Classic B-52s in the funky little shack…
One of Mark Kleiman’s readers caught something with a substantial ick factor about Rudy and Judi:
The context is Barrett’s demolition of Giuliani’s attempt to blame someone else for the deadly, dimwitted decision to put the city’s emergency command center inside the World Trade Center itself, a decision that meant the city didn’t have a working command center on 9/11. Once Giuliani had laid down the law that the command center had to be within walking distance of City Hall, 7 WTC (which, conveniently, was owned by a big GOP donor) was the only feasible site, even though it was obviously imprudent to put the command center in a location which had been attacked before and was still a prime target.
But just why was it so essential that the command center be within walking distance of City Hall? Here’s Barrett:
The mayor was so personally focused on the siting and construction of the bunker that the city administrator who oversaw it testified in a subsequent lawsuit that “very senior officials,” specifically including Giuliani, “were involved,” which he said was a major difference between this and other projects. Giuliani’s office had a humidor for cigars and mementos from City Hall, including a fire horn, police hats and fire hats, as well as monogrammed towels in his bathroom. His suite was bulletproofed and he visited it often, even on weekends, bringing his girlfriend Judi Nathan there long before the relationship surfaced.
Giuliani so far has displayed an astonishing amount of Teflon. But if it comes out that he did his emergency planning with his little head instead of his big head, even Republican primary voters might get a little bit upset. (emphasis mine)
Uh. Mah. Gawd. If so, looks like Bernie Kerik was just taking a page (H/T to Steve Gilliard.) from the boss’ little black playbook with his Ground Zero apartment love nest antics.
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ZEDUNOFITZAROO!!!!!
HURAYYYYYY
OOOH RAAHHH!
That entire article needs to be read forwarded all over the country. People need to know that there is no there there.
Twisted Martini @ 3
/duno
I was kinda hoping rudy would be their guy, he seems easy to beat and things like this would come out during the general election…that would have been better
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy…, what a dickhead in more ways than one.
The Ghoul has a lot to account for-time to start scraping off the Teflon. Over 100 firefighters died because their radios didn’t work on 9/11 (a problem very well known back to the early 90’s) so they didn’t get the call to evacuate the north tower. The man has actual blood on his hands.
Can hardly wait for the YouTube debate and a question from the FDNY to come up. (If Rudy! shows, that is)
Ooops — forgot to put in the video code. If you refresh the screen, it should be up and running now. Sorry about that, gang…
forgive me christy, I thought I was about to read a mark foley type of expose
he is a republican after all, it seems that’s what they do…surprising these two are heterosexual though rudy is in that dress and all
What great fun Gilly would have with this!
Dennis!
He just hit it out of the park!!
Twisted Martini @ 3
Really!?
Oh gawd. These are two ‘dicks’ in whom I have absolutely no interest. Both are simply – thugs.
Roger @ 10
do tell? (do tell=hat tip to christy downstairs, my new expression)
OT? The 52’s recorded a soon to be released here in Athens this summer.New Album
Just a quick drive by posting, since I have to get out there painting my house (sigh), but this bit about Rudy doesn’t surprise me one bit. Everything he’s done seems to have been with his little head…
roger-details please?
Joy at 9 — I know. It is times like this when I miss Steve’s voice most of all…
My friend tells me it is her view that there is lots of ugliness being hidden behind Rudy the G. She wants to know about Rudy’s rather secretive and perhaps dubious business dealings. I agree.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 17
I agree too but really, I would rather find out during the general election then before the primaries
The rotating heart shaped bed and the mirrors on the ceiling were very crucial to ensuring a full and functional emergency response center.
Leave Rudy alone.
-GSD
I look for more dirt to come out,the closer it gets to nomination time.
New Yorkers aren’t ones to be easily intimidated or the be closed mouthed about someone who’s fucked them over so many times. This “America’s mayor”nonsense should have been demolished a long time ago.
perris @ 18
Ha, ha…I agree. I want to see this guy be the Republican candidate first.
I must say, the most bizarre rumblings I’m seeing are from Gringich. He seems to think he’s got a shot at this if he decides to hop into the race late (as in, after xmas)…?!
perris @ 18
For sure.
GSD @ 19
Not to mention all the Barry White CDs…
Darth Cheney and Chimpy saw 9/11 as an opportunity to invade Iraq.
Giuliani and Kerik saw it as an opportunity to cheat on their wives.
