Sparky has more to crap to rub Cheney's face in -> As he wishes Chris Walken really would run for President of the USA -> And other stuff that I forgot to share ...

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Blame it on Cheney ...

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Former Spy And Cheney Aide Gets 10 Years

Convicted Of Passing Secret U.S. Documents In Effort To Topple Philippine Government

Spy In The White House?
The FBI is investigating Leandro Aragoncillo, a former Marine who is accused of taking classified documents from the White House and passing them to contacts in the Philippines. Bill Plante reports.

"There's no doubt you did betray a position of trust that very few people are privileged to occupy."

- U.S. District Judge William H. Walls

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NYT: Democrats Fail to Force Vote on Iraq Pullout

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Senators Harry Reid, left, and Carl Levin after the vote today.

By CARL HULSE and JEFF ZELENY

WASHINGTON, July 18 — Senate Democrats fell short this morning, after a rare all-night session, in their attempt to force President Bush to begin withdrawing American troops from Iraq.

The measure, which called for troops to begin departing within 120 days, was defeated in a procedural vote on what is known as a cloture motion. It received 52 “yes” votes, to 47 “no” votes, but Senate rules require 60 yes votes to pass the motion, which would have overcome a Republican filibuster of the measure.

After the failure, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, proposed that the Senate take up a series of Iraq proposals and make them all subject to a simple majority vote, including the withdrawal plan that had just failed. When Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, objected, Mr. Reid then pulled the entire Pentagon-spending measure from the floor, putting off any consideration of the alternative proposals such as one to rescind the initial war authorization.

“We will come back to this bill as soon as it is clear we can make real progress," said Mr. Reid.

Republicans complained that Democrats were being disingenuous in their complaints about the 60-vote threshold, considering that they had used the filibuster themselves when they were in the minority. They fumed over Mr. Reid’s decision to yank the Pentagon measure and blame his decision on Republican obstructionism.

“This is tragic," said Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, delivering a blistering criticism of Democratic leaders for pulling the military policy bill from the floor. He said America’s fighting men and women deserve better from their lawmakers. “This is a commentary on the lack of comity in the Senate,” Mr. McCain said.

Democrats and Republicans accused one another of being obstructionists. Mr. Reid said he wants to bring the spending bill back to the floor as soon as possible, “but with a deadline dealing with Iraq.” He brushed off Republican charges that by pulling the bill he is letting down military people, noting that even if the bill were approved right now, it would not take effect until October, when the fiscal year begins.

But Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Republican whip, said the bill is “very important for our men and women in uniform, and for our country,” and said Mr. Reid apparently “wants to play games with it.”

Mr. Reid had implored Republicans to “stop blocking a vote on this crucial, war-ending amendment,” an allusion to the withdrawal measure offered by Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, both Democrats.

Mr. Levin said, as he has repeatedly, that the Iraqis must take charge of their own destiny. “We cannot save them from themselves,” he said just before the vote.

But the Republican minority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the Democrats’ arguments were illogical, given that they had voted to confirm Gen. David H. Petraeus as the American commander in Iraq and thus, implicitly at least, had voted to give the administration strategy a chance to succeed.

Mr. McConnell said some of the speeches from the all-nighter reminded him of a bad movie, or perhaps “The Twilight Zone.”

But Mr. Reid said the Republicans’ stance meant that “they chose to continue protecting their president instead of our troops."

Despite growing misgivings about the administration’s approach in Mr. Bush’s own party, none of the Republican senators who spoke overnight signaled new support for the Democratic plan to set a deadline to remove troops from Iraq.

“We need to change mission,” said Senator Norm Coleman, Republican of Minnesota, who was among a handful of lawmakers who spent nearly the whole night in the chamber, listening to the debate. “But we have to do it thoughtfully, we have to do it strategically.”

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York Democrat, urged support for the plan, which would call for troops to begin departing within 120 days. While the administration’s mistakes in Iraq “shock the conscience,” she said, the path forward remains uncertain.

“There are no good answers,” Mrs. Clinton said in a speech delivered before dawn. “Anyone who stands here and believes that he or she has the truth, the facts, and understands both what is going on and what is likely to flow from whatever decision we take, is most probably to be proven wrong by reality as it unfolds.”

Senator Reid ordered the rare overnight session to draw attention to the Democratic efforts to change course in Iraq. But Mr. Reid did not use his full power to force senators to attend — no lawmakers, for example, were brought back to the chamber by the sergeant-at-arms — and 40 senators did not record their presence during a 5 a.m. attendance check.

