site of the day

(GREAT site i must say)

i had a smokin' good time at the museum of burnt food

FOREVER SHRIMP-KEBAB
This stunning exhibit appeared on our doorstep with no explanation, just a card saying:
"Compliments of Fitch, Fitch, Fitch, Fitch and Fitch."










oddities

careful

How To Tell If Your Head's About To Blow Up

if you're planning a vacation soon

baghdad may JUST be the place for you. well, according to this man (who obviously is delusional) it is

(video at the link)

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Rep. Peter King (R-NY) Says That Being In Baghdad Is ‘Like Being In Manhattan’

On Feb. 9, 2006, House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-NY) spoke at the Merrick Jewish Center in Merrick, NY. King told his constituents that “the situation [in Iraq] is more stable than you think.” He cited “bumper to bumper traffic,” shopping centers, restaurants, video stores, vendors, and hotels to conclude that being in Baghdad is “like being in Manhattan.” ThinkProgress has obtained exclusive video from a person who was at the event......

is he guilty or is he innocent

it's hard to tell. there is no way for me to know. there is no way for him to defend himself, that much is evident. it's also evident to me confessions are meaningless. we know what interrogation tactics are used by them AND by us.

what is odd odd odd about this WHOLE story is; it appears the presiding judge was going to dismiss charges against mr munaf . at that point 'two american military officials' intervened and conferred with the judge behind closed doors for 15 minutes. one of them said romania asked him to represent them at the trail. of course romania denies this. the defense WAS NOT allowed into that meeting. when the judge came back, mr munaf was SENTENCED TO DEATH

you tell me what's going on here. something really ain't quite right


Iraqi Judge Sentences U.S. Citizen To Death as demanded by U.S. Military 10/17

by MissMarple Oct 18 2006 - 3:34am permalinkarticle tools: email print read more MissMarple
Iraqi Judge Sentences U.S. Citizen To Death After U.S. Military Demanded the Man Be Executed
An Iraqi-born US citizen is in a battle to save his life as he tries to avoid execution in Baghdad. But he's not up against insurgents groups he's up against the Iraqi and US governments.
The man, Mohammad Munaf, was arrested by US troops last year. He was charged with kidnapping three Romanian journalists and holding them hostage for nearly two months. Last week, Munaf was sentenced to death. He's being held in a US-run prison at the Baghdad airport.
Munaf maintains his innocence. Just weeks ago, it appeared he would be set free. Munaf's attorneys say the presiding judge promised to dismiss the charges after he concluded there was no material evidence to support a conviction. ...

and this:

U.S. Citizen Facing Execution in Iraq

By LARA JAKES JORDAN Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawyers for an American citizen facing execution in Iraq appealed Friday in U.S. federal court to keep the man in American custody _ preventing his death _ while another case is being appealed.
The citizen, Mohammad Munaf, was convicted and sentenced to death by an Iraqi judge earlier this week on charges he helped in the 2005 kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Baghdad, court papers show.
Iraqi-born Munaf, a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2000, was working as their translator and guide. He maintains his innocence.
In an emergency request filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, Munaf's attorneys claim his rights to a fair trial in Iraq were violated when he was convicted without being able to present evidence in his defense _ or to see the evidence against him.
"This court's failure to temporarily halt Mr. Munaf's transfer to Iraqi custody will not only send Mr. Munaf to his death without due process, it will eviscerate ... core protections against arbitrary and lawless executive action," Munaf's attorneys wrote.
The legal filing asks the court to block the Defense Department, which has been holding Munaf at a prison at the Baghdad International Airport, from turning him over to Iraqi authorities. A Pentagon spokesman did not return a call for comment Friday........

and this as well:

U.S. Citizen Sentenced To Death In Iraq
Federal Court Asked To Block Transfer


By Josh WhiteWashington Post Staff Writer Saturday, October 14, 2006; Page A17
A U.S. citizen who allegedly orchestrated the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists near Baghdad last year was sentenced to death in an Iraqi court Thursday, prompting his lawyers to ask a federal judge in Washington to block the U.S. military from transferring him to the Iraqi government.
Mohammad Munaf, 53, has been in U.S. custody since May 23, 2005, when he was arrested during a military raid to rescue the Romanian journalists nearly two months after they were snatched. Authorities have alleged that Munaf -- who had ushered the journalists into Iraq and was acting as their guide and translator -- posed as a kidnap victim but was actually involved in a conspiracy for ransom and led them into a trap............

