Inspector General finds Bush Admin. guilty of politicizing the Justice Dept through illegal hiring practices and is sending out grand jury requests

WashingtonPost.com

White House Does Not Want Haliburton Oversight

WASHINGTON (AP) — "The Army's march to overhaul its tarnished contracting system has been slowed by an unlikely foe: the White House.

The Office of Management and Budget, President Bush's administrative arm, has shot down a service plan to add five active-duty generals who would oversee purchasing and monitor contractor performance.

The boost in brass was a key recommendation from a blue-ribbon panel that last fall criticized the Army for contracting failures that undermined the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan, wasted U.S. tax dollars, and sparked dozens of procurement fraud investigations.

As the Army's contracting budget ballooned — from $46 billion in 2002 to $112 billion in 2007 — it had too few experienced people negotiating and buying equipment and supplies, according to the panel. Worse still, there wasn't a single Army general in a job with contracting responsibilities. That meant the profession had little clout at a critical time." Link

US faces prison ship allegations

BBC NEWS | Americas | US faces prison ship allegations: "The comments come five days after the UN accused the US of stalling on their requests to visit Guantanamo Bay."

I definitely prefer being the pristine accuser, rather than the guilty accused.

Amnesty Bill Covers Torturers, Too; To Be Bundled With War Supplmental

CRIMES AND CORRUPTIONS OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER NEWS - Amnesty Bill Covers Torturers, Too; To Be Bundled With War Supplmental

'Persons immune from lawsuits include "Anyone" who "provid[ed] assistance to an element of the intelligence community . . . in connection with intelligence activity involving communications that was (i) authorized by the President during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on January 17, 2007 and (ii) designed to prevent or detect a terrorist attack, or activities in preparation of a terrorist attack, against the United States and (B) the subject of a written request or directive . . . indicating that the activity was (i) authorized by the President; and (ii) determined to be lawful."'

Legalization would end drug war in Mexico, world

Legalization would end drug war in Mexico, world

Legalize All Drugs - By John Stossel

Townhall.com::Legalize All Drugs::By John Stossel

Habeas Corpus: The Bulwark of Our Liberties

Habeas Corpus: The Bulwark of Our Liberties

The following is an excerpt from the majority opinion in yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in Boumediene v. Bush. Citations to books and articles have been removed to facilitate reading.

First Public Interview with "Curveball," the Guy with the 'Intelligence" the Bush Admin Based an Invasion of Another Country On

'Curveball' speaks, and a reputation as a disinformation agent remains intact - Los Angeles Times

McCain's Offshore Drilling Position A Flip From Three Weeks Ago

McCain's Offshore Drilling Position A Flip From Three Weeks Ago - Politics on The Huffington Post: "It is hardly a secret that when it comes to offshore drilling, Sen. John McCain was against the idea before he was for it. On Monday, the Arizona Republican told a crowd in Texas that he was abandoning his long-time support for a federal moratorium on drilling along the nation's coastlines in favor of allowing states to decide for themselves."

Ex-State Dept. official: Hundreds of detainees died in U.S. custody, at least 25 murdered

Think Progress » Ex-State Dept. official: Hundreds of detainees died in U.S. custody, at least 25 murdered.: ""

Documents confirm U.S. hid detainees from Red Cross

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 06/18/2008 | Documents confirm U.S. hid detainees from Red Cross: "WASHINGTON — The U.S. military hid the locations of suspected terrorist detainees and concealed harsh treatment to avoid the scrutiny of the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to documents that a Senate committee released Tuesday."

General Who Probed Abu Ghraib: Bush Officials Committed 'War Crimes'

General Who Probed Abu Ghraib: Bush Officials Committed 'War Crimes' - Politics on The Huffington Post: "The remarks by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who's now retired, came in a new report that found that U.S. personnel tortured and abused detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, using beatings, electrical shocks, sexual humiliation and other cruel practices."

Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal, Florida Says

Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal, Florida Says - NYTimes.com: "An analysis of autopsies in 2007 released this week by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that the rate of deaths caused by prescription drugs was three times the rate of deaths caused by all illicit drugs combined."

Good thing the gov't is protecting us from those evil drugs! Thank you DEA!

