It's Okay If You're Not Bill Clinton

What's that line I hear neocons say about Clinton? Oh yeh, "'Your Lord BJ....douchebag..."

This is disgraceful.

Be carefull who you vote for, you just might elect them President.

The G8 was a sight to behold; the President of the US stuffing his face and talking at the same time to world leaders as if he was at a frat party. Making lewd comments regarding the War in Lebanon, touching another world leader inappropiately.....

no wonder the world is at each others throats..this is a real life version of Animal House, with the President of the USA playing the lead role.

Posted by: Toolmaker at July 20, 2006 08:30 AM

... and nothing is over until we say it is.

Blue Tardski

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

When contemplating whether he would assume total control in France, Napoleon mused that his critics wanted to him to be like Washington (who when offered the chance to lead a coup against the Continental Congress after the Revolution, told his soldiers that was retiring to Mt. Vernon, and apparently even later turned down an offer to be named King).

Today, any ex-degenerate with a rich daddy and a record of consistent failure in life has the right stuff to lead the nation that Washington saved.

Letter to Bush from Rabbis Against Torture

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0629,hentoff,73857,6.html

Posted by: not my president at July 20, 2006 09:16 AM

He doesn't care... when are people going to get that?

Watching American TV From Beirut

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AEEFA95C-1ED7-4BD0-9CE5-7FEEC2613B68.htm

Kidnapped by Israel: The British Media and the Invasion of Gaza

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=COO20060720&articleId=2767

New Holy War - Somalia v Ethiopia

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-07-20T115543Z_01_L20835108_RTRUKOC_0_US-SOMALIA.xml&archived=False

God... it's like "Bluto goes to the G-8." What an utter imbecile.

Posted by: Victoria Ellen at July 20, 2006 09:56 AM

More like an octopus if you ask me.

Big Gates grant to scientists to find AIDS vaccine
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1824607,00.html
Shouldn't the government do this? That's right - they don't believe in science

Remember the time Bush cleaned his glasses on a woman's suit?

from Bill in Portland, ME/Daily Kos

rom the Blastocyst Community Bulletin...

There will be a new blastocyst orientation session at the Federal Building on Market Street at 2pm (use the side door). All blastocysts will receive a Social Security number, $50 cash and a free copy of the Employment Times.

-

The annual Blastocyst pancake supper will be held at the Grange Hall Sunday from 6am `til 11am. Cost is $5 ($3 for embryoblasts 8 days and under). Because of last year's maple syrup disaster, powdered sugar will be substituted.

-

FOR SALE---framed portrait of President Bush signing the Blastocyst Civil Rights Act of 2006. Autographed on back by Sen. Brownback. $10 + s&h. 555-1323.

-

All of us at BCB mourn the passing of associate editor Hank Grindle, 12 days, a long-standing member of the local blastocyst community for 7 days and 3 hours. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the VFW. Our condolences to Gladys, his wife of 10 days and 8 hours.

-

BLASTOCYST ROOMMATE wanted to share 2-bedroom apartment on west end. $575 + utilities. Non-smoker preferred. Pets negotiable. No vacuum cleaners. 555-3421.

-

BLASTAEROBICS! Come move and groove to a hip-hop beat at Marcy's Gym. Great way to make friends while increasing your lifespan by up to 36 hours! You'll have a BLAST! 555-MOVEIT.

-

FOR SALE: Petri dish. 4-inch diameter, like new. Only used by my grandmother on Sunday. $10 or best offer. 555-9845.

-

God, I wonder if he'll try to rap to the NAACP today?!!!

Bush at Odds With Europe on Middle East Conflict
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006Z.shtml
The United States faces growing tensions with allies over its support of Israel's military campaign to cripple Hezbollah, amid calls for a cease-fire to help with the mounting humanitarian crisis. The fragile Lebanese government has pleaded for a cease-fire, and France has urged the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for an end to hostilities

too many civilians, too out of control, too long to wait - will a ceasefire even be possible

I'm creeped out especially by the expression - or lack of - on Shrubs face as he invades Merkel.

Anyone know who the guy next to her is?

Learn how to take back the media in Washington
(must mean D. C.)

We know that the right-wing has dominated the media for decades. It didn't happen overnight and it didn't happen by accident. Now, if we learn the tools, our nationwide grassroots network has a chance to take back our media. 

Throughout the summer, DFA Night School will offer three online sessions that will help build your media skills. The sessions combine an online presentation with a live conference call and group discussion with our trainers to show you how to get a progressive message into the media. You can join any or all of the DFA Night School sessions from the comfort of your home or office today.  Click here to sign up:

July 25: Working the Mainstream Media
August 1: Leveraging Blogs and Online Media
August 8: Sustaining your Media Presence

The events are free of charge and you don't need any prior experience working with the media. Media coverage is one of the best tools we have for spreading our progressive values -- and holding this administration and Congress accountable for their failures. Click here to find out more and reserve your spot:

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/nightschool

We can change our country, but it's going to take a strong ground game and savvy media outreach. You have the power, now get the skills. Thanks for everything you do.

More Bush body language at G8, with analysis - you should be able to flip through the numbers and see several images of leaders interacting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/europe_g8_summit_body_language/html/1.stm

or

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/europe_g8_summit_body_language/img/1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/europe_g8_summit_body_language/html/1.stm&h=300&w=300&sz=10&hl=en&start=15&tbnid=hrmu50RSR3wocM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dg8%2Bsummit%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

Shouldn't the government do this? That's right - they don't believe in science
Posted by: DiAnne at July 20, 2006 10:00 AM

I was thinking about framing the other day around the stem cell vote, and I came up with an idea of framing the republican party (or the dems as opposite) around the science and technology issue.

