"someone purporting to be Osama bin Laden..."

begins this report from Canada.com on the video expected since Monday and released today.

Pathetic

Anyone who suggests that the United States Supreme Court "does not want to win the War on Terror" has transcended the bounds of normal hackery, and has officially sunk to the levels of the most idiotic of jingoistic fools. Our Country relies upon a universal Rule of Law. If you honestly think that the current USSC is somehow out to get Bush too, then you are helpless. You know who you are. A Victory for Law The Supreme Court checks the Bush administration's attempt to invent its own rules for war.

desperation

Lawyers for PSC appeal circuit court ruling Technorati Tags: cronyism, electrical deregulation

the $25 Million question

The Baltimore Sun: So why does Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. claim to be happy the state is being taken to court? For now, Mr. Schisler keeps his job - he doesn't have to leave until a new chairman is appointed and that might not happen until mid-July (or later, if a judge intervenes). Until then, he's Mr. Ehrlich's political albatross - a stubborn reminder of the administration's too-cozy relationship with Constellation Energy. Technorati Tags: cronyism, electrical deregulation

amen

welcome to my world: Homeland security gurus counter that the chances of a citywide general evacuation are small. More likely are phased evacuations or public notices telling residents to stay put. But District and regional disaster planners should start assuming that D.C. streets will look like they did Tuesday should there be another terrorist attack. That means developing a better plan to communicate traffic and road conditions to tied-up motorists and a more robust regional infrastructure for coordination among emergency planners. Technorati Tags: homeland security, evacuation, regional, National Capital Region

hate to say I told you so

No I don't. Bummer... maybe you should've done your jobs. Technorati Tags: cronyism, electrical deregulation

buy it now

"They told us so. The first authors to expose the blatant deceptions that got us into the Iraq War now reveal how the same lies have led us toward defeat. ... Now that even US generals agree that war critics were right in the first place, Rampton and Stauber show us how to wake up and not be misled again." c/o CMD... the back cover description from not yet released The Best War Ever: Lies, Damned Lies, and the Mess in Iraq, sequel to Weapons of Mass Deception, featuring a cover designed by Tom Tomorrow.

the delicate balance

Iran signals they're willing to talk; but how much good will that do if continued uranium enrichment is an Iranian requirement?

