The Bush administration explicitly endorsed the use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods against al Qaeda suspects in a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
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Repeated requests by the CIA chief for a paper trail reflected growing worries within the agency that the administration might later distance itself from decisions about the handling of captured al Qaeda leaders, the Post said, citing former intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The officials told the newspaper Tenet first pressed the White House for written approval in June 2003 during a meeting with members of the National Security Council.
A few days later, Tenet received a brief memo conveying the administration's approval for the CIA's interrogation methods, the officials were cited as saying.
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The only place Bush and Cheney should be going on 21 January 2009 is to The Hague.
The snap polls are coming in for Barack Obama in much the same numbers that they did in the first two debates. CNN has it 58-31 for Obama. CBS' poll is similar ...
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People know one thing that can't be dislodged from their minds - Republican governance has been a total failure. A 90-minute debate isn't going to change any of that.
Vice President Cheney's heart was successfully restored to its normal rhythm today after doctors administered an electric shock to the organ, officials said this afternoon.
BACK IN December, when we endorsed John McCain in the Republican presidential primaries, we wrote that he would conduct a campaign of "substance, not demagoguery." We didn't count on the other John McCain - the one who showed up for the general election. Whether in thrall to his handlers or his own ambition, McCain has abandoned respectful discussion of differences for a trough of pandering and invective.
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McCain's alarming choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate came only after more moderate and experienced candidates whom McCain preferred were rejected by his operatives. The choice of Palin - whom we would find unqualified even if she didn't hold such extreme policy views - was a cynical ploy aimed at exciting ideological conservatives and luring disgruntled supporters of Hillary Clinton. McCain likes to complain that Democrat Barack Obama has never taken on his party leaders, but McCain can't even control his hired staff. [my em]
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Just so everybody's clear. What you're seeing now is the real McCain.
Jeezus. Why do ya have to fuck up our traffic? My luck, dad-in-law Fixer's gonna need something (he lives not far from the university) and I'm gonna have to negotiate my way through that shit. Probly gonna make it to COPS. Heh ...
"You know why you're done? Because everyone's fucking tired of the Vietnam War. Not only that, but the Vietnam War doesn't fucking matter anymore to most of the people in the country. It's passed its political expiration date, motherfucker, and that means your story doesn't matter. And Ayers doesn't matter. None of the same fuckin' arguments hold water. We got our own goddamned war and our own goddamned ripped-up and shattered vets filling the VA hospitals. It means you're not as fuckin' special as you once were, Maverick Man. So shove your bullshit about Ayers up your ass. Forty years ago might not seem like that long to you, but to most people, it's a fuckin' lifetime. [my em]
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Indeed. Time to put yesterday away and worry about tomorrow.
After leaving New York for the last time, the Queen Elizabeth 2, the world's best-known passenger ship, will eventually head to Dubai to become a floating hotel and museum.
A pipe and drum corps, flotilla of pleasure craft and other fanfare in New York will give Cunard Line's QE2 a nostalgic send-off for her 806th and final transatlantic crossing on Thursday (Oct. 16). Accompanying the ship on her six-night voyage to Southampton, England, will be her glamorous younger sister, 4-year-old Queen Mary 2.
For details on the QE2's New York farewell, visit the "Royal Rendezvous" page of Cunard's website.
Mark Morford (I swear, at first glance I thought the title was "More booze and coke". Oh hell yeah! Heh.). Many links.
What's the matter, patriot? Don't enjoy seeing your stock portfolio slashed in half for greed-obsessed reasons beyond your control? None too pleased with how much of your 401(k) account has burned to a crisp, like John McCain's ethical boundaries? Home worth a fraction of what you paid and the neighbors have all moved away as squads of homeless people now squat in the 350K tract-McMansion next door, staring a mite too hungrily at your dog?