Republicans - the anti-science party - opposing scientific breakthroughs every day.

Rebulicans - the anti-technology party - keeping our country from advancing in the 21st century.

Republicans - against math and science - putting our country at the bottom of the list of industrial nations in math and science.

thoughts?

Carol
I completely agree!!

Could it be the FINALLY the rubberstampers are waking up on Iraq? From today's Washington Post (via Rawstory):

GOP Lawmakers Edge Away From Optimism on Iraq
By Jonathan Weisman and Anushka Asthana
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 20, 2006; A01

Faced with almost daily reports of sectarian carnage in Iraq, congressional Republicans are shifting their message on the war from speaking optimistically of progress to acknowledging the difficulty of the mission and pointing up mistakes in planning and execution.

Rep. Christopher Shays (Conn.) is using his House Government Reform subcommittee on national security to vent criticism of the White House's war strategy and new estimates of the monetary cost of the war. Rep. Gil Gutknecht (Minn.), once a strong supporter of the war, returned from Iraq this week declaring that conditions in Baghdad were far worse "than we'd been led to believe" and urging that troop withdrawals begin immediately.

And freshman Sen. John Thune (S.D.) told reporters at the National Press Club that if he were running for reelection this year, "you obviously don't embrace the president and his agenda."

"The first thing I'd do is acknowledge that there have been mistakes made," Thune said.

more: http://tinyurl.com/hzk77

Actually Shays has been critical for quite some time.

More so than Lieberman. One of the things that may keep him alive in the CT-04 race with Diane Ferrell.

Republicans - the anti-medicine party - keeping americans sicker, mind, body, and spirit

ok... what's with FEMA now?

FEMA muzzling La. trailer-park residents

By The Associated Press
07.20.06

MORGAN CITY, La. — Residents of trailer parks set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house hurricane victims in Louisiana aren't allowed to talk to the press without an official escort, The (Baton Rouge) Advocate reported.

In one instance, a security guard ordered an Advocate reporter out of a trailer during an interview in Morgan City. Similar FEMA rules were enforced in Davant, in Plaquemines Parish.
~snip~

Morgan City Mayor Timothy Matte told The Advocate that he was surprised residents were being barred from talking to reporters.

"I would think anyone who lives there would be allowed to have any visitor they wanted," he said.

FEMA leases the land for the trailer park from the city, Matte said. "It's public property. There's no question about that. You would think the people would have the same freedom there as everyone else has," he told the newspaper.

Hundreds of trailers at FEMA parks sit empty and unused in Louisiana, according to The Advocate.

Officials in Morgan City estimate that FEMA has spent about $7.5 million to build the trailer park but that only about 15 of the 198 trailers are being used.

"We all wonder why no one lives there," Matte said.

FEMA officials refuse to say how much was spent to build the park or why 183 of the trailers are vacant.

"We're not going to talk about cost," Rodi told the newspaper.

As in Morgan City, the 334-trailer FEMA park in Davant in Plaquemines Parish is greatly underused.

The north side of the park is empty, and 92 families live in the south side, Rodi said, adding that the empty trailers would be removed.
~snip~

Meanwhile, Plaquemines Parish President Benny Rousselle blamed FEMA, in part, for the slow return of residents to the parish.

Rousselle said FEMA knows where many evacuees relocated after the storm but won't give that information to parish officials.

"FEMA told us because of privacy issues, they can't give us the addresses of our residents who are spread out in all 50 states. And no one but FEMA has that information," Rousselle said. "If we could contact them, I think a lot of them would come back if they knew we had places for them to live."

read the entire article here, hattip to rawstory...
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=17178

FEMA -- apparently still inept and still screwing the citizens of Louisiana, not to mention wasting tax dollars

Cure For Pain
by Morphine

Where is the ritual?
And tell me where where is the taste?
Where is the sacrifice?
And tell me where where is the faith?

Someday there'll be a cure for pain
That's the day I throw my drugs away
When they find a cure for pain

Where is the cave?
Where the wise woman went
And tell me where,
Where's all that money that I spent?
I propose a toast to my self control
You see it crawling helpless on the floor

Someday there'll be a cure for pain
That's the day I throw my drugs away
When they find a cure for pain
When they find a cure, find a cure for pain

washingtonpost.com

Connecticut: Poll Shows Lieberman Trailing Among Dems.

"Businessman Ned Lamont has edged into the lead over Sen. Joe Lieberman among Democrats most likely to vote in Connecticut's Aug. 8 primary, according to an independent poll released today.
Senate Candidate Ned Lamont
Ned Lamont speaks at a public gathering July 11 in Stamford. (Photo by Getty Images)

Lamont leads 51 percent to 47 percent in the Quinnipiac University survey -- a huge swing from a June poll conducted by Quinnipiac that showed Lieberman leading Lamont 55 percent to 40 percent among likely Democratic primary voters. The new poll shows Lamont with a wide lead among self-identified liberals (67 percent to 32 percent), while Lieberman leads among moderate/conservative voters by a 59 percent to 39 percent margin.