Rudy was going to this “command center” for trysts with Bernie Kerik?
Oh my.
must take friend to airport, then self to cas*no
will be back later…much later
~~~ModNote: Edited for content to clear filters.~~~
Gingrich, ever the wily weasel has begun embracing green politics and throwing the Republic Party under the bus.
He’s many things, mean and vindictive come to mind, but he is also very crafty.
I think he’s banking on the entire Republic candidate tier to collapse and like a great savior he’ll rise like a p*nis, er phoenix from the ashes.
-GSD
PB @ 21
OT: Marty Lederman has another excellent post, entitled A Tale of Capitulation, on the FISA fix and how it came to be passed in such an Orwellian form. Unfortunately, he leaves out a couple of important points.
There was a House bill that was more reasonable, but it got put on the Suspense Calendar where it needed a 2/3 majority to pass. Duh!
And don’t Democratic senators ever negotiate for an automobile? Always, the salesman negotiates a good deal and then takes it to his boss who rejects it. That’s Negotiating 101. Complaining that the White House rejected what McConnell said was fine makes them sound like a bunch of cry babies.
Also, the this administration had already proved that it was more than willing to play fast and loose with the credibility and reputation of a respected military officer; just ask General Powell.
This does not suprise me in the least.
Rudy is a total sleazbag.
GSD at 26 — He’s also ruled exclusively by his ego. If Gingrich decides to get in, the mudslinging amongst the GOP now will look like kindergarten play time. And, given who some of Thompson’s early “advisors” are as well…it could get quite bumpy indeed. Will certainly be interesting to stand back and watch, if nothing else…
Crap,every time I quote a comment my words end up inside the comment. ACK. My remarks at #28 are tucked into the middle of the bottom comment.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 22
here’s the point;
we are doing all their work for them, because of us they will be fielding their best candidate, one that will be hard to beat, we will ferrit out the rats and who is left will be someone we have nothing on
if you notice they are doing nothing against hilary, they want hilary to run, the only critisism we’ve seen is that “she has tits”
they are more afraid of barak then hilary, that’s why they’re going after him, and edwards too
they will not ramp up against hilary until they know she is the candidate
Angry — when you quote a comment, make sure you go all the way to the bottom of the pasted comment portion — outside the [/blockquote] bracket entirely — before you start typing. Then you won’t get your comment stuck inside the quote. HTH!
Ack,thought I was doing that,I’ll make sure I put space between me and the quote next time. Thanks Christy.
perris at 1 says-”ZEDUNOFITZAROO!!!!!”
i think that is your best made-up word to date!!!!!!!!
==============
ghouli rudy was on charlie rose, i think last week…..i just watched it yesterday…….boy is he smoooooooooth……..fast on his feet, but talks over himself when he is embellishing……..he has always given me the creeps……..
happy sunday pups!
christie-definitely NOT trying to hijack thread, but each time i’ve posted this i’ve been epu’d and i think it’s important, want people to see it-i found this astounding, and am surprised that the net and msm isn’t jumping all over it……….michael gerson, former head speechwriter for bush, is a plagiarist….and is being outed by a former underling….he of the ‘mushroom cloud’ and ‘axis of evil’ memes…….the talking point guru for condi, dick, etc…….he is now employed by wapo….yep. and has been quoted widely……bill moyers even referenced him on his show buying the war from friday…….ends up he was taking credit for the work of others…….
i posted this in the come saturday morning thread by phoenix woman, and frank 33 added a link…….
here is the wapo article by peter baker;
http://letters.washingtonpost&…..931341B7E0
here is the raw story link mentioned by frank33;
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/….._0810.html
I really liked the movie by Doris Doerris, “Me and Him”, 1987, with Griffin Dunne & Ellen Greene. Me is the big, Him is the little head.
CHS,
Newt is one of the most self-centered humans I have ever seen. But he is relentless. I remember reading about him long before he swept out the old Democratic guard back in 1994. He had the eyes on the Speakers’ prize and he got it.
Yeah, Frederick of Hollywood seems to have snared the Cheneyites and the neo-cons in one fell swoop.
The last thing we need it to see Mary Matalins befouled specter haunting the airwaves with her mendacity and bile.
Also, it seems that the National Review crowd is sold on Oil Slick Mitt.
I am looking forward to this getting dirtier and dirtier for the R’s. Gonna get ugly.
-GSD
The American people elected shrub twice (ignoring Florida and Ohio) despite all the stuff publicly known or available about him.
