'Systematic denial'

Most people probably have no idea that a war is currently being waged in Sudan.... much less that international aid workers have been denied access to its victims. The situation sounds worse than in Haiti, however in this case the uprising involves Islamic fundamentalist militias.

Continued fighting in Sudan's Darfur region, is denying aid agencies access to victims of the conflict, a member of the European parliament has said. Richard Howitt, said only 15% of the victims of the war have access to humanitarian aid in the region. Mr Howitt a British member of the European Union delegation that toured the area in western Sudan told the BBC that the area is still unsafe. More than 600,000 have fled clashes, with some 100,000 crossing into Chad.

An update on this later.

Redefining America

All roads lead to Homeland Security. From an announcement at Bernan.com

CFR Title 6 to become Homeland Security Bernan, the leading private distributor of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), has learned that CFR 6 is being re-titled from “Economic Stability” to “Homeland Security.” This is extremely important for everyone interested in monitoring federal regulations pertaining to homeland security. There has been no revision to Title 6 for many years. But in light of the important role that homeland security now plays in our government and laws, it is appropriate that the Department of Homeland Security have its published rules codified in its own title. Our sources at the U.S. Government Printing Office have confirmed that the first revision of CFR Title 6: Homeland Security will become available in 2004. Bernan is accepting orders for CFR Title 6: Homeland Security now. We suggest that you place this title on standing order immediately to insure that you will receive the first edition as soon as it is released! To place your order, call us toll-free at 1-800-865-3457 or email us at order@bernan.com. Bernan has been a trusted and reliable distributor of the Code of Federal Regulations for over 50 years. Bernan also distributes over 45,000 other titles from the U.S. Government and intergovernmental agencies.

Scalia loves to hunt

Los Angeles Times: Scalia Took Trip Set Up by Lawyer in Two Cases

Think Again: Neocons

By Max Boot Foreign Policy

A cabal of neoconservatives has hijacked the Bush administration’s foreign policy and transformed the world’s sole superpower into a unilateral monster. Say what? In truth, stories about the “neocon” ascendancy—and the group’s insidious intent to wage preemptive wars across the globe—have been much exaggerated. And by telling such tall tales, critics have twisted the neocons’ identities and thinking on U.S. foreign policy into an unrecognizable caricature.

duckhunting with Dick: pt MCMXXIV

Group Wants Scalia to Leave Cheney Case

fun with Halliburton

Pentagon Opens Halliburton Criminal Probe

huh?

"No man ever listened himself out of a job." - Calvin Coolidge

make money fast!

MSN Money - Does your boss want you dead? So, could someone take life insurance policies out on old people and just wait for them to die?

"Failure to accomplish annual medical examination"

courtesty of Brad DeLong... here's the text of the verbal orders of Bush's Commander suspending him from flight status.

29 September 1972.... Verbal orders of the Comdr on 1 Aug 72 suspending 1STLT GEORGE W. BUSH, ANGUS (Not on EAD), TX ANG, Hq 147 Ftr Gp, Ellington AFB, Houston, TX, from flying status are confirmed, exigencies of the service having been such as to preclude the publication of competent written orders in advance. Reason for Suspension: Failure to accomplish annual medical examination. Off will comply with para 2-10, AFM 35-13. Authority: Para 2-29m, AFM 35-13.... BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARIES OF THE ARMY AND THE AIR FORCE FRANCIS S. GREENLIEF, Major General, USA Chief, National Guard Bureau

how many wars can happen at once?