....Munaf's Iraqi attorneys reported that the Central Criminal Court judge was prepared to dismiss the charges at a hearing on Thursday but that two American officials -- including an unnamed general -- stepped into the courtroom and requested a private meeting. The judge returned 15 minutes later and sentenced Munaf and four other defendants to death without hearing additional evidence, according to a sworn statement by Sean Riordan, a legal intern at the Brennan Center who spoke with Munaf's attorney in Baghdad.
"In 36 years practicing law in Iraq, [the lawyer] had never before seen or heard of a death sentence being handed down without deliberation or consideration of the merits," Riordan said in the statement filed in Washington yesterday.............

and now it's time for a little levity

bob geiger points out (NO FOOLIN') king george has declared 'national character week counts'

i didn't need another reason NOT to like guns

but i came across this and had to post and link to it. how very frightening and how very sad there is a culture like this in our country

Wives in Danger from Gun Toting Culture

By Joan Burbick, The New Press. Posted October 17, 2006.
Gun owners say they need firearms to protect themselves from criminals. But what about domestic violence victims who need protection from gun owners?
The following is an excerpt from Gun Show Nation: Gun Culture and American Democracy by Joan Burbick (The New Press, October 17, 2006). You can read an interview with Burbick here.
He was much larger than I am, and he had a beefy football-player build and short dark hair -- the bouncer type. He was going to get physical if I objected. He was ready to push as we walked quickly past the long row of tables covered with guns and ammo, past the woman collecting money for admission. Talk to him, I said to myself. Talk to him. I kept telling him I didn't work for the newspapers as he herded me to the exit.
"No pictures," he kept repeating.
"No pictures," he insisted one last time as he opened the heavy door and gently pushed me out. Then he closed the door and left me standing outside with my camera dangling from my hand.
A hand-lettered sign appeared outside the entrance: NO CAMERAS ALLOWED...........

...............Before I left, I asked the organizer why they enforced rules against cameras. What was the problem? Was it a distrust of government? Did they think I worked for the ATF, the IRS, or the FBI? Was it anger against gun-control groups? Did they think I worked for Sarah Brady's handgun organization, or for Cease Fire, a Seattle-based gun violence prevention group? Maybe it was about hunting and animal rights? Or worse, I could be a PETA worker.
There was a long list of possible reasons for the no-camera policy.
The organizer looked at me hard when I asked the question. Why no cameras? He responded with one word: "Alimony." "What?" I asked. Had I heard right?
"Alimony?"
"Yes, alimony." He then explained that the men inside the gun show didn't want their pictures showing up in newspapers where their ex-wives might see them.
I asked him more questions, but he wasn't in a talking mood. It was about alimony, period. I'd have to leave it at that.
Maybe the organizer thought some ex-wife had hired me to track down her husband and prove that he was handing over for a new hunting rifle what should be her cash. Maybe the organizer actually thought that ex-wives scanned the local papers looking for photos of their former husbands to see if they could catch them spending what was legally theirs.
At later gun shows, I started to pay more attention. Were ex- wives and their demands a threat to some guys at the gun shows? I frequently saw books for sale at the shows such as The Predatory Female by Rev. Lawrence Shannon, whose field guide to dating includes a set of tactics to undermine the supposed Gestapo power of women who rule the divorce and child-custody judicial system. In a radio interview, Shannon said that "victims of the predatory female are strewn all over the nation, writing alimony checks, recovering from gunshot wounds, treating cat scratches, trying to see their children, paying attorney's fees, picking through the detritus of their lives, and struggling to recover from ruined years." The Predatory Female is a collection of warnings about women who prey on the feelings and bank ac- counts of unsuspecting men. Female predators have their eyes on one thing alone -- money. They marry and divorce to get alimony. They use emotions of love, trust, and care to undermine the sacred contract of marriage. They are the new scourges of secular life, hunting down unsuspecting men to get bucks and tear out their hearts..................

