Original version in English here, and an updated version with a slide show here.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
L' homme A La Moto
A little French culture fer all y'all:
Original version in English here, and an updated version with a slide show here.
Original version in English here, and an updated version with a slide show here.
If DOJ won't do it ...
Call the DC District Attorney and the DCPD. Via BuzzFlash seems the Department of Justice ain't gonna enforce Nancy Pelosi's contempt citations:
I'd love to see 'em both frogmarched into federal court.
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Michael Mukasey refused Friday to refer the House's contempt citations against two of President Bush's top aides to a federal grand jury. Mukasey said White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet Miers committed no crime.
As promised, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she has given the Judiciary Committee authority to file a lawsuit against Bolten and Miers in federal court.
...
I'd love to see 'em both frogmarched into federal court.
World War 1 anyone?
The Misfit:
Big if, but I'd love to see them hang ... together ... separately ... doesn't matter.
They have approved the use of riot-control chemical agents in combat. Which is a violation of the Chemical Warfare Convention.
If the officials of the Bush Administration ever make it into the dock at The Hague, look for this to be one of the specifications listed in the charging documents.
...
Big if, but I'd love to see them hang ... together ... separately ... doesn't matter.
Saturday whorage
We were seeing red yesterday at the shop.
As usual for a Saturday morning, the next chapter of Thirty Days at Zeta is up at The Practical Press.
What going on by you? Leave a link in comments.
As usual for a Saturday morning, the next chapter of Thirty Days at Zeta is up at The Practical Press.
What going on by you? Leave a link in comments.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Economy not Bush's fault. No Siree! Everybody - anybody - else is to blame
Closely related to the post just below this one, AlterNet's headline cuts through the crap:
From Bloomberg: Money & Politics:
Yeah, the economy's in the shitter because people couldn't keep up the usurious payments on the pie-in-the-sky fraudulent loans that Bush wouldn't let the states regulate.
Yeah, it's all their fault. Borrowing trillions to finance a criminal war that increased the national debt to where the big light-up signs don't have enough numbers to display it, all the while cutting domestic expenditure so the rich won't have to be inconvenienced by paying taxes like the Great Unwashed of the rest of us do, had nothing to do with it. It's all the lazy bastard Americans who can no longer support the banks and swindler lenders in the manner to which they've become accustomed.
Yeah, right.
Note to Bush: You. Fucking. Asshole.
I'll give the bastard this: He can lie with a straight face like nobody I've ever seen. Probably sleeps like a baby, too. Why not? He's never had much of a conscience, and he doesn't have to worry about his soul - it's long gone to the devil in exchange for the office he holds.
Hey Homeowners, Bush Blames You -- Not Iraq -- for Our Tanking Economy
From Bloomberg: Money & Politics:
U.S. Home Foreclosures Jump 90% as Mortgages Reset
Yeah, the economy's in the shitter because people couldn't keep up the usurious payments on the pie-in-the-sky fraudulent loans that Bush wouldn't let the states regulate.
Yeah, it's all their fault. Borrowing trillions to finance a criminal war that increased the national debt to where the big light-up signs don't have enough numbers to display it, all the while cutting domestic expenditure so the rich won't have to be inconvenienced by paying taxes like the Great Unwashed of the rest of us do, had nothing to do with it. It's all the lazy bastard Americans who can no longer support the banks and swindler lenders in the manner to which they've become accustomed.
Yeah, right.
Note to Bush: You. Fucking. Asshole.
I'll give the bastard this: He can lie with a straight face like nobody I've ever seen. Probably sleeps like a baby, too. Why not? He's never had much of a conscience, and he doesn't have to worry about his soul - it's long gone to the devil in exchange for the office he holds.
Recipes for Disaster in Iraq
Tomgram
What follows is a monster list of ingredients for two recipes for the disaster that is currently well under preparation, and also who the main feasters are. All the usual suspects and then some.
The American public and their children and grandchildren are being made to pay for this sumptuous repast, but are specifically uninvited to partake.