Housewives! Have you taken to the online message boards recently, posting bleak, depressing notes of fear and uncertainty after your husband lost his job of 20 years and the kids are asking uncomfortable questions? Or maybe you're one of the super-wealthy, quaking in your Upper East Side Gucci riding boots over the collapse of your family fortune and self-esteem and who, pray who, will polish the fleet of Aston Martins?
Do you know this feeling? The sense that the bumbling, squinty-faced dude in the White House is about to step down, and this wrecked economy, this decimated nation, this toxic sickness will be his final parting gift, like some sort of nasty STD he and his cronies passed on to you, while you didn't even realize you were getting royally screwed?
(Side note to China: Those secret plans to invade America? Now is the time. We're totally helpless. You own most of our debt anyway. Can you bring extra iPods and some decent dim sum? Thank you.)
As for Republicans, well, they have good reason to smile, too, even if it's one of those creepy sidelong sneers akin to Dick Cheney eating a live cobra.
I'd pay good money to see that rasslin' match! And pity the cobra if it won and had to eat Cheney. Yuck.
Much more. Enjoy.
And just as an aside, speaking of Cheney - a word of praise and encouragement for a-fib. I hope it jolts that motherfucker right out of his socks and straight to Hell. That would really be an upside.
Paul Krugman's colleagues are having a ball raking him over the coals - in the good way - so far - in response to his Nobel Prize. I'm enjoying it too.
Krugman Could Turn into Massive Douchebag, Colleagues Fear
At one point, one of his fellow economists asked him a question about credit default swaps, to which Mr. Krugman reportedly snapped, "Credit default swaps can suck my ass -- I'm Paul Fucking Krugman!"
Mr. Krugman could not be reached for comment and instead referred all questions to his publicist, Sherri Hefstein, whom he hired minutes after winning the Nobel.
According to Ms. Hefstein, Mr. Krugman plans to spend the next few months "building his brand" and will be adapting his book, International Economics: Theory and Policy, into a feature film to star George Clooney.
He won the Nobel prize in economics this week, and while I’m sure that’s delightful for him, it has raised the bar to an impossible height for his fellow columnists at The Times. We used to strive for Pulitzers,or simply regional awards, or even just try to top each other on the paper’s most e-mailed list.
Now we’re supposed to compete for Nobels?
It’s a total disaster. Any minute, Krugman might swagger into the office wearing that big old 24-karat-gold-plated medal around his neck like a World Wrestling championship belt, talking about how beautiful Sweden is.
So I must aim higher. Much higher.
A Nobel in economics is out. I didn’t take economics in college because all the classes started at 8 a.m. Physics, chemistry and medicine are out. Literature? They’ve given up giving it to Americans. So it’s going to have to be the Nobel Peace Prize.
Go see how much 'higher' she aimed. She ain't gonna win no Nobel for it, but she did win a prize: Gordon's Combination Shoveling Shit Against The Tide And Why Bother Award. Heh.
As he lurches toward November, McCain’s Palin experience is the political equivalent of a lost college weekend—that wacky, self-indulgent party where you tied one on and spent the night with the wrong date. It’s fun for a moment. But then comes morning and a hangover and—oh no—the wrong person is still there.
You wake up with her head on your arm and chew your arm off to get away so you won't wake her.
Angry black people!!!! Digby notices the Rethug blowhards aren't even trying to hide it anymore:
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Wow. I've written quite a bit about the particular form of American racism that manifests itself in fear of the black mob but I haven't seen it expressed quite so starkly though in a couple of decades.
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Running late; had to kick the Mrs. out at the airport. Don't worry, I slowed down to 20 mph before I made her jump. Heh ...
This video shows Mideast HOG (Harley Owners Group) members expounding on their choice of sled. One wonders if halal dietary restrictions ever come into play if you eat the thing in a crash...
"My mind just clears," says Rakan Talal, a 26-year-old from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, who was among a small but fervent crew of hog fanatics converging on Lebanon the first weekend of October for the country's first Harley-Davidson tour. "I don't think about anything. Just the road and feeling the wind. Riding on two wheels is something else. Riding a bike makes it all feel better."
