic life: For the very first time, a Hindu delivered the morning invocation in the Senate chamber — only to find the ceremony disrupted by three Christian right activists.We have video of the astonishing scene, and we'll be sharing it with you shortly.The three protesters, who all belong to the Christian Right anti-abortion group Operation Save America, and who apparently traveled to Washington all the way from North Carolina, interrupted by loudly asking for God's forgiveness for allowing the false prayer of a Hindu in the Senate chamber."Lord Jesus, forgive us father for allowing a prayer of the wicked, which is an abomination in your sight," the first protester began."This is an abomination," he continued. "We shall have no other gods before You."..........

david gregry, THANK YOU for having a set

(there are others too, but they're few and far between). OUR EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES. and most are too afraid (afraid of what i wonder?) to point it out.

i'm not and it seems david gregory isn't either

Bush: Insurgents in Iraq same as 9/11 attackers

Nick Juliano

President Bush, defending his troop surge in Iraq, insisted Thursday that the insurgents attacking US troops in Iraq "are the same ones who attacked us on Sept. 11."
Bush was speaking at a White House press conference on the same day an interim progress report on his troop surge in Iraq was released. Asked for proof of the connection between insurgents in Iraq and the 9/11 hijackers, Bush said both had pledged their allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
"The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq are the ones who attacked us on Sept. 11," Bush said.
The president was responding to a question from NBC correspondent David Gregory, who asked why Americans shouldn't believe he is "stubborn or in denial." Gregory was referencing a report in Thursday's Washington Post that indicated CIA Director Michael Hayden saw as "irreversible" the lack of progress in Iraq.........

a man, a plan

an ABSOLUTELY DEATHLY plan at that.........

our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, our friends. they are being sent to a foreign country to die OR to be wounded mentally AND physically. the residents of that very same country are ALSO being slaughtered or raped or displaced. the king and his court are NOT sane. they see things that aren't there (take for example the king's imaginary little friend jesus who TALKS to him. yeah, right, jesus tells you to KILL KILL KILL)

NONE of the benchmarks (that is right NONE) are met. yet, the king says we've not given 'it' enough time. isn't FOUR YEARS and THOUSANDS of our own lives (not to mention TENS OF THOUSANDS OF THEIR LIVES) enough?

and i keep asking FOR WHAT
for what
for what
for what?


As the War Debate Heats Up, Stagnant Air Is in the Forecast


By Peter BakerWashington Post Staff Writer

He lamented, in his own way, that he is unloved these days and reflected on the "war fatigue" that has gripped his country. He looked forward to the day, not so long from now, when he will retire to his Texas ranch and tell himself that he did the right thing.
Yet no matter how battered he seems, no matter how unpopular he may be in the polls, President Bush still holds the commanding position in his showdown with Congress over Iraq. Even with Republican defections, as votes in both houses made clear this week, opponents do not have anywhere near the veto-proof majorities needed to wrest leadership of the war.............

i was looking for a picture of something else

and came across this. it's a SOCK MONKEY DRESS. i HAD to post it

picture: boingboing.net/2006_08_01_archive.html

it is my civic duty

as an american to WARN YOU about the roving bands or gangs or sororities or organizations or quilting bees of LESBIAN gays or dykes (according to the highly accredited rod wheeler they use BOTH the terms gay and dyke). in the washington dc area ALONE (including parts of maryland and virgina there are at LEAST 150 such groups. hard to believe i know BUT the HIGHLY ACCREDITED ROD WHEELER says it is so. so it is! i must poo poo the statements of sgt brett parson (a former commander of the dc police dept g&l liasison unit) and detective patrick word, president of the mid-atlantic regional gang investigators network. they both claim it's IMPOSSIBLE for 150 roving bands of gay dykey lesbian gangs to be in the metro dc area. WHAT THE HELL DO THEY KNOW? they are NOT HIGHLY ACCREDITED LIKE ROD WHEELER IS. i'm with bill o'wrongly on this one. it's a HORROR to know that these roving bands of gay dykey lesbian gangs are FORCING ten year old grrrls into lives of dykeyness AND other PERVERTED sex acts. i am shuddering just THINKING about it.

