HAVANA (Reuters) - A Russian warship sailed into Havana Bay on Friday for the first time since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union as Russia flexed its muscles close to the United States and showed off its warming relations with former Cold War ally Cuba. The dark gray, anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko fired its guns in salute as it sailed in from the Straits of Florida just 90 miles from the U.S. coast and was greeted with cannon fire from an old Spanish fort at the mouth of the bay.Is there any doubt why they're here?
The United States and Ukraine risked irking Moscow by signing a strategic accord Friday that calls for a US diplomatic post in Crimea, a Russian-speaking area where Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Ogryzko signed the "charter on strategic partnership" that the State Department calls a statement of US intent to "intensify our engagement with Ukraine."[War Games: We continue to agitate the Russians by courting the Ukraine and Georgia so Putin sends his Navy to the ports of Venezuela and Cuba.]
The Chinese Navy on the move
China is considering sending ships to fight pirates off the Horn of Africa in what would be the country’s first significant long-range naval combat mission since the 15th century.
Deep Throat Dead
W. Mark Felt Sr., 95, associate director of the FBI during the Watergate scandal who, better known as "Deep Throat," became the most famous anonymous source in American history, died Dec. 18 at his home in Santa Rosa, Calif., where he was under hospice care, his daughter Joan Felt said.Get a rubber Jim Bob
Arkansas woman has given birth to her 18th child
In this Aug. 2, 2007 file photo, Michelle Duggar, left, is surrounded by her children and husband Jim Bob, second from left, after the birth of her 17th child in Rogers, Ark. Michelle Duggar gave birth to her 18th child, a girl named Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008.Is he really that damn stupid?
On Hannity & Colmes, Sean Hannity suggested that President-elect Barack Obama -- the first African-American elected president -- was named Time magazine's Person of the Year because Vice President-elect Joe Biden chose Time's Jay Carney as his communications director. Hannity stated: "Shocker: The president-elect is crowned Time magazine's Person of the Year; this after Time magazine's D.C. bureau chief accepts a job in the Obama White House. Ah, I'm sure it's a coincidence."
Keefe"I don't think Bush has dodged anything like that since Vietnam." - David Letterman
He fucked that up too
"And as a result of the United States military, Taliban no longer is in existence. And the people of Afghanistan are now free." George W. Bush, 4 years and three months ago. [h/t Think Progress]
And she can't sing worth a shit!
WASHINGTON (AP) — Aretha Franklin will sing, the Rev. Rick Warren will pray and more than 11,000 U.S. troops will be watching over inauguration ceremonies in case of an attack during President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in on Jan. 20.[Aretha Franklin is one of the most overrated singers in the history of music. And, she's a total nutcase.]
Dick Cheney confesses to war crimes
"I supported it," he said regarding the practice known as "water-boarding," a form of simulated drowning. After World War II, Japanese soldiers were tried and convicted of war crimes in US courts for water-boarding, a practice which the outgoing Bush administration attempted to enshrine in policy.
California unemployment rate 8.4%
California's unemployment rate climbed to 8.4 percent in November, the third-highest rate in the nation, federal officials said Friday. The jobless rate announced by the U.S. Department of Labor was up from 5.7 percent a year earlier, and 8.2 percent in October. Only Michigan and Rhode Island posted higher jobless rates than California.
''The "Detroit's A Loser" Myth''
"We shouldn’t bail out companies that build cars nobody wants." You hear that one a lot when it comes to floating the Detroit 3. Now that the initial $17 billion bailout is done, a lot of folks are making a face like they just ate a lemon. To them, the White House has acted as a Kremlin bailing out a Trabant. But the inconvenient truth is GM, Ford and Chrysler build a lot of really good - and often great - cars and we buy a lot of them. The Detroit 3 sold 8.45 million consumer vehicles in North America in 2007...
Obama Names Scientists
Powerful Reversal Of Bush's Politicization Of Science Agencies
AP) U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday named Harvard physicist John Holdren and marine biologist Jane Lubchenco to top science posts, signaling a change from Bush administration policies on global warming that were criticized for putting politics over science. Both Holdren and Lubchenco are leading experts on climate change who have advocated forceful government response.
[Our entire country should give thanks this Christmas season to the fact that we actually have mature adults in charge who are not partisan and incompetent criminals.]
Wow, compare that job growth
The Limbaugh Award
The most surprising thing about this week's winner of the Limbaugh Award is that it is her first win.Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in the long history of this prestigious, but infamous award for liars, Madam Secretary Condoleezza Rice -- hopelessly caught up in George W. Bush's Revisionist Tour -- has added her name to its long list of honored recipients.
'Condi' had a real bad week. She started out by hilariously stating that the U.S. hasn't lost any money in Iraq due to corruption. Of course that's ridiculous, since we've lost 10's of billions in Iraq directly due to corruption and cronyism.