I mean.... seriously. BBC NEWS | Americas | Many die in Colombia clashes

New clashes in Colombia have left 48 people dead, according to the military. Ten soldiers and 21 right-wing paramilitaries were killed in fighting near Villanueva, 325km (200 miles) east of Bogota, an army spokesman said. The government has ordered a crackdown on paramilitaries after repeated violations of a ceasefire deal. In other clashes, 17 Marxist guerrillas were killed in an operation near Llano Grande, 545km (340 miles) north-west of the capital. Four soldiers were injured in those clashes, which took place in the province of Antioquia. The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota says the army has launched offences against the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) as President Alvaro Uribe seeks to reassure Colombians that he is winning the 40-year civil conflict. Ceasefire tested The crackdown on right-wing paramilitaries comes after several ceasefire violations were reported by the United Nations. The paramilitaries are engaged in the peace process - and a ceasefire was the government pre-condition for negotiations. Our correspondent says the government had tried to ignore the violations rather than risk the peace process unravelling. But now, he says, human rights groups estimate that 600 people have been murdered by the paramilitaries in recent months and the UN has got involved. There are about 10,000 paramilitary groups under an umbrella organisation, the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC). The paramilitaries have been a major force in Colombia's civil war since the 1980s, fighting left-wing rebels.

winning the war on terror?

with statements like this from Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.... ?

Megawati brands West 'unjust' Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri has attacked the West for "exceptional injustice" against Muslims. During a speech to open an Islamic conference in Jakarta, she cited as examples the US invasion of Iraq and the French plan to ban headscarves. The meeting has brought together 300 international delegates to try and ease dialogue between Islam and the West. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, with 80% of its 210 million population identifying themselves as following Islam. "An exceptional injustice is apparent in the attitude and actions of big countries toward countries whose majority populations are Muslims," Megawati said. She called the invasion of Iraq "an act of violence undertaken unilaterally", and said that the French plan for a law to ban schoolgirls wearing headscarves was "injustice in a far smaller feature." The conference was organised by the 40 million strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world's largest Muslim organisation. Megawati has been seeking the NU's support for her campaign to seek re-election in 2004.

who's next?

Syria and Iran warned over Iraq

Semicolons good for gays

for now

Calif. Judges Delay Gay Marriage Ruling Gay, Lesbian Couples Continue to Marry in San Francisco; Two Judges Refuse to Intervene in Case SAN FRANCISCO Feb. 17 — Two judges delayed taking any action Tuesday to shut down San Francisco's same-sex wedding spree, rebuffing conservative groups enraged that the city's liberal politicians had already married almost 2,400 gay and lesbian couples. The judges took part in separate hearings. The second judge told the plaintiffs that they would likely succeed on the merits eventually, but that for now, he couldn't accept their proposed court order because of a punctuation error. "I am not trying to be petty here, but it is a big deal... That semicolon is a big deal," said San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren.

haiti again

This from talkingpointsmemo.com in response to this report on the French government's emergency meeting on 'what to do next' in Haiti.

wha?

Aristide no stranger to struggle He has also been criticized for endorsing "necklacing," a gruesome method of execution where gasoline-soaked tires are thrown over a person's neck and set ablaze. Just Wednesday, former Aristide strongmen necklaced a man in Gonaives, the heart of the current unrest and cradle of Haiti's independence 200 years ago. "The burning tire, what a beautiful tool! ... It smells good. And wherever you go, you want to smell it," Aristide said Sept. 27, 1991.

"complete overhaul"

OK, so we know that the US did a terrible job of post-war planning for a new sovereign Iraq, but a 'complete overhaul'? American plan for Iraq needs complete overhaul, United Nations envoy warns

Duckhunting with Dick

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck

Former GOP Staffer Discounts 'Memogate'

spin spin spin Here's my favorite quote though... spoken as though it condones his actions: "They had an obligation to protect their documents" Hey Miranda... fall guys are supposed to keep their mouths shut.

Today's pork feast

Yum

can we bury this one now?

ABCNEWS.com : Woman Denies Rumors of Affair With Kerry. So, now that Alexandra Polier has vehemently denied any involvement whatsoever with John Kerry it looks like the issue is all but behind him. What do her parents have to say?

"We love and support her 100 percent and these unfounded rumors are hurtful to our entire family," the statement said. "We appreciate the way Senator Kerry has handled the situation, and intend on voting for him for President of the United States."