i would like to thank BOTH bill o'wrongly AND the HIGHLY ACCREDITED ROD WHEELER for bringing this to teh attention of the american public. we would have NEVER known otherwise. NOW we can take appropriate action and be safe from these roving bands of gay dykey lesbian gangs

Watch Out Bill O'Reilly! There Are Roving Lesbian Gangs

Posted by Tara Lohan

Tara Lohan: O'Reilly has done it again. This time the made up story involves pink pistol-packing dykes indoctrinating youth

As if there wasn't enough to worry about these days, apparently all over the country -- from New York to California -- the streets are being terrorized by lesbian gangs. At least, according to Bill O'Reilly and Fox's "crime analyst" Rod Wheeler.

On a June 21 episode of the "O'Reilly Factor" on Fox, Wheeler claimed that as many as 150 lesbian gangs prowled the Washington DC area and across the country these gangs (some known as Gays Taking Over or Dykes Taking Over) were responsible for beating people, raping girls, and indoctrinating children as young at 10. Oh, and they also carry pink pistols. Of course.

At one point during the segment -- which was as hilarious as it was painful to watch -- O'Reilly asked incredulously, "Now, when they recruit the kids, are they indoctrinating them into homosexuality?" .......

..........Thanks to the intrepid folks at the Southern Poverty Law Center, who were not satisfied to simply laugh off O'Reilly for the lunatic that he is, they did a little fact checking on his story and his source. Shockingly, the whole thing is crap.

As the Intelligence Report makes clear:


Nine-millimeter Glocks painted pink? Dykes taking over? More than 150 lesbian gangs in the Washington, D.C., area alone? These claims are, as Wheeler suggested, "very, very interesting." They're also very, very flimsy. Gaithersburg, Md., Detective Patrick Word, president of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Gang Investigators Network, an intelligence-sharing organization of 400 criminal justice professionals in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, said there is no evidence whatsoever of a lesbian gang epidemic in his region. "Our membership reports only one lesbian gang," Word told the Intelligence Report.
...........

NO NO NO NO NO i WILL NOT do it

it is JUST too damn easy. i can't and i won't and there's NOTHING you can say or do to make me!
Bush performs brain surgery


Posted by Mark Naymik

.........Standing before a rubber replica of a human brain, the president moved a hand-control that helps teach doctors how to implant deep brain stimulation devices. He did so under the watchful eye of neurosurgeon Ali Rezai.............

i just get a warm and fuzzy

don't you?

(hey chertoff, what does your GUT say about THIS? no wonder you have a GUT feeling about a terrorist threat, huh!)

Sting Reveals Security Gap at Nuclear Agency

security GAP? it's more like a F**KING security GRAND CANYON

By Kathleen Day Washington Post Staff Writer

Undercover congressional investigators posing as West Virginia businessmen obtained a license with almost no scrutiny from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that enabled them to buy enough radioactive material from U.S. suppliers to build a "dirty bomb," a new government report says.
The investigators obtained the license within 28 days from officials at the NRC, the federal agency that in addition to regulating nuclear power plants oversees radioactive materials used in health care and industry, the report by the Government Accountability Office says. NRC officials approved the request with a minimal background check that included no face-to-face interview or visit to the purported company to ensure it existed and complied with safety rules, the report says.......

(by the way, charlton heston uttered one of my favorite lines of ALL times in a movie called something like 'the lost treasure of the incas' - i'm too lazy to actually look it up right now - BIT ima sumac was in it and that's ALL you have to know. anyway, big chuck says something like, 'GET AWAY FROM ME YOU BIG TUB O' GUTS'.