Only three Republican senators pledged in advance to support the measure. Others who have gone public with their complaints about the war strategy said they were worried that the plan was ill-advised, and was being driven ahead by the Democrats mainly for partisan reasons.

“You wonder if they are more interested in politics than dealing with the substance of this,” said Senator George V. Voinovich, Republican of Ohio.

Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, labeled the Democratic plan calling for a troop pullout to begin within 120 days vague and unenforceable.

“If it did pass, it would lead to chaos in Iraq and a dramatic increase in casualties,” said Mr. Gregg, who is backing an alternative plan that incorporates the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

Senators Richard G. Lugar of Indiana and Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, two senior Republicans who recently delivered a high-profile criticism of the administration’s Iraq policy, also decided to oppose the Democratic plan.

But leading Democrats and the three Republicans who have joined them in pushing for the withdrawal portrayed the proposal as the most concrete of the competing plans circulating in the Senate, and the surest way to force a change in administration policy.

They painted today’s procedural vote as a pivotal moment in the war debate, and urged colleagues to help remove American troops from what they described as civil strife in Iraq.

“Ultimately, they have a question to settle,” Senator Gordon H. Smith, Republican of Oregon, said about the Iraqi people. “This is a fight that is theirs, not ours.”

Democrats acknowledged that they had used the all-night session to ratchet up the pressure on wavering Republicans and to try to persuade voters that though lawmakers might be breaking with the president, they were not moving forcefully enough to wind down the war.

“Many of these senators have been back home telling their constituents they’ve given up on the president’s policy in Iraq,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat. “Well, the question is, will they have the courage now to vote with those who want real change?”

Democratic officials spent much of Tuesday criticizing Republicans for not allowing a simple majority vote on the withdrawal proposal. “Let us vote,” screamed a large sign placed on the Senate floor as a backdrop to nearly each Democratic speaker overnight.

“Now is the time for us to make difficult choices,” said Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, one of the four Democratic presidential candidates in the Senate.

Republicans complained that the whole episode was a charade because the Democrats who were complaining about having to come up with 60 votes on contentious issues raised the same hurdle themselves when they were the minority party.

“It doesn’t pass the smell test,” Senator McCain, the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said of the Democratic criticism.

He and other Republicans challenged the wisdom of the withdrawal plan, saying it would short-circuit an escalation of military forces before the buildup had sufficient time to work, hand terrorist forces a victory, damage the nation’s reputation and leave Iraq in chaos.

“Keeping the Senate in for an all-night debate is not going to improve the serious concerns we have about the Levin amendment,” said Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona. “The amendment will look just as bad at 3 a.m. as it does at 3 p.m.”

But the backers of the plan disputed characterizations of the bill as a cut-and-run approach, saying it would stagger the redeployment of troops and would give the president broad discretion to keep sufficient forces in Iraq to engage in counterterrorism efforts, secure the nation’s borders and protect American personnel and facilities.

“It’s neither precipitous, nor is it a withdrawal,” said Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, who, along with Mr. Smith and Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, was one of the three Republican backers of the Democratic plan before today’s vote. “It’s a redeployment, a reduction in forces, a change in mission.”

Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, also voted for the Democratic plan today, after agonizing through the night. No Democrats opposed the measure, although Mr. Reid was counted among the “no” votes in the end, for tactical reasons: By switching his vote to “no,” he made himself eligible under Senate rules to bring the measure up again for reconsideration.

Mr. Levin said his amendment was a response to what he portrayed as Mr. Bush’s refusal to consider a change in policy on his own. “We are trying to say that this administration will not change course in Iraq, apparently, unless the Congress forces that issue upon them,” he said.

The alternatives to the Levin-Reed amendment include a proposal to enact into law the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group; another to rescind the initial 2002 authorization for the war; and a new proposal by Mr. Lugar and Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, to order the president to develop a new war strategy by October.

The legislation based on the study group’s call to combine diplomacy and military operations to create conditions for withdrawal by next March has some bipartisan support, but some Democrats have criticized it because it is nonbinding.

“It is on the right track,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who is a leading sponsor. “It is moving in the right direction and it is very significant change.”

But Mr. Alexander said he would not support the Democratic withdrawal proposal and the majority leader, Mr. Reid, said he had not decided whether there would be a vote on Mr. Alexander’s approach. Mr. Reid did suggest that he was inclined to allow consideration of the plan by Senators Lugar and Warner, given concerns they have raised about the course of the war.

