Why do conservatives hate the ACLU?

KSDK NewsChannel 5 - St. Louis Woman Says She Lost Job over Harry Potter Dispute

Southern Baptist library worker refuses to work at Harry Potter promotional event, and is forced to quit. ACLU suing on her behalf, but don't let that stop you from claiming they're out to destroy religion (courtesy of fark)

Former White House Press Secretary, McClellan whacks Bush, White House

Exclusive: McClellan whacks Bush, White House - Mike Allen - Politico.com
"Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes in a surprisingly scathing memoir to be published next week that President Bush “veered terribly off course,” was not “open and forthright on Iraq,” and took a “permanent campaign approach” to governing at the expense of candor and competence.

Among the most explosive revelations in the 341-page book, titled “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception” (Public Affairs, $27.95):

• McClellan charges that Bush relied on “propaganda” to sell the war.

• He says the White House press corps was too easy on the administration during the run-up to the war.

• He admits that some of his own assertions from the briefing room podium turned out to be “badly misguided.”

• The longtime Bush loyalist also suggests that two top aides held a secret West Wing meeting to get their story straight about the CIA leak case at a time when federal prosecutors were after them — and McClellan was continuing to defend them despite mounting evidence they had not given him all the facts.

• McClellan asserts that the aides — Karl Rove, the president’s senior adviser, and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the vice president’s chief of staff — “had at best misled” him about their role in the disclosure of former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity."

John Boehner demands protection from illegal wiretapping - but only for himself

Boehner's wiretapping stance draws ire - Chris Frates - Politico.com
"'Mr. Boehner is trying to kick millions of Americans out of court in a wiretapping case while collecting more than $1 million in his own wiretapping case.'"

Gov't tells fed. judges that president can send military into any U.S. neighborhood, capture a citizen and hold him in prison w/o charge, indefinitely

'Sleeper cell' case tests Bush powers - Security- msnbc.com: "To justify holding him, the government claimed a broad interpretation of the president's wartime powers, one that goes beyond warrantless wiretapping or monitoring banking transactions. Government lawyers told federal judges that the president can send the military into any U.S. neighborhood, capture a citizen and hold him in prison without charge, indefinitely."

Bush May 17, 2008: Saudi oil output hike would not solve US problems

AFP: Saudi oil output hike would not solve US problems: Bush: "'It's not enough, it's something but it doesn't solve our problem,' Bush told reporters in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh."

May 16, 2008: Saudi Arabia rebuffs Bush on oil output

Saudi Arabia rebuffs Bush on oil output - Saudi Arabia- msnbc.com
"It was Bush’s second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, head of the monarchy that rules this desert kingdom that is a longtime prime U.S. ally and home to the world’s largest oil reserves."

Bush in June 2000: My Personality Will Drive Down Oil Prices

THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE TEXAS GOVERNOR; Bush Would Use Power of Persuasion to Raise Oil Supply - New York Times: "Gov. George W. Bush of Texas said today that if he was president, he would bring down gasoline prices through sheer force of personality, by creating enough political good will with oil-producing nations that they would increase their supply of crude."

Suicides of Vets from Iraq and Afghanistan May Exceed Combat Deaths

Bloomberg.com: Science: "May 5 (Bloomberg) -- The number of suicides among veterans
of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll
because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's
top psychiatric researcher said."

How Does the Federal Reserve System Work?

Fox News Subliminal Message

Internal audit of $8 bil. paid to Iraqi and US contractors finds that the govt skirted rules designed to prevent fraud in almost every transaction

News from The Associated Press: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- An internal audit of some $8 billion paid to U.S. and Iraqi contractors found that nearly every transaction failed to comply with federal laws or regulations aimed at preventing fraud, in some cases lacking even basic invoices explaining how the money was spent."

Orthodox Jewish youths burn New Testaments in Israel

Orthodox Jewish youths burn New Testaments in Israel - International Herald Tribune: "JERUSALEM: Orthodox Jews set fire to hundreds of copies of the New Testament in the latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in the Holy Land."

If it was young Muslim boys who did this, the Neocons would be up in arms and Fox News would be playing clips of it over and over. But, since it is Israelis our "allies," they'll all just gloss over it.

U.S. Soldiers Did 'Dirty Work' for Chinese Interrogators

ABC News: Report: U.S. Soldiers Did 'Dirty Work' for Chinese Interrogators: "U.S. military personnel at Guantanamo Bay allegedly softened up detainees at the request of Chinese intelligence officials who had come to the island facility to interrogate the men -- or they allowed the Chinese to dole out the treatment themselves, according to claims in a new government report."