Homeland security chair responds to Chertoff's 'gut'

Will Menaker

Following yesterday's statement by Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff that his remarks on the increased risk of terrorism this summer were based "on a gut feeling," the Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson has sent a letter to Chertoff demanding an explanation, "what color code in the Homeland Security Advisory System is associated with a 'gut feeling?' What sectors should be on alert as a result of your “gut feeling?”
The letter states, "Over the past five years, tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been dedicated to standing up and building capacity at the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security is charged with deterring, preventing and responding to the threat of terrorism. To that end, systems have been erected to identify risks and communicate them to the American public. With all the resources you have at your disposal and all the progress that you assure us that you are making, I cannot understand why you are quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying you have a 'gut feeling' that we are entering a period of heightened risk this summer."........

picture: mr tub o' guts and the king: whitehouse.gov

my dear we are far past hope and reality

your king and his court are NOT living in the real world. i don't know where they are, they're NOT where you and i are though. i personally, am losing hope rapidly. not just in the king and his court and people like YOU (republicans that is) BUT in the democrats as well. they've NOT gotten up off of their asses and STOPPED THIS INSANITY.

at least now you're speaking out. better late than never

Republican Sen. Snowe signs onto to withdrawal bill

Nick Juliano

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe has signed on as cosponsor to a Democratic bill that will require troops to leave Iraq by the end of April 2008, she said in a statement provided to RAW STORY.
The Maine senator, who was among the first Republicans to break with President Bush over the war, said she is supporting the withdrawl measure because the Iraqi government is failing to meet its political benchmarks and it is unfair to keep US troops in harms way for the sake of a government unwilling to affect reconciliation. Snowe is signing on to an amendment sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., that would begin a redeployment of US troops out of Iraq within 120 days. The legislation aims to have all but a small number of troops out of the country by April 30........

p.s. ms snowe, i'm NOT being catty. i'm helping you out here. listen to me and listen well. YOUR HAIRLINE does NOT lend itself to taking black dye very well. if you MUST color your hair, chose something a bit less bold. it will make you look less frightening on tv

so when IS someone going to reign in this madman?

in my masthead i refer to myself as a madwoman. i rather am most of the time. madwoman in a different way than he is a madman though. i have not sent thousands of our men and women to their deaths (FOR NO REASON i might add. well i've not sent them to their deaths for ANY reason. oh yeah, NOR WOULD I). i don't lie to the american public (nor would i about things such as terrorism, war, our constitution, the lives of people on the gulf coast, education, health, stem cell research, birth control, veterans, veterans health oh the list goes on)

he caused and continues to cause great harm, hurt, death, destruction, the dissolution of our legal system and our constitution. i don't do ANY of those things

CIA Said Instability Seemed 'Irreversible'


By Bob Woodward Washington Post Staff Writer

Early on the morning of Nov. 13, 2006, members of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group gathered around a dark wooden conference table in the windowless Roosevelt Room of the White House.
For more than an hour, they listened to President Bush give what one panel member called a "Churchillian" vision of "victory" in Iraq and defend the country's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. "A constitutional order is emerging," he said.
Later that morning, around the same conference table, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden painted a starkly different picture for members of the study group. Hayden said "the inability of the government to govern seems irreversible," adding that he could not "point to any milestone or checkpoint where we can turn this thing around," according to written records of his briefing and the recollections of six participants............

i read a story in today's msnbc.com that made me VERY angry

here's a comment i left after reading the story:

i've been a vegetarian for well over 30 years and vegan for very many of them. i try not to pass judgement but in this case it's hard to hold back
#1) i'm so very sorry ms de vita-raeburn is not secure enough to make her OWN mind up about eating meat (i'm guessing it must go well beyond the meat issue though - extending to most other things and issues in her life) but must rely on a boyfriend OR her family members OR her friends. i don't care if she eats meat or not. what i care about is every time she goes off of eating meat for a week or a day or an HOUR, she refers to herself as vegetarian. SHE IS NOT NOR HAS SHE EVER BEEN ONE
#2) i'm sorry ms de vita-raeburn is not secure enough about her body. it's a problem most if not ALL american women suffer from. however, to be deathly afraid of gaining a pound or two is grounds to seek out counseling
#3) i'm sorry ms de vita-raeburn 'blames' the italian culture for some of her lapses in meat eating/non meat eating (i am italian and that is simply ridicules. there are so many non meat/fish/fowl italian meals out there it's beyond freedom and dignity. same with MOST if not ALL ethnic foods/recipes).
#4) i just don't get why ms de vita-raeburn wrote this article and#5) i don't get why msnbc published it

and here's a link to the actual story:

Ambivalent vegetarian faces meat of the matter
After years of experimenting, food lover still torn when she picks up a menu

By Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn

Every time I sit down to eat at a restaurant, it’s the same dilemma: Should I choose what I want or order vegetarian? Sometimes I’m lucky and what I want is meatless. But if what I really want is the boeuf bourguignon or the veal pepperonata, I squirm, caught between moral horror, my taste buds and a desire not to be the “weird” vegetarian. I’m 38, and I have been engaged in this internal war, off and on, for nearly 20 years. I have been a vegetarian, semivegetarian and old-fashioned carnivore. Right now, I eat everything — but with a pervasive sense of unease. I thought my dilemma would get clearer over time — that my sense of what’s right, at least right for me, would have naturally evolved toward some conclusion. But it hasn’t. I’m more torn than ever. ........

please note - as stated in my comments above, i really don't care if she eats meat or not. i care that she's a pussy about it AND i care that tripe like this is being published

hey king george (and BIG dick) SURGE THIS:

here's a little somthin' somethin' about how WELL your surge is going (i'm guessing in SOME parts, it IS better. NOT here fo sho)

U.S. troop buildup in Iraq falling short
Amid 'surge,' forces have been unable to establish security, even for themselves. Military leaders say they just need more time.

By Julian E. Barnes and Ned Parker, Times Staff Writers

BAGHDAD — In the Ubaidi neighborhood in the eastern part of this city, American soldiers hired a local Iraqi to clean the Porta-Potties at their combat outpost. Before the man could start, members of the local Shiite militia threatened to kill him.Today, the Porta-Potties are roped off, and the U.S. soldiers, who could not promise to protect their sewage man, are forced to burn their waste.As part of the Bush administration's troop "surge" strategy, the U.S. unit here had moved into an abandoned potato chip factory hoping to push out the militia, protect existing jobs and provide stability for economic growth. Instead, militia members stymied development projects, cut off the water supply and executed two young Iraqi women seen talking to U.S. soldiers, sending a powerful message about who really controls Ubaidi's streets......

a sad tale

a german national born in syria was denied admission to the united states. for what reason? no one knows. i really literally mean that. i believe NO ONE knows.

he wasn't just attempting to visit for the first time. he was trying to visit his daughter in california who had recently passed the bar. oh and did i mention, he and his wife (AN AMERICAN BORN AMERICAN CITIZEN) have lived in massachusetts every summer for over 30 years. an oh did i mention, according to this article they've paid MORE than $250,000 in TAXES. oh did i mention, their massachusetts neighbors appear to like them a great deal. oh did i mention, ice took away his HEART MEDS for 36 HOURS because the label was in german (or so they say)???????????

what have we become?

Visit gone awry: Detention roils a US-German family

On a trip to visit his daughter in California, Majed Shehadeh, the husband of a US citizen, was detained, strip-searched, denied his prescription medication, and held in a crowded cell.
By Christa Case Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorand Mariah Blake Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Newburyport, Mass.; and Alzenau, Germany - Ever since Jimmy Carter was president, summer has meant one thing for Majed Shehadeh and his wife, Joanne Mulligan: time to pack. From their modest house in Bavaria, they migrate annually to their summer home in Massachusetts, where Ms. Mulligan was born and raised, with the accent to prove it.
But after making regular trips for decades, Mr. Shehadeh's last visit went deeply awry, indefinitely suspending his plans for returning.
A Syrian-born German citizen, he was detained when he flew into Las Vegas in December to celebrate his daughter's passing of the California bar exam. He was then strip-searched, denied his prescription medication, and kept in a crowded jail cell with no mattresses and a single toilet out in the open. Three days later, he was sent back to Germany.
"Since that ordeal, I'm afraid to go [to the US], and my husband can't go at all. For us, it's a catastrophe," says Mulligan.
Five years after 9/11, intensified security measures resulted in more than 500 people per day being denied entry to the US in 2006. For those traveling by air, that often means spending at least one night in detention.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has numerous mechanisms to ensure that travelers' civil rights are upheld during such detentions.........