“I admire and appreciate Senator Warner and Senator Lugar very much speaking out,” Mr. Reid said. “I wish they would vote as well as they talk.”

David Stout contributed reporting for this article.

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Harry Reid
24th United States Senate Majority Leader
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Bill Frist
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Senior Senator from Nevada
Incumbent
Assumed office January 6, 1987 Serving with John Ensign
Preceded by	Paul Laxalt
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2011)
Born	December 2, 1939 (1939-12-02) (age 67) Searchlight, Nevada
Nationality	American
Spouse	Landra Gould
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Harry Mason Reid (born December 2, 1939) is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party.

Reid is the U.S. Senate Majority Leader in the 110th Congress. He assumed majority leadership after the Democratic Party won seated majority of the Senate in the 2006 congressional elections. Reid is the first Mormon to serve as Senate Majority Leader.^[1]

...

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Mark how these Republican Fat Heads voted next soldiers who die in Iraq. Some imagery to help set in the minds of any GOP wannabe neocon why they'll fail ...

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US Senate says no to pullout of US troops from Iraq

July 18, 2007

After a rare all-night session, the United States Senate voted today at 11am EST on the motion to invoke cloture of the Levin/Reed Amendment (S.Amdt. 2087) which would pullout United States troops from Iraq, but only 52 votes were cast in favor of the amendment and 47 were cast against it, falling just short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the Republican filibuster of the measure.

Cots were brought in for the Senators to catch snatches of sleep during the long night, while some slept at their apartments for short periods of time. Pizza was brought in for senators to eat. Seven Democrats left the Senate floor to go outside to join a candlelight vigil held across the street from Congress.

Had the bill passed, troops would have left Iraq 120 days after the vote, and would have been out of the country by April of 2008.

Four Republicans senators, including both of Maine's senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe voted with Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon, all critics of the war. Collins was a surprise vote, although a critic, she has not been favorable toward the deadline approach. Joe Liberman, the Independent Democrat senator from Connecticut, who caucuses with Democrats, voted with Republicans against the motion, as he has done with all Iraq war legislation this year.

Last night during the all-night senate debate, Democratic Majority Leader from Nevada, Harry Reid, asked that the Senate vote on the bill this morning. He later voted no on the motion in order to take advantage of Senate rules to reintroduce the measure.

After the motion failed, Reid proposed that the Senate look at a series of Iraq proposals and make them subject to a simple majority vote, included the failed plan. Mitch McConnell, the Republican Minority Leader from Kentucky objected and Reid withdrew the legislation from the floor and the Senate moved on to discussing student loans and grants.

Throughout the night, the Senators took turns speaking with Democrats speaking while a large sign behind them annouced "Let Us Vote" speaking for the amendment and not allowing them a simple majority to vote for the amenmdnet while Republicans took turns decrying it, noting that Democrats did the same when they were the minority and criticizing Democratic leaders.

How they voted

The following is a breakdown of how the Senators voted on the motion of cloture for the Levin/Reed Amendment (S.Amdt. 2087) grouped by state:

• Alabama:
  • Sessions (R-AL), Nay
  • Shelby (R-AL), Nay
• Alaska:
  • Murkowski (R-AK), Nay
  • Stevens (R-AK), Nay
• Arizona:
  • Kyl (R-AZ), Nay
  • McCain (R-AZ), Nay
• Arkansas:
  • Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
  • Pryor (D-AR), Yea
• California:
  • Boxer (D-CA), Yea
  • Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
• Colorado:
  • Allard (R-CO), Nay
  • Salazar (D-CO), Yea
• Connecticut:
  • Dodd (D-CT), Yea
  • Lieberman (ID-CT), Nay
• Delaware:
  • Biden (D-DE), Yea
  • Carper (D-DE), Yea
• Florida:
  • Martinez (R-FL), Nay
  • Nelson (D-FL), Yea
• Georgia:
  • Chambliss (R-GA), Nay
  • Isakson (R-GA), Nay
• Hawaii:
  • Akaka (D-HI), Yea
  • Inouye (D-HI), Yea
• Idaho:
  • Craig (R-ID), Nay
  • Crapo (R-ID), Nay
• Illinois:
  • Durbin (D-IL), Yea
  • Obama (D-IL), Yea
• Indiana:
  • Bayh (D-IN), Yea
  • Lugar (R-IN), Nay
• Iowa:
  • Grassley (R-IA), Nay
  • Harkin (D-IA), Yea
• Kansas:
  • Brownback (R-KS), Nay
  • Roberts (R-KS), Nay
• Kentucky:
  • Bunning (R-KY), Nay
  • McConnell (R-KY), Nay
• Louisiana:
  • Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
  • Vitter (R-LA), Nay
• Maine:
  • Collins (R-ME), Yea
  • Snowe (R-ME), Yea
• Maryland:
  • Cardin (D-MD), Yea
  • Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
• Massachusetts:
  • Kennedy (D-MA), Yea
  • Kerry (D-MA), Yea
• Michigan:
  • Levin (D-MI), Yea
  • Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
• Minnesota:
  • Coleman (R-MN), Nay
  • Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
• Mississippi:
  • Cochran (R-MS), Nay
  • Lott (R-MS), Nay
• Missouri:
  • Bond (R-MO), Nay
  • McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
• Montana:
  • Baucus (D-MT), Yea
  • Tester (D-MT), Yea
• Nebraska:
  • Hagel (R-NE), Yea
  • Nelson (D-NE), Yea
• Nevada:
  • Ensign (R-NV), Nay
  • Reid (D-NV), Nay
• New Hampshire:
  • Gregg (R-NH), Nay
  • Sununu (R-NH), Nay
• New Jersey:
  • Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea
  • Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
• New Mexico:
  • Bingaman (D-NM), Yea
  • Domenici (R-NM), Nay
• New York:
  • Clinton (D-NY), Yea
  • Schumer (D-NY), Yea
• North Carolina:
  • Burr (R-NC), Nay
  • Dole (R-NC), Nay
• North Dakota:
  • Conrad (D-ND), Yea
  • Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
• Ohio:
  • Brown (D-OH), Yea
  • Voinovich (R-OH), Nay
• Oklahoma:
  • Coburn (R-OK), Nay
  • Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
• Oregon:
  • Smith (R-OR), Yea
  • Wyden (D-OR), Yea
• Pennsylvania:
  • Casey (D-PA), Yea
  • Specter (R-PA), Nay
• Rhode Island:
  • Reed (D-RI), Yea
  • Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
• South Carolina:
  • DeMint (R-SC), Nay
  • Graham (R-SC), Nay
• South Dakota:
  • Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting
  • Thune (R-SD), Nay
• Tennessee:
  • Alexander (R-TN), Nay
  • Corker (R-TN), Nay
• Texas:
  • Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
  • Hutchison (R-TX), Nay
• Utah:
  • Bennett (R-UT), Nay
  • Hatch (R-UT), Nay
• Vermont:
  • Leahy (D-VT), Yea
  • Sanders (I-VT), Yea
• Virginia:
  • Warner (R-VA), Nay
  • Webb (D-VA), Yea
• Washington:
  • Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
  • Murray (D-WA), Yea
• West Virginia:
  • Byrd (D-WV), Yea
  • Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
• Wisconsin:
  • Feingold (D-WI), Yea
  • Kohl (D-WI), Yea
• Wyoming:
  • Barrasso (R-WY), Nay
  • Enzi (R-WY), Nay

Related news

• "US Senate to vote on troop pullout from Iraq today". Wikinews, July 18, 2007

Sources

• Senate Democrats stymied on Iraq withdrawal vote "Senate Democrats stymied on Iraq withdrawal vote". Reuters, July 18, 2007
• Anne Flaherty "Senate Scuttles Troop Withdrawal Bill". ABC News, July 18, 2007
• Carl Hulse and Jeff Zelney "Democrats Fail to Force Vote on Iraq Pullout". The New York Times, July 18, 2007
• Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane "Senate Rejects Troop Withdrawal Measure". The Washington Post, July 18, 2007
• Avi Zenilman "Eyewitness: Senate's all-nighter". The Politco, July 18, 2007
• "US Senate Moving On Bill To Cut Student Lender Subsidies". Dow Jones Newswires, July 18, 2007
• "On the Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Levin Amdt. No. 2087)". United States Senate, July 18, 2007

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Christopher Walken Uncut

...
Q: In Hairspray you play John Travolta’s husband, and you two seem genuinely smitten.
A: You’re right. I think that we had a nice, as they call it, chemistry. I was very taken with him.
...

Presidential candidacy hoax

Walken was the subject of a hoax in August 2006 when an unidentified fan created a fake campaign website^[1] (complete with fictitious Walken "quotes" on key political issues and a link to a Cafepress page selling Walken campaign merchandise) which announced he was running for President of the United States. The site first gained attention after it was featured on a Yahoo! Current Buzz "Celebs for President" segment in October 2006. Many fans believed it was authentic until Walken's publicist dismissed the claims put forth by the website as "100% not true".