Why can’t Rudy just blow by his little problems as shrub did?
Besides, Americans might find his love nest antics endearing. After all, he and Judi did get married and seem happy together.
It would be difficult for me to make a choice as to my favorite GOP candidates. Rudy or Newtie. Best case scenerio? Maybe Giuliani/Gingrich.
As to the Republican’s worst nightmare. I think that would perhaps be a Presidential candidate Gore.
Great post Christy!
The drugs and reprogramming detention have almost completely turned David Gregory into the perfect beltway gasbag.
Now he just needs to gain a few pounds.
-GSD
Family values? Think Newt and Rudy.
Interesting conversation last night with several immigrant-now-naturalized-citizens from the Mediterranean. They have been conservative-leaning over the last 15 years that I’ve known them. But last night was the first time that we were in virtually complete agreement about everything. They were very worried about Iraq, and very worried about health care here (although they still think we have better health care than EU).
And they also agreed that Gore would be compelling if he stepped in. They are not currently sold on a Dem candidate, and knew virtually nothing about the Republicans running.
dmac — I saw that Gerson story yesterday too, on the front page no less……and I also thought it would be a big hit here.
However……. since *we*, unlike *them*, are practitionersof justice and fairness…..the article also says that Gerson passionately and tearfully denied the charge. Innocent until proven guilty, etc etc.
Whatever.
There are reports that Diebold malfunctioned yesterday in Iowa. Haven’t seen a link yet.
But that’s my fear. What if it’s Rudy and they steal another one.
Riesz Fischer @ 24
BUMPER STICKERS! excellent
We would like to see President Gore appoint DiCaprio to head the EPA.
solai at 46 — Here’s a tiny blip from the NYTimes on the machine malfunction. I’ve been looking for something more substantive on it, but haven’t found anything. If anyone else has seen something more detailed, please link it up in the comments…
We have heard rumors that Kerik and Rudy have ties to organized crime.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 50
Those have been substantiated on Kerik
Watching Kucinich on The Week. He’s talking healthcare. I love the phrase: “Not-for-profit healthcare system”.
Someone, please, tell the MDs that we’ll still let them be rich so that we can cancel that talking point.
TexBetsy @ 51
And Rudy was Bernie’s mentor.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 50
Gee, ya think??
solai @ 52
Yep.
TexBetsy @ 51
And they’re only saying it about Rudy because he’s Italian…..please, don’t get me started.
solai @ 52
Stephanopoulis is in the tank. Kidd gloves for American Taliban candidate Brownback and relentless body blows for Kucinich.
That Right Wing Pancake head George Will is on now I have to turn it off.
Bush Tells Reporter At Sarkozy Meeting: “I Can Barely Speak English”
and rudy on charlie rose-
he said he learns from his failures, that he learns most from his failures, that he is a different man because of them….hinted that he would redo previous personal life things-having ‘fallen in love later in life’……..alludes to failure, but never really comes clean…….shades of ‘born again’ talk……..
talked-up his wife, her ‘organizing and business skills’-came dangerously close to again claiming she ‘ran’ that recovery operation that was discounted in the papers a few weeks ago…said she ran the 911 charity worth millions…..how supportive she is and how involved she is….the interview was interesting, showed how he is spinning his image, and he was good at it……..but his arrogance shone through more than a couple of times, was evident.
made the hairs on my neck stand up…….
is worth watching if you can stomach it. i’m going to watch it again, i always miss stuff the first time, when i’m in shock by a blatant lie/spin and i’m sayin’ ’say whaaaaaaat’?????
EPU’d from last thread, re: Kucinich on “This Week”
hackworth @ 57
His most shameless display was his interview with John Edwards. It was unbelievably antagonistic. I expected him to be different.
Gee, Rudy is just spreading the Love! We neeeeed more love and less war. Rudy could be a “Love” President. Besides, he loves drag!
Many white anglo-saxon protestants have ties to organized crime.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 49
Hi Christy. This looks interesting http://www.prisonplanet.com/ar…..iebold.htm
Also, http://marcambinder.theatlanti…..ed_due.php
And, my comment regarding California from last thread: http://www.firedoglake.com/200…..ent-890179
Do liberal Americans want the Republicans to select their worst or best candidate?
Their worst would be easier to defeat, but, if elected, then what?