WTF?

FEMA:"You must get floodwall inspected." Town:"Okay, here's the money" Corps of Eng: "Sorry, you must use our money, and we don't have any to give you

14 WFIE, The Tri-State's News Leader: Town wants to pay for inspection, gov't says "No": "The mayor of Hawesville has been ordered by FEMA to have the Ohio River flood wall inspected and certified."

U.S. is 97th on List of Peaceful Nations

Iceland tops list of peaceful nations, U.S. 97th - Yahoo! News: "The 'Global Peace Index,' compiled by the Economist
Intelligence Unit, ranked the United States 97th out of 140
countries according to how peaceful they were domestically and
how they interacted with the outside world."

US Envoy Sees 'Quickening Pace' to North Korea Nuclear Talks

VOA News - US Envoy Sees 'Quickening Pace' to North Korea Nuclear Talks

Bush must be so mad that his envoy is "appeasing" the North Koreans like this! Damn you, Bush! You must stop yourself from this Neville Chamberlain-like appeasement!

Report: EPA head reversed stand on greenhouse gas

Report: EPA head reversed stand on greenhouse gas -- -- chicagotribune.com
"The head of the Environmental Protection Agency initially supported giving California and other states full or partial permission to limit tailpipe emissions -- but reversed himself after hearing from the White House, a report said Monday."

Wait, I thought Republicans were for states' rights...nope, not Bushy. He's all for centralized power, centralized planning, and supreme secrecy. What other forms of government are these similar to?

McCain’s campaign manager’s name still on lobbying firm’s letterhead

Think Progress » McCain’s campaign manager’s name still on lobbying firm’s letterhead.: "Black’s claim that neither Davis nor his anyone at his firm have been registered as lobbyists in five years appears to be false. Here’s an image of a lobbying report from 2005 that has Davis listed as an “individual who acted as a lobbyist.”"

Record Obama Crowd, the Size of a City

Record Obama Crowd, the Size of a City | The Trail | washingtonpost.com: "By Matthew Mosk

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Sen. Barack Obama has seen his share of large crowds over the last 15 months, but his campaign said they have not approached the numbers gathered along the waterfront here right now."

FBI agents say aggressive interrogation tactics yield little actual intelligence, prevent them establishing rapport with detainees and violate the law

F.B.I. Gets Mixed Review in Interrogation Report - New York Times: "The department inspector general’s office is expected to conclude that no agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation took part in the military’s rough interrogations, a key validation for the bureau, officials said. “The F.B.I. should be credited for its conduct and professionalism in detainee interrogations in the military zones,” the inspector general said in one section of the report, which is likely to be released publicly next week."

"The 20th hijacker" on 9/11–was released from Guantanamo without prejudice after more than six years of imprisonment and torture

Crooks and Liars » Bill Moyers Journal: Detainee 063 Update: "Bill Moyers provides an update to the segment offered last week on torture and detainees in the War on Terror™. Mohammed al-Qahtani–long held up as the 20th hijacker on 9/11–was released from Guantanamo without prejudice after more than six years of imprisonment and torture. "

The Defense Department had famously sought the death penalty in a case that rested largely on “confessions” achieved through torture

Want to blow the whistle on government corruption? Welcome to the court that rules in favor of the whistleblower only one percent of the time

Daily Kos: State of the Nation
"The court referenced above is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the only court where federal government whistleblowers can go if they do not succeed at the Office of Special Counsel (2.5 percent success rate) or at the Merit Systems Protection Board (success rate less than 5 percent) [2]. And, because there is no provision at any step of the process for a jury trial and there is no requirement to publish details, evidence of official wrongdoing routinely disappears. Worsening the dilemma for honest feds, in many cases they are required by law or the code of ethics to report wrongdoing, as whistleblower attorney David Colapinto explained at a Congressional forum last week."

115 lobbyists work for John McCain's campaign. MAVERICK!!!

McCain to Campaign Staffers: No Lobbying : NPR: "Veteran political consultant Craig Shirley was asked to leave the McCain campaign late last week when the publication Politico pointed out that he also worked for an anti-Obama group called Stop Him Now. Shirley had performed paid and unpaid work for the campaign and working for both groups raised questions because the law forbids coordination between the campaign and independent political groups."

