George Tenet on '60 Minutes' Calls Outing of Plame 'Big Time Wrong'

quote[In his much publicized "60 Minutes" interview tonight, tied to his new book, former CIA director George Tenet flatly called the outing of one of his employees, Valerie Plame, "big time wrong."

"She's one of my officers," Tenet said. "That's wrong. Big time wrong, you don't get to do that. And the chilling effect that you have inside my work force is, 'Whoa, now officers names are being thrown out the door. Hold it. Not right.'"

Asked how much damage that did, Tenet said: "That's not the point. Just because there's a Washington bloodletting game going on here and just because her husband's out there saying what he's saying. The country's intelligence officers are not fair game. Period. That's all you need to know."

"They didn't seem to know that in the White House," Scott Pelley of "60 Minutes" observed.

"I'm done with it. I've just told you what I think," Tenet said.]

Too little, way too fucking late.

DC madam takes first blood

quote[The US State Department announced on Saturday that Randall Tobias, the head of the US Agency for International Development, had resigned for personal reasons.

But ABC News reported that Mr Tobias had submitted his resignation after being contacted by the network, which obtained the telephone records of so-called "DC Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey.]

This could get good...

Serving British soldier exposes horror of war in 'crazy' Basra

quote[A British soldier has broken ranks within days of returning from Iraq to speak publicly of the horror of his tour of duty there, painting a picture of troops under siege, "sitting ducks" to an increasingly sophisticated insurgency.

"Basra is lost, they are in control now. It's a full-scale riot and the Government are just trying to save face," said Private Paul Barton.

The 27-year-old, who returned from his second tour of Iraq this week along with other members of 1st Battalion, the Staffordshire Regiment, insisted that he remains loyal to the Army despite such public dissent. He said he had already volunteered to go to Afghanistan later this year.

But, he said, he felt strongly that somebody had to speak out: "I want people to see it as it is; not the sugar-coated version."

His public protest is a sign of the groundswell of anger among the troops, and predictions that more will come forward to break the traditional covenant of silent service. Just last month, Pte Steve Baldwin, 22, a soldier in the same regiment, spoke to The Independent about the way he had been "pushed aside" since being injured by a roadside bomb which killed three others during the Staffords' first tour of Iraq in 2005.]

Sad...

Fox News Sinks To New Low, Repeatedly Reports Parody Story As Actual News

quote[On Tuesday, Fox News morning show “Fox & Friends” aired at least eight segments on a purported “news” story that was actually a parody article written by a publication similar to The Onion.

The backstory: Last week in the town of Lewiston, Maine, a group of Somalian Muslim middle school students were the subject of a cruel prank when their peers placed a ham steak next to them in order to personally offend the students. School officials filed a report because the students considered the act to be a hate/bias crime.

This actual story was then spoofed by a parody site called Associated Content, which made up quotes and details, such as the school’s intention to “create an anti-ham ‘response plan.’”

On Tuesday, Fox & Friends reported these parody quotes and details as actual news. Poking fun at the students, hosts asked whether ham was “a hate crime…or lunch?” and showed screen shots of ham sandwiches, starving Somalians, belching, animal noises, and mock “reenactments” of the incident. Ironically, the hosts assured viewers several times, “We’re not making this up!”]

Fair and balanced in their lies???

Weapons to go offstage

quote[In the wake of Monday’s massacre at Virginia Tech in which a student killed 32 people, Dean of Student Affairs Betty Trachtenberg has limited the use of stage weapons in theatrical productions.

Students involved in this weekend’s production of “Red Noses” said they first learned of the new rules on Thursday morning, the same day the show was slated to open. They were subsequently forced to alter many of the scenes by swapping more realistic-looking stage swords for wooden ones, a change that many students said was neither a necessary nor a useful response to the tragedy at Virginia Tech.]

Overkill???

Fucking Idiot!

quote[This morning, President Bush marked Malaria Awareness Day by participating in a Rose Garden ceremony featuring Senegalese performers from the West African Dance Company.

I have no words. I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves.]

U.S. Sen. McCain latest Republican to call for Gonzales resignation

quote[Presidential contender John McCain joined the growing number of Republicans calling for U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to step down in the furor over the firings of eight federal prosecutors.

"I am very disappointed in his performance," McCain said Wednesday when asked about the attorney general in an interview with CNN television's Larry King. "I think loyalty to the president should enter into his calculations."]

A fleeting moment of clarity...