Fifty-six percent of the sample said Lieberman deserved reelection, but his numbers on that question were higher among Republicans (68 percent said he should be reelected) than Democrats (51 percent). Among likely Democratic primary voters, 46 percent felt the incumbent deserved another term while 45 percent said he did not.

The vast majority of voters (79 percent) told polltakers that their mind was made up on a candidate; 77 percent of Lieberman supporters and 81 percent of Lamont supporters said they would not even contemplate switching candidates between now and August 8."

Will Barbara Boxer continue to support Lieberman
on August 9 if this poll is correct?

Casey:

I loved what TRex said last night in Late night Firedoglake. Here is a man so out of his depth that he was trying to do everything in his power to make HIMSELF comfortable. Forget about how other people feel or their sensibilities or even sense of private space. He was doing this to give HIMSELF confidence while internally he's spinning out of control.

The bully was nervous, insecure, over-matched and scared. All Hail the leader of the free world.

My hair still hurts.

Will Barbara Boxer continue to support Lieberman
on August 9 if this poll is correct?

Posted by: Ira at July 20, 2006 12:21 PM

Ira:

My gut tells me Boxer will support the Democratic nominee. Right now, if there's any support for Lieberman in her, it could be payback for past support.

You know my gut is in direct conflict with my belief in magical thinking that Boxer has awakened to what CT Democrats are feeling, and what the netroots were trying to tell her in June: Joe's a loser. Let's hope she listens. I've been blasting her office with e-mails about this this last month.

Hopefully, that will end once CT voters

Hopefully, that will end once CT voters

Posted by: Fe at July 20, 2006 12:39 PM

I meant to continue with:

The disarray Lieberman's campaign is in is probably upsetting to most of his long-time colleagues in the Senate, where I guess loyalty is stronger than party politics. Hopefully, that will end once CT voters make their choice.

Fe,

He may have been feeling overmatched and scared.

I have to wonder, though, if he just isn't acting "normally", and doesn't have the first clue that he is coming across as crass, and rude.

My take, besides wondering if he just doesn't understand that his manners are very much lacking, is that it looks like the leaders may get together and do alot of social things during these kinds of meetings.

Kind of reminds me of how people will act in a job place/office when they know no outside customers are there....they get relaxed and may talk about the customers in a crass way, but then it's all business when the customers come in.

I have been known to draw a picture of a scarey looking person with her hair standing straight on her head, with crossed eyes too, and show it to collegues while dealing with an angry customer on the other end of the line.

What particularly bothers me about this is that innocent people are dying everywhere and these world leaders appear to be chummy with each other, (very familiar shall we say), and not very business oriented. I hope they got some business done.

Posted by: dwahzon at July 20, 2006 11:45 AM

So much for freedom of speech.

What the heck is that all about? Can you imagine the government telling you that you aren't allowed to talk to someone? I don't care where you are living.

Obviously - they are afraid people will say how incompetent they are, i.e. all the empty trailers.

How low can you go?

monkey, you reminded me of this from the Police:

King of Pain

There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top
There's a flag-pole rag and the wind won't stop

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

There's a little black spot on the sun today
(That's my soul up there)
It's the same old thing as yesterday
(That's my soul up there)
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top
(That's my soul up there)
There's a flag-pole rag and the wind won't stop
(That's my soul up there)

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

There's a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall
(That's my soul up there)
There's a dead salmon frozen in a waterfall
(That's my soul up there)
There's a blue whale beached by a springtide's ebb
(That's my soul up there)
There's a butterfly trapped in a spider's web
(That's my soul up there)

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

There's a king on a throne with his eyes torn out
There's a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt
There's a rich man sleeping on a golden bed
There's a skeleton choking on a crust of bread

King of pain

There's a red fox torn by a huntsman's pack
(That's my soul up there)
There's a black-winged gull with a broken back
(That's my soul up there)
There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

king of pain
king of pain
king of pain
I'll always be king of pain...

monkey keeps it going, commerical free...

Love Hurts
by Nazareth

Love hurts, love scars,
Love wounds, and marks,
Any heart, not tough,
Or strong, enough
To take a lot of pain,
Take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud
Holds a lot of rain
Love hurts, ooh ooh love hurts

Im young, I know,
But even so
I know a thing, or two
I learned, from you
I really learned a lot,
Really learned a lot
Love is like a flame
It burns you when its hot
Love hurts, ooh ooh love hurts

Some fools think of happiness
Blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves I guess
Theyre not foolin me

I know it isnt true,
I know it isnt true
Love is just a lie,
Made to make you blue
Love hurts, ooh,ooh love hurts
Ooh,ooh love hurts

[guitar solo aka thinking time]

I know it isnt true,
I know it isnt true
Love is just a lie,
Made to make you blue
Love hurts, ooh ooh love hurts
Ooh ooh love hurts
Ooh ooh...

Coming out of the fog?

VIDEO - Matthews, Buchanan slam neocons for Mideast 'warmongering'

David Edwards
Published: Thursday July 20, 2006

Appearing on MSNBC, conservative pundit Pat Buchanan -- along with MSNBC host Chris Matthews -- slammed neoconservatives for what Buchanan described as Mideast 'warmongering' surrounding the crisis in Lebanon.

