Saudis reportedly funding Iraqi Sunni insurgents
Tag Archives: World
Buttle
Gonzales received another report of an NSL-related violation a few weeks later. “A national security letter . . . contained an incorrect phone number” that resulted in agents collecting phone information that “belonged to a different U.S. person” than the suspect under investigation, stated a letter copied to the attorney general on May 6, 2005.
At least two other reports of NSL-related violations were sent to Gonzales, according to the new documents. In letters copied to him on Dec. 11, 2006, and Feb. 26, 2007, the FBI reported to the oversight board that agents had requested and obtained phone data on the wrong people.
Megiddo
Smoke billows 30,000 feet above Pioneertown, as fires burn towards the dead forests of the San Bernardino mountains.
And World War III starts heating up.
Could be a long summer.
Flat
I want to take note of happy clowns like Jonah Goldberg.
“The earth is flat,” he hollers from around his rubber nose. “And even if it’s not, what about the profits? For God’s sake, won’t somebody think of the profits???”
“Global warming will be fun!” he hollers. And spring-loaded snakes pop from his ears while he dances a merry profit jig.
Viva Bush
Courtesy of Media Matters.:
CNN anchor Jack Cafferty:
The Mexican flag has become a source of irritation to a lot of Americans during the immigration debate that’s heating up in this country. Carried as a source of pride by demonstrators, the idea could backfire.
Weekly Standard executive editor Fred Barnes:
And that was that huge demonstration in Los Angeles yesterday where many, many people were waving Mexican flags. That just alienates Americans and will only further anger the anti-immigrant forces.
Eponymous pundit-borg Lou Dobbs:
I don’t think that we should have any flag flying in this country except the flag of the United States.
Grave-robbing baby-killer Robert Novak:
[B]randishing the Mexican flag signals divided loyalty or perhaps loyalty to a foreign power.
George W. Bush on his 2004 presidential campaign:
Displacement
What’s the second cutest thing about bloodthirsty worshipers of the God-King of War? They think you’re crazy. You’re crazy because you’re somehow linked with Them. THEM! They who oppose! Strange but true. There’s no explaining the dark mysteries of conservative psychology….
What’s the cutest thing about bloodthirsty worshipers of the God-King of War?
Author vs Narrator
Arnold Schwarzenegger held a conciliatory news conference (and his now disembodied ass) where he expressed regret for blowing at least $40 million in public money, hundreds of millions in private money, months of everyone’s time, all for a special election that has instantly converted him into a gristle-bound lame duck.
“If I were to do another Terminator movie, I would have the Terminator travel back in time to tell Arnold not to have a special election.”
The confusing thing: who exactly is the “I” in that sentence?
More importantly: who is the “governor”?
Episode V
“So you’re swordfighting Scooter Libby.”
“What kinda swords?”
“Epeé? No wait — sabre.”
“Nuh-uh. Rapier.”
“Fine. So you’re swordfighting Scooter. His bejeweled rapier has an evil oily sheen on the blade — one nick means slow death!”
“That fucker.”
“But after a long struggle, you finally get him backed into an ornate grotto in the basement of the Executive Office Building.”
“He can’t maneuver so well cause of his broken foot.”
“Right. You see your opening.”
“Lunge!”
“You lunge! He waves one of his crutches at you — a futile gesture. He is skewered.”
“Scooter kabob.”
“His sword arm is pinned behind him against a life-size marble mermaid. He drops the weapon and falls to his knees. He looks up at you, helpless.”
“As I give the blade a gentle twist.”
“And gasping in pain, he gives you that sorta come closer last words kinda motion. So you lean in to hear what he has to say — ”
“The secret identity of Officer X no doubt…”
” — and he suddenly plunges a tiny dagger towards your neck!”
“What kind?”
“One of those little triangular ones that you can hide in your boot. The kind with the sideways handle and the blade sticking out between your knuckles, so you can conceal it in your hand and then punch someone in the eye with it.”
“That’s my Scooter.”
“So he plunges a tiny dagger towards your neck. You catch the movement out of the corner of your eye, and dodge just enough so that he misses your jugular — ”
“Yes!”
” — but the blade gets buried deep in the meat of your trapezoid.”
“Well fuck… So then what happens?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Aw, man. That’s bullshit.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh well. Empire was the best Star Wars movie. Maybe I get a robot shoulder.”
Slow Fade
The case against Libby is strong. The trial will bring more focus on the Iraq lies. The investigation against Rove continues. Long forgotten details like the Niger forgery now get close attention. Conservative politics… criminalization…
Once it spring leaks, it can take a long time for a huge ship to sink. Tilting slowly into the water at a sickly angle, until in begins to dive under, it’s fat metal ass lifting into the air, propeller pointing at the heavens, unholy and doomed.
Until finally — at long last — nothing is left of the entire majestic edifice except a debris-filled froth and a field of floating corpses.
Complete Disaster
Yesterday, Josh Marshall regarding the proposed $260 billion aid package to the Gulf:
This will be Iraq all over again, with the same fetid mix of graft, zeal and hubris. Cronyism like you wouldn’t believe. Money blown on ideological fantasies and half-baked test-cases.
You could come up with a hundred reasons why that’s true. But at root intentions drive all. You’ll never separate this operation or its results from the fact that the people in charge see it as a political operation. The use of this money for political purposes, for what amounts to a political campaign, tells you everything you need to know about what’s coming.
Today, in the New York Times:
Republicans said Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff and Mr. Bush’s chief political adviser, was in charge of the reconstruction effort, which reaches across many agencies of government…
After four and a half years of this shit, the only constant seems to be that it can always get worse.