Limbaugh said Virginia Tech shooter "had to be a liberal"

quote[On the April 19 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Rush Limbaugh declared that the perpetrator of the April 16 Virginia Tech shootings "had to be a liberal," adding: "You start railing against the rich, and all this other -- this guy's a liberal. He was turned into a liberal somewhere along the line. So it's a liberal that committed this act." Limbaugh then complained, in a possible reference to Media Matters for America, that "Now the drive-bys will read on a website that I'm attacking liberalism by comparing this guy to them. That's exactly what they do every day, ladies and gentlemen. I'm just pointing out a fact. I am making no extrapolation." Limbaugh regularly describes mainstream media sources as "the drive-by media."]

But, it gets better:

Limbaugh claimed Media Matters "fell for" his "liberal" gunman "joke" "hook, line, and sinker."

At least, Olbermann saw through the crap:

Limbaugh "Worst Person" for claiming VA Tech shooter was a "liberal."

And he's the media king???

Don't Mess With Our Chocolate!

quoteThank you for visiting the Don't Mess with Our Chocolate web site forum. Its purpose is to provide information regarding how to get involved in saving the real chocolate that we all love and enjoy. Through the years, consumers have had a passionate love affair with chocolate. Chocolate is an indulgence that everyone can afford, and it provides comfort, pleasure and happiness. It truly is one of the worlds most unique and special foods.

However, if some members of the U.S. Chocolate Industry have their way, it will negatively change the quality of chocolate you love. Their plan is to change the basic formula of chocolate in order to use vegetable fat substitutes in place of cocoa butter, and to use milk substitutes in the place of nutritionally superior milk. These changes will have adverse effects on the eating, physical and nutritional quality of chocolate, and beg the question: What consumer benefit is associated with implementing these changes? The answer isnone.

This is ridiculous!

Pet food recall expanded (AGAIN) on new finding

quote[An industrial chemical that led to a nationwide recall of more than 100 brands of cat and dog foods has been found to contaminate a second pet food ingredient, expanding the recall further.

The chemical, melamine, is believed to have contaminated rice protein concentrate used to make a variety of Natural Balance Pet Foods products for both dogs and cats, the
Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. Previously, the chemical was found to contaminate another ingredient, wheat gluten, used by at least six other pet food and treat manufacturers.]

Good God! When will this end???

WBC to Preach at Funerals of Virginia Tech Dead

quote[WBC will preach at the funerals of the Virginia Tech students killed on campus during a shooting rampage April 16, 2007. You describe this as monumental horror, but you know nothing of horror -- yet. Your bloody tyrant Bush says he is 'horrified' by it all. You know nothing of horror -- yet. Your true horror is coming. "They shall also gird themselves with sackloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads" (Eze. 7:18).

Why did this happen, you ask? It's simple. On April 16, 2007, this nation, through the offices of your military and conspirators therewith took a shot at the servants of God -- your marksman was limp and lame and he had terror all around, so he did a lousy job. But what you get for your trouble is that your God shot at you! The LORD your God sent a crazed madman to shoot at your children, and he didn't miss. Get this straight -- God sent this South Korean madman to kill 31 of your children at Virginia Tech. Was God asleep while this took place? Was He on vacation? Of course not. He willed this to happen to punish you for assailing His servants.]

Despite being bat-shit crazy, they can't even fucking code a simple web-page correctly.

Someone let them know I'm for hire...

The world according to the U.S.

So true...

Shameless...

The full quote is: "I think that nobody wants to play chicken with our troops on the ground."

Imus might be spark for debate on sexism

quote[Although the National Association of Black Journalists led the fight to oust Imus, there is no doubt that it was that moving news conference by the Rutgers University women's basketball team that cemented the demise of Imus. Vivian Stringer was poised and strong in demanding that America look at the 10 women and see them as the real face of Imus's slurs.

And that is really the issue we must focus on. So many people tried to make this a race issue. But for me, that wasn't the primary point. I never wavered from the attack as one of a sexist. It didn't matter that he was trying to be funny. He insulted a group of women who are already accomplished.

Then again, that happens to women every day.]

This guy nails it. I'll have to keep my eye out for more of his columns...

Fortress Of Solitude Discovered

quote[Geologist Juan Manuel García-Ruiz calls it "the Sistine Chapel of crystals," but Superman could call it home.

A sort of south-of-the-border Fortress of Solitude, Mexico's Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of Crystals) contains some of the world's largest known natural crystals—translucent beams of gypsum as long as 36 feet (11 meters).

How did the crystals reach such superheroic proportions?]

Cool!

Proof Positive: Science Makes You Crazy!

I thoroughly enjoyed Title Slide.

Goodbye, Blue Monday

quote[Kurt Vonnegut - November 11, 1922 - April 11 - 2007]

Quote[One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us.]

--Kurt Vonnegut, "Cold Turkey"

Rest In Peace. You certainly entertained us...

Mystery cat takes regular bus to the shops

quote[Bus drivers have nicknamed a white cat Macavity after it has started using the No 331 several mornings a week.