Fifth McCain advisor to resign due to lobbyist entanglements

Another top McCain official resigns - Mike Allen - Politico.com

Bush’s appeasement speech angers Europeans, too

Bush’s appeasement speech angers Europeans, too. « TheZoo: "Without even a hint of any sense for history Bush went to the Knesset of all places to utter political slurs, that have no roots whatsoever in historical facts. Well, what would we expect from him, after the last years. It took someone like Matthews to point out the utter cluelessness of people propagating this nonsense."

Wow!

U.S. Planning Big New Prison in Afghanistan

U.S. Planning Big New Prison in Afghanistan - New York Times: "Until now, the Bush administration had signaled that it intended to scale back American involvement in detention operations in Afghanistan. It had planned to transfer a large majority of the prisoners to Afghan custody, in an American-financed, high-security prison outside Kabul to be guarded by Afghan soldiers...The proposal for a new American prison at Bagram underscores the daunting scope and persistence of the United States military’s detention problem, at a time when Bush administration officials continue to say they want to close down the facility at Guantánamo Bay."

Instead of fixing the problem, just move it to where it will get less scrutiny. The lesson Bush learned from the failure of Guantanamo wasn't, "don't torture, it gives the U.S. a bad name and its results are not useful." What he learned was, "I gots to have me some torturin', just keep it secreter than that place down in Castroland."

Between a quarter and a third of the world's wildlife has been lost since 1970

BBC NEWS | UK | Wildlife populations 'plummeting': "Humans are wiping out about 1% of all other species every year, and one of the 'great extinction episodes' in the Earth's history is under way, it says."

Bush's Own Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposed talking with Iran the very same day Bush attacked Obama for suggesting the exact same thing

Donklephant » Blog Archive » Defense Secretary Robert Gates: Appeaser?: "Here’s what Gates said…

FLASHBACK: McCain Called Chalabi ‘A Patriot’ With Iraq’s ‘Best Interests At Heart’

Think Progress » FLASHBACK: McCain Called Chalabi ‘A Patriot’ With Iraq’s ‘Best Interests At Heart’: "A new book by Aram Roston reveals that Chalabi supported John McCain (R-AZ) for president in 2000, believing that the senator would be the most receptive to his agenda. Muckraked reports:"

Ya gotta question the guy's judgement.

US cuts ties with Chalabi over Iran

Press TV - US cuts ties with Chalabi over Iran

"The US military and civilian officials have accused Chalabi for unauthorized contacts with the Islamic Republic, an allegation the Iraqi politician denies, sources told NBC News."

This guy and "Curveball" were the U.S.'s whole case for going to war in Iraq.

Atheist soldier returns home from Iraq early because superiors can't ensure his safety

This atheist finds he needs a foxhole - St. Petersburg Times

"There is something deeply amiss when we send soldiers on a mission to engender peaceful coexistence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, yet our military doesn't seem able to offer religious tolerance to its own."

U.S. Forcibly Drugs Some Immigrants

Careless Detention | Some Detainees Are Drugged For Deportation (washingtonpost.com): "The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country, according to medical records, internal documents and interviews with people who have been drugged."

Obama to Receive Endorsement Of 3 Former SEC Chairmen

Obama to Receive Endorsement Of 3 Former SEC Chairmen - WSJ.com

ACLU says membership has doubled -- thanks to Bush presidency

ACLU says membership has doubled -- thanks to Bush presidency - Salt Lake Tribune

OK, I admit it, there are good things that are coming from Bush's reign.

Venezuela's Chavez to buy Chinese K-8 planes

Venezuela's Chavez to buy Chinese K-8 planes - Yahoo! News

More U.S. petrodollars going to supply dictators and tyrants with military supplies. Do you feel safer?

Let me get this straight...we're spending $3 trillion to defend ourselves against guys in caves. And that threat is so scary, so threatening to our country, that it is worth the additional consequences of a further dependence on an energy source in which we are not rich, paying 5x higher for that source, and having that money fund dictators and despots whose political ideologies we disdain. Is that right? Have I summed it up?

Venezuela's Chavez to sign $2 bln military deals in Moscow

Venezuela's Chavez to sign $2 bln military deals in Moscow - report - News Wires - CNBC.com: "MOSCOW (Thomson Financial) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will buy military equipment worth nearly $2 billion during a visit to Russia at the end of the month, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported Monday."

Hmmm....I wonder how he can afford this?