When asked about the hoax in a September 2006 interview with Conan O'Brien, Walken seemed amused by the fake presidential campaign and, when prompted by O'Brien to come up with a fitting presidential campaign slogan for himself, replied with "What the Heck?" and "No More Zoos!" ^[2]

The Urban Legends Reference Pages list the site as a fake.^[3] This hoax was perpetrated by the Internet forum General Mayhem.^[4] The original discussion has been archived on their site.^[5]

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Someone cosplaying Pope Benedict in France it seems ...

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Sushi for Two

By TREVOR CORSON

WITH the depletion of bluefin tuna in our oceans now front-page news, people around the country have been sharing with me their confusions and fears about eating sushi. I think that we — and our fish — would benefit from a new deal for American sushi: a grand pact between chefs and customers to change the way we eat.

Lobbyists for the sushi and fishing industries insist that tuna is essential to sushi, and that controls on harvesting the fish would threaten traditional Japanese culture. But that’s nonsense. Traditionally, the Japanese considered tuna unfit for sushi — especially the fatty parts. Boiled shellfish, pickled mackerel and lean, light-fleshed snappers and flounders were most popular. Not until the Western diet influenced Japan in the 20th century did the Japanese start to value the red meat of tuna and fatty cuts of fish.

But the Japanese still value tradition. When I lived in Tokyo, eating sushi generally involved a trip to a tiny neighborhood sushi bar. The chef, like a good bartender, knew everyone by name and bantered with his customers while he worked. Instead of tables and menus, people sat at the bar and asked what was seasonal and most flavorful. The chef delivered a delightful variety — unpretentious little fish with great character, crunchy clams, surprisingly tender octopus.

When sushi took root in the United States in the 1970s, a few Japanese chefs tried to educate Americans about the variety of seafood eaten in traditional sushi, and a few made the effort to recreate the neighborhood sushi bar, with its cheerful chatter, trusting relationships, lack of menus and reasonable prices.

But the dirty little secret of American sushi is that from the beginning, many Japanese chefs assumed that we could never appreciate the wide-ranging experience the way their Japanese customers did, so they didn’t bother to educate us. Simple sushi took over, featuring the usual suspects: tuna, salmon, boiled shrimp.

Today, most Americans remain wary of the stern-faced sushi chef, and dare not sit at the bar — we wouldn’t know how to order or to control the bill. Many chefs, in turn, tell me that they’re fed up with the way we Americans mishandle our sushi, so they don’t bother to serve us the fun, flavorful and more peculiar toppings.

So Americans are stuck between chef-driven omakase meals at elite restaurants that cost a fortune and the cheap, predictable fare at our neighborhood places. Both extremes have deepened our dependence on tuna — at the high end, on super-fatty cuts of rare bluefin; and at the low end, on tasteless red flesh that has often been frozen for months and treated with chemicals to preserve its color.

What we need isn’t more tuna, but a renaissance in American sushi; to discover for ourselves — and perhaps to remind the Japanese — what sushi is all about. A trip to the neighborhood sushi bar should be a social exchange that celebrates, with a sense of balance and moderation, the wondrous variety of the sea.

I suggest that customers refuse to sit at a table or look at a menu. We should sit at the bar and ask the chef questions about everything — what he wants to make us and how we should eat it. We should agree to turn our backs on our American addictions to tuna (for starters, try mackerel), globs of fake wasabi (let the chef add the appropriate amount), gallons of soy sauce (let the chef season the sushi if it needs seasoning) and chopsticks (use your fingers so the chef can pack the sushi loosely, as he would in Japan). Diners will be amazed at how following these simple rules can make a sushi chef your friend, and take you on new adventures in taste.

In return, the chefs, be they Japanese or not, must honor the sushi tradition and make the effort to educate us — no more stoicism. They must also be willing to have a candid conversation about the budget before the meal; it’s the only way American diners will be willing to surrender to the chef’s suggestions. Sushi should never be cheap, but it also should never be exorbitant, because that makes it impossible to create a clientele of regulars.

Fraternizing with the chef may be a tough habit for Americans to take up. But we’ve had sushi here now for four decades, and it’s time for a change — both for our sake, and for the sake of the embattled tuna. Let the conversation across the sushi bar begin.

Trevor Corson is the author of “The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, From Samurai to Supermarket.”