The feline, which has a purple collar, gets onto the busy Walsall to Wolverhampton bus at the same stop most mornings - he then jumps off at the next stop 400m down the road, near a fish and chip shop.]

Cool. I wonder if he pays the fare?

Iraq Tours!

quote[Enjoy a wide variety of sightseeing tours in Iraq!
Other Popular Destinations]

WTF???

Be sure to read the terms before booking:

On most tours and activities, there is no refund for cancellations.

Iraq tours of duty will be lengthened by three months

quote[The Pentagon ordered 90-day extensions for all active-duty Army troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, stretching their overseas tours from 12 months to 15 months in a move that will exert new strain on a struggling military but allow the Bush administration to continue its troop buildup in Baghdad well into next year.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' announcement came amid expectations that the Pentagon was about to order longer tours for some units -- but the new policy is a far more sweeping and drastic step, stretching deployments for more than 100,000 members of the Army.]

What could I possibly say???

Officials' e-mail may be missing, White House says

quote[The White House said Wednesday that it may have lost what could amount to thousands of messages sent through a private e-mail system used by political guru Karl Rove and at least 50 other top officials, an admission that stirred anger and dismay among congressional investigators.

The e-mails were considered potentially crucial evidence in congressional inquiries launched by Democrats into the role partisan politics may have played in such policy decisions as the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.]

Unless the hard drives were intentionally overwritten, they should be recoverable.

Nixon, anyone???

White House To Create "War Czar" To Fill Incompetence Created By Rumsfeld

quote[So why can't the National Security Council do its job? The answer, from a retired general who was asked to become the "war czar," is that "Rumsfeld destroyed the NSC."

Donald Rumsfeld became infamous during the first six years of the Bush administration for ignoring the NSC and working one-on-one with the President and the Vice President. Even Colin Powell, then the Secretary of State, has since complained that he was cut out of the process at times.

Rumsfeld made clear during his years as Defense Secretary that he regarded the "interagency process" -- getting all the agencies to participate in the formulation and execution of policy -- as worse than water torture. For him, the "interagency process" – read: National Security Council -- was the place where all good ideas went to die. Rumsfeld's gone now, the retired general said, but the habits the NSC learned during those first six years remain.

By my count, at least five retired generals have turned down the "war czar" job. Only one of them, retired Marine Jack Sheehan, has publicly said why.]

Meanwhile, nobody seems to want the job.

Obama The Only Candidate To Get It Right

quote["I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude."]

Meanwhile, Guiliani, McCain, Clinton, and Edwards all fall short.

Tainted Food May Have Hurt 39,000 Pets

quote[Pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical may have sickened or killed 39,000 cats and dogs nationwide, based on an extrapolation from data released Monday by one of the nation's largest chains of veterinary hospitals.

Banfield, The Pet Hospital, said an analysis of its database, compiled from records collected by its more than 615 veterinary hospitals, suggests that three out of every 10,000 cats and dogs that ate the pet food contaminated with melamine developed kidney failure. There are an estimated 60 million dogs and 70 million cats in the United States, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was even higher...

Fight Against U.S.

quote[The powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his militiamen on Sunday to redouble their battle to oust American forces and argued that Iraq's army and police should join him in defeating "your archenemy." The U.S. military announced the weekend deaths of 10 American soldiers, including six killed on Sunday.]

Why is this man still free???

US allowed Ethiopia to buy arms secretly from N. Korea

quote[Three months after the United States successfully pressed the United Nations to impose strict sanctions on North Korea because of the country's nuclear test, Bush administration officials allowed Ethiopia to complete a secret arms purchase from North Korea, in what appears to be a violation of the restrictions, according to senior US officials.]

Is there anything our government doesn't fuck up???

Americans Tortured By Americans

quote[He then drew a wider circle around his ordeal to include the countless others who have been held falsely without charge and denied normal legal constitutional protections under law. "My name used to be 200343," Vance said recalling his prisoner ID. "If they can do this to a former Navy man and an American, what is happening to people in facilities all over the world run by the American government?"

Vance's nightmare began last year on Apr. 15 when he and co-worker Nathan Ertel barricaded themselves in a Baghdad office after their employer, an Iraqi private security firm, took away their ID tags. They feared for their lives because they suspected the company was involved in selling unauthorised guns on the black market and other nefarious activity. A U.S. military squad freed them from the red zone in Baghdad after a friend at the U.S. embassy advised him to call for help.

Once they reached the U.S.-controlled Green Zone, government officials took them inside the embassy, listened to their individual accounts and then sent them to a trailer outside for sleep. Two or three hours later, before the crack of dawn, U.S. military personnel woke them. This time, however, Vance and Ertel, Shield Security's contract manager, were under arrest. Soldiers bound their wrists with zip ties and covered their eyes with goggles blacked out with duct tape.]