In his latest column, Buchanan also said that the Bush administration's unwavering support for Israel, as it imposes "deliberate suffering on civilians" and "collective punishment on innocent people" through its attacks on Lebanon, is "un-American and un-Christian."

more, with video:

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/VIDEO__Matthews_Buchanan_Slam_Neocons_0720.html

Posted by: monkey at July 20, 2006 01:57 PM

Variation on a theme...(and also the processional song in our wedding)

You love her
But she loves him
And he loves somebody else
You just can't win
And so it goes
Till the day you die
This thing they call love
It's gonna make you cry
I've had the blues
The reds and the pinks
One thing for sure

(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

Two by two and side by side
Love's gonna find you yes it is
You just can't hide
You'll hear it call
Your heart will fall
Then love will fly
It's gonna soar
I don't care for any casanova thing
All I can say is
Love stinks

Don't worry about Matthews and that imbicile Buchannan. Just as soon as they blast the right they go back to the drawing board with them,over and over again!!

This just struck me as funny, the only applause line that Bush got today at his NAACP speech:

One of Bush's biggest applause lines, this one unintentional, came when he said: "I understand that many African Americans distrust my political party."

dah

Working so very little time to peruse news but did see a Pew survey about bloggers (concentrating mostly on the "social" blogging of the under-30s, such as on "My Space" - didn't cover much about political blogs). Also saw an article about how quickly the internet responds, as when Bush groped Merkel unexpectedly or Ted Stevens calls the internet "a bunch of tubes."
Also noticed that someone yelled out to Bush during his speech to the NAACP to stop being a "step-n-fetch-it" for Cheney!

The reason Buchanon is always antiwar is because he is an isolationist. It's part of his program - doesn't like to spend money because he's very fiscally conservative, so that rules out global empire building. His program is also anti-immigrant. He's a mixed bag but a paleocon not a neocon. He therefore knows how they think. I don't think he's an imbecile exactly - some of his articles are lucid but very biased according to his long-established frame of mind. He sees through his own filter.

Buchanan has also been a bit of an antiSemite so he will criticize. That said, am reading closely what Kofi Annan says, & the world community, & what effect, if any, meeting with Annan & others will have on Condi's outlook (if any). I hope that at least some of it will boil down to an international consensus for avoiding unnecessary civilian deaths. I think that part has already been botched.

I'll save NonnyO the trouble:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | Democracy in Crisis
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006A.shtml
In an interview with Brad Friedman (of BradBlog), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explains
that "the Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, has been using
old-fashioned, Jim Crow, apartheid-type maneuvers to steal the last two national
elections."

Bush's Vision, and the Region, Near Collapse
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006B.shtml
The Bush administration's notion that toppling Saddam Hussein would stabilize a
turbulent region is among the casualties of this week's Middle East carnage.
Bush must now battle the perception, certainly throughout the Arab world, that
he has embarked on a policy of failure.

The Boston Globe | Bush Pulls Plug on Eavesdropping Probe
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006C.shtml
"Now it turns out that President Bush himself blocked an internal Justice
Department inquiry into the administration's decision to eavesdrop on domestic
phone calls without a warrant from a judge, as required by a 1978 law. The
short-circuiting of that investigation makes it all the more important that
Congress mandate full judicial review of the program's legality," writes the
Boston Globe.

Specter Caves to White House Demands on NSA Bill
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006D.shtml
After months of negotiations with other lawmakers and Bush administration
officials, Specter announced a "compromise" agreement last Thursday. But critics
- some of whom are challenging the National Security Agency's (NSA) spying
program in court - say the proposal is a "sham" that eliminates Congressional
oversight over the executive branch and any meaningful legal review of the
program.

Thousands Flee as Iraq Violence Deepens
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006E.shtml
Iraq's most powerful religious authority, Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani,
joined the United Nations and US officials in raising the alarm over a spike in
bloodshed and a form of ethnic cleansing he called "campaigns of displacement."

Bush to Maneuver Around Supreme Court Decision Adhering to Geneva Conventions
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006F.shtml
Bush will soon formally propose a tribunal structure to try terrorism suspects
with only minor changes from the military commissions that were ruled
unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court last month.

Somali Militia Plans to Seize Government Base
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006G.shtml
The Islamic militiamen holding most of southern Somalia deployed hundreds of
fighters outside the base of the UN-backed interim government Wednesday and said
they planned to seize it.

J. Sri Raman | Bid to Make 7/11 India's 9/11
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006H.shtml
"After the United States' 9/11 and Britain's 7/7 comes India's 7/11," writes J.
Sri Raman. "That is how powerful sections of opinion-makers are trying to
project the two series of bomb blasts that shook India on July 11, claiming a
combined toll of about 210 human lives."

Bill Moyers: Faith & Reason | Richard Rodriguez, Sir John Houghton
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006I.shtml
Why would two devout Christians cling to their faith despite their doubt? On
Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason, author Richard Rodriguez and scientist Sir John
Houghton take viewers deep into their personal beliefs and questions about their
own faith.

Republicans - against math and science - putting our country at the bottom of the list of industrial nations in math and science.

thoughts?

Posted by: Carol at July 20, 2006 10:23 AM

Right on. Keep on repeating!

Interesting action by the governors of Illinois & California, exercising states rights...

Illinois' governor announced Thursday he was diverting $5 million from the state budget for stem cell research, despite repeated objections from state legislators.

The move came a day after President Bush vetoed federal legislation that would have expanded funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Illinois lawmakers have previously voted down stem cell funding over ideological differences, and this spring they didn't take up the governor's proposal for $100 million in funding over five years.