The writers left out one part of these recipes, without which none of this could have happened:
Find someone who can't cook and should never be allowed in the kitchen. Marinate him for many years in heavy alcohol until his brain is thoroughly stewed, baked, fried and boiled. Then prop him up where people can see him and let others do the actual cooking. Tell him he must stick to the recipe no matter what anyone tells him.
Sear the ingredients on both sides to seal in the disaster, and cook slowly until our military and treasury are completely drained away and done. Cooking times may vary up to 100 years or more.
Us peasants will be allowed to gnaw the bones of this dish for many years to come.
In the week that oil prices once again crested above $100 a barrel and more Americans than at any time since the Great Depression owed more on their homes than the homes were worth; in the year that the subprime market crashed, global markets shuddered, the previously unnoticed credit-default swap market threatened to go into the tank, stagflation returned, unemployment rose, the "R" word (for recession) hit the headlines (while the "D" word lurked), within weeks of the fifth anniversary of his invasion of Iraq, the President of the United States officially discovered the war economy.
"Bush: I don't think so. I think actually, the spending on the war might help with jobs.
"Curry: Oh, yeah?
"Bush: Yeah, because we're buying equipment, and people are working. I think this economy is down because we built too many houses."
In other words, in honor of the soon-to-arrive fifth anniversary of his war without end, the President has offered a formula for economic success in bad times that might be summed up this way: less houses, more bases, more weaponry, more war. This, of course, comes from the man who, between 2001 and today, presided over an official Pentagon budget that leapt by more than 60% from $316 billion to $507 billion, and by more than 30% since Iraq was invaded. Looked at another way, between 2001 and the latest emergency supplemental request to pay for his wars (first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq), supplemental funding for war-fighting has jumped from $17 billion to $189 billion, an increase of 1,011%. At the same time, almost miraculously, the U.S. armed forces have been driven to the edge of the military equivalent of default.
What follows is a monster list of ingredients for two recipes for the disaster that is currently well under preparation, and also who the main feasters are. All the usual suspects and then some.
The American public and their children and grandchildren are being made to pay for this sumptuous repast, but are specifically uninvited to partake.
To prepare:
Heat whatever crude oil is available in the largest kettle you can find until smoking. Dump in all ingredients in whatever quantities in any order you choose. (Warning: popping oil, shield eyes.) Add polluted water. Bring to a roiling boil at highest heat. Cook for as much - or as little - time as you want. Pour the soup, boiling hot, across the table (no need for bowls) and dig in.
Bon appétit! Happy anniversary!
The writers left out one part of these recipes, without which none of this could have happened:
Find someone who can't cook and should never be allowed in the kitchen. Marinate him for many years in heavy alcohol until his brain is thoroughly stewed, baked, fried and boiled. Then prop him up where people can see him and let others do the actual cooking. Tell him he must stick to the recipe no matter what anyone tells him.
Sear the ingredients on both sides to seal in the disaster, and cook slowly until our military and treasury are completely drained away and done. Cooking times may vary up to 100 years or more.
Us peasants will be allowed to gnaw the bones of this dish for many years to come.
No shit ...
I'll happily admit I'm certifiable. Don't need some conservohack doctor to tell me that.
Off to the shop ...
Off to the shop ...
Dear Congress ...
Can we please forget about steroid-doing baseball players? Good Christ. With the list of 'Fuckups That Have Returned To Bite Us In The Ass' by the Bush administration growing ever larger daily, do you really have the time to worry about what Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds inject themselves with? There are life and death issues, economic issues, and social issues to deal with and Congress wastes their time, let alone the resources of the FBI, to investigate a couple spoiled, overpaid prima donnas?
Wake the fuck up, for crying out loud, before this country becomes broken beyond repair. Athletes taking steroids should be dealt with by the various sanctioning bodies. The business of Congress is to deal with issues affecting the welfare of the American public. Put as much time into investigating the Chimp's illegal misdeeds as you do crawling up the Rocket's ass and we'll be fine. Idiots.