Donna Brazille (she’s on our side), mocking Hillary’s sounbyte clip wherein Hillary said, “I’m your girl!”: “She’s my girl, I don’t know about that. Actually I’m uncommitted, mumble mumble mumble.”
Somebody get a hook for Donna Brazille.
solai @ 56
No, they are not saying it only because Rudy is Italian. They’re saying it because he promoted his driver (Kerik) to Police commissioner and then sponsored him to be the head of DHS.
Given that Kerik’s connections to organized crime have been proven and Rudy has obviously been connected to Kerik, Rudy being Italian has nothing to do with it. Just like Rudy being Italian has nothing to do with the fact that he has a former priest/accused molester working for his company. The same priest who performed at least one of Rudy’s marriages (Judi?) and had to get a special dispensation to do the Mass for Rudy’s mother’s funeral because he had been suspended.
OT this article in the Guardian about our Army’s exhaustion.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk…..52,00.html
This is another blow against the Bush/Petraeus “surge”. Not only do they have to make up or exaggerate positive signs of progress in Iraq they ignore all the glaring evidence that things are getting worse. To this end, they are willing to destroy the Army if it helps to sell their September fantasy to the Congress.
Also note that “war czar”/Hadley gofer General Douglas Lute was talking up the draft recently. What this should tell you is that far from coming to terms with its failed policies this Administration continues to cast about for ways to keep them going, no matter how politically unlikely.
Ms. Brazile, the Sandman is waiting.
-GSD
RIP Merv Griffin.
-GSD
“Somebody get a hook for Donna Brazille. “
Gladly. My pleasure.
Neocon Podhoretz: Giuliani The “Best Bet” For Doing “What Is Necessary” On Iran
The New Yorker | Peter Boyer | August 12, 2007 09:38 AM
………
……..
In any case, Podhoretz said to me, he believes that George W. Bush will settle the matter himself, by bombing Iran before he leaves office. “I’m probably the only person on the face of the earth who thinks that Bush will order air strikes,” Podhoretz says. “But we’ll find out. If Bush doesn’t kick the can down the road, then the issue becomes moot, obviously. But if he fails to do what I think he will do, Rudy seems to me to be the best bet for doing what is necessary.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/08…..60087.html
Kucinich: “I am the center, George, the majority of the American people are to left of me. The political spectrum has moved so far the the right that the left is now the center.”
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Then tell Harold Ford to wake up an smell the fascism.
-GSD
dakine01 @ 67
I have nothing but loathing for Rudy, but do you think that if he were of Irish descent that the ‘mob-related’ issue would surface every time his name is mentioned?
The impression here is that Rudy or for that matter any of the Republican candidates for prez have a high potential for attacking Iran or Pakistan.
Oops. It was the marriage to Donna Hanover that Placa performed (after helping Rudy get the annulment of his first marriage through the church).
And Placa was not only an accused molester, he also was instrumental in creating the Church’s obstructionist policy towards victims.
If nothing else, Rudy does a p*ss poor job of picking his friends.
solai @ 73
Yeah, if the person had Rudy’s history it would. I give you William Bulger, former president of the Massachusetts State Senate, whose name appendage included, “and brother of reputed South Boston mobster Whitey Bulger, currently a fugitive on federal racketeering charges.”
Third place winner in the computer-glitched (not mentioned)straw poll, Brownback looks like the devil himself. Scary coal black eyes. “No draft needed. Political solution on the ground. Push for political surge. I love the word surge. Send Jim Baker.”
What if Stephanop asked Brownback which Jim Bakker he would send?
“Based on your conservative committment to melding Church and State into an American Taliban, I have to ask for clarity’s sake: Which Jim Baker you are referring to? Tammy Fay’s husband or Bush family attorney?”
Ties to organized crime are nothing new to American politics.
John Kennedy – yes
Richard Nixon – yes
J. Edgar Hoover – YES
Lyndon Johnson – yes
Gerald Ford – yes
Jimmy Carter – no
Ronald Reagan – ?
GHW Bush – yes
Bill Clinton – ?
Shrub – ?
? = Haven’t seen anything on the subject.
found these while looking for diebold articles post for christie- in know there was one yesterday, trying to find it…
…teddysf posted this article about rudy’s love shack last night-
http://www.villagevoice.com/ne……html/full
gbear posted this-
Lowermanhattanite over at The Group Blog has been on an absolute tear against Rudy. He’s not holding anything back. VERY entertaining reads.
http://www.groupnewsblog.net/2…..reach.html
http://www.groupnewsblog.net/2…..f-you.html
OT..