America's prison for terrorists often held the wrong men

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 06/15/2008 | America's prison for terrorists often held the wrong men

Former Army Secretary: A Third Of The Prisoners Don't Belong In Guantanamo. U.S. has wrongfully imprisoned "perhaps hundreds" of men "in Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere on the basis of flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores or bounty payments."

McCain Calls Arizona a Swing State...His Home State

McCain Calls Arizona a Swing State - The Washington Independent - U.S. news and politics - washingtonindependent.com

John McCain angrily denounces mandatory caps on carbon dioxide. Guess who's campaign released a plan for mandatory caps last month?

Crooks and Liars » McCain confused about his own energy policy: "QUESTION: The European Union has set mandatory targets on renewable energy. Is that something you would consider in a McCain administration? […]"

What's wrong with this guy? It's gone beyond flip-flopping. It's just a weird lust for power thing.

Article from The Onion in Jan. 2001 Predicts Everything Bush Administration Does

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over' | The Onion - America's Finest News Source: "WASHINGTON, DC–Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that 'our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over.'"

Get Osama Bin Laden before I leave office, orders George W Bush

Get Osama Bin Laden before I leave office, orders George W Bush - Times Online: "President George W Bush has enlisted British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden before he leaves the White House."

George, I know you're trying to do this for your "legacy," but maybe the outlook for your legacy would have been better if you had done this right away, instead of putting it off 'til the last second, spending $3 trillion of our children and grand children's money on an unrelated revenge killing of Saddam.

Maliki raises possibility that Iraq might ask U.S. to leave

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 06/13/2008 | Maliki raises possibility that Iraq might ask U.S. to leave: "Maliki made the comment after weeks of complaints from Shiite Muslim lawmakers that U.S. proposals that would govern a continued troop presence in Iraq would infringe on Iraq's sovereignty."

Cost of Iraq War 2008

Cost of Iraq War 2008: "

"

Army's PR Office Spreading Partisan Attacks On Obama

Army Shows Its Colors - Intel Dump - Phillip Carter on national security and the military.

This is the problem of the military industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about. The military getting involved in politics. Go to YouTube if you haven't seen his famous TV speech.

The Federal Government Keeps Two Sets of Books

USATODAY.com - What's the real federal deficit?: "The set the government doesn't talk about is the audited financial statement produced by the government's accountants following standard accounting rules. It reports a more ominous financial picture: a $760 billion deficit for 2005. If Social Security and Medicare were included — as the board that sets accounting rules is considering — the federal deficit would have been $3.5 trillion."

Supreme Court Repudiates Bush for Third Time

Court says detainees have rights, bucking Bush: "In a stinging rebuke to President Bush's anti-terror policies, a deeply divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign detainees held for years at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have the right to appeal to U.S. civilian courts to challenge their indefinite imprisonment without charges."

Another Iraq War Estimate, This Time $2.7 Trillion

Iraq war could cost taxpayers $2.7 trillion - Jun. 12, 2008

Family Values: McCain vs. Obama

Talking Points Memo | Obama's Baby Mama?:

The Obamas have been married for 16 years, and only to each other. John McCain left his first wife after she was in a car accident to marry an heiress 20 years younger than him. Who's marriage does Fox News insult?

Pakistani Intelligence Giving Taliban in Afghanistan Info on U.S. Troop Movements

Recordpub.com

U.S. Seeking Immunity for Blackwater

Immunity for private guards in Iraq a sticking point: US - Yahoo! News: "'The issue of contractors including (foreign) security contractors is a sensitive one, is a significant one,' David Satterfield, the US State Department's top Iraq adviser told reporters in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone."

U.S. seeking 58 permanent bases in Iraq, Shiite lawmakers say

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 06/09/2008 | U.S. seeking 58 bases in Iraq, Shiite lawmakers say: "Leading members of the two ruling Shiite parties said in a series of interviews the Iraqi government rejected this proposal along with another U.S. demand that would have effectively handed over to the United States the power to determine if a hostile act from another country is aggression against Iraq. Lawmakers said they fear this power would drag Iraq into a war between the United States and Iran."

GOP Senators Hopping Mad About Habeus Corpus

The Crypt: GOP blast Gitmo decision, Graham says he is willing to push for a constitutional amendment if necessary - Politico.com: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) vowed Thursday to do everything in his power to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision on Guantanamo Bay detainees, saying that, “if necessary,” he would push for a constitutional amendment to modify the decision.