Regards,
Fixer
Wake the fuck up, for crying out loud, before this country becomes broken beyond repair. Athletes taking steroids should be dealt with by the various sanctioning bodies. The business of Congress is to deal with issues affecting the welfare of the American public. Put as much time into investigating the Chimp's illegal misdeeds as you do crawling up the Rocket's ass and we'll be fine. Idiots.
Regards,
Fixer
Perspective ...
When it comes to conservatard legislation, the 'good of the people' never enters into the equation. It's all about the Benjamins:
With the House Democrats’ refusal to grant retroactive immunity to phone companies — stalling the rewrite of the warrantless wiretapping program — GOP leadership aides are grumbling that their party isn’t getting more political money from the telecommunications industry.
Bi-partisanship ...
I'm all for it ... if it's something other than this:
Basically, as Digby says, the only bi-partisanship any are interested in is progressives not being so 'uppity' when it comes to embracing conservative 'ideals':
It's time to relegate conservatives and Republicans to the 'back bench'. If (big if) the results in November turn in our favor (something far from guaranteed), the Dems should push through every piece of progressive legislation tabled by the Republican majority. Once that is done, maybe (and I stress maybe) it will be time to 'reach across the aisle'. Not until then, however. Not until the Republican disaster this nation has become is straightened out, period.
...
Apparently, being a "standard liberal" is automatically exclusionary, so any question as to whether the Democratic agenda might be transformative by persuasion is not on the Washington Post editorial board's menu. They obviously believe that bipartisanship is the only way to bridge the red-blue divide, and judging from the examples they cited, when they say bipartisanship they mean capitulation to the conservatives.
...
Basically, as Digby says, the only bi-partisanship any are interested in is progressives not being so 'uppity' when it comes to embracing conservative 'ideals':
...
As I have written before, it's telling that establishment calls for bipartisanship during the reign of George W. Bush and the Republican majority were nil. It is only now, with the possibility of a liberal majority and Democratic president, that cooperation and inclusiveness are held forth as the only way to "get things done." I will have to be pardoned for being a little bit skeptical of the sincerity of that position. It's quite obvious that they are most concerned with keeping the status quo, which for many years now has been a conservative status-quo. Recent history shows that when Republicans are in power, regardless of how close --- or even legitimate -- their victory, they are there because they have received "political capital" from the people to "spend" on the conservative agenda for which they received a "mandate." When Democrats are in power, it's important that they reach across the aisle and be "centrist" and "inclusive" or risk being seen as "orthodox" and "leftist." [my em]
...
It's time to relegate conservatives and Republicans to the 'back bench'. If (big if) the results in November turn in our favor (something far from guaranteed), the Dems should push through every piece of progressive legislation tabled by the Republican majority. Once that is done, maybe (and I stress maybe) it will be time to 'reach across the aisle'. Not until then, however. Not until the Republican disaster this nation has become is straightened out, period.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Accounting ...
The Earth-Bound Misfit:
... I gather that Bush has to sodomize a small child in the Rose Garden and on national television before he will be held to account for any of his crimes ...
Bullshit ...
If you're having trouble following the FISA (telecom immunity) bill, our blog partner from F & G, Bustednuckles, makes it simple for ya:
Indeed. The only thing this bill does is exempt the telecoms from culpability in the abrogation of our right to privacy. Simply:
See, simple. Now call your reps.
...
Under FISA, it is perfectly legal for the government to wiretap a phone, with reasonable suspicion, if it is part of a criminal investigation without a warrant. Perfectly legal under existing FISA law.
Here is the part they absofuckinglutely refuse to acknowledge, They MUST apply for a warrant to CONTINUE that wiretap after 72 hours within starting it.Otherwise, they must discontinue that wiretap and destroy any record of the conversations.
This has been the law for over twenty five years.
...
Indeed. The only thing this bill does is exempt the telecoms from culpability in the abrogation of our right to privacy. Simply:
...
