A few hours of late-night sleuthing -- fun.