To further beat the GOP's dead horse of “fighting them there — so we don't fight them here” Sparky links to the NYT: Bush Aides See Failure in Fight With Al Qaeda in Pakistan

John Moore/Getty Images

A Pakistani soldier standing guard at a base in the tribal area of North Waziristan. Since last September, a cease-fire between Pakistan and tribal groups has been in effect, and troops have kept close to their bases.

By MARK MAZZETTI and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: July 18, 2007

“WASHINGTON, July 17 — President Bush’s top counterterrorism advisers acknowledged Tuesday that the strategy for fighting Osama bin Laden’s leadership of Al Qaeda in Pakistan had failed, as the White House released a grim new intelligence assessment that has forced the administration to consider more aggressive measures inside Pakistan.

The intelligence report, the most formal assessment since the Sept. 11 attacks about the terrorist threat facing the United States, concludes that the United States is losing ground on a number of fronts in the fight against Al Qaeda, and describes the terrorist organization as having significantly strengthened over the past two years.

In identifying the main reasons for Al Qaeda’s resurgence, intelligence officials and White House aides pointed the finger squarely at a hands-off approach toward the tribal areas by Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who last year brokered a cease-fire with tribal leaders in an effort to drain support for Islamic extremism in the region.

“It hasn’t worked for Pakistan,” said Frances Fragos Townsend, who heads the Homeland Security Council at the White House. “It hasn’t worked for the United States.” ..."

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Six Years After 9/11, the Same Terror Threat

By SCOTT SHANE

“In many respects, the National Intelligence Estimate suggests, the threat of terrorist violence against the United States is growing worse. ...”

• The Lede: Searching for Meaning in the Report
• Osama bin Laden praises martyrdom in video
• Text of the Report (pdf)

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WikiNews: US Senate to vote on troop pullout from Iraq today

July 18, 2007

United States Senate Democratic Majority Leader from Nevada, Harry Reid, has asked that the senate vote on the Levin/Reed Amendment at 11:00 a.m. (eastern time), which would begin a pullout of some U.S. troops from Iraq in 120 days, if the amendment is passed.

Currently, the U.S. senate is pulling an all-night debate on the Iraq war to decide whether troops should be pulled out of the country.

Despite the all-night session, some senators say that the debate is nothing more than a publicity stunt.

"Our enemies aren't threatened by talk-a-thons, and our troops deserve better than publicity stunts," said Mitch McConnell, a Republican Senator from Kentucky.

"We have no alternative except to keep them in session to explain their obstruction," added Reid.

Democrats are calling for a "simple majority vote" of at least 51 in order for the amendment to go forward, while Republicans want at least 60 votes.

Sources

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

• David Espo "Dems, short of Iraq votes, force overnight session". Houston Chronicle, July 18, 2007

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WikiNews: US congressman causes controversy by comparing Bush to Hitler

July 15, 2007

Congressman Keith Ellison

Freshman Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), the only Muslim in the U.S. Congress, has caused controversy after comparing President Bush to Adolf Hilter, and suggesting that the Bush Administration may have been complicit in the terror attacks of 9/11.

Speaking to a group of atheists in his home district in Minnesota, Ellison equated the 9/11 attacks and aftermath to the 1933 Reichstag fire in Germany, which helped cement Hitler's power.

He carefully parsed his words stating that he would not 'accuse' the Bush Administration of planning 9/11 because "you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box - dismiss you".

Ellison, a co-sponsor of a bill to impeach Cheney for "high crimes and misdemeanors," described the Vice President as "the very definition of totalitarianism, authoritarianism and dictatorship" and further condemned his refusal to answer Congress' questions.

Ellison's promise: "You'll always find this Muslim standing up for your right to be atheists all you want," reportedly "raised eyebrows" among the 300 present.

Ellison later clarified that he believes that Osama bin Laden was in fact responsible for the attacks of 9/11.

Condemnation came quickly with Republican Mark Drake of Ellison's home state saying: "To compare the democratically elected leader of the United States of America to Hitler is an absolute moral outrage which trivialises the horrors of Nazi Germany."

Sources

• Toby Harnden "Bush like Hitler, says first Muslim in Congress". The Telegraph, July 15, 2007
• Andy Birkey "A Nazi Analogy is Never a Good Idea". The Minnesota Monitor, July 15, 2007
• Josh Meyer "Cheney claims a non-executive privilege". latimes.com, June 22, 2007

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As I don't consider Bush to have been elected either in 2000 or 2004 - the above works for me. We need more Muslims like Ellison I think.