GOP Rep. introduces bill to limit presidential signing statements. Bush expected to sign it with statement clarifying why it doesn't apply to him

GOP Rep. Hits Bush On 'Signing Statements' - WashingtonPost.com: "A House Republican lawmaker has fired a shot across President Bush's bow over his frequent use of 'Presidential Signing Statements' to give his opinion on -- or to even express his intent to ignore -- laws passed by Congress."

JPMorgan Chase Admits It Received a Multi-Billion Dollar Gift From the Fed

NationalEconomist.com » JPMorgan Chase Admits It Received a Multi-Billion Dollar Gift From the Fed: "The controversial deal orchestrated by the Federal Reserve that pushed Bear Stearns into the hands of JPMorgan Chase, at the height of the sub-prime crisis, will turn into billions of dollars in gains for for JPMorgan Chase."

Translation: A bunch of bankers gave another bunch of bankers billions of dollars in taxpayer money to buy another bank. Yeah "free markets" and "capitalism." No one gets upset about this, but try and give some poor people a million bucks worth of food stamps and watch them freak out.

Domestic spying far outpaces terrorism prosecutions

Domestic spying far outpaces terrorism prosecutions - Los Angeles Times

Remember how they needed us to give up some civil liberties to catch "terrorists?" Don't worry they told us, we'll only use these powers against the foreign bad guys. Well, they're using more against Americans, not the terrorists...just like the founding fathers predicted. If only they had left us some document which passed along this wisdom, warning us of situations like this...

America's Infrastructure is Crumbling

Raw Replay - Revisiting History: "Unless more funding and effort are put into saving the nation’s infrastructure, it will continue to crumble, say experts. An estimated $1.5 trillion over the next five years could be needed to avoid large-scale disaster."

Hmmm....$1.5 trillion. Isn't that about half of what we're going to be spending on Bush's boondoggle?

Number of People Admitting They Are Republican at a 16-year Low

GOP getting crushed in polls, key races - Jim VandeHei and David Paul Kuhn - Politico.com

McCain Abortion Flip-Flop?

ABC News: McCain Abortion Flip-Flop?: "'If he were to change the party platform,' to account for exceptions such as rape, incest or risk to the mother's life, 'I think that would be political suicide,' said Tony Perkins, the president of the conservative Family Research Council, to ABC News. 'I think he would be aborting his own campaign because that is such a critical issue to so many Republican voters and the Republican brand is already in trouble.'"

"Behavior Detection Officers" added to more airports

New Team Of Security Officers In Place At Mitchell International - Travel News Story - WISN Milwaukee

NYC to judge: That gun shop owner we're suing? Gag him from mentioning the Second Amendment in his defense

Gag on 2nd Amendment Is City’s Aim in Guns Suit | The New York Sun: "Lawyers for Mayor Bloomberg are asking a judge to ban any reference to the Second Amendment during the upcoming trial of a gun shop owner who was sued by the city. While trials are often tightly choreographed, with lawyers routinely instructed to not tell certain facts to a jury, a gag order on a section of the Constitution would be an oddity."

75% of Dallas 2008 High School Graduates Can't Read Above 8th Grade Level

Some DISD students not ready for college | Latest News | WFAA.com: "It's May, which means thousands of high school seniors across North Texas can almost taste it: their diploma. This month 7,500 DISD seniors are expected to walk across the stage and make their families proud. But what if we told you that 75 percent of the seniors headed to Dallas community colleges, can't read above an 8th grade level, and others can't add or subtract."

Only Two News Networks Willing To Explain Their Role In Pentagon Propaganda Program

Think Progress » Only Two News Networks Willing To Explain Their Role In Pentagon Propaganda Program

U.S. Army's 'stop-loss' orders up dramatically over last year

U.S. Army's 'stop-loss' orders up dramatically over last year - Los Angeles Times

Russian tanks and intercontinental missile launchers have been paraded through Moscow for the first time since the collapse of the USSR

BBC NEWS | Europe | Tanks rejoin Moscow V-Day parade: "The Russian leadership has decided to revive the Communist-era custom of featuring military hardware in the annual Victory Day parade."

Congress set to pass farm bill that gives subsidies to married couples who make up to $1.5 million in farm income and tax breaks to race horse owners

News from The Associated Press: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- Married couples with joint incomes of up to $1.5 million from their farm operation could still qualify for crop subsidies under a five-year, $300 billion farm bill compromise that would boost the Agriculture Department's food and farm programs."