All Muck is Local: West Virginia
By Will Thomas – August 12, 2007, 11:36 AM
Call it a case of mistaken prosecution. West Virginia State Senator Oshel Craigo (D-WV) went down to defeat in 2002 after Republicans (drawing on tight ties to the state’s U.S. attorney) spread the word that he was under federal investigation. But it’s a funny thing: Craigo was never actually prosecuted. And now his successor Lisa Smith (R), who rose to victory on the news of Craigo’s legal troubles, is headed to jail for the same crime.
more…
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003902.php
hackworth @ 77
I think they ought to put you on the ABC News Sunday morning show, instead of Steph.
As far as Rudy picking poor friends. Maybe we’re looking at it wrong. This goes for Rove, too. Maybe they don’t want a squeaky-clean friend (cohort). Maybe they want someone they’ve got by the balls.
When Kerik was chosen by BushCo, maybe they knew exactly what they were doing. Bringing someone aboard that could be brought in line should he ever waver.
solai @ 82
IIRC, Kerik’s job at DHS went up in smoke when his bona fides became evident.
from march 2007
Giuliani Testified He Was Briefed on Kerik in ’00
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
As he debated Bernard B. Kerik’s promotion to police commissioner, the mayor most likely had been told of Mr. Kerik’s entanglement with a company suspected of ties to organized crime.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 49
Marc Ambinder blogged about the Iowa straw poll for Atlantic. Some of the comments are quite recent -from this morning, and note local concerns in Ames about a variety of issues, especially in the Ron Paul camp. Duh?
OT:
ENTERTAINER MERV GRIFFIN HAS DIED AT AGE 82, ABC NEWS HAS LEARNED
solai @ 82
Somewhat on point. Al Capone said he found he got more accomplished with a smile and a gun than just a smile.
Didn’t Bill Clinton run a crime ring out of the Whitehouse that ruthlessly assassinated all of his political enemies like Ron Brown and Vince Foster?
Jerry Falwell told me.
-GSD
P.S. You’d think if he was that ruthless he’d have whacked Paula Jones.
24 U.S. soldiers dead in Iraq since Congress went on vacation.
And then there is this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08…..ref=slogin
The New York Times, continuing its tradition of stating the obvious years late.
Terror threat Web site called unreliable
By ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago
JERUSALEM – The reported threat of a dirty bomb attack in New York City that led to heightened security this weekend came from a Jerusalem-based Web site that claims more than a million daily readers, but is criticized by intelligence experts as unreliable.
Jay, not to mention another three US troops and 2 NATO troops in Afghanistan.
-GSD
Josh Marshall links to a piece about how Bush fu*ked up Afghanistan too, because they ended being so focused on Iraq.
jayt @ 89
Yes, and from where I sit, their blood is on the hands of the House leadership — in particular, Nancy Pelosi.
Only 10,000 people showed up for the straw man vote, even though they were offered free food and tickets..
Thanks for this, Christy.
Remember the Monica phase of the GOP/Media Complex’s CoupGate efforts to take out Bill Clinton? They were all atwitter that unsanctioned hummers may — MAY — have distracted from his job focus. (Even though the coup plotters’ constant and unending efforts to punish Clinton for winning the presidency as a Democrat were far more damaging and distracting, to both Clinton and the nation as a whole.)
Now we have proof that Rudy sabotaged NYC and national security, just so he could have a little love shack for his latest mistress. And the GOP/Media’s response will be: Silence.
CNN says the surge is working. Good news!
-GSD
Italy probe unearths huge Iraq arms deal
By CHARLES J. HANLEY and ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writers 4 minutes ago
PERUGIA, Italy – In a hidden corner of Rome’s busy Fiumicino Airport, police dug quietly through a traveler’s checked baggage, looking for smuggled drugs. What they found instead was a catalog of weapons, a clue to something bigger.
Their discovery led anti-Mafia investigators down a monthslong trail of telephone and e-mail intercepts, into the midst of a huge black-market transaction, as Iraqi and Italian partners haggled over shipping more than 100,000 Russian-made automatic weapons into the bloodbath of Iraq.
As the secretive, $40 million deal neared completion, Italian authorities moved in, making arrests and breaking it up. But key questions remain unanswered.
For one thing, The Associated Press has learned that Iraqi government officials were involved in the deal, apparently without the knowledge of the U.S. Baghdad command — a departure from the usual pattern of U.S.-overseen arms purchases.
