Friday, April 29, 2005
Press Conference by the smirking one, Our Embarrassment.
I learned some things. I didn’t know that Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan…all failed to develop an energy policy, but that Junior has done so. Also picked up that he’s been a victimized outsider-observer of the disappointing mean-spirited tone in D.C.
Other: They propose: Social Security benefits to be cut, aside from the cuts from privatization. Bone thrown to poor- yours will be cut less. Also: Bolton’s great, we’re making progress in Iraq, etc. Press corps: polite
Budget: The House passed theirs. Cuts $10 billion from Medicaid, as we don’t have the dough. But, we did have enough cash to fork over another $106 billion in tax cuts. Makes sense. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-budget29apr29,0,660387,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Bolton: Support fading, so it necessitates other strategies. Here’s one:
Republican lawmakers are considering bringing John Bolton's nomination as United Nations ambassador to a full Senate vote whether or not the Foreign Relations Committee approves him -- another sign of White House determination to fight for the controversial nominee.
Several Republican staffers said momentum has shifted in Mr. Bolton's favor because of a concerted administration campaign to solidify support for him before the Senate adjourns for a week tomorrow. Vice President Dick Cheney, Bush advisor Karl Rove and Mr. Bolton himself have lobbied individual senators.
Privately, several lawmakers acknowledged concerns that Mr. Bolton could be rejected by the foreign-relations panel. That committee delayed a vote on him last week after some Republican members asked for more time to study accusations that he bullied subordinates and exaggerated intelligence assessments. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111464601996618962,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
Abu Ghraib: As we know, not the only example of abuse / torture. Human Rights Watch summarizes and characterizes Abu Ghraib as “the tip of an iceberg.”
The crimes at Abu Ghraib are part of a larger pattern of abuses against Muslim detainees around the world, Human Rights Watch said on the eve of the April 28 anniversary of the first pictures of U.S. soldiers brutalizing prisoners at the Iraqi jail. Human Rights Watch released a summary of evidence of U.S. abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as well as of the programs of secret CIA detention, "extraordinary renditions," and "reverse renditions."
"Abu Ghraib was only the tip of the iceberg," said Reed Brody, special counsel for Human Rights Watch. "It's now clear that abuse of detainees has happened all over-from Afghanistan to Guantánamo Bay to a lot of third-country dungeons where the United States has sent prisoners. And probably quite a few other places we don't even know about."
Human Rights Watch called this week for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the culpability of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and ex-CIA Director George Tenet, as well as Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, formerly the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the former commander of the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in cases of crimes against detainees. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/0a95a728282ef1cf141236fe2b3827fb.htm
What’s Happening, Iraq: New Government. The laughing stock, Ahmad Chalabi, is in!
Mr. Chalabi, a former Pentagon favorite who helped make the case for invading Iraq, may be the most controversial figure in the new Iraqi administration. He is widely disliked in Iraq, particularly among Sunnis, who have been angered by his campaign to oust former Baathists from government.
His new perch could help him carry out that agenda, particularly with an ally as the new head of Iraq's Interior Ministry, Bayan Salagh, who belongs to a Shiite political party that shares Dr. Chalabi's anti-Baathist agenda. Many of Iraq's critical anti-terrorist battalions are based in the Interior Ministry, and members of Mr. Salagh's party have sworn to purge some of the former Baathists who are among the top commanders there.
Dr. Chalabi has also been named as temporary head of the oil ministry until a full-time minister can be found. That appointment could raise alarms in light of Dr. Chalabi's conviction in Jordan on charges that he embezzled $30 million from a Jordanian bank. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/28/international/middleeast/28cnd-iraq.html?position=&ei=5094&en=b451f614b9e12620&hp=&ex=1114747200&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1114697063-fEfyOWzo5luoT6lAFONbfA
What’s Happening, Venezuela: Chavez thumbs his nose. Keeping track...
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will visit Cuba on Thursday to discuss bilateral relations with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The populist Venezuelan president's latest trip to the communist nation comes at a time of increasing strain with the United States.
During his visit to Havana, President Chavez plans to discuss energy and trade issues with Mr. Castro, but the two leftist leaders are likely to also team up in condemning U.S. policy.
In particular, President Chavez has taunted President Bush over the asylum appeal of Luis Posada Carriles, who is wanted in Venezuela in connection with the bombing of a Cuban passenger plane in 1973 that killed 73 people.
Posada Carriles is currently in the United States seeking asylum, after having been released from prison in Panama where he was convicted of a plot to kill Fidel Castro at a summit held there in the year 2000.
President Chavez maintains that it would be hypocritical for President Bush to pardon a man convicted of terrorist acts, while at the same time carrying on a war against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. http://www.politinfo.com/articles/article_2005_04_27_1642.html
Kerry and 2008: Whither reality testing?
As Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and his wife prepare to visit Minneapolis on May 3, Sen. Mark Dayton said he has little doubt that Kerry is planning to run for president again in 2008.
When New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton attended the DFL Humphrey Day Dinner in Minneapolis less than two weeks ago, Dayton, D-Minn., told the crowd he hoped he was introducing "the next great president of the United States of America."
Two days later on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Dayton said Kerry approached him "with daggers in his eyes and said, 'What are you doing endorsing my 2008 presidential opponent?'... He was very serious."
Kerry's office disputes Dayton's account. David Wade, his spokesman, said "there was nothing but joshing on the Senate floor" between Dayton and Kerry, who have been friends for 35 years. http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5362878.html
Will DeLay get a fair hearing? Depends on what you call “fair”
All five Republicans on the House ethics committee have financial links to Tom DeLay that could raise conflict-of-interest issues should the panel investigate the GOP majority leader.
Public records show DeLay's leadership political action committee (PAC) gave $15,000 to the campaign of Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Pa. — $10,000 in 2000 and $5,000 in 2002. Hart would chair a panel to investigate DeLay if the committee moves forward with a probe.
The same political committee, Americans for a Republican Majority, also has donated to the campaigns of ethics Chairman Doc Hastings of Washington, Judy Biggert of Illinois and Tom Cole of Oklahoma. They are among scores of Republicans DeLay has contributed to. Cole and the remaining committee Republican, Lamar Smith of Texas, contributed to DeLay's legal defense fund. (Related link: Donations from Americans for Republican Majority)
Hart said there is no appearance problem. "That's just normal" for leaders to contribute to campaigns, she said. http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=USATODAY.com+-+Donations+link+DeLay%2C+ethics+panel&expire=&urlID=14039098&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fnews%2Fwashington%2F2005-04-26-delay-donations-ethics_x.htm&p
The lengths they go to: Republicans have gone into the Congressional record to rewrite Democrat proposals, ostensibly to make them look loony, crass, anti-American [values], etc.
The Republican-written rewrites, along with the Democratic description of the amendments, follows. RAW STORY has also learned that Republicans have not rewritten similar amendments in the past. A copy from the Congressional record in 2002 is included below, showing the "neutral" language used in a previous Congress.
The following amendments were offered and voted down by recorded votes in the Judiciary Committee markup of H.R. 748-The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA):
DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT
AMENDMENT DESCRIPTION IN HOUSE REPORT 109-51
DEMS: a Nadler amendment allows an adult who could be prosecuted under the bill to go to a Federal district court and seek a waiver to the state’s parental notice laws if this remedy is not available in the state court. (no 11-16)
GOP REWRITE:. Mr. Nadler offered an amendment that would have created an additional layer of Federal court review that could be used by sexual predators to escape conviction under the bill. By a roll call vote of 11 yeas to 16 nays, the amendment was defeated.
http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/gop_rewrites_dem_amendments_427.htm
Arnold: For all who feared the Constitution was about to be re-written so as to make him prez, his free-fall continues.
But in recent months, such talk has diminished considerably. Schwarzenegger showed during the recall that conventional politicians in a hurry-up campaign are no match for someone of his outsized personality. But governing has proven far different. He has been forced to pare back much of his second-year reform agenda. His poll numbers are sagging, and newly emboldened Democrats are challenging the governor at every turn. Now, the question is whether Schwarzenegger can make the transition from a cartoon-like character, all swagger and bluster, into a political leader capable of using his fame and considerable charm to achieve something lasting and meaningful. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0505.barabak.html
London Rail. Attention, those headed ‘overseas’. How far they’ve fallen
British commuters pay up to five times more than rail passengers on the Continent, a study has found.
While an annual season ticket from Hemel Hempstead to London costs £2,504 for a 23-mile journey, the equivalent would cost just £510 in Berlin.
Season tickets restricted to specific journeys within the South-east even cost considerably more than a permit to travel anywhere at any time throughout the Netherlands and Germany.
Off peak Travelcards come out no better, according to research conducted by the RMT rail union. For travel within a 15-mile radius from the centre of London the fare would about to £1,580, compared to within a 40-miles radius of Madrid at £510, Berlin (40-mile radius) at £829 and Paris (20-mile) at £950.
The news emerges after the Government announced price increases above the inflation rate. On some London commuter routes up to one out of every four trains runs late. It is also thought that further increases are in the pipeline. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/transport/story.jsp?story=634071
British Inequality. Sounds familiar
Thousands of people are dying prematurely in deprived inner cities as the gap between rich and poor in Britain widens. The difference in life expectancy between the poorest and most affluent parts of the country has grown to 11 years and is now more pronounced than in Victorian times, researchers say. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/story.jsp?story=634036
-R
I learned some things. I didn’t know that Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan…all failed to develop an energy policy, but that Junior has done so. Also picked up that he’s been a victimized outsider-observer of the disappointing mean-spirited tone in D.C.