Wasn't this issue supposed to 'bury' Kerry? Oh well, thanks for the drama.

why? - updated

Well, that didn't take very long. Looks like someone else thought it was an equally bad idea, and has since removed it. The Whiskey Bar has this piece Lost in Translation on the whole "Dear Osama" letter allegedly penned by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The reward for Zarqawi's arrest has been doubled to $10 Million.

Since nobody is mentioning it part II

When does a garden-variety civil uprising officially become more than a garden-variety civil uprising? And once that occurs, where do we draw the line for US military intervention? Last week I posted this about the rebellion in Haiti. Today this report that the Haitian rebels have killed a police chief and 3 officers, bringing the death toll to at least 56. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has asked for international assistance to deal with the crisis. The Guardian notes:

"Blood has flowed in Hinche,'' Arstide told reporters at a news conference late Monday, saying he had asked for technical assistance from the Organization of American States. "It may be that the police cannot cope with this kind of attack.'' Aristide refused to talk about strategies for halting the unrest or whether he would ask for military assistance. He did, however, say the government would use peaceful means to quell the uprising that has prevented food, fuel and medical shipments.

Just a reminder, in 1994 the US sent 20,000 troops to reinstate Aristide after his first crisis... but demanded that he institute a constitutional term limit, however his successor as President, Rene Preval (here's an interesting read) was widely considered hand-picked by Aristide, then Aristide won re-election in 2000. I don't really know what to think about this whole situation. In part, it seems that the Bush administration may want to avoid recommitting US foreign policy mistakes. On the other hand, one might not view the US policy of military intervention in 1994 as a mistake. Which is right? Who knows? Last Friday, the State Department released this statement which outlines the United States' commitment to a peaceful resolution, but falls far short of mentioning a military role. Hartford Web Publishing has a great compilation of weblinks covering the history of Haiti.

chasing the Kerry/intern story

The Philadelphia Daily News - The People Paper

Media mayhem in Malvern Reporters camp outside home of woman believed key to Kerry rumors By WILLIAM BUNCH bunchw@phillynews.com A global media scrum descended on the Chester County suburb of Malvern yesterday because of a furor over a rumored romantic link between a 1995 Great Valley High School grad and presidential hopeful John Kerry. Despite the frenzy, little information was forthcoming yesterday, and there was no confirmation of any relationship between Kerry and the woman. Several news trucks and assorted gawkers loitered outside the home of the parents of 27-year-old Alexandra Polier after her dad was quoted in a British tabloid that Kerry was "a sleazeball" who'd shown an interest in his daughter. Polier, who was a cross-country star in high school and who has worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, is said to be on an assignment in Kenya, half a world away from the furor touched off by an article on the popular Web site the Drudge Report. Kerry, a Massachusetts senator who is the overwhelming favorite to grab the Democratic nomination, addressed the rumors yesterday in a radio appearance on the Don Imus show and said there was nothing to them. "Well, there is nothing to report," Kerry told the outspoken radio host when asked if the suggestions that an involvement with a young woman would derail his campaign. "So there is nothing to talk about. I'm not worried about it. No." The irreverent Imus later told his listeners that Kerry, who has won 12 out of 14 primaries and caucuses so far, "is dead" if a sex scandal involving him were to come out. Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran who later protested the war, has been married since 1996 to his second wife - Teresa Heinz Kerry, the millionaire widow of former Pennsylvania Senator John Heinz. Heinz famously told an interviewer that she threatened to "maim" her first husband if he ever cheated on her. So far, no hard evidence has surfaced that Kerry cheated with Polier, or with anyone else. Even her parents, Terry and Donna Polier, told the London Sun that they had no evidence that their daughter had had an affair with Kerry, although they claimed he had asked her to join his campaign staff a couple of years ago but that she declined. "I think he's a sleazeball," Terry Polier was quoted as saying. "I did kind of wonder if my daughter didn't get that kind of feeling herself...He's not the sort of guy I would choose to be with my daughter." The comments in the British tabloid raised more questions than it answered, but little more information was forthcoming yesterday. About 20 reporters and cameramen lurked outside the Poliers' ranch home in a middle-class section of the Chester County suburb, but the parents were reportedly not home and their son did not speak with reporters. Alexandra Polier, a tall blonde known to friends as Alex, went on from Malvern to Clark University in Worcester, Mass., where she earned a degree in 2000 with a double major in philosophy and government. She then studied journalism at the prestigious Columbia Journalism School in New York, and landed a job with the Associated Press, working for a time for the New York bureau. Despite the huge media crush, there were few stories in the mainstream media about the Kerry controversy - not surprising considering the lack of hard details. The Drudge Report became well-known in 1998 after becoming the first outlet to report on then-President Bill Clinton's involvement with Monica Lewinsky.