..........That night, Shehadeh was taken to the North Las Vegas Detention Center, where he says he was stripped of his belongings, including $1,000 in cash, and his heart medication, which he wouldn't receive for another 36 hours.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokeswoman Lori Haley says the medication was withheld until a doctor could evaluate Shehadeh because the label was in German. "For his own safety, we had to make sure what he was ingesting was the right medication," she explains. .......

what's the expression? grapsing at straws?

yes that's it.

iraq had NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11. NOTHING. nothing anyone can say or do can change that. NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11.

terrorism in iraq really didn't exist UNTIL AFTER WE INVADED THEM illegally, immorally and unjustly.

STOP THE LIES and STOP THE SCARE TACTICS

(what terrorism there is now in iraq, WE are responsible for.)

Bush again links Iraq violence to 9/11

By Jonathan S. Landay McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Struggling to stem growing opposition to his Iraq policy even among Republicans, President Bush contended anew Tuesday that the perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States are the same as al Qaida in Iraq, a violent Iraqi insurgent group that didn't exist until after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
It was the second time in two weeks that Bush has made the link in an apparent attempt to transform lingering fear of another U.S. terrorist attack into backing for the current buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq.
"Al Qaida is doing most of the spectacular bombings, trying to incite sectarian violence," Bush told a business group in Cleveland, Ohio. "The same people that attacked us on September the 11th is a crowd that is now bombing people, killing innocent men, women and children, many of whom are Muslims."........

"they got hammered"

well so are we. figuratively of course. they (the they being our men and women and the iraqi people) got hammered LITERALLY. some lost their lives. some are wounded. we're safe here. well safe in a way. we're not safe behind our laws and constitution. they don't seem to exist any longer.

4 pm, middle of the day. the green zone, the 'SAFE' zone gets HAMMERED

Green Zone Is Hit By Barrage of Shells
American Killed; Attacks Becoming Frequent, Accurate


By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service

BAGHDAD, July 10 -- More than two dozen mortar shells pounded the Green Zone on Tuesday, killing three people, including a U.S. military member, and injuring 18, among them five Americans, U.S. officials said.
The dead also included an Iraqi and a person of unknown nationality. Two of the wounded Americans were service members and three were contract employees, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.
The attack, around 4 p.m., was the latest in a series of mortar and rocket strikes in recent months against the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and other Western missions along with Iraqi government buildings. In April, a suicide bomber attacked inside Iraq's parliament building.........

just like the proverbial ostrich

bury your head in the sand..........you don't like it? pretend it doesn't exist!

this MAY work if you are three years old. it does NOT work if you are the american public. we should NEVER have allowed all of this to get this far.

it's partially OUR fault. not enough of us questioned the king and his court, or spoke out or said ENOUGH

Ex-Surgeon General Says White House Hushed Him


By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer

Former surgeon general Richard H. Carmona yesterday accused the Bush administration of muzzling him on sensitive public health issues, becoming the most prominent voice among several current and former federal science officials who have complained of political interference.
Carmona, a Bush nominee who served from 2002 to 2006, told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that political appointees in the administration routinely scrubbed his speeches for politically sensitive content and blocked him from speaking out on public health matters such as stem cell research, abstinence-only sex education and the emergency contraceptive Plan B.............

(p.s. ONE MORE TIME..........ABSTINANCE DOES NOT WORK as an effective teaching method for either birth control or sexual health)

every once in a while i'll post a connecticut stupid criminal

well today it's NEW HAMPSHIRE that has the honors

Robber disguised as tree hits N.H. bank

MANCHESTER, N.H. --Leaf it to New Hampshire, where a bank branch was held up by a man disguised as a tree.
Just as the Citizen Bank branch opened Saturday morning, a man walked in with leafy boughs duct-taped to his head and torso, and robbed the place.
"He really went out on a limb," police Sgt. Ernie Goodno said Sunday.
Police said the leafy man didn't saying anything about having a weapon, just demanded cash, and was given an undisclosed amount.
Although the branches and leaves obscured much of the man's face, someone who saw images from the bank's security camera recognized the robber and called police.........