this WOULD be funny

Alex Nabaum

if it wasn't so NOT funny. talk about absurd. man oh man. we have people in high places, people in charge of protecting us against terrorism and they do NOT even know ONE THING about the terrorists (they're busy busting the five stooges in florida and the pop and son ice cream vendors in california).

you CANNOT protect against your enemy (they weren't really our enemy until we MADE them our enemy. most of them that is. of course a few always had it in for us, the rest really didn't care one way or the other. now they care and now they HATE us. who could blame them?) unless you KNOW who and what your enemy is.

we sure as shite don't.

what a joke, what an embarrassment

just read this! un effing believable

Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?

By JEFF STEIN
Washington
FOR the past several months, I’ve been wrapping up lengthy interviews with Washington counterterrorism officials with a fundamental question: “Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?”
A “gotcha” question? Perhaps. But if knowing your enemy is the most basic rule of war, I don’t think it’s out of bounds. And as I quickly explain to my subjects, I’m not looking for theological explanations, just the basics: Who’s on what side today, and what does each want?
After all, wouldn’t British counterterrorism officials responsible for Northern Ireland know the difference between Catholics and Protestants? In a remotely similar but far more lethal vein, the 1,400-year Sunni-Shiite rivalry is playing out in the streets of Baghdad, raising the specter of a breakup of Iraq into antagonistic states, one backed by Shiite Iran and the other by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni states.
A complete collapse in Iraq could provide a haven for Al Qaeda operatives within striking distance of Israel, even Europe. And the nature of the threat from Iran, a potential nuclear power with protégés in the Gulf states, northern Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, is entirely different from that of Al Qaeda. It seems silly to have to argue that officials responsible for counterterrorism should be able to recognize opportunities for pitting these rivals against each other.
But so far, most American officials I’ve interviewed don’t have a clue. That includes not just intelligence and law enforcement officials, but also members of Congress who have important roles overseeing our spy agencies. How can they do their jobs without knowing the basics?
My curiosity about our policymakers’ grasp of Islam’s two major branches was piqued in 2005, when Jon Stewart and other TV comedians made hash out of depositions, taken in a whistleblower case, in which top F.B.I. officials drew blanks when asked basic questions about Islam. One of the bemused officials was Gary Bald, then the bureau’s counterterrorism chief. Such expertise, Mr. Bald maintained, wasn’t as important as being a good manager. ........

protecting women - my big fat ass!!!

question for you docs -

who is going to look after this child after she or he is born if the parents are unable to? ARE YOU? (we all know the answer to that)

musician of the day

cat power

i read an article about her in the nyt a couple of weeks ago (i tried to link to it here, but now it's in the archives and it costs five bucks to access. the article talked about some adversities ms power worked to overcome). i had never heard of her before (seems most of my friends had though). as fate would have it, i was in a bookstore last friday and i saw her cd on sale. i snapped it up and was VERY impressed with her voice, her style, her words and her in general

a fine article about our king (and his court)

no extra words from me are needed

A War of the Words Against George Bush

By Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com Posted on October 16, 2006, Printed on October 16, 2006http://www.alternet.org/story/43050/