No, now they could tap directly into the cables that contained every Email, Instant Message, BLOG POST, Google search, telephone calls to yer Aunt Minnie listening to her bitch about her hot flashes, everything.
Without a warrant, without any oversight, just because they could.
Just because THEY SAID it was legal.
I call Bullshit. [all ems in orig]
...
See, simple. Now call your reps.
Snicker
I just had to share from Shakesperes Sister:
Read the entire beautiful rant from Wolfrum here.
f you haven't tasted Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi, but would like an idea of what it tastes like, do this - keep a straw in your pocket and wander around outside until you find a pigeon or squirrel that's been dead for, oh, say three months. Stick the straw into the dead animal and suck. Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi tastes like that, except worse. Plus, the taste lingers in your mouth for months. And gradually gets worse until it's like your mouth was invaded by the notoriously rare and deadly Asian Shit Ant.
What gets me is that they had high-paid executives sitting around a table, drinking this dreck and all nodding approvingly, "Oh yes, this is what America wants, a 'light, crisp, refreshing' beverage that tastes like Cheney sputum."
You want to defeat terrorists? Force them to drink Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi. I'm sure it would violate the Geneva Conventions, but they'd immediately tell you anything they knew, then hang themselves. Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi is torture in a 12-oz can.
Read the entire beautiful rant from Wolfrum here.
Buckley
For what it's worth, from Cursor:
The country didn't ignore enough of it. Even if conservatism didn't work out exactly as Buckley would have liked, it's still a flawed and failed movement made worse by the morons who hijacked it, and he still started it. And we're still suffering from it.
Noting that "Buckley bears little resemblance to the modern-day, Bush-era 'conservative' movement," Glenn Greenwald cites an account of an argument between Buckley and Norman Podhoretz, and, "sorry as we may be to mark Buckley's passing," writes Timothy Noah, "we should be very glad that the country ignored much of what he had to say."
The country didn't ignore enough of it. Even if conservatism didn't work out exactly as Buckley would have liked, it's still a flawed and failed movement made worse by the morons who hijacked it, and he still started it. And we're still suffering from it.
The Sheik's Request
Babylon & Beyond (LATimes blog)
Aw shit, give the old fart some hard-on pills. Congress is keeping all the Viagra for itself, and there's too many stiffs there already...
The relationship between the Marines and the Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province is delicate. Each side wants something from the other.
The Marines want the sheiks to continue their fight against insurgents and to follow the rule of law rather than tribal vengeance. When a sheik hosts the Marines for lunch or dinner, he usually has a list of wants: a gun permit, a government job for a relative, a passport, help getting a construction contract, etc.
One sheik had something more personal in mind. After a sumptuous feast, he asked the Marines if they could help him get Viagra.
Sorry, sheik. U.S. foreign aid is not quite that generous.
Aw shit, give the old fart some hard-on pills. Congress is keeping all the Viagra for itself, and there's too many stiffs there already...
Pakistan: State of Emergency
I watched this show the other night on Frontline: World on PBS. I highly recommend it. Watch or read or both.
"Those people who serve America", of course, means anybody who doesn't go along with them, including anyone who wishes Pakistan to be governed by its Constitution and rule of law other than a twisted Sharia.
Also see Firedoglake.
“We should remember the Taliban were never defeated by the Americans,” notes Ahmed Rashid, author of Taliban and one of Pakistan’s leading journalists. “They were routed, and they fled Afghanistan and came to Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda, who are living in Pakistan, have nurtured a whole new generation of Pakistani extremists. So, this is a very, very dangerous phenomenon.”
When Fazlullah’s men started capturing local police stations and seizing weapon arsenals, the people of Swat began to plead with the government to take action. But Musharraf’s regime responded slowly and half-heartedly, sending in the Pakistani Frontier Corps, a poorly trained civilian militia, low-paid and outnumbered. The Taliban decimated the fighters, leaving their bodies to rot in fields and later taking a local TV camera crew to photograph the horrific scene. The Taliban also murdered a policeman and others who stood in their way, frequently beheading them and leaving notes that read, “Those people who serve America, the same thing will happen to them.”