McCain sponsored landswap bill that resulted in free land for one donor, and largest real estate develop. contract in AZ history for another donor

McCain Pushed Land Swap That Benefits Backer - washingtonpost.com

U.S. says 5-10 percent of Guantanamo inmates fight "again"

U.S. says 5-10 percent of Guantanamo inmates fight again | Reuters

Let's see...if they attacked in the first place, where was the trial and evidence? Also, perhaps, just maybe, being locked up without a lawyer or charges and getting tortured builds up a little resentment. Maybe.

Bush asks judge to FORCE meat companies to stop testing for mad cow disease

Govt Wants Less Mad Cow Testing - TIME: "The government seeks to reverse a lower court ruling that allowed Arkansas City, Kan.-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef to conduct more comprehensive testing to satisfy demand from overseas customers in Japan and elsewhere."

This is not free-market capitalism, this is crony capitalism, where government intervention isn't used in a principled way, but in a way that helps your friends, donors, and relatives.

U.S. deploys more than 43,000 unfit for combat

U.S. deploys more than 43,000 unfit for combat - USATODAY.com: "This reliance on troops found medically 'non-deployable' is another sign of stress placed on a military that has sent 1.6 million servicemembers to the war zones, soldier advocacy groups say."

Remember, only people who like this war "support the troops."

Dead U.S. Soldiers Cremated at Pet Crematorium

The Raw Story | US war dead cremated in same facility as pets: Pentagon: "US Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a review of the handling of the remains of US war dead and apologized after learning that some were cremated in a commercial facility that also cremates pets, the Pentagon said."

Fun Geography Game

http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq

Gorbachev: US could start new Cold War - Telegraph

Gorbachev: US could start new Cold War - Telegraph

Studios win $111 million judgment against TorrentSpy | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

Studios win $111 million judgment against TorrentSpy | Tech news blog - CNET News.com: "In a major win for Hollywood studios, a California federal judge has ordered TorrentSpy to pay nearly $111 million in damages for infringing the copyright of thousands of films and TV shows through its BitTorrent search engine."

Under this precedent, I can presumably sue my city’s street department for damages the next time my home is burglarized. After all, the burglars used the streets to get to and from it, right?

McCain embraces Bush's radical views of executive power - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

McCain embraces Bush's radical views of executive power - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com: "John McCain yesterday delivered a speech in which he hailed the inspiring constitutional principles of Government on which our country was founded, including the central goal of avoiding excessive, unlimited power in any one branch, secured by checks and balances from the other two branches:"

Russia 'expels US embassy staff'

BBC NEWS | Europe | Russia 'expels US embassy staff': "The US state department said it would comply with the order although it objected to it."

Shell firms shielded US contractor from taxes

Shell firms shielded US contractor from taxes - The Boston Globe: "WASHINGTON - In March 2005, one of the Pentagon's most trusted contractors - Virginia-based MPRI, founded by retired senior military leaders - won a $400 million contract to train police in Iraq and other hotspots. Two months later, MPRI set up a company in Bermuda to which it subcontracted much of the work."

Russia Accuses U.S. of Double Standards on Rights

Bloomberg.com: Europe: "By Michael Heath"
"Russia said the U.S. State Department's ``latest opus'' on human rights reflects the double standards of a country that uses the issue as a foreign policy tool while failing to examine its own actions."

This is what happens when you lose your human rights credibility...Russia & China just writing you off as a hypocrite.

China hits back at US on rights, says Iraq war a disaster

AFP: China hits back at US on rights, says Iraq war a disaster: "BEIJING (AFP) — China on Thursday accused the United States of human rights hypocrisy, as it branded the US invasion of Iraq the 'greatest humanitarian disaster' of the modern world."

This is what happens when you lose your human rights credibility...

A cameraman from the al-Jazeera television station, freed from Guantanamo Bay after being held for 6 years without being charged with a crime.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Freed Guantanamo prisoner is home: "He arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on a US military plane in the early hours of Friday morning."

Iran dumps U.S. dollar for oil trades

Iran dumps U.S. dollar for oil trades - CNN.com: "Iran has dramatically reduced dependence on the dollar over the past year in the face of increasing U.S. pressure on its financial system and the fall in the value of the American currency."

Here is another reason why unilateralism and tough-guy diplomacy doesn't work. It's the economy, stupid. The U.S. is/was powerful because its currency and economy were strong. The world does not have to work with us if they don't want to. When they stop, it gets ugly for us.