Why these officials resorted to “black” channels and where the weapons were headed is unclear.
The purchase would merely have been the most spectacular example of how Iraq has become a magnet for arms traffickers and a place of vanishing weapons stockpiles and uncontrolled gun markets since the 2003 U.S. invasion and the onset of civil war.
Some guns the U.S. bought for Iraq’s police and army are unaccounted for, possibly fallen into the hands of insurgents or sectarian militias. Meanwhile, the planned replacement of the army’s AK-47s with U.S.-made M-16s may throw more assault rifles onto the black market. And the weapons free-for-all apparently is spilling over borders: Turkey and Iran complain U.S.-supplied guns are flowing from Iraq to anti-government militants on their soil.
Iraqi middlemen in the Italian deal, in intercepted e-mails, claimed the arrangement had official American approval. A U.S. spokesman in Baghdad denied that.
“Iraqi officials did not make MNSTC-I aware that they were making purchases,” Lt. Col. Daniel Williams of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I), which oversees arming and training of the Iraqi police and army, told the AP.
(more)
TexBetsy @ 91
Debka is ca-ca.
-GSD
Not only did Dennis talk “Not for profit healthcare” He spoke out aganist Nukes, and the need to create peaceful relations with the world. He handled the frame up well by speaking to the issues rather than pander to the frame.
I look forward to someone posting the entire segment…..
TB, 97:
Wow. That sounds like Maliki and his crew are secretly arming the civilians in an end run around the US…there was word of that fairly recently when Maliki urged citizens to arm themselves…
Wonder what they are planning.
GSD @ 96
It is working. More Iraqi’s and American Troops are being killed.
OMG, TexB. Now we have to bomb Italy and Russia along with Iran and Syria.
TexBetsy @ 91
Two incompatible responses:
1) The website is probably a CIA (CheneyCo) black ops for misinformed information.
2) Why the hell do we need newFISA if we are picking up terror threats from ME websites?
*sigh*
They are LIARS. I see no evidence that ANY of this is anything but lies. Chertoff had to go back to the liquid explosive crap from last year for heaven’s sake! And he made it sound credible, again. It’s not. What a mess.
wigwam @ 29
marcy, of course, is all over this… as i’m sure everyone here has already read. i’ll just add that janinsanfran has an interesting diary on speaker pelosi’s political history.
LS @ 100
The US has begun dealing with and giving money and ammunition, the US says they are not arming Sunni groups, to Sunni groups that have been attacking and killing Shiites on a massive scale for years now.
Sounds like the Salvador option.
-GSD
OT: Egyptian girl dies in circumcision
CAIRO, Egypt – A 13-year-old Egyptian girl has died during a circumcision operation, two months after the death of another girl prompted health officials to ban the widespread traditional procedure, local media said Saturday.
GSD @ 96
they’re lying!
Roger @ 99
Strepahnipolis was astounded by the radical hippie idea of nuclear dissarmament. “Would you dissarm the US first?”, he inquired. Clutching his pearls he asked, “What would you do if we were attacked?”
TexBetsy @ 106
From the article:
A 2003 survey by UNICEF said that 97 percent of married women in Egypt have undergone genital mutilation. A recent study by Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population found that only half of all girls between the age of 10-18 years have been circumcised.
solai @ 102
What should we call pizza? Freedom Pie?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t…..242151.ece
“It’s even more dangerous beyond the perimeter. Convoys have to resupply the only other British outpost left in southern Iraq – the Basra Palace, which lies a few miles south in the city.
Some 700 British troops are still holed up there and need food, fuel, ammunition and other equipment. As the convoys run the gauntlet of the city streets, they come under assault on all sides. “Last time we did it the convoy encountered 25 IEDs [improvised explosive devices],” said Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Sanders of 4 Rifles. “The Jam [the soldiers’ name for the Mahdi Army insurgents] see the trucks form up, they know the routes in, they know the routes out. It’s a f****** nightmare.”
There is no respite inside the palace either. Stretch Armstrong, a soldier in the palace, found himself under such bombardment that he wrote to a company that supplies “Baldrick’s bullets” – a real bullet engraved with the owner’s name to keep them safe. The idea came from the television series Blackadder in which the character Baldrick reckoned that “if there is a bullet with your name on it”, you’d be safe if you owned it.”