This security camera photo provided by the police shows a bank robber, left, wearing a disguise of leaves duct taped to his head and torso in the Citizens Bank, in Manchester, N.H. Saturday, July 7, 2007. (AP Photo)

(note: he DOES get a few points back for using duct tape though)

if you want to read about ANOTHER kind of bank robber, stop by cv rick's and get the scoop on one he knew

this is a billboard up by fenway

which would make it a bit more enjoyable on the mass pike!
(the even better part about it is the boston police and lt governor and the state police all welcome it!)

Gun control message is put across

powerful piece (needs NO additional comments from me)

Bush justice is a national disgrace

By John S. Koppel

As a longtime attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, I can honestly say that I have never been as ashamed of the department and government that I serve as I am at this time.
The public record now plainly demonstrates that both the DOJ and the government as a whole have been thoroughly politicized in a manner that is inappropriate, unethical and indeed unlawful. The unconscionable commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's sentence, the misuse of warrantless investigative powers under the Patriot Act and the deplorable treatment of U.S. attorneys all point to an unmistakable pattern of abuse.
In the course of its tenure since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has turned the entire government (and the DOJ in particular) into a veritable Augean stable on issues such as civil rights, civil liberties, international law and basic human rights, as well as criminal prosecution and federal employment and contracting practices. It has systematically undermined the rule of law in the name of fighting terrorism, and it has sought to insulate its actions from legislative or judicial scrutiny and accountability by invoking national security at every turn, engaging in persistent fearmongering, routinely impugning the integrity and/or patriotism of its critics, and protecting its own lawbreakers. This is neither normal government conduct nor "politics as usual," but a national disgrace of a magnitude unseen since the days of Watergate - which, in fact, I believe it eclipses. .....

if you want to watch michael moore eviscerate wolfe

watch it here

(i'm not even a giant michael moore fan but this is WONDERFUL - you do have to watch a bunch of cnn crapola FIRST before michael comes on though)

i have mentioned this before

and it's worth continued mentioning. why would someone, let's say an IRAQI help us troops out when the us government in turn, WILL NOT help the iraqi and her/his family out?

if you can trust them to help you and your unit out time after time after time. if you see they are putting their LIVES ON THE LINE for you and your fellow soldiers/sailors/airmen/marines WHY THE HELL CAN'T YOU SAVE THEM? (i'm not blaming the soldiers for this. i'm blaming the red tape AND LIES of the king george and his court administration)

U.S. Failing to Help Iraqi Translator and Family Targeted for Execution

By Maura Stephens, AlterNet
He thought he could rebuild his country by helping the Americans. Now an Iraqi translator and his family have been targeted for execution, and instead of helping, U.S. officials have trapped him in an endless Catch-22.

My dear friend Andy -- we're so close, we call each other brother and sister -- has a degree in English literature. He loves Shakespeare and Shelley, Byron and Dunne, and can quote from their works far better than most poetry professors I know. Andy loves beauty and harmony and tea and good food. He is simply gaga about his lovely young wife, Alysse, and their two little ones.
He's not the kind of guy you'd expect to want to serve the U.S. military, but just a couple of weeks after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Andy lined up to enlist. He couldn't wait to help the United States bring democracy to Iraq. Since April 2003 Andy has served faithfully with the Army despite being in dire danger almost all the time. He and his wife and two babies have been under sporadic but serious threat of execution because of Andy's work with the U.S. Army. The stress is wearing on Andy and Alysse -- physically and mentally. Andy is well aware that it is only a matter of time before his luck runs out. He is ready to get out of Iraq.
His army colleagues and commanding officers think the world of Andy, but despite his four-plus years of almost nonstop service, Andy can't get out of Iraq. The U.S. Army seems to be quite powerless in this case.
That's because Andy is Iraqi. He has been an interpreter/translator for the U.S. military this whole time..........

and this:

Only 133 Iraqi refugees allowed in US so far this year

Only 133 Iraqi refugees have been allowed into the United States since October, well short of the 7,000 the US has vowed to welcome in this fiscal year, a State Department spokesman said Monday.
"I think we're up around 133 thus far that have entered the United States," since October 1, the start of fiscal 2007, Sean McCormack told a press briefing.
"We have more work to do," he added after recalling that at the beginning of the year US authorities vowed to take in at least 7,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of fiscal 2007, and even more in fiscal 2008.
He attributed the slow pace to rigorous security measures: "They have to go through and have to do a vetting procedure, which everybody understands the need to do........

i'm sure there are democrats on the list too........

BUT THIS FIRST ONE HAPPENS TO BE A GOD FEARING, FAMILY LOVING, REPUBLICAN!!! (is it wrong for me to feel such glee?)

Senator's Number on 'Madam' Phone List


By Shailagh Murray Washington Post Staff Writer

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) apologized last night after his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the "D.C. Madam," making him the first member of Congress to become ensnared in the high-profile case.
The statement containing Vitter's apology said his telephone number was included on phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates dating from before he ran for the Senate in 2004.............

..........Vitter and his wife, Wendy, a former prosecutor, have four children. On his Senate Web site, Vitter says he is committed to "advancing mainstream conservative principles" and notes that he has his wife are lectors at their hometown church...........

with all apologies to bob dylan......... how does it feel? how does it feel? to be on your own? no direction home? like a rolling stone.........

p.s. i'm not really gleeful over this. the man has four kids. i never ever want kids to be hurt in ANY way

civil liberties? you don't need no STINKIN' civil liberties!

well dearies that point is moot. whether we need them or not. WE DON'T HAVE THEM under king george and his court

constitution? YOU DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' CONSTITUTION

Civil Liberties Violations

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said he was surprised and unaware of civil liberties violations committed by the FBI during its exercise of Patriot Act powers — including the use of so-called National Security Letters — until an internal Justice Department report uncovered them in March 2007. But Gonzales and his predecessor, John Ashcroft, were routinely sent notifications from the FBI when such violations occurred and had to be reported to the president's Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB), according to documents released this month under the Freedom of Information Act. Here is a timeline:

(click the link above for the timeline)


just like sgt schultz, alberto gonzo says 'i know NOTHING!!!'

Gonzales Was Told of FBI Violations
After Bureau Sent Reports, Attorney General Said He Knew of No Wrongdoing


By John Solomon Washington Post Staff Writer

As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse," Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005.
Six days earlier, the FBI sent Gonzales a copy of a report that said its agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act........

you put your right foot in - you put your right foot out

you put your left foot in you put your left foot out.......

wtf??????

don't 'emphasize' a withdrawal when you're NOT DOING IT NOW. when you have our men and women in harm's way MORE AND MORE. don't effing TALK about a withdrawal. JUST effing DO IT. you were wrong. you ARE wrong and you're continuing to be WRONG. bring them home NOW


Bush Plans To Stress Next Phase In Iraq War
GOP Dissent Spurs Change In Message but Not Course


By Peter Baker and Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writers

President Bush, facing a growing Republican revolt against his Iraq policy, has rejected calls to change course but will launch a campaign emphasizing his intent to draw down U.S. forces next year and move toward a more limited mission if security conditions improve, senior officials said yesterday.
Top administration officials have begun talking with key Senate Republicans to walk them through his view of the next phase in the war, beyond the troop increase he announced six months ago today. Bush plans to lay out what an aide called "his vision for the post-surge" starting in Cleveland today to assure the nation that he, too, wants to begin bringing troops home eventually.......