Top Russian official says Iran's nuclear program is strictly peaceful

RIA Novosti - Russia - Top Russian official says Iran's nuclear program is strictly peaceful: "Valentin Sobolev, who serves as the acting head of Russia's Security Council, arrived in Tehran with a delegation of high-ranking Russian officials last Sunday to discuss with the Iranian leadership international and regional issues, as well as bilateral economic cooperation and the Iranian nuclear program."

I guess that means the Russians aren't on board with a U.S. attack on Iran.

Wolfowitz admits that the Bush administration never even considered the possibility that there could be a counterinsurgency in Iraq.

Wolfowitz Admits 'Clueless' on Counterinsurgency - April 29, 2008 - The New York Sun: "The former deputy secretary of defense said yesterday that the force sent to Iraq was adequate for fighting Saddam Hussein's military, citing the speed with which American troops toppled the regime. But Mr. Wolfowitz said no one in the Bush administration anticipated that Saddam would order his security services to wage an insurgency after their formal defeat on the battlefield."

Really? The animator of the Gulf War Game below figured it out. It seems to me that when they're now willing to go down in history with the label of "gross incompetence," it's only because they're afraid of other labels which put them in jail.

Former commander of US forces in Iraq says the Bush Administration's actions in Iraq "amount to gross incompetence and dereliction of duty."

The Raw Story | Ex-Iraq commander accuses Bush Administration of 'gross incompetence': "In a new memoir set to be published May 6, the former commander of US forces in Iraq provides new intimate details of the goings-on at high levels of the Bush Administration in the first year of the Iraq war."

The $6 billion "No Child Left Behind" reading program is failing

No Child Left Behind reading program is failing - Los Angeles Times

War on Terror Not Working, al-Qaida gaining strength

The Associated Press: US report says al-Qaida gaining strength: "Attacks in Pakistan more than doubled from 375 to 887 between 2006 and 2007, and the number of fatalities jumped by almost 300 percent from 335 to 1,335, the State Department said in its annual terrorism report."

Terror is a tactic. How can you have a war on a tactic? It's like having a war on spying or sneak attacks. The reason they call it a "war on terror" is because everyone agrees "terror" is bad, and their war, and its "necessary" rollback of civil liberties, can go on for as long as they'd like them to. You cannot declare victory on a tactic.

DOJ spokesman, “the administration believed the Pres. could ignore or modify existing exec. orders” on interrogation tecniques "without disclosing..."

...the new interpretation."

Justice Dept. Will Share Interrogation Opinions - New York Times: "WASHINGTON — In a partial concession to Congressional pressure, the Bush administration agreed on Wednesday to show the Senate and House Intelligence Committees secret Justice Department legal opinions justifying harsh interrogation techniques that critics call torture."

Telecoms and Bush Admin. Talked About How to Keep Their Surveillance Program Under Wraps

Terrorism: Telecoms and Secret Surveillance | Newsweek Voices - Terror Watch | Newsweek.com: "The Bush administration is refusing to disclose internal e-mails, letters and notes showing contacts with major telecommunications companies over how to persuade Congress to back a controversial surveillance bill, according to recently disclosed court documents."

More secrecy...

Gulf War Game (came out late 2002)

idleworm: gulf war game: "Gulf War 2 (aka World War 2.5)
It's the mother of all Flash games."

This game was right about the Shia rebellion. It was right about Iranian support of the Shia. It was right about a coup in Pakistan overthrowing Musharraf, and the ensuing nervousness about who has control of their nukes. I'm afraid about which of its other predictions the game may wind up being proved correct. But, what's even more scary is how a sole animator was right about so much, when thousands of bureaucrats and military strategists were wrong. Is that a reasonable premise? No, it's not. We were lied into the war. We were not told its true purpose, duration, or cost. These were not mistakes.

Anthrax Ice Cream Video

idleworm: news - Abuse or Torture?: "Anthrax Ice Cream

- We Know - There is No Doubt - They Do exist -

John McCain admits Iraq War was over oil

Crooks and Liars » John McCain admits Iraq War was over oil

John McCain just told us the "spreading democracy" stuff is a lie, or at the very least lower down on the list of priorities. That's some straight talk. But, now that that's settled, shouldn't he question the morality of killing people for oil?

Pentagon Gets Into the International Propaganda News Business

Pentagon launches foreign news websites - USATODAY.com: "WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is setting up a global network of foreign-language news websites, including an Arabic site for Iraqis, and hiring local journalists to write current events stories and other content that promote U.S. interests and counter insurgent messages."

This will be good for our credibility...