we're all very proud of you

Pakistan General Defends Terror Fight

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN

The Associated Press Saturday, June 3, 2006; 11:47 PM

SINGAPORE -- Pakistan's military chief on Saturday defended his country's fight against terrorism, saying Pakistan had committed more forces and garnered more success in the struggle than any other nation.

~~~~~~~

Pakistan's intelligence agencies and security forces have provided "more support, captured more terrorists, and committed more troops than any other nation in the global war on terror," said Ul Haq, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee,

Yeah? That's nice. Maybe that's because you've got a shitload of terrorists in your country, including Osama bin Laden. So maybe you're not quite working hard 'enough'.

Spencer Hsu and Michael Grunwald want to know

Ready, Set, Hurricane Sunday, June 4, 2006; B03 In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it became painfully clear that the Department of Homeland Security was not prepared to d eal with natural disasters, and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was languishing within DHS. On May 23, DHS issued this press release, pledging to improve its performance during this year's hurricane season. But are they ready? What are the problems behind the press release?

[note: here's the release they're referencing, not linked to in the original article]

tracking the bird flu

Human Flu Transfers May Exceed Reports

hey moonbat apologists

tell me how far off base Murtha was again? Iraq vet charged in Hanford wreck Marine accused of stealing truck, crashing into house; he blames stress from involvement in Haditha incident.

Who Rules the World?

a new survey from Germany's Bertelsmann Stiftung

Who Rules the World? World Powers and International Order

International relations are in a state of flux. With new powers rising and globalization intensifying the question of today is how the international system will be able to balance old and new power aspirations while simultaneously managing global interdependence.

To answer this question as well as to contribute to the development of effective strategies for Europe´s future role in world affairs the Bertelsmann Stiftung has established the Global Policy Council. The Council brings together international renowned experts from different angles and backgrounds. Among the supporters of the Global Policy Council are former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan´s former Special Advisor Lakhdar Brahimi, and the former Chilean President Lagos Escobar.

Within this framework the Bertelsmann Stiftung has also decided to investigate public perceptions of the qualities, resources and objectives of world powers. How do the citizens of future world powers view the international role of their respective countries? What dangers and opportunities do they perceive? In what kind of international order would they prefer to live?

A representative survey of public attitudes and perceptions in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, India, China, Japan and Brazil was conducted. The survey as well as our conclusions can be downloaded.

Survey (350 KB)

Conclusions (120 KB)

Press Release: USA’s Monopoly on World Power Threatened (30 KB)

Frank Rich: Supporting Our Troops Over a Cliff

in tomorrow's NYT

Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial

Let blame in Haditha deaths reach all levels

“This group posed a real threat. It had the capacity and intent to carry out these attacks.”

TORONTO - A Canadian counter-terrorism investigation that led to the arrests of 17 people accused of plotting bombings in Ontario is linked to probes in a half-dozen countries, the National Post has learned. With the exception of two men, who are aged 43 and 30, the alleged terrorists are all in their teens and early 20s. They include men of Somali, Egyptian, Jamaican, and Trinidadian origin. All are residents of Canada and “for the most part” all are Canadian citizens, police said. Charged are: Fahim Ahmad, 21, Zakaria Amara, 20, Asad Ansari, 21, Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, Mohammed Dirie, 22, Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Jahmaal James, 23, Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, Steven Vikash Chand, 25, and Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21. A twelfth man was a youth when some of the alleged offences took place and can’t be named, along with the other five youths arrested. “For various reasons, they appear to have become adherents to a violent ideology inspired by al-Qaida,” said Luc Portelance, the CSIS assistant director of operations.

retired US Army General understatement of the day

"The U.S.'s preparedness to take over the country of Iraq, to try to stand it back up basically from scratch, we were not prepared for that level of effort at the beginning," Blount told the Associated Press in a phone interview from his home in Hattiesburg, Miss. "And in some way it probably contributed to the development of the insurgency."

memo to recenty-appointed cronies: Do Your Jobs or You Will Lose Them

Frustrated by what they interpreted as defiance, the leaders of the General Assembly gave members of the Public Service Commission an ultimatum yesterday: Act quickly in the interests of consumers or be fired. ~~~~~~~ "Today's action further erodes the public's confidence in the PSC," Miller and Busch wrote in a letter that inched the legislature ever closer to a special session on electricity rate issues. "The court ordered the commission to re-examine its earlier decision and to stand up for the citizen rate payer. Once again, they failed. "If they intend to have hearings toward improving the [rate increase deferral] plan, it's incumbent upon them to act immediately. Otherwise, it's time for the members of this Public Service Commission to be replaced," Miller and Busch added. [full article here, from The Baltimore Sun]

bullshit alert

who the hell are you kidding?

evacuate... lol

Another GOP candidate skips Bush event By Ken Herman | Thursday, June 1, 2006, 07:35 AM When President Bush showed up at a Baltimore-Washington International Airport hotel Wednesday night for a fundraiser for the Maryland GOP he found that the party’s top-of-the-ticket candidate already had boarded a plane and left town. Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, the party’s U.S. Senate candidate, joined the list of Republicans who had to be somewhere else when Bush came to town to raise money for the GOP. Steele, instead, was at a fundraising event in Las Vegas. Nothing personal, Steele spokesman Doug Heye told the local Balitmore Sun. The candidate had a “long-standing previous commitment” to attend the Vegas event at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The Baltimore event raised $1 million for the Maryland GOP, which will use the money for all of its candidates. Was Bush miffed by Steele’s no-show? Hard to gauge. But the president’s only mention of Steele came as an aside. “By the way, when you’re getting him in as governor,” Bush said of Gov. Bob Ehrlich’s re-election bid, “make sure you put Michael Steele into the United States Senate.” And, curiously, the White House transcript of Bush’s speech billed it as “Remarks by the president at Bob Ehrlich for governor reception.” The president’s official schedule for the week correctly noted that the event actually was a “Maryland Victory 2006 Reception” and not an Ehrlich-specific event. Earlier in May, two GOP House members found it impossible to be on hand when Bush came through town to raise money for them. In Virginia, Rep. Thelma Drake was tied up by a House vote when Bush came to Hampton Roads, Va. In Pennsylvania, Rep. Curt Weldon was absent when Bush went to Philadelphia to raise money for him. Weldon, in comments to The Wall Street Journal, cited Bush’s low ratings in Pennsylvania and said the president wouldn’t be much of a help.

Hagel: ‘Things Are Worse Off In The Middle East Today Than They Were Three Years Ago’

ugh

FAS: "Some notable declassifications"

link The National Security Archive announced the publication of a large collection of Henry Kissinger's Memoranda of Conversation (memcons), a detailed and candid record of his diplomatic contacts with world leaders from 1969 to 1977, edited by the Archive's William Burr. See:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB193/press.htm

An FBI account of "Bacteriological Warfare in the United States" was published by TheMemoryHole.org. It contains a description of a "previously unknown simulated BW attack on the Pentagon" [circa 1950], notes Michael Ravnitzky, who obtained the document. See:

http://www.thememoryhole.org/fbi/biowar.htm

The second and final installment of declassified National Security Agency records on Vietnam and the Tonkin Gulf Incident was published yesterday on the NSA web site. See:

http://www.nsa.gov/vietnam/

"Iraq is abject misery"

so says General Barry McCaffrey on Hardball last night (c/o Larry Johnson's NO QUARTER).

"Trying to go about daily life in that city is a real nightmare for these poor people"

Happy Hurricane Season

lets hope this year is a little quieter than last. Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sandy, Tony, Valerie, and William...THIS MEANS YOU.