"Those people who serve America", of course, means anybody who doesn't go along with them, including anyone who wishes Pakistan to be governed by its Constitution and rule of law other than a twisted Sharia.
Also see Firedoglake.
The roots of this conflict are not new. It is almost as old as the mountains and valleys out of which the tribal rivalries and fiery fundamentalist clerics preach power and a return to the past. We fail to learn the lessons of history, and with that failure, we continue to endanger ourselves and others across the globe.
Prince Harry serving on front line in Afghanistan
LATimesPrince Harry has been serving on the front line in Afghanistan with the British Army, the Ministry of Defense said today.
Officials said the prince, a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment, was still deployed in the country.
"His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been exemplary," said the head of the army. Gen. Richard Dannatt. "He has been fully involved in operations and has run the same risks as everyone else in his battle group."
When asked for comment, Prince Harry replied, "Things are getting dashed hot here! We're out of pink gin!"
I mighta made part of that up...
Even though the above photo was staged - Leftenants are gentlemen after all, and therefore do not operate machine guns except in extremis - I salute him for putting service ahead of family connections. It's no grandstand play, either. It was a secret of sorts:
Harry, who is third in line to the throne, has been in Afghanistan since December. The story was leaked by an Australian magazine and a German newspaper.
Dannatt said he was "very disappointed" that the story had leaked.
In some societies, apparently, leadership is still built from the bottom up even in the ruling class. Should Harry ever become King and have to send his people to war, possibly to die, they will know he's been there and understands the responsibility that entails.
Gee, somewhere I musta missed the story about all the Bush kids on the line in Afghanistan, or in their crazy Uncle George's clusterfuck in Iraq. Oh, that's right - they have people - AKA 'the help' - AKA 'the peasants' kids' - to do that kind of thing for them. The Bushes are too important to risk, legends in their own minds and above it all. They've built up power over the last eighty years and just hand it down like the family business it is, no matter the lack of qualifications of the handee. Or the results.
A sad comment on the state of affairs in the United States, Another one of many.
Dude, I Think We Picked the Wrong Bar
I'm putting this in because I'm a lifelong motorcyclist, and I think it's just plain funnier'n shit!
AFP
Oops...
EssEffChron
Indeed! Heh.
*Go see the group photo of these bozos. Check out their guestbook too. These guys are in tall cotton over this deal! Good on 'em, I say!
It took a stupefying lack of situational awareness on the part of the crooks to miss this lot!
They must have been Republicans.
AFP
A pair of hapless bandits in Australia received a shock when they burst into a Sydney sports club brandishing machetes only to find it occupied by about 50 bikers.
Oops...
EssEffChron
About 50 members of the Southern Cross Cruiser Club* had just started a club meeting in another room, and the bikers jumped up to intervene.
Jester said the robbers had walked past the bikers as they entered the bar but apparently failed to notice them, perhaps because the ski masks obscured their vision.
"I don't think he did his homework very well," Jester said of the ringleader. "He picked the wrong night."
Indeed! Heh.
*Go see the group photo of these bozos. Check out their guestbook too. These guys are in tall cotton over this deal! Good on 'em, I say!
It took a stupefying lack of situational awareness on the part of the crooks to miss this lot!
They must have been Republicans.
Wikileaks
A useful website to bookmark: "Wikileaks is a website running on modified MediaWiki software which allows whistleblowers to anonymously release government and corporate documents, allegedly without possible retribution."
Cuurently, a federal district judge has ordered that the site be shut down which the ACLU is fighting. I always say that if they don't want you to read something - the reading is exactly what you should be doing.
Further reading:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/02/27/aclu-and-eff-interve.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikileaks
Cuurently, a federal district judge has ordered that the site be shut down which the ACLU is fighting. I always say that if they don't want you to read something - the reading is exactly what you should be doing.
Further reading:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/02/27/aclu-and-eff-interve.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikileaks
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