Shattering previous records, the sea ice in the Arctic shrank 1 million square miles more this summer than the average melt over 25 years, an area larger than Alaska and Texas combined, according to NASA satellite data released Thursday.Hired Guns
Brigadier General Karl Horst, deputy commander of the 3rd Infantry Division said of private security contractors, "These guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There's no authority over them, so you can't come down on them hard when they escalate force.... They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place."
[Excellent piece from Jeremy Scahill of The Nation, who spent several years investigating 'privatized warfare'.]
That's almost sacrilegious! [he-he]
ABC News' Jennifer Parker Reports: Canada's top news magazine has caused a stir with a provocative cover depicting an image of President George W. Bush dressed as Saddam Hussein -- complete with the former Iraqi dictator's mustache and beret. The controversial headline to the September 20th Maclean's cover reads "How George Bush Became The New Saddam Hussein," and ..."Pope bitch-slapped Condi
Pope Benedict XVI refused a recent request by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the Middle East and Iraq, Vatican sources say.[Oh, was that sacrilegious? No, only if the Pope was the slapee, but not as the slapper]
Republican pork project scrapped
On Friday, the state of Alaska officially abandoned the controversial project in Ketchikan that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. Republicans U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and U.S. Rep. Don Young championed the project through Congress two years ago, securing more than $200 million in funds for the bridge between Ketchikan, on Revillagigedo Island, and Gravina Island. Under mounting political pressure over pork projects, Congress [Democrats] stripped the earmark ...'Coalition' deaths reach 299
One-hundred and sixty-nine British, and 130 from, 'Other', have been killed in Iraq. The 299 'Coalition' deaths are 7.3% of the total 4,096 [as of 9/22/07] killed in Iraq since the invasion began on, March 19, 2003.
Update: The 'other' Coalition countries suffered their 300th fatality in Iraq today, 9/23.
Wasn't my study
He sure didn't get over on Fox
Bush may like to be seen as a swaggering tough guy with a penchant for manly outdoor pursuits, but in a new book one of his closest allies has said he is afraid of horses. Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, derided his political friend as a "windshield cowboy" – a cowboy who prefers to drive – and "the cockiest guy I have ever met in my life".Condors vs. the NRA
The remarkable recovery of California condors is now threatened by lead bullet fragments left in the wild by hunters. Its fate rests with the governor. What will Schwarzenegger do?[Why are we still using lead in bullets and birdshot?]
Rudy vs. the NRA
Republican presidential candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani, who as New York mayor backed gun control and sued firearms manufacturers, sought a middle ground yesterday with skeptical gun-rights activists. His remarks at the National Rifle Association's "Celebration of American Values" conference left many members uneasy, especially after Giuliani struggled to answer questions ..."
[The former mayor of New York City trying to explain to a bunch of duck hunters that there wasn't much hunting going on in NYC when he was cracking down. -- Priceless.]
Just missed
Peruvian scientists have confirmed that the mysterious, flaming object that slammed into the Andes and sickened villagers over the weekend was in fact a meteorite, according to Living in Peru, which cites the official news agency. The meteorite left a crater 55 feet wide and 16 feet deep. Somewhere between 100 and 600 people who went to investigate have been treated for headaches, nausea and vomiting after inhaling noxious gases coming from the crater near Lake Titicaca and the Bolivian border.Ain't gonna happen
U.S.: No Extradition Over CIA Renditions
U.S. authorities have told Germany that they will not extradite 13 purported CIA agents sought in the alleged kidnapping of a German citizen, an official said Saturday. ...Munich prosecutors issued warrants for the arrest of the 13 purported CIA agents at the end of January, accusing them of wrongfully imprisoning Khaled el-Masri and causing him serious bodily harm. El-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, maintains that he was abducted in December 2003 at the Serbian-Macedonian border and flown by the CIA to a detention center in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was abused.
["9/11 changed everything"]
He still has Barney
Dingbat [and the first recipient of the Limbaugh Award], Rep. Michele Bachmann even backs away from Bush!