Seriously fucked up...

WHAT! THE! FUCK????

quote[The exit of Gina Glocksen, 22, of Naperville, Ill., cut the number of finalists to eight. Glockson had sang "Smile" on Tuesday night’s episode and received a thumbs up from Randy Jackson, who called her performance, "controlled," but thumbs down from the wonderfully spiteful Simon Cowell.

Gina sang through tears during her exit tune. “Thank you so much for letting me do this and get this far. I’ll be seeing you on tour,” she said.

Haley Scarnato and Phil Stacey had the next-lowest votes, which drew about 33 million calls and text messages.

In an Idol shocker, or non-shocker, 17-year-old Sanjaya Malakar, who has been attracting votes for his hairstyles if not for his singing, was not even among the bottom three. That may be partly due to the efforts of the “Idol” site VoteForTheWorst.com, which has been urging people to vote for Malakar.

Unfortunately guest mentor Tony Bennett came down with the flu and was unable to perform, but he was replaced by Michael Buble, who sang "Call Me Irresponsible."

Will Sanjaya make it to the final five? Get your Sanjaya Malakar odds, as well as all your American Idol odds in Bodog’s Sportsbook.]

Not that I've had much choice lately, but I'm thinking of boycotting the show until idiot-boy gets ejected. He may very well be the downfall of this stupid craze...and I think it might be a good thing.

BTW, Beckett pulled things together for the second Sox game, so all is not lost!!!

McCain Wrong on Iraq Security, Merchants Say

quote[“What are they talking about?” Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday. “The security procedures were abnormal!”

The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees — the equivalent of an entire company — and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior American military official in Baghdad said. The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.]

Honestly? I'd feel safe taking a stroll just about anywhere, given that security contigent.

MEANWHILE: The six-day death toll until April 01 was “at least 507 people.”

Family Friend To Slam Bush

quote[His book, to be published this month by Sourcebooks with an initial print run of 20,000 copies, offers quite a different assessment of the two most powerful men in Washington. Under Bush and Cheney, he argues, the GOP has moved away from principles of small government, prudent foreign policy and leaving people alone to live their private lives -- all views Gold associates with his hero, Goldwater. "Invasion of the Party Snatchers" makes plain Gold's contempt for the direction of his party and the guidance of its leaders.

"For all the Rove-built facade of his being a 'strong' chief executive, George W. Bush has been, by comparison to even hapless Jimmy Carter, the weakest, most out of touch president in modern times," Gold writes. "Think Dan Quayle in cowboy boots."

Gold is even more withering in his observations of Cheney. "A vice president in control is bad enough. Worse yet is a vice president out of control."

For Gold, Cheney brings to mind the adage of Swiss writer Madame de Stael, who wrote, "Men do not change, they unmask themselves." Cheney has a deep streak of paranoia and megalomania, Gold suggests -- but he says he did not see it at first.]

I'm not surprised...

X Prize Offering Over $10 Million for 100mpg

quote[The race is on to develop a commercially viable car that can travel 100 miles on a gallon of gasoline.

The same group that awarded $10 million to a team that built the first private spacecraft to leave the earth’s atmosphere is expected to announce today the rules for its automotive competition.

The group, the X Prize Foundation, says that the automotive contest, expected to carry a prize of more than $10 million, could have a significant effect on the automobile industry by speeding up efforts to use alternative fuels and reduce consumption. The average fuel economy of vehicles sold in the United States has remained nearly stagnant — around 20 miles a gallon — for decades.

“The industry is stuck, and we think a prize is perfect to disrupt that dynamic,” said Mark Goodstein, executive director of the Automotive X Prize. “Failure is frowned upon in this industry, and that doesn’t make for big advances. It makes for incrementalism.”]

I love it!!!

Tainted wheat gluten sold as “food grade”

quote[Del Monte Foods has confirmed that the melamine-tainted wheat gluten used in several of its recalled pet food products was supplied as a “food grade” additive, raising the likelihood that contaminated wheat gluten might have entered the human food supply.

“Yes, it is food grade,” Del Monte spokesperson Melissa Murphy-Brown wrote in reply to an e-mail query. Del Monte issued a voluntary recall Saturday for several products under the Gravy Train, Jerky Treats, Pounce, Ol’ Roy, Dollar General and Happy Trails brands.

Wheat gluten is sold in both “food grade” and “feed grade” varieties. Either may be used in pet food, but only “food grade” gluten may be used in the manufacture of products meant for human consumption. Published reports have thus far focused on tainted pet food, but if the gluten in question entered the human food supply through a major food products supplier and processor, it could potentially contaminate thousands of products and hundreds of millions of units nationwide.]

Great! More to worry about...