For Homer, those epithets attached to his heroes and gods were undoubtedly mnemonic devices -- the fleet-footed Achilles, Poseidon, the Earth-shaker, the wily Odysseus, the ox-eyed Hera. But isn't it strange how many similar, if somewhat less heroic, catch words and phrases have adhered to key officials of the Bush administration these last years. Here's my own partial list:
President George ("Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job") Bush, Vice President Dick ("last throes") Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald ("stuff happens") Rumsfeld, then-National Security Advisor, now-Secretary of State Condoleezza ("mushroom cloud") Rice, CIA Director George ("slam dunk") Tenet, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul ("[Iraq] floats on a sea of oil") Wolfowitz, Centcom Commander Gen. Tommy ("We don't do body counts") Franks, then-White House Counsel, now-Attorney General Alberto ("quaint") Gonzales, withdrawn Supreme Court nominee and White House Counsel Harriet ("You are the best governor ever") Miers, and most recently Dennis ("The buck stops here") Hastert.
You know a person by the company he or she keeps -- so the saying goes. You could also say that you know an administration by the linguistic company it keeps; and though George Bush is usually presented as an inarticulate stumbler of a speech and news-conference giver, it's nothing short of remarkable how many new words and phrases (or redefined old ones) this President and his administration have managed to lodge in our lives and our heads.
Since September 11, 2001, the United States has been not so much the planet's lone "hyperpower" as its gunslinger in that great Western ("dead or alive") tradition that George and Dick learned about in the movies of their childhood. But fast as they've reached for their guns (and may do so again in relation to Iran after the mid-term elections), over the last years they've reached for one thing faster: their dictionaries.
And of all the words that came to their minds post-9/11, the first and fastest was an old one -- "war." Within hours of the 9/11 attacks, it was already on the scene and being redefined by administration officials and supporters. We would not, for instance, actually declare war. After all, who was war to be declared on? We were simply "at war" and that was that. Since then, according to George Bush and his associates, we have either been fighting "the Global War on Terror" (aka GWOT), "the long war," "the millennium war," "World War III," or "World War IV." We not only entered an immediate state of war, but one meant to last generations, and with it we got a commander-in-chief presidency secretly redefined in such a way as to place it outside any legal boundaries.
We were, then, at war. But the first war we were "at" was a war of the words and at its heart from the beginning was the status of the people we were capturing on or near various battlefields, or even kidnapping off the streets of European cities, and exactly what we could do to them. If John F. Kennedy is remembered for saying, "Ich bin ein Berliner," perhaps when history shrinks George W. Bush to a soundbite, it will be, "We abide by the law of the United States; we do not torture." To say those words -- repeatedly -- he has had to mount not a soapbox, nor even the TV or radio version of a bully pulpit, but a pile of torn, trampled dictionaries. ..........

how dare he

make judgements on same-sex couples with children (or even without children). there is NO evidence (nor will there EVER be any evidence) having same-sex parents effs up kids. you're a good parent OR you're not. it has NOTHING to do with your gayness or straightness. NOTHING.

kids don't TURN gay because they have gay parents. they either ARE gay or they are NOT gay. you CANNOT make someone gay. loving parents are loving parents. take your FALSE christian beliefs OUT of our homes.

if you were a REAL christian (or whatever religion you are, i just say christian because that is what mitt is) you would believe your god was loving and accepting. if you were a real christian you would believe your god created YOU and GAY PEOPLE. hey, there are saints out there, there are sinners out there. there are good people and evil doers. one's sexuality does NOT make one good or bad. when you judge someone doesn't that hurt your god?

let people live the lives they want. we should ALL have the same rights

Attack on gay marriage - Gov blasts Bay State in his own backyard

By Jessica Fargen Boston Herald Health & Medical Reporter
Monday, October 16, 2006 - Updated: 07:31 AM EST
In a passionate pitch simulcast to millions of Christian conservatives across the nation, Gov. Mitt Romney blasted gay marriage in Massachusettsas a danger to kids and urged the passage of a national ban on same-sex marriage.
The price of same-sex marriage is paid by the children,” said Romney during a brief but peppy speech from Boston duringa forum hosted by the Family Research Council. “The child’s development is enhanced by the nurturing of parents of both genders. Every child deserves a mother and a father.”
Critics called Romney’s attack on Massachusetts for legalizing gay marriage an insult.
“Once again he chooses to demonize loving couples and families in Massachusetts as part of his heartless crusade for the presidential nomination,” said Marc Solomon, campaign director from MassEquality. “Everyone but Romney has moved on and we just wish he’d finally bite the bullet, move out and drop this pretend game of governing.”
The event at Boston’s Tremont Temple Baptist Church drew hundreds of people and dozens of protesters, some holding signs that read: “Romney A Disgrace.”
“To deliver this speech in his own backyard is a highly public attempt to disassociate himself once and for all from everything that has happened in Massachusetts,” said Steve Grossman, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Organizers claimed the 90-minute event, broadcast on Christian TV and radio and beamed into churches around the country, had potential to reach 80 million households. .........

big brodda, whoops i mean central command is watching you

and me too. i get hits from the military, from the sergeant at arms of the senate, from the pentagon itself, from naval places, etc. i've not gotten THIS email (yet) though