Later in the week during an interview with CNN Rice was asked if she took any responsibility for not being better prepared for 9/11 and she replied, "I do take responsibility, but this was a systemic failure. ... We, the administrations before us, had not thought of this as the kind of war against the terrorists that we were going to have to wage."
Of course, that's a blatant lie, too. If you read 'done that', you know that's bullshit -- the 'administration before' knew that and warned her well in advance. She wasn't interested.
Congratulations Madam Secretary, you're long overdue, and #93.
Past winners of the prestigious, but infamous,
The Limbaugh Award
Crazy Illinois Governor - Hot Rod Blagojevich - 12/14/08
Worst in History - George W. Bush - 12/07/08
Worst in History - George W. Bush - 11/30/08
Rep. Michele Bachmann - (R-MN) - 11/23/08
Turd Blossom - Karl Rove - 11/16/08
Double-talking Wingnut - Brent 'Bozo' Bozell - 11/9/08
Rightwing Radio Nutjob - Bill Cunningham - 11/2/08
Josephine the Plumber - Ashley Todd - 10/26/08
Joe The Plumber - Sammie Joe Wurzelbacher - 10/19/08
Drug-Addicted Beer Queen - Cindy McCain - 10/12/08
Anti-Semitic Lying Traitor - Sean Hannity - 10/5/08
Bye Week - 9/28/08
Pretty Pork Princess - Gov. Sarah Palin - 9/21/08
Lying Lil' Bush - John McCain - 9/14/08
Pretty Pork Princess - Gov. Sarah Palin - 9/07/08
Pretty Pork Princess - Gov. Sarah Palin - 8/31/08
Alleged Pedophile Pigboy - Rush Limbaugh - 8/24/08
A Terrible American Liar - Sean Hannity - 8/17/08
Self-described Narcissist - John Edwards - 8/10/08
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Liar - Traitor Joe Lieberman - 8/3/08
McCain Campaign Operative - Katie Couric - 7/27/08
Stupid Hillbilly Bitch - Libby Dole R-N.C. - 7/20/08
Lyin' Lil' Bush - John McCain - 7/13/08
Fox Assholes & Friends - Doocey and Kilmeade -7/5/08*
Fear-Mongering Buckeye Fan - Hugh Hewitt - 6/29/08
A Terrible American - Sean Hannity - 6/22/08
Tim Russert Memorial Truce Week - 6/15/08
Fox's Toe-Sucking Ethics Expert - Dick Morris - 6/7/08*
Troop Level Idiot - John 'Lil' Bush' McCain - 6/1/08
Sub 10th Grade Debate Loser - Rush Limbaugh - 5/25/08
Scared Little Man - George W. Bush - 5/18/08
Sugar Momma Beer Queen - Cindy McCain - 5/11/08
Uncultured Wussy - Bill O'Reilly - 5/4/08
Nazi Running for Congress - Tony Zirkle, R-IN - 4/27/08
Fox's Toe-Sucking Ethics Expert - Dick Morris - 4/20/08
Lying Dickhead VP - Dick Cheney - 4/13/08
McCain's Chief Lobbyist - Charlie Black - 4/6/08
Neo-Nazi Supporter - Sean Hannity - 3/30/08
Shiite for a Brain - John McCain - 3/23/08
Client #9 - Governor Eliot Spitzer - 3/15/08*
Turd Blossom - Karl Rove - 3/9/08
Lying Redneck Rep - Jack Kingston R-GA - 3/2/08
Lying Little Twirp - Tucker Carlson - 2/24/08
Mr Straight Talk - John McCain - 2/17/08
Bye Week - 2/10/08
Mr Straight Talk - John McCain - 2/3/08
935 of them - Bush & the Gang of 7 - 1/27/08
Fox News Co-Liars - Hannity & O'Reilly - 1/20/08
Sheep's Favorite Liar - Rush Limbaugh - 1/13/08
Longtime Lobbyist - Trent Lott - 1/6/08
2007 Co-Champions - Dick Bush - 12/30/07
Lying Piece of - Mitt Romney - 12/23/07
Psycho Pervert - Michael Savage - 12/16/07
Sheepherder-in-Chief - George W. Bush - 12/9/07
Turd Blossom - Karl Rove - 12/2/07
Cowardly Welsher - T. Boone Pickens - 11/25/07
Republican Tool - Matt Drudge - 11/18/07
Their Favored Liar - Rudy Giuliani - 11/11/07
Fox News Liar - Chris Wallace - 11/4/07
Uncultured Wussy - Bill O'Reilly - 10/28/07
Phony Patriot Liar - Rush Limbaugh - 10/21/07
Old Kentucky Homo - Mitch McConnell - 10/14/07
Liar-In-Chief - George W. Bush - 10/7/07
Phony Patriot Pig - Rush Limbaugh - 9/30/07
Big Stretch 'the truth' - Bill Sammon - 9/23/07
Mr. Straight Talk - John McCain - 9/16/07
Sycophant - Gen. David 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