"Investing in research that can save lives and prevent serious illnesses is more than a sound public health strategy, it's our moral obligation," Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, said in a statement Thursday.
http://cbs2chicago.com/health/local_story_201132927.html

SACRAMENTO -- A day after President Bush vetoed expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday authorized a $150 million loan to fund California's stem cell institute, which has been stalled by lawsuits.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican who has been trying to put distance between himself and the unpopular president as he seeks re-election this year, said the state cannot afford to wait to fund the critical science associated with stem cells.

"I remain committed to advancing stem cell research in California, in the promise it holds for millions of our citizens who suffer from chronic diseases and injuries that could be helped as a result of stem cell research," Schwarzenegger said in a letter to his finance director.

The state's voters created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in 2004 when they passed a ballot measure that authorized $3 billion over 10 years for stem cell research.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Schwarzen...

Gov. Mark Warner is asking for signatures on a petition to Congress to override the veto on stem cell research. Please consider signing this.

President Bush vetoed legislation yesterday— his first ever use of the presidential veto — that would help to unlock the potential of stem-cell research that could change the lives of millions of Americans with potentially curable diseases.

As with so many Americans, this issue is personal for me. I have a daughter with juvenile diabetes and a mother with Alzheimer’s disease. These are among the host of diseases for which stem cell research could produce a cure.

In the Bush administration, politics has trumped science: on climate change, alternative energy research, and on medical advancement that could save lives. This country needs an administration that believes in science and brings hope to the many Americans and their families suffering from these horrible diseases. Please join me in asking Congress to overturn President Bush's veto. Sign the petition today.

http://www.forwardtogetherpac.com/contact/petition

UN Chief Calls for Cease-Fire
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006R.shtml
Secretary General Kofi Annan called today for an immediate end to hostilities
between Israel and Lebanon, saying it was necessary to prevent further deaths of
civilians, enable aid to reach the injured and work to begin on longer term
peace.

Israel Hints at Full-Scale Invasion
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006S.shtml
Israeli troops met fierce resistance from Hezbollah guerrillas Thursday as they
crossed into Lebanon to seek tunnels and weapons for a second straight day, and
Israel hinted at a full-scale invasion.

NOW | Israel Versus Hezbollah
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072006U.shtml
Can America help pull the Middle East back from the brink? This time on NOW.

NPR right now has an interesting guest living in US for 6 years but formerly from Lebanon- talking about the different angles of the problem - Terry Gross "Fresh Air"

Thanks for the stem stell related info - will follow up, sign petition etc. (just home from work)

Excuses excuses

No excuses for cluster bombs

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5201622.stm

Pastor says Syria should be attacked

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/072006/TRI_BAECT8RP.007.shtml

What is up with Cheney & Rice getting foreign policy from some minister? This seems really wierd to me. Or maybe it's just me.

This is getting so wierd. I heard on NPR last night (guy who wrote book on Islam) - only 15% of the Muslim world is Shiite. The only mostly Shiite countries are Iran, Azerbhajan, Bahrain. Iraq was 60% Shiite and 40% Sunni under Saddam but the Sunnis controlled - he was overthrown. Now looks like the Prime Minister of Iraq is Shiite & he forcefully denounced what Israel is doing. So we have installed a Shiite government in Iraq (mostly)- is this an improvement? Is this consistent with supporting Israel's fight against Shiites?! I am confused.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0607200241jul20,1,6181029.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
Breaking with U.S., Iraq jabs at Israel

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New York Times News Service

July 20, 2006

BAGHDAD -- Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday denounced the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, marking a sharp break with President Bush's position and highlighting the growing power of a Shiite Muslim identity across the Middle East.

"The Israeli attacks and air strikes are completely destroying Lebanon's infrastructure," al-Maliki said at a news conference inside the fortified Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and the seat of the Iraqi government.

"I condemn these aggressions and call on the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo to take quick action to stop these aggressions. We call on the world to take quick stands to stop the Israeli aggression."

The U.S. Embassy did not respond.

The comments by al-Maliki, a Shiite Arab whose party has close ties to Iran, were noticeably stronger than those by Sunni Arab governments, which have refused to take an unequivocal stand on Lebanon, reflecting their concern about the growing influence of Iran, which has a Shiite majority.

A growing number of Iraqi officials have stepped forward in recent days to condemn Israel. On Sunday, in a rare show of unity, the 275-member parliament issued a statement calling the Israeli strikes an act of "criminal aggression."

The militant Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose followers play a crucial role in the government, said Friday that Iraqis would not "sit by with folded hands" while the violence in Lebanon raged. Sadr commands a powerful militia, the Mahdi Army.

Residents of some cities in the Shiite heartland of southern Iraq, including Kut and Basra, have taken to the streets to protest Israel's strikes.

What is up with Cheney & Rice getting foreign policy from some minister?
Posted by: DiAnne at July 20, 2006 09:51 PM

Why does this seem weird to you? Seems right in character with these low-life mofos.

Tell me how this makes them different then the terrorists?

Peace is the bomb.

Not only that, but Iran is Shiite as well...Need I say more...

I highly recommend that everyone read "The End of Iraq" by Peter Galbraith. I just started it and I'm fascinated. Right now, I'm reading about the Iranian/Iraqi history and how complicit the Reagan admin was in working both sides...and as a result, here we are today in the mess we're in...