Raw obtains CENTCOM email to bloggers

An email sent by United States Central Command (CENTCOM) to bloggers about the "global war on terror" (GWOT) has been obtained by RAW STORY.
CENTCOM announced earlier this year that a team of employees would be "[engaging] bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information."
The email was not addressed to RAW STORY.
"The main interest is to drive their readers to our site," Maj. Richard J. McNorton, chief of CENTCOM "engagement operations" said in a March release.
In the same announcement, McNorton said that the emails have a "viral effect," as many bloggers then link to the CENTCOM website, driving Internet news consumers to CENTCOM's Web site.
"Now [online readers] have the opportunity to read positive stories. At least the public can go there and see the whole story," he insisted. "The public wants to hear these good stories." ............

(for the email itself, click on the link above)

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over The Rainbow Lyrics

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over The Rainbow Lyrics

skippy had this video on his blog wishing our friends in hawaii well. since i loved izzy so very much and since i too want to wish our friends in hawaii (a shout out to heidi too even though she's in connecticut now)well i thought i'd post it too

they're NOT 'bordering' on the absurd

king george and his court ARE the absurd. the news as well as the situation is getting worse and worse with each passing moment. we as a country must wake up and bring our women and men home NOW.

Dozens Of Iraqis Killed in Reprisals
River Towns Trade Sectarian Strikes As Militias Move In


By Ellen Knickmeyer and Muhanned Saif AldinWashington Post Foreign ServiceMonday, October 16, 2006; Page A01
BAGHDAD, Oct. 15 -- Militias allied with Iraq's Shiite-led government roamed roads north of Baghdad, seeking out and attacking Sunni Arab targets Sunday, police and hospital officials said. The violence raised to at least 80 the number of people killed in retaliatory strikes between a Shiite city and a Sunni town separated only by the Tigris River.
The wave of killings around the Shiite city of Balad was the bloodiest in a surge of violence that has claimed at least 110 lives in Iraq since Saturday. The victims included 12 people who were killed in coordinated suicide bombings in the strategic northern oil city of Kirkuk........



....In Washington, Anthony Cordesman, an analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said by telephone: "If you total up the number of people that are being killed, that are being wounded, that are being displaced and are being forced to leave the country, and the zones in which there is major civil conflict . . . trying to declare there isn't a civil war borders on the absurd.".....

first amendment?

we don't need no stinkin' first amendment!!!

well, it sure seems that way

we as citizens of the united states of america have a RIGHT to know what is going on. there is NO ONE who is above the law here. NO ONE, not even the king and his court. when will we unite and get that message across?

2 ordered not to discuss Gitmo claims

By MIRANDA LEITSINGER Associated Press Writer © 2006 The Associated Press




-->
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A paralegal and a military lawyer who brought forward allegations about prisoner abuse at the Guantanamo Bay detention center have been ordered not to speak with the press, lawyers and a military spokeswoman said Saturday.
Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, filed a complaint with the Pentagon last week alleging that abuse was ongoing at the prison. He attached a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, in which she said several Guantanamo guards bragged in a bar about beating detainees, describing it as common practice.
Muneer Ahmad, a civilian defense lawyer for Omar Khadr, a Canadian detainee whose military counsel is Vokey, said that Vokey and Cerveny were ordered Friday by the U.S. Marines not to speak with the press.
A spokeswoman for the Marines confirmed the order, saying Vokey's supervisor _ Col. Carol Joyce, the Marines' chief defense counsel _ had directed him not to communicate with the media "pending her review of the facts.".......

more ranting on our new 'bud' libya

gaddafi is if not worse than saddam, EQUALLY evil. now tell me why we're courting them? tell me why we didn't invade THEIR country? gaddafi killed tens of thousands, he threated to have wmd (as far as i know, he very well COULD have them). on top of everything, HE'S NUTS. yet, now they're our buds. i just shake my head