Other: They propose: Social Security benefits to be cut, aside from the cuts from privatization. Bone thrown to poor- yours will be cut less. Also: Bolton’s great, we’re making progress in Iraq, etc. Press corps: polite
Budget: The House passed theirs. Cuts $10 billion from Medicaid, as we don’t have the dough. But, we did have enough cash to fork over another $106 billion in tax cuts. Makes sense. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-budget29apr29,0,660387,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Bolton: Support fading, so it necessitates other strategies. Here’s one:
Republican lawmakers are considering bringing John Bolton's nomination as United Nations ambassador to a full Senate vote whether or not the Foreign Relations Committee approves him -- another sign of White House determination to fight for the controversial nominee.
Several Republican staffers said momentum has shifted in Mr. Bolton's favor because of a concerted administration campaign to solidify support for him before the Senate adjourns for a week tomorrow. Vice President Dick Cheney, Bush advisor Karl Rove and Mr. Bolton himself have lobbied individual senators.
Privately, several lawmakers acknowledged concerns that Mr. Bolton could be rejected by the foreign-relations panel. That committee delayed a vote on him last week after some Republican members asked for more time to study accusations that he bullied subordinates and exaggerated intelligence assessments. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111464601996618962,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
Abu Ghraib: As we know, not the only example of abuse / torture. Human Rights Watch summarizes and characterizes Abu Ghraib as “the tip of an iceberg.”
The crimes at Abu Ghraib are part of a larger pattern of abuses against Muslim detainees around the world, Human Rights Watch said on the eve of the April 28 anniversary of the first pictures of U.S. soldiers brutalizing prisoners at the Iraqi jail. Human Rights Watch released a summary of evidence of U.S. abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as well as of the programs of secret CIA detention, "extraordinary renditions," and "reverse renditions."
"Abu Ghraib was only the tip of the iceberg," said Reed Brody, special counsel for Human Rights Watch. "It's now clear that abuse of detainees has happened all over-from Afghanistan to Guantánamo Bay to a lot of third-country dungeons where the United States has sent prisoners. And probably quite a few other places we don't even know about."
Human Rights Watch called this week for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the culpability of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and ex-CIA Director George Tenet, as well as Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, formerly the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the former commander of the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in cases of crimes against detainees. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/0a95a728282ef1cf141236fe2b3827fb.htm
What’s Happening, Iraq: New Government. The laughing stock, Ahmad Chalabi, is in!
Mr. Chalabi, a former Pentagon favorite who helped make the case for invading Iraq, may be the most controversial figure in the new Iraqi administration. He is widely disliked in Iraq, particularly among Sunnis, who have been angered by his campaign to oust former Baathists from government.
His new perch could help him carry out that agenda, particularly with an ally as the new head of Iraq's Interior Ministry, Bayan Salagh, who belongs to a Shiite political party that shares Dr. Chalabi's anti-Baathist agenda. Many of Iraq's critical anti-terrorist battalions are based in the Interior Ministry, and members of Mr. Salagh's party have sworn to purge some of the former Baathists who are among the top commanders there.
Dr. Chalabi has also been named as temporary head of the oil ministry until a full-time minister can be found. That appointment could raise alarms in light of Dr. Chalabi's conviction in Jordan on charges that he embezzled $30 million from a Jordanian bank. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/28/international/middleeast/28cnd-iraq.html?position=&ei=5094&en=b451f614b9e12620&hp=&ex=1114747200&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1114697063-fEfyOWzo5luoT6lAFONbfA
What’s Happening, Venezuela: Chavez thumbs his nose. Keeping track...
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will visit Cuba on Thursday to discuss bilateral relations with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The populist Venezuelan president's latest trip to the communist nation comes at a time of increasing strain with the United States.
During his visit to Havana, President Chavez plans to discuss energy and trade issues with Mr. Castro, but the two leftist leaders are likely to also team up in condemning U.S. policy.
In particular, President Chavez has taunted President Bush over the asylum appeal of Luis Posada Carriles, who is wanted in Venezuela in connection with the bombing of a Cuban passenger plane in 1973 that killed 73 people.
Posada Carriles is currently in the United States seeking asylum, after having been released from prison in Panama where he was convicted of a plot to kill Fidel Castro at a summit held there in the year 2000.
President Chavez maintains that it would be hypocritical for President Bush to pardon a man convicted of terrorist acts, while at the same time carrying on a war against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. http://www.politinfo.com/articles/article_2005_04_27_1642.html
Kerry and 2008: Whither reality testing?
As Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and his wife prepare to visit Minneapolis on May 3, Sen. Mark Dayton said he has little doubt that Kerry is planning to run for president again in 2008.
When New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton attended the DFL Humphrey Day Dinner in Minneapolis less than two weeks ago, Dayton, D-Minn., told the crowd he hoped he was introducing "the next great president of the United States of America."
Two days later on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Dayton said Kerry approached him "with daggers in his eyes and said, 'What are you doing endorsing my 2008 presidential opponent?'... He was very serious."
Kerry's office disputes Dayton's account. David Wade, his spokesman, said "there was nothing but joshing on the Senate floor" between Dayton and Kerry, who have been friends for 35 years. http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5362878.html
Will DeLay get a fair hearing? Depends on what you call “fair”
All five Republicans on the House ethics committee have financial links to Tom DeLay that could raise conflict-of-interest issues should the panel investigate the GOP majority leader.
Public records show DeLay's leadership political action committee (PAC) gave $15,000 to the campaign of Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Pa. — $10,000 in 2000 and $5,000 in 2002. Hart would chair a panel to investigate DeLay if the committee moves forward with a probe.
The same political committee, Americans for a Republican Majority, also has donated to the campaigns of ethics Chairman Doc Hastings of Washington, Judy Biggert of Illinois and Tom Cole of Oklahoma. They are among scores of Republicans DeLay has contributed to. Cole and the remaining committee Republican, Lamar Smith of Texas, contributed to DeLay's legal defense fund. (Related link: Donations from Americans for Republican Majority)
Hart said there is no appearance problem. "That's just normal" for leaders to contribute to campaigns, she said. http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=USATODAY.com+-+Donations+link+DeLay%2C+ethics+panel&expire=&urlID=14039098&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fnews%2Fwashington%2F2005-04-26-delay-donations-ethics_x.htm&p
The lengths they go to: Republicans have gone into the Congressional record to rewrite Democrat proposals, ostensibly to make them look loony, crass, anti-American [values], etc.
The Republican-written rewrites, along with the Democratic description of the amendments, follows. RAW STORY has also learned that Republicans have not rewritten similar amendments in the past. A copy from the Congressional record in 2002 is included below, showing the "neutral" language used in a previous Congress.
The following amendments were offered and voted down by recorded votes in the Judiciary Committee markup of H.R. 748-The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA):
DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT
AMENDMENT DESCRIPTION IN HOUSE REPORT 109-51
DEMS: a Nadler amendment allows an adult who could be prosecuted under the bill to go to a Federal district court and seek a waiver to the state’s parental notice laws if this remedy is not available in the state court. (no 11-16)
GOP REWRITE:. Mr. Nadler offered an amendment that would have created an additional layer of Federal court review that could be used by sexual predators to escape conviction under the bill. By a roll call vote of 11 yeas to 16 nays, the amendment was defeated.
http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/gop_rewrites_dem_amendments_427.htm
Arnold: For all who feared the Constitution was about to be re-written so as to make him prez, his free-fall continues.
But in recent months, such talk has diminished considerably. Schwarzenegger showed during the recall that conventional politicians in a hurry-up campaign are no match for someone of his outsized personality. But governing has proven far different. He has been forced to pare back much of his second-year reform agenda. His poll numbers are sagging, and newly emboldened Democrats are challenging the governor at every turn. Now, the question is whether Schwarzenegger can make the transition from a cartoon-like character, all swagger and bluster, into a political leader capable of using his fame and considerable charm to achieve something lasting and meaningful. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0505.barabak.html
London Rail. Attention, those headed ‘overseas’. How far they’ve fallen
British commuters pay up to five times more than rail passengers on the Continent, a study has found.
While an annual season ticket from Hemel Hempstead to London costs £2,504 for a 23-mile journey, the equivalent would cost just £510 in Berlin.
Season tickets restricted to specific journeys within the South-east even cost considerably more than a permit to travel anywhere at any time throughout the Netherlands and Germany.
Off peak Travelcards come out no better, according to research conducted by the RMT rail union. For travel within a 15-mile radius from the centre of London the fare would about to £1,580, compared to within a 40-miles radius of Madrid at £510, Berlin (40-mile radius) at £829 and Paris (20-mile) at £950.
The news emerges after the Government announced price increases above the inflation rate. On some London commuter routes up to one out of every four trains runs late. It is also thought that further increases are in the pipeline. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/transport/story.jsp?story=634071
British Inequality. Sounds familiar
Thousands of people are dying prematurely in deprived inner cities as the gap between rich and poor in Britain widens. The difference in life expectancy between the poorest and most affluent parts of the country has grown to 11 years and is now more pronounced than in Victorian times, researchers say. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/story.jsp?story=634036
-R