Sparky finds his anger -
HUFFCO PO: Mel Gibson Hits The Bar In Costa Rica

Actor/director/hater Mel Gibson, 51, was photographed in a bar in Nicoya, Costa Rica -- looking like he was having a swell time with the local chicas. Salud! Mel has purchased a multi-million dollar mansion in C.R., and he was welcomed by President Arias. Mr. Gibson is said to be planning charitable contributions to the natives.

TMZ: Mel Gibson: Costa Rica Loco!
Actor/director/hater Mel Gibson, 51, was photographed in a bar in Nicoya, Costa Rica -- looking like he was having a swell time with the local chicas. Salud!

Mel has purchased a multi-million dollar mansion in C.R., and he was welcomed by President Arias. Mr. Gibson is said to be planning charitable contributions to the natives.

Gibson was arrested last July on suspicion of drunk driving and went on an anti-semitic tirade

Gibson's Anti-Semitic Tirade -- Alleged Cover Up.


TMZ has learned that Mel Gibson went on a rampage when he was arrested Friday on suspicion of drunk driving, hurling religious epithets. TMZ has also learned that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department had the initial report doctored to keep the real story under wraps.

TMZ has four pages of the original report prepared by the arresting officer in the case, L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy James Mee. According to the report, Gibson became agitated after he was stopped on Pacific Coast Highway and told he was to be detained for drunk driving Friday morning in Malibu. The actor began swearing uncontrollably. Gibson repeatedly said, "My life is f****d." Law enforcement sources say the deputy, worried that Gibson might become violent, told the actor that he was supposed to cuff him but would not, as long as Gibson cooperated. As the two stood next to the hood of the patrol car, the deputy asked Gibson to get inside. Deputy Mee then walked over to the passenger door and opened it. The report says Gibson then said, "I'm not going to get in your car," and bolted to his car. The deputy quickly subdued Gibson, cuffed him and put him inside the patrol car.

TMZ has learned that Deputy Mee audiotaped the entire exchange between himself and Gibson, from the time of the traffic stop to the time Gibson was put in the patrol car, and that the tape fully corroborates the written report.

Once inside the car, a source directly connected with the case says Gibson began banging himself against the seat. The report says Gibson told the deputy, "You mother f****r. I'm going to f*** you." The report also says "Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he 'owns Malibu' and will spend all of his money to 'get even' with me."

The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: "F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?"

The deputy became alarmed as Gibson's tirade escalated, and called ahead for a sergeant to meet them when they arrived at the station. When they arrived, a sergeant began videotaping Gibson, who noticed the camera and then said, "What the f*** do you think you're doing?"

A law enforcement source says Gibson then noticed another female sergeant and yelled, "What do you think you're looking at, sugar tits?"

We're told Gibson took two blood alcohol tests, which were videotaped, and continued saying how "f****d" he was and how he was going to "f***" Deputy Mee.

Gibson was put in a cell with handcuffs on. He said he needed to urinate, and after a few minutes tried manipulating his hands to unzip his pants. Sources say Deputy Mee thought Gibson was going to urinate on the floor of the booking cell and asked someone to take Gibson to the bathroom.

After leaving the bathroom, Gibson then demanded to make a phone call. He was taken to a pay phone and, when he didn't get a dial tone, we're told Gibson threw the receiver against the phone. Deputy Mee then warned Gibson that if he damaged the phone he could be charged with felony vandalism. We're told Gibson was then asked, and refused, to sign the necessary paperwork and was thrown in a detox cell.

Deputy Mee then wrote an eight-page report detailing Gibson's rampage and comments. Sources say the sergeant on duty felt it was too "inflammatory." A lieutenant and captain then got involved and calls were made to Sheriff's headquarters. Sources say Mee was told Gibson's comments would incite a lot of "Jewish hatred," that the situation in Israel was "way too inflammatory." It was mentioned several times that Gibson, who wrote, directed, and produced 2004's "The Passion of the Christ," had incited "anti-Jewish sentiment" and "For a drunk driving arrest, is this really worth all that?"

We're told Deputy Mee was then ordered to write another report, leaving out the incendiary comments and conduct. Sources say Deputy Mee was told the sanitized report would eventually end up in the media and that he could write a supplemental report that contained the redacted information -- a report that would be locked in the watch commander's safe.
Initially, a Sheriff's official told TMZ the arrest occurred "without incident." On Friday night, Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore told TMZ: "The L.A. County Sheriff's Department investigation into the arrest of Mr. Gibson on suspicion of driving under the influence will be complete and will contain every factual piece of evidence. Nothing will be sanitized. There was absolutely no favoritism shown to this suspect or any other. When this file is presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney, it will contain everything. Nothing will be left out."
On Saturday, Gibson released the following statement:

"After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the LA County Sheriffs. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person. I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said. Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse. I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health."