On thread topic of touchy feely Shrub ...

http://www.rawstory.com/images/new/bushslapsgreen.jpg

Caption": BUSH 'PLAYFULLY' slaps Rep. Al Green at NAACP convention.

This article goes into some depth on how Bush may be thinking about foreign policy vis a vis the middle east. It may be reassuring to some - not to this citizen.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072001907.html

In Mid-east Strife, Bush Sees A Step to Peace

How bloody arrogant of him to think that his administration can solve problems in the ME that have been going on for over 2000 years... And especially with his track record for "solving problems"... Absolute crap.

Back to the stem cell discussion...Jon Stewart RE: "snowflake babies":

No two are alike and they're all white...

And now for something slightly different but a needed perspective, nonetheless; from the Zimbabwean Pundit, hattip to RawStory

Indictment of the world

The past week's events in the Middle East have confirmed Zimbabwean's fears that in eyes of the world some lives are intrinsically more valuable than others. And we now know without a doubt that our lives, those of millions of Zimbabweans ravaged by years of misrule and the extinction of democracy in our homeland, are less valuable than those of the Israeli people.

You see it has become apparent that Zimbabweans are on the opposite end of the global totem pole than the Israelis. How else are supposed to process the reality that: it has taken the death of less than 50 Israelis (in this latest episode of longranging dispute) to garner global media attention and bring diplomatic initiatives around the globe to a virtual standstill.

Less than 50 deaths, and every major media outlet across the USA and Western Europe has been fixated on the crisis. All the major bulletins, front page headlines, and syndicated commentators are focused on the crisis. Most if not all have sent their most capable and prominent personnel to report live. Incessantly returning viewers to check on new developments throughout the day (and night), the media are crooning over the crisis with the devotion like that of a physician to a patient in extremis.

It is a global crisis. And less than 50 deaths is all it has taken.

read the rest here...
http://zimpundit.blogspot.com/2006/07/indictment-of-world.html

Union of Concerned Scientists

http://www.ucsusa.org/

Dwahzon
Good point! (11:18)

dwahzon,

Jon Stewart did a piece on that very issue tonight- comparing the stem cell issue and Bush claiming every "life" is sacred, to him saying at the podium a while back that about 30,000 iraqis had been killed in the war.

Unused emryos are sacred life, but actual living iraqis - not so much.

also included was the quote madame mentioned above. The whole thing was right on the money.

Colbert just had a good bit with the pres. of the NAACP regarding Bush's speech today.

Clearly no love lost there. Hopefully the link will be up soon.

Posted by: DiAnne at July 20, 2006 06:55 PM

Thanks! :-)

Also, it's been mentioned today that the veto of the stem cell bill without the votes to override it was mutually beneficial to neoCons (well, okay, the news said republicans). The Cretin vetoed the vote, but even those who would normally have voted against it voted for it (Hello, Fristy-Boy)... and in the campaigns the 'Cons can say they voted for something 70% of the population of this nation supports, but there's "nothing they can do" against the veto when they don't have enough votes in either house of Congress to over-ride the veto. Another suggested that since it doesn't forbid private research that (yup, you guessed it) corporations will benefit from it. The veto apparently really only means that taxpayer money won't be spent on stem cell research. (All kinds of issues there, including intellectual property rights laws; they're trying to do that with DNA sequencing.)

I smell a back room deal between all those stinkin' corporate rat finks....

Posted by Casey Morris at July 20, 2006 06:24 AM

I cringe in shame every time I see those four pictures, especially the one where Merkel throws her hands up to rid herself of The Cretin's touch. I've reacted the same when people have come up behind me and done something similar or the same. That action of throwing up the hands is to ward off the evil touch that was unsolicited and unwanted.

You are so right... if it had been Clinton the press would still be showing the pictures, the few seconds of the sound byte and proclaiming it evil and lots of other adjectives - and they'd be commenting on it on talking heads shows every Sunday for six weeks or longer. But it's the "christian" - the moral ayatollah - who is given a free pass for reprehensible frat-boy behavior, and no one is commenting on it.

Disgusting beyond my ability to put into words.... The thing about talking with his mouth full and chomping on his food with an open mouth was bad enough (had to grab a barf bucket to witness that bit of bad manners... eeeoowww), but to be so familiar - in public - as to call world leaders by their first names or nicknames and not refer to them with respect by their titles when they called him 'Mr. President' was also shameful.

IMHO (for what it's worth) is that the entire world should shun Bu$hCo, that other nations should be called on to broker a peace deal in the Mideast, that none should volunteer to help The Cretin or anyone else in this country with Bu$hCo wars in Afghanistan and Iraq... but let the rest of the world continue on with some kind of common sense behavior and totally disregard Bu$hCo and not invite anyone from the US to help make peace in the rest of the world. Period. Until this administration is out of office, the rest of the world should shun the current US administration entirely....

Ah, also another commentary....

In-state snooze had an interview with MN Rep. Oberstar (D). I think I know why the neoCons have been SO predominant in this state with so MUCH negative campaigning in the last couple of years (which has, BTW, screwed up our state legislature because the fools voted to fund a baseball stadium and it's now in the works to fund a football stadium with tax dollars - all of which the majority of the people in this state did not want to happen, and Pawlenty, good neoCon 'Puke that he is, didn't veto the bill to fund the baseball stadium, even though he originally said he wouldn't support stadium funding - this tax-payer stadium funding debate has gone on for ten years, and all of a sudden this year everyone talked about it like it was a done deal... so it became a done deal after a formal vote, even though the majority of the residents of the state didn't want our very small surplus of money to be spent on stadiums, but on things like schools and roads, etc.)....