U.S. courts Libya for Africa security network

By Mark Trevelyan, Security Correspondent
STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - The United States is keen to add Libya to a group of nine north and west African nations with which it is working closely to deny al Qaeda a sanctuary in the region, senior U.S. military officials say.
They are concerned that a local Islamist network, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), is building up its strength both domestically and in Europe, as well as helping to funnel militants to join the insurgency in Iraq.
While the U.S. military does exchange some intelligence with Libya, the security relationship is constrained by the gradual pace of political rapprochement between Washington and a country it regarded until recently as a rogue state.
That has so far prevented Libya from joining the Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP), a group linking the United States and nine countries ranging from regional military power Algeria to impoverished Mali and Niger.
"We have nine countries in this Trans-Sahara program, we'd love to make them (Libya) number 10," said a senior official at U.S. European Command in Germany, which despite its name is also responsible for military ties with most of Africa.
"They'll be a unique partner. ... We're eager to play with them."
Libya began to end decades of international isolation by accepting responsibility for acts like the 1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland and announcing in December 2003 it was renouncing weapons of mass destruction.........

more on narth

i am wondering WHO in their right minds supports this group of bigots, racists, close minded fear mongers? i never could understand why people act like this. just what the hell are THEY afraid of? do they think if they associate with a lesbian or gay person they will suddenly be turned lesbian or gay themselves? i would like to tell you this right now (and you can quote me), 'honey, IT DON'T WORK THAT WAY'

'Ex-Gay' Group Draws Fire From Allies

Backers raise concerns about online postings. One advocated ridicule of nonconforming children; the other seemed to justify slavery.
By Stephanie Simon, Time Staff WriterOctober 15, 2006
The National Assn. for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality positions itself as a scientific group dedicated to helping gay men and lesbians shed same-sex attractions and realize their "heterosexual potential." Its statements routinely outrage gay-rights activists. But two commentaries posted online in recent months by members of NARTH's scientific advisory committee have raised concerns among its closest allies as well.

One psychiatrist called for allowing schoolchildren to shame and ridicule classmates who don't act according to stereotypical gender roles. Another board member, a therapist, asserted that slaves may have been better off in chains than in "savage" Africa.One of NARTH's scientific advisors has quit in protest, and a prominent therapist has canceled his presentation at the group's annual conference next month. Alan Chambers, who leads the nation's largest support group for "ex-gays," urged NARTH's members to "think long and hard about the mission of the organization."..........

quote of the day (by jim hightower)

Let me begin by thanking God for Katherine Harris.She is such a picture-perfect example of ultra-right-wing looniness, theocratic hubris, raw Republican partisanship and big-money political corruption that she serves as a sort of burning bush, warning us never to let such people gain high office...................

what a beautiful animal

i never knew it even existed. let's hope it continues to exist

"World's Rarest Dog" Could Be Saved With Rabies Vaccine

A combination of close monitoring and limited vaccination can protect Ethiopian wolves and other canine species from deadly diseases such as rabies, new research suggests. Only about 500 Ethiopian wolves—the world's rarest canine—remain in the wild.

Photograph by Claudio Sillero/ EWCP/courtesy Wildlife Conservation Network

the sun was in my eyes

i always find that is a great excuse. perhaps king george can use that one next. it makes as much sense as any of the OTHER excuses he has listed

AP Charts Shifting Justifications for Iraq War

NEW YORK President Bush keeps revising his explanation for why the U.S. is in Iraq, moving from narrow military objectives at first to history-of-civilization stakes now.Initially, the rationale was specific: to stop Saddam Hussein from using what Bush claimed were the Iraqi leader's weapons of mass destruction or from selling them to al-Qaida or other terrorist groups.But 3 1/2 years later, with no weapons found, still no end in sight and the war a liability for nearly all Republicans on the ballot Nov. 7, the justification has become far broader and now includes the expansive "struggle between good and evil."Republicans seized on North Korea's reported nuclear test last week as further evidence that the need for strong U.S. leadership extends beyond Iraq.Bush's changing rhetoric reflects increasing administration efforts to tie the war, increasingly unpopular at home, with the global fight against terrorism, still the president's strongest suit politically."We can't tolerate a new terrorist state in the heart of the Middle East, with large oil reserves that could be used to fund its radical ambitions, or used to inflict economic damage on the West," Bush said in a news conference last week in the Rose Garden........