Click to see portions of the original report.

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Sparky says: “My long personal experience with female Costa Ricans is that Mel will fit right in. After all - their moms will have told them all us Christ-Killers have horns anyway. Telling them that there is no historical evidence for their "Jesus" won't matter. As far as I'm concerned he can stay there and rot his liver in peace.

By the way, the number one reason rich jerks go to Costa Rica is the lure of having sex with "virgins." Or what they're told are virginal Catholic High School girls. I imagine the parties involved get what they want from each other.”

And one might as well expect dead Nazi Kurt Waldheim to apologise before Mel does. And I predict Hitler Youth Pope Benedict XVI is self destructing as his surrogates are finding it to get him his altar boys ...

PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung) Payout Is Bittersweet for Victims of Abuse New York Times, United States - 4 hours ago In comments that are proving controversial, Mr. Boucher has praised Cardinal Mahony for bringing the settlement to fruition after meeting personally with 60 ... He's Sorry He Got Caught CBS News US Court Approves $660 Million Settlement in Clergy Abuse Cases Voice of America Court Approves $660 Million Los Angeles Priest-Abuse Accord Bloomberg

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SPARKY CAMPING THE HUFFPOCO on one of his pet peeves. The Bush Crime Clan's hit on JFK Paul Krassner:The CIA and JFK

Gosh, we can hardly wait for the CIA's public confessions of guilt for past sins this week. We already know the documents will include details of their sinister plans to work with the Mafia in attempting to clandestinely murder Fidel Castro.

But then, what about that very same team's successful assassination of President John F. Kennedy? That's what Malcolm X meant when he referred to the Kennedy killing as "the chickens coming home to roost."

Of course, Vincent Bugliosi's doorstop in the guise of a book insists there was no conspiracy behind Lee Harvey "I'm a patsy" Oswald, despite E. Howard Hunt's sort of bedside admission that he had participated in such a plot.

My source for the following was an executive at KCOP-TV in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. His office had previously been Mort Sahl's office when he was doing a talk program with news anchor George Putnam.

"Working at KCOP could be very frustrating at times," he tells me, "so I kept a toy Rocky Balboa punching doll in my office for the occasional release of pent-up anger. On one Friday afternoon, I happened to give Rocky a swift kick, sending him careening into the ceiling where he dislodged some of those cheap, suspended ceiling tiles -- and an old, forgotten 'spot reel' of two-inch video tape that had been hidden there came tumbling down.

"Even at that late date, KCOP was still using two-inch video playback machines, so I was able to put the reel up and check it out. It was a pristine copy of the the Zapruder film -- real time, slowed down, blown-up, and configured in all sorts of forensically-inspired ways.

"There is only one reason that this tape would have been secretly stashed where it was. And without ever having the opportunity to meet Mort or otherwise ask him, I am convinced that this was indeed his copy, perhaps residue of the [New Orleans District Attorney Jim] Garrison investigation and probably placed there for protection and forgotten. I stayed late at the station that night and made many, many more copies of this tape in every available video format -- then spent the next day secretly hiding these copies in the ceilings and walls of KCOP for future generations to find--not unlike re-burying the singing frog in that old Warner Brothers cartoon.

"Years later, not being long gone from KCOP, I noticed that the places where I stashed copies of Mort's secret copy of the Zapruder film are now precisely where stands the set of 'Hell's Kitchen.' It would have been impossible for them to have built this set without dislodging a copy or two--but whether they have or not resurfaced after all these years, it seems perversely appropriate that they are stuck somewhere in the sinew of 'Hell's Kitchen.' Until now, I was the only one who knew anything of this story.

"I did, however, employ one of the copies when I produced one of those silly JFK assassination shows with Jack Anderson. We discovered actual photos of E. Howard Hunt on the grassy knoll and confronted Hunt with the evidence -- and Hunt was not too pleased. But Anderson wanted to protect his CIA friends by blaming everything on [Mafia chieftain] Sam Giancana, so the broadcast took a different twist. But that's another story. ..."

Which, incidentally, serves to remind me: Tony Soprano was shot to death by his daughter Meadow because he had neglected to reserve a parking space for her.

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Damn - Benedict is creepy looking.