Minnesota is the nation's largest producer of ethanol which goes into E-85 gas.

Hmmmm..... Fill in the blanks for what kind of complications that will make if the neoCons win MN seats up for election this fall and in '08, and energy/fuel consumption in the future.... Dead-Eye Dick has already been in the state to raise campaign funds for the neoCons running for office, and I expect we'll see a lot more of the miserable creatures around this fall to campaign for the neoCons....

Is it 2008 yet?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/a-different-kind-of-three_b_25477.html
A Different Kind of Three-Way: Bill and Hillary Triangulate on Lieberman

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-hipp/2006/07/
Video: Stop This S___
[Don't be drinking or eating anything while listening to this!]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060720/sc_nm/energy_spain_plankton_dc
Spanish firm claims it can make oil from plankton

Earth faces 'catastrophic loss of species' :
Scientists say that the earth is on the verge of a biodiversity catastrophe and that only a global political initiative stands a chance of stemming the loss.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article1187003.ece

Letter from President Saddam Hussein to the American people.
By Saddam Hussein
People of America, it still seems to me that the officials in your government are still lying to you and are not giving you true explanations of the reasons that led them to embark on their aggression against Iraq.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14079.htm
{{{I wonder if this is real...?}}}

Blogging From The Belly Of Beirut

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/internet/0,71421-0.html?tw=wn_culture_3

Absolute crap.

Posted by: madame defarge at July 20, 2006 11:07 PM

Awww, does someone have PNAC envy? ;-)

Lebanon Calls For Help After Bloodiest Day
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2006/07/21/Foreign/cbleb.html

UN Post Hit
http://www.mwcsun.com/feeds/apcontent/apstories/apstorysection/D8J0CDC0J.xml.txt/resources_apstoryview

Israel calls up thousands of reserves, prepares for full-scale ground assault, rejects call for cease-fire. Helicopters crash.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/21/africa/web.0721mideast.php
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.GebCQzNbUY&refer=worldwide_news
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=b9c0467c-7473-43ec-8479-1bc4b8b49f20&k=36597

Reporter: Beirut is 360 Degrees of Devastation
http://www.kirotv.com/news/9553457/detail.html
Hezbollah Hits Haifa
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5965924,00.html
Lebanon warns Army could join Hezbollah
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1693012.htm

The fighting has been going on for ten days.
Israel carving out new buffer zone.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=b9c0467c-7473-43ec-8479-1bc4b8b49f20&k=36597
Palestinians still being killed as well.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2146442.htm

Who can we call on? John Bolten?!!

RFK JR. BLOWS THE WHISTLE ON DIEBOLD
John Ireland, In These Times
The environmental lawyer-turned voting-rights advocate has found Diebold employees who may link the company to election fraud.
http://www.alternet.org/story/39152/

OHIO'S COMING ELECTORAL MELTDOWN
Andrew Gumbel, The Nation
Ohio is once again the most likely candidate for another election debacle in the November general elections.
http://www.alternet.org/story/39151/

WILL FUTURE DOCTORS BE FORCED TO TEACH ABSTINENCE?
Myra Batchelder, Choice! Magazine
The Bush administration has funded an evangelical anti-sex group to develop the sexual health curriculum for medical students.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/39285/

DON'T LET THE NEOCONS CALL IT A 'WAR ON TERROR'
Joshua Holland, AlterNet
If we don't challenge the 'terror' narrative, the war cheerleaders may just get the existential Clash of Civilizations they've spent decades working for.
http://www.alternet.org/story/39235/

WILL FUTURE DOCTORS BE FORCED TO TEACH ABSTINENCE?
Myra Batchelder, Choice! Magazine
The Bush administration has funded an evangelical anti-sex group to develop the sexual health curriculum for medical students.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/39285/

posted by nonnyO

Well I used to live in South Dakota in the '70s, when feminism was resurging. There was a study done at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, looking at sexual knowledge of students in various departments. The medical students scored the lowest. I can't imagine that things have changed much, in fact, may have gone backward. We lived next door to the Medical School & I'd use the copy machine there. I learned that medical students did things like photocopied their butts.

Posted by: monkey at July 21, 2006 09:02 AM

I'm allergic to PNACs...

In Mideast Strife, Bush Sees a Step To Peace

By Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 21, 2006; A01

President Bush's unwillingness to pressure Israel to halt its military campaign in Lebanon is rooted in a view of the Middle East conflict that is sharply different from that of his predecessors.

When hostilities have broken out in the past, the usual U.S. response has been an immediate and public bout of diplomacy aimed at a cease-fire, in the hopes of ensuring that the crisis would not escalate. This week, however, even in the face of growing international demands, the White House has studiously avoided any hint of impatience with Israel. While making it plain it wants civilian casualties limited, the administration is also content to see the Israelis inflict the maximum damage possible on Hezbollah.

As the president's position is described by White House officials, Bush associates and outside Middle East experts, Bush believes that the status quo -- the presence in a sovereign country of a militant group with missiles capable of hitting a U.S. ally -- is unacceptable.

The U.S. position also reflects Bush's deepening belief that Israel is central to the broader campaign against terrorists and represents a shift away from a more traditional view that the United States plays an "honest broker's" role in the Middle East.