At the 2007 State of the Union address, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) infamously gripped onto President Bush’s shoulder until he gave her “a kiss and an embrace.” Yesterday, Bachmann boasted to a MN radio station that at the scene of the recent bridge collapse, Bush tried to “embrace” and “kiss” her once again: The President and I enjoy a great relationship. When he and I were back visiting the collapsed bridge, he reached over because he wanted to give me a kiss when we were down at the site, and I had pulled back and he said, “What? You don’t want to embrace?” And I said, “The people of Minnesota love you Mr. President, but I think one kiss was enough.”
[It sure didn't take her long to ditch Bush, did it? Bachmann will be a one-term nightmare remembered for acting like a fool at the SOTU and pretending she's not a Bush suck-up now won't work with Minnesotans -- Norm Coleman will suffer that same fate, too ]
Yeah well, 'if' my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle.The Limbaugh Award
{The last question asked at Bush's 'press' conference on Thursday - 9/20}
Bush: Big Stretch, he's back.
Q - Bill Sammon - What is your reaction to the MoveOn.org ad that mocked General Petraeus as General "Betrayus," and said that he cooked the books on Iraq? And secondly, would you like to see Democrats, including presidential candidates, repudiate that ad?Bush: [Thanks for the softball, Stretch] I thought the ad was disgusting. I felt like the ad was an attack not only on General Petraeus, but on the U.S. military. And I was disappointed that not more leaders in the Democrat Party spoke out strongly against that kind of ad. And that leads me to come to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org -- or more afraid of irritating them than they are of irritating the United States military. That was a sorry deal. It's one thing to attack me; it's another thing to attack somebody like General Petraeus. -- Thank you for your time, and again, thanks a lot for the softball, Stretch -- I was getting my ass kicked there and our plan worked perfectly.
During one of his rare press conferences Thursday Bush was mumbling, stumbling and embarrassing himself once again, when, in a move that evokes disgusting images of Karl Rove and Jeff Gannon, Bush saw his old friend, Washington Examiner reporter, frequent Fox News guest and former Washington Times reporter, Bill 'Big Stretch' Sammon, in the gallery and knew it was time for his bail out.
So Bush called on his old friend, 'Big Stretch', and he was delivered the big hanging curve.
The 'Committee' demanded that Bill Sammon be awarded the 'Limbaugh' this week. Most of the distinguished members on the committee are associated with journalism and they find Sammon's relationship with Bush and the White House and their lame attempt to portray Sammon as 'independent', reprehensible.
And after reading Sammon's bio, I'm 100% behind them.
Congratulations, 'Big Stretch', you're #30!
-- via Think Progress
Past winners of the prestigious, but infamous,
Limbaugh Award
Mr. Straight Talk - John McCain - 9/16/07
Sycophant - General Petraeus - 9/9/07
His own Idaho - Sen. Craig R-Idaho - 9/2/07
Turd Blossom - Karl Rove - 8/26/07
The Exterminator - Tom Delay - 8/19/07
Big 'Rooster' - Mitt Romney - 8/12/07
Total Suck Up - Glenn Beck - 8/5/07
General Gonzo - Alberto Gonzales - 7/29/07
Pro Liar - Tony 'Snowjob' Snow - 7/22/07
Bush bin Lyin - George W. Bush - 7/15/07
Freed Felon - Scooter Libby - 7/8/07
Mr. Overrated - Rudy Giuliani - 7/1/07
Crazy Lying Okie - James Inhofe - 6/24/07
Pro Liar - Tony 'Snowjob' Snow - 6/17/07
Mormon Moron - Mitt Romney - 6/10/07
Bye Week - 6/3/07
Commander Guy - George W. Bush - 5/27/07
Pat's Brother - Bay Buchanan - 5/20/07
Used Car Salesman - John Boehner - 5/13/07
Uncultured Wussy - Bill O'Reilly - 5/6/07
Mr. Overrated - Rudy Giuliani - 4/29/07
Turd Blossom - Karl Rove - 4/22/07
The Decider - George W. Bush - 4/15/07
Lying Chickenhawk VP - Dick Cheney - 4/8/07
Mr. Straight Talk - John McCain - 4/1/07
Attorney General - Alberto Gonzales - 3/25/07
Fox mouthpieces Sean Hannity and
Victoria Toensing - 3/18/07
Fox News guy - Brit Hume - 3/11/07
VA Secretary - Jim Nicholson - 3/4/07
Rep. Michele Bachmann - (R-MN) - 2/25/07