McCain Says He's Never Supported Privatizing Social Security, But He Has

Think Progress » McCain denies his record of supporting Social Security privatization.:

- “Without privatization, I don’t see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits.” [C-Span Road to the White House, 11/18/2004]

- “As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it — along the lines that President Bush proposed.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/2008]

McCain is nuts. Does he not remember? Why would he contradict himself so obviously?

Does the Government Manipulate Economic Data?

Does the Government Manipulate Economic Data? at Emac’s Stock Watch | Fox Business: "A generation ago Phillips wrote “The Emerging Republican Majority” which Newsweek magazine described as the “political bible of the Nixon administration,” and previously has dissected the fakery in the government deficit numbers-federal, budget, current account and trade deficits-where he says that essentially the country is living on “borrowed prosperity.”"

At Obama's Request, DNC Will Not Accept PAC or Lobbyist Donations

DNC Will Not Accept PAC or Lobbyist Donations | Election Geek Blog 2008 Election News 24/7

McCain: I'd Spy on Americans Secretly, Too

McCain: I'd Spy on Americans Secretly, Too | Threat Level from Wired.com: "If elected president, Senator John McCain would reserve the right to run his own warrantless wiretapping program against Americans, based on the theory that the president's wartime powers trump federal criminal statutes and court oversight, according to a statement released by his campaign Monday."

McCain's newest advisor- and his opinions about how the Founding Fathers intended the President to have "near dictatorial power."

Newest McCain official: President has "near dictatorial powers" - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com

McCain slams Obama for being weak on Iran, then promptly proposes the same sanctions Obama proposed a year ago

Daily Kos: State of the Nation: "by HoundDog"

New Venezuelan law allows warrantless wiretapping and manipulation of the judicial process to favor the government over the rights of the accused

BBC NEWS | Americas | Venezuela 'spy' law draws protest: "Mr Chavez argues the law will help Venezuela guarantee its national security and prevent assassination plots and military rebellions."

Good thing we live in America, where that would never, ever happen.

U.S. to require electronic travel data

U.S. to require electronic travel data | Politics | Reuters: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will make visa-free foreign travelers provide electronic information about themselves and their trip before they depart, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Tuesday."

This will be good for tourism. And keep believing the Republican line that they are pro-business, and Dems aren't.

Canada's parliament votes to grant asylum to US war resisters

The Raw Story | Canada's parliament votes to grant asylum to US war resisters: "Parliament on Tuesday voted to allow US resisters of the Iraq war who fled to Canada to stay in this country, thus avoiding military court-martial in the United States."

Carter Reveals Israel's Possession of 150 Nuclear Weapons

Carter Reveals Israel's Possession of 150 Nuclear Weapons - Salem-News.Com: "(SALEM, Ore.) - At this moment a search of 'Israel' in Google News turns up endless results. The first entry about a 'Call for PM to Step Down' shows 1,761 articles. If you search 'Carter' however, you pull up 214 stories with the biting revelation that Israel has 150 nuclear weapons."

Get the inspectors in there!!!!! If they balk for one second, we're going in!!

Australia lowers flag in Iraq

Australia lowers flag in Iraq - World - smh.com.au: "FOR Australian combat troops the war in Iraq is over."

Guantanamo trials 'being rushed' to get done before elections

BBC NEWS | Americas | Guantanamo trials 'being rushed': "They have called for the military judge to dismiss the case on the grounds it is politically motivated, according to documents seen by the Associated Press."

Coalition of the Billing: US paying allies to fight war in Iraq

US paying allies to fight war in Iraq-USA-World-The Times of India
"In her testimony, Ugone also revealed that $135 million were given to forces from three countries UK, South Korea and Poland to facilitate their participation in the war. This is the first time that the US has officially admitted paying its allies in the so-called Coalition of the Willing that invaded Iraq in March 2003."

In the first Gulf War, Bush Sr. got paid by our allies. In this one, Jr. is paying them.

Judge critical of Guantanamo war crimes case is dismissed - Los Angeles Times

Judge critical of Guantanamo war crimes case is dismissed - Los Angeles Times