ouch

"A person who trusts no one can't be trusted" Jerome Blattner

A Win in the War on Terror

ABCNEWS.com : Abortion Clinic Bomb Suspect Pleads Guilty FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Feb. 13 — A man accused of plotting to firebomb abortion clinics, churches and gay bars pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to one count of attempted arson, officials said. Stephen John Jordi, a Christian fundamentalist who was trained as an Army Ranger, could face a prison sentence of five to 20 years, plus a fine of up to $250,000 when sentenced April 30.

Hyde: U.S. Should Strike at Afghan Opium

Yahoo! News - Hyde: U.S. Should Strike at Afghan Opium

since nobody else has mentioned it....

BBC NEWS Americas United Nations fears Haiti crisis The United Nations has warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in Haiti, which has seen an escalation of violence, mainly in the north. "

Took them long enough. UPDATE: 13 February... death toll reaches 46..... Aristide blames the opposition (duh) and vows not to leave his post until his term expires. Refresh my memory... didn't we protect this guy and reinstate him once already?

why?

Can someone please explain to me why the Coalition Provisional Authority has posted a link to the text of Zarqawi's letter on their website? The memo was intended to rally support in Iraq from al-Qaeda. So... why make Zarqawi's plea publicly available for the entire World to see? There may be a very good reason, but it sure makes me uncomfortable.

Flight 223.... again

British Airways Cancels 2 Flights, Citing Security Fears

Aren't these red states?

CSM has this piece on No Child Left Behind, a pill that, for many at the State and Local level, is apparently becoming increasingly-difficult to swallow.

A school-district rebellion stirring Fazed by the rules and reach of 'No Child Left Behind,' more schools opt out of the most substantive reform in a generation. By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor CHICAGO – From Utah to Virginia, a revolt is building in classrooms and legislatures against the biggest education reform in a quarter century. As elements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act take effect, state and local education officials, upset over the stringency of testing requirements and the cost of implementation, are openly criticizing the measure - and even threatening to defy it. The rebellion, in some cases led by GOP lawmakers, could endanger a signature achievement of the Bush administration in an election year. At the least, it highlights the frequent tensions between policies in Washington and their effects in the classroom.

hey susie... read this

Rodger A. Payne's Blog

baltimoresun.com - Isabel's aftermath

baltimoresun.com - Isabel's aftermath

What should Tim ask?

Geraldine Sealey in the war room over at Salon.com has a great compliation of questions various reporters and bloggers think Tim Russert should ask President Bush on Sunday.

Sad day for snoopers

from Wired News : Pentagon Kills LifeLog Project The Pentagon canceled its so-called LifeLog project, an ambitious effort to build a database tracking a person's entire existence. Run by Darpa, the Defense Department's research arm, LifeLog aimed to gather in a single place just about everything an individual says, sees or does: the phone calls made, the TV shows watched, the magazines read, the plane tickets bought, the e-mail sent and received. Out of this seemingly endless ocean of information, computer scientists would plot distinctive routes in the data, mapping relationships, memories, events and experiences.