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's a big honkin' secret

i know we contract out for MANY things including mercinaries (let's call 'em what the hell they are, ok?) in iraq and elsewhere in the middle east. i know we contract out for just about EVERYTHING. BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT contracting out for THIS:

Who Runs the CIA? Outsiders for Hire.

is just beyond my comprehension
and note, some places are made up of MORE THAN HALF 'outsourced' spooks

By R.J. Hillhouse

Red alert: Our national security is being outsourced.
The most intriguing secrets of the "war on terror" have nothing to do with al-Qaeda and its fellow travelers. They're about the mammoth private spying industry that all but runs U.S. intelligence operations today.
Surprised? No wonder. In April, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell was poised to publicize a year-long examination of outsourcing by U.S. intelligence agencies. But the report was inexplicably delayed -- and suddenly classified a national secret. What McConnell doesn't want you to know is that the private spy industry has succeeded where no foreign government has: It has penetrated the CIA and is running the show.............

please stop by and say hello (or hola) to

immigration orange

two more - starting out in candle light

perhaps coming ALL the way into the sunshine??? (we can keep our fingers and toes crossed)

'L.A. Times' Finds Two More GOP Senators Breaking With Bush on War

By E&P Staff

NEW YORK While much of the media on Friday focused on two new Republican defections from the White House on the war in Iraq -- namely, Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Jerry Doolittle -- the Los Angeles Times found a couple more.Staff writer Noam N. Levey secured quotes to this effect from two previously hawkish GOP senators. "It should be clear to the president that there needs to be a new strategy," said Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. "Our policy in Iraq is drifting." Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, who had helped lead the effort against Democratic restrictions on the "surge," said: "We don't seem to be making a lot of progress." It is vital to have "a clear blueprint for how we were going to draw down," he added. "It's as if the dike has burst," said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who until recently had been one of the few outspoken GOP critics of the president's war strategy..................

how many more weekends are we going to allow this to continue?

Violent weekend in Iraq kills over 220

i'm NOT making this up. i wish i was but i'm not

now THIS IS funny

'Taleban-like beard' sees Metallica frontman detained at airport





James Hetfield, frontman of US metal rockers Metallica, was detained at a British Airport before his appearance at London's Live Earth gig on Saturday.
According to British newspaper The Times, the rocker jetted into Luton airport ahead of Saturday's Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium - where his legendary rock band was due to perform - but was halted by officials before he could leave the terminal.............





(hey, as long as it wasn't NEIL DIAMOND, i don't care!!!)





James Hetfield performs at the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium in London. Photo / Reuters

(p.s. i hope you do know i'm KIDDING about neil diamond)

faux 'news'

where if ANYBODY knows id-jits, IT BE THEM

(and no i don't think former us attorney david iglesias is an id-jit but i DO think rep chris cannon is a giant steamin' one)

GOP Rep.: US Attorney Iglesias fired 'because he's an idiot'

Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Chris Cannon (R-UT) appeared on Fox News Sunday this morning to debate the politicization of the Justice Department.
Van Hollen argued that the firing of US Attorney David Iglesias in New Mexico last December was evidence of that politicized culture.
"It was clearly a case of trying to push somebody who exercises independent judgment," Van Hollen said of phone calls placed to Iglesias by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) to pressure the attorney to prosecute certain voter fraud cases.
Van Hollen said that Iglesias was fired because he ultimately did not "take orders from the White House" on those cases.
Cannon then spoke over Van Hollen, saying, "No, no, he was fired because he's an idiot." ........

so this administration that is SO TOUGH ON TERROR

is actually creating more chances for terror to occur (effed up or what)? funny (not funny ha ha of course) isn't it? i really can't think of ONE good thing king george and his court have done. i'm sure there has to be ONE thing but it's not easily forthcoming to me

believe me, i wouldn't want to take one of the open positions under this king. perfect for a scapegoat i must say

Job Vacancies At DHS Said To Hurt U.S. Preparedness
A Fourth of Top Positions Not Filled, Report Says


By Spencer S. Hsu Washington Post Staff Writer

The Bush administration has failed to fill roughly a quarter of the top leadership posts at the Department of Homeland Security, creating a "gaping hole" in the nation's preparedness for a terrorist attack or other threat, according to a congressional report to be released today.
As of May 1, Homeland Security had 138 vacancies among its top 575 positions, with the greatest voids reported in its policy, legal and intelligence sections, as well as in immigration agencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard. The vacant slots include presidential, senior executive and other high-level appointments, according to the report by the majority staff of the House Homeland Security Committee.....