GSD @ 96
CNN and MSNBC, the two biggest names in infotainment. They give you the news
they are toldyou want to hear, not the news as it is. Their reliability and honesty are nearly as good as what you get on daytime soaps.GSD @ 98
Debkafile is a dirty bomb kind of an info source.
Yeah, just remember: On every one of Rudy the Great’s 9/11 press conferences, the crook Bernie was standing behind him.
I watched Kos and Ford then went to pick tomatoes.
Kos was great but Harold Ford is a real politician., he still speaks very well. I think that they could end up as more friends than enemie
GSD @ 105
One need look no farther than Negroponte.
Fatigue cripples US army in Iraq
Exhaustion and combat stress are besieging US troops in Iraq as they battle with a new type of warfare. Some even rely on Red Bull to get through the day. As desertions and absences increase, the military is struggling to cope with the crisis
http://observer.guardian.co.uk…..52,00.html
Buddies Bernie Kerik and Rudy Giuliani both get off on macho-cop-danger-man scenarios in lieu of actually bothering to take such concerns seriously. They are self-centered enough to play games with other people’s lives.
We need to repeat this a thousand, thousand times. Then repeat it again.
TexBetsy @ 109
I had NO idea the rate was that high among Egyptian women. Actually, I was not aware this was a problem in Egypt and I (think I) am not ignorant on the subject.
Fresh thread…guaranteed to tick you off this morning.
From Salon:
A Republican victory in 2008 could sink America’s reputation in the world even lower.
By Joe Conason
Aug. 10, 2007 | Even if George W. Bush is the most awful American president in modern times, as many historians believe, and even though he has brought the United States into unprecedented disrepute around the world, as opinion polls indicate, the bombastic tone of the candidates seeking to succeed him from his own party raises a disturbing possibility.
If the next president is a Republican, this truly bad situation could become still worse.
Concerning the Iraq war, of course, there is no discernible difference between the current president and his would-be Republican successors (with the exception of Ron Paul, the libertarian antiwar candidate from Bush’s home state of Texas). The leading GOP contenders have all endorsed the current escalation of U.S. forces. They all share the president’s determination to keep our troops there indefinitely. They all insistently echo Bush by linking the invasion and occupation of Iraq with the attacks of 9/11.
Yet beyond the horrors of Iraq and the excesses of the “war on terror,” for which history will hold him culpable, Bush at least has acknowledged the importance of reaching out to the world’s Muslims (although he tends to reach out too often with bombs and a torture technique known as waterboarding). In his rhetoric, the president usually seeks to distinguish the religion of Islam, which he has honored in the White House on many occasions, from the murderous perversion of that faith. And in his best moments after 9/11, he has defended the rights of Muslim Americans to live here without suffering persecution or prejudice.
Brits are acting like yanks these days:
UK: Police to use terror laws on Heathrow climate protesters
LS @ 100
Despite Bush and Petraeus’ ongoing state of denial, Iraq is in the midst of civil war. Shia forces are certainly willing to let Americans arm their side or fight Sunnis for them but they will still go outside these arrangements to see that they get all the weapons they think they need.
In a lot of ways, this story is unsurprising. The Shia are just doing what they think they need to do to win the civil war whose existence this Administration continues to deny.
Robert Paehlke @ 118
That makes sense! Another piece of the puzzle and an explanation why they are constantly and irresponsibly throwing out scary stuff (that is not true). I guess it makes them feel alive.
GSD @ 69
‘He won’t be right back’
GSD @ 92
i think this is wrong. atrios has a good post on this:
and i think commenter af is exactly right:
GSD @ 105
Unannounced, the U.S. has switched sides in the Iraqi civil war. Originally, we were trying to establish an elected government in the 60% Shiite nation and were trying to protect from the 20% Sunni minority and their insurgents. Now we are arming and paying the Sunni, and this past month 73% of our casualties were at the hands of Shiite malitia.
Apparently we’ve given up on democracy and simply want to stay until 1/20/09. And IMHO the Sunnis need us to stay to prevent them from being ethnically cleansed.
Riesz Fischer @ 24
You have to give Kerik a little more credit than that – he saw it as an opportunity to cheat on both his mistresses too.
I’m with Christie – many’s the long talk about Giuliani I had with Steve and he would have ridden this like his own personal pony.
well, for us B-52 purists, “LoveShack” is a great song, but not exactly “classic” B-52s. For classic B-52s, I’d suggest “Planet Claire” or “Dance This Mess Around.” Basically anything from their debut album.