Are We Safer?

Bioterror back, but panic is not Bioterror back, but panic is not | csmonitor.com "One reason, in addition to ricin being less lethal and contagious than anthrax, is a better-educated public and now familiar emergency procedures. 'The government tried to educate people about it,' says Juliette Kayyem, an expert on terrorism at Harvard University's Kennedy School. 'The consequences of that [education] could explain the lack of public hysteria.' For one thing, she says, the government explained to Americans how difficult it is to cause large-scale deaths through such attacks - and even illnesses. Moreover, it is likely, as in the anthrax case, that the attack was homegrown and not a result of international terrorism."

Is having a home a right?

Is having a home a right? | csmonitor.com

Good question Josh

Josh Marshall asks another very good question about the Ricin investigation on Capitol Hill and the subsequent Bill Frist press conference marathons.

The FBI on Thursday offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to an arrest of anyone responsible for leaving a package containing the deadly poison ricin at a post office in October. A letter inside the package said the author could make much more ricin and will "start dumping" large quantities of the poison if new federal trucking rules went in effect, according to information released by the FBI and other federal agencies Thursday. The rules, which require more rest hours for truck drivers, took effect Sunday. The letter, signed "Fallen Angel," said the author was "a fleet owner of a tanker company."

The full CBS report is here.

Broadband comes up from the sewer

didn't believe me?

Iran's Reformist Party to Boycott Elections

Iran's Reformist Party to Boycott Elections

get yer WMDs here...

while every news organization on the planet is running this headline: Nuclear Black Market Is Small, Covert...

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The nuclear black market that supplied Iran, Libya and North Korea is small, tight-knit and appears to have been badly hurt by the exposure of its reputed head, the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, diplomats and weapons experts told The Associated Press. They describe the network that circumvented international controls to sell blueprints, hardware and know-how to countries running covert nuclear programs as involving people closely dependent on one another. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who founded Pakistan's nuclear program, is emerging as the head of the ring believed to have been the main supplier through middlemen over three continents. A Pakistani government official revealed Monday that Khan has acknowledged in a written statement transferring nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Initial tests prove positive for ricin at the Dirksen Senate Office building...

Hazardous Substance Found in U.S. Senate Office, ABC News Says
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Workers at a U.S. Senate office in Washington, D.C. were evacuated after preliminary tests showed a substance found in a room was hazardous, ABC News reported, citing police in the city. Two tests were made on powder found in a room in the Dirksen Senate Office building, ABC cited an unidentified government official as saying. One identified it as the poison ricin, the second test was negative, the report said. The sample has been sent for further testing. The powder was found at about 3 p.m. Washington time, ABC cited police as saying. Workers in the south side of the building were called to a conference room and told to stay away from the south side of the fourth floor, ABC reported.

Hazardous Substance Found in U.S. Senate Office, ABC News Says

Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide

Mydoom cripples US firm's website

BBC NEWS | Technology | Mydoom cripples US firm's website The Mydoom e-mail worm has paralysed the website of US software firm SCO, in a massive denial of service attack. The company - which owns the source code of the Unix operating system - said the virus was "overwhelming the internet with requests to www.sco.com". Both SCO and Microsoft have offered $250,000 rewards each for help to catch the author of the worm - the fastest-spreading virus known so far. A variant of the virus is expected to attack Microsoft's site from [sic] Tuesday.

The Beneficiaries of Saddam's Oil Vouchers

The Beneficiaries of Saddam's Oil Vouchers: The List of 270 The following report from MEMRI's Baghdad office is a translation of an article which appeared in the Iraqi daily Al-Mada, [1] whichobtained lists of 270 companies, organizations, and individuals awarded allocations (vouchers) of crude oil by Saddam Hussein's regime. The beneficiaries reside in 50 countries: 16 Arab, 17 European, 9 Asian, and the rest from sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.Only a portion of the 270 recipients are listed and identified.