In the administration's view, the new conflict is not just a crisis to be managed. It is also an opportunity to seriously degrade a big threat in the region, just as Bush believes he is doing in Iraq. Israel's crippling of Hezbollah, officials also hope, would complete the work of building a functioning democracy in Lebanon and send a strong message to the Syrian and Iranian backers of Hezbollah.

"The president believes that unless you address the root causes of the violence that has afflicted the Middle East, you cannot forge a lasting peace," said White House counselor Dan Bartlett. "He mourns the loss of every life. Yet out of this tragic development, he believes a moment of clarity has arrived."

One former senior administration official said Bush is only emboldened by the pressure from U.N. officials and European leaders to lead a call for a cease-fire. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded yesterday that the fighting in Lebanon stop.

"He thinks he is playing in a longer-term game than the tacticians," said the former official, who spoke anonymously so he could discuss his views candidly. "The tacticians would say: 'Get an immediate cease-fire. Deal first with the humanitarian factors.' The president would say: 'You have an opportunity to really grind down Hezbollah. Let's take it, even if there are other serious consequences that will have to be managed.' "

more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072001907_pf.html

MIDEAST CRISIS THREATENS BUSH'S VACATION
August Ranch Stay in Jeopardy, President Says

The widening crisis in the Middle East took on graver proportions today when President George W. Bush indicated that if the hostilities continue they could threaten his traditional August vacation at his Crawford, Texas ranch.

At a press briefing at the White House, the president said that if Hezbollah continued their rocket attacks on Israel, he would see those attacks as "an assault on my vacation itself."

"Throughout the civilized world, my summer vacation has been considered sacrosanct," Mr. Bush told reporters. "The time has come for Hezbollah to recognize my vacation's right to exist."

If Mr. Bush seemed testier than usual at the White House briefing, perhaps it was because he has recently suspected that there is a global conspiracy to spoil his downtime, starting with North Korean President Kim Jong-Il's decision to launch six test missiles on the 4th of July.

"No one wrecks my vacations," Mr. Bush said with steely resolve. "Not on my watch."

While the President has been concerned about the escalating crisis in the Middle East, he has reportedly been even more troubled by the situation on his ranch, where clumps of brush have been growing out of control all summer.

Mr. Bush has set a firm August 1 deadline for returning to his ranch to deal with the brush, and he said today that he expects Hezbollah to abide by that deadline.

"If August 1 comes and goes and I am not clearing that brush, Hezbollah will have hell to pay," Mr. Bush said.

Elsewhere, actress Pamela Anderson and singer Kid Rock have announced plans to marry, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

(courtesy Alan Castle, Seattle)

White House urges patience on Mideast
Bush's spokesman warns against ‘egg-timer diplomacy’

Updated: 2 hours, 5 minutes ago

(AP)WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is working hard to end violence in the Mideast and criticism of its measured response is coming from people who want “egg-timer diplomacy,” the chief White House spokesman said Friday.

“Nobody has been more active than we have,” said Tony Snow, defending administration policy amid continuing U.S. opposition to a quick cease-fire without built-in steps for longer-term stability in both Israel and Lebanon.

Making the rounds of the morning network news shows a day after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice went to the United Nations to confer with counterparts, Snow said most of the peacemaking efforts have been behind the scenes.

Continuing violence
Meanwhile, Israel resumed airstrikes Friday and prepared for a possible ground invasion, warning people in the south to flee.

The Israeli army said Hezbollah rockets hit a U.N. post near Zarit, just inside Israel, but a U.N. officer said it was an artillery shell fired by the Israeli Defense Force. The facility was severely damaged, but nobody was injured as the Ghanian troops manning the post were inside bomb shelters at the time of the strike, the U.N. official said.

Asked on NBC’s “Today” show whether Washington was trying to discourage Israel from any notion of a ground invasion, he replied: “We have not been doing military collaboration or planning with the Israelis. But what we have been doing instead is urging the Israelis to use restraint.”

Snow reiterated that the United States is concerned about the survival of the government in Lebanon. At the same time, the administration has been trying to limit expectations for a trip Rice plans to the Mideast, saying she will not shuttle among capitals to broker a deal.

“You’re not going to see a return to the kind of diplomacy, I think, that we’ve seen before where you try to negotiate an end to the violence that leaves the parties in place and where you have status quo ante,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday.

Cease-fire questions
Administration officials also questioned whether a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah is even feasible.

“We’d love to have a cease-fire,” Snow had said Thursday. “But Hezbollah has to be part of it. And at this point, there’s no indication that Hezbollah intends to lay down arms.”

On Friday, he urged patience with the administration’s methodical approach.

“The people who are talking about too little, too late, they may not be keeping the diplomatic scorecard,” Snow told NBC.

“Everybody who wants this kind of egg-timer diplomacy, who thinks, OK these things ought to happen quickly, you don’t understand human nature,” he added. “Terrorists are not going to say, ’You know, that’s right, I’m going to pick another career.’ “

“Many times, they’re going to fight to their death, and we hope that doesn’t happen in Lebanon.”

“Hezbollah started this. Hezbollah acted as an occupying force in southern Lebanon,” Snow said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.

“The finger has to be pointed at Hezbollah. The fact is that Hezbollah is the aggressor in this case.”

“We’d like to have cessation of violence immediately,” he said,” but there is a need “to address the root cause of the problem. If you just try to paper it over, the situation is going to flare up again and it’s likely to get worse.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13968780/