Yes it does. Some things are universal.
I have maintained for 30 years that if everybody rode motorcycles, there wouldn't be any more wars. Here's my Cold War scenario, which could be updated for any clime and place:
A US Army rider in Germany, eastbound, is broke down by the side of the road. While he's on his knees investigating the problem he glances a hundred yards up the road and sees a Russian rider, westbound, also broke down by the side of the road, also on his knees investigating his problem. In a moment frozen in time, the Russian is looking back at him.
Both soldiers have the same thought: well, I ain't gettin' anywhere with this broke down piece o' shit anyway. Might as well try something else.
Both men lock and load, get to their feet, and approach one another warily, weapons at the ready just in case. The American G.I. breaks the ice:
"Hey, Ivan, ya got a 530 master link? Fuckin' chain broke."
"Da. Iss your lucky day, Tovarisch. Trade you for a set of points. The People's Points are donkey waste. I think a set from one of your Tschevies will fit."
"Yeah, a Chevy six. Same kind this sled takes. Got 'em."
The deal is done. The soldiers team up and help each other make repairs. Along the way, bottles of vodka and bourbon are broken out and shared. Talk turns to thoughts of home, girls, good food, and how totally fucked the whole idea of war is.
After a longer time than necessary, the soldiers regrettably part and go their separate ways, now brothers of the road instead of enemies. Like they should be.
I will just throw this line from Raw Story out there:
Publisher Larry Flynt has announced that Hustler is releasing a porn film featuring a Sarah Palin lookalike and a tank full of stranded Russian soldiers.
The line "Ah, my little bublichki" popped into my head. Don't ask me why...
Many of our other favorite characters are parodied in the movie as well. Normally I wouldn't direct you to a Fixed News video, but don't miss the one at the link.
Update:
Stole this from The Exile. The devil made me do it...
As Digby says, the banking mess and health care go hand-in-hand:
I was skeptical that health care would actually be tackled in a Democratic first term without a recession driving it and now, for obvious reasons, I think it may actually happen. Polls are showing that the economy and health care are the two top issues in the election.
The fact is that they are intertwined. The American system of employer based health care is falling apart. Big companies are being squeezed by retiree health benefits and small businesses are drowning in health care costs. And needless to say, being unemployed means saying goodbye to your health insurance (or COBRA costs that are obscene.) Add that to the huge number of underinsured and uninsured and you have the makings of a full fledged emergency. [my em]
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Most certainly.
Big Healthcare and Big Pharma have been allowed to run as wild as the mortgage industry and it's time for them to be reined in as well. Health care shouldn't be an employer-based system. It should be a single-payer (government) affair, government keeping costs low by negotiating volume pricing with Pharma (as Canada and most European nations do). The day health care became a 'for-profit' industry (thank you President Reagan) foreshadowed whis crisis. It serves no one's interest when it costs $500 - $1000 just to walk into an emergency room (a lot of homes that are in foreclosure are there as a result of a health care issue that swamped the owners' finances). It serves no one's interest when people go bankrupt because of a health care issue.
It is time to do away with private health insurance and impose stricter regulation on the health care industry as a whole. The American middle class (and that includes small business) will never be able to regain its footing unless health care is addressed in the same breath as the financial crisis.
According to the NYT, Bush has decided to drop North Korea off the Axis of Evil list. I propose that President Obama replace it with the Republican Party immediately.
A parking lot owner in Gibsonville, NC, decided supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama are no longer welcome to use his property, WFMY's Julia Bagg reported.
Lot owner Tim Henderson posted two identical signs that warned: 'no parking' for Obama supporters or people with Obama bumper stickers."
"I don't expect to go after anybody with a baseball bat," Henderson said. "I would grin at them and laugh and ask them if they could read English."
I, cur (pronounced 'sir'), would grin and ask if you can speak English with a fat lip and no teeth. What a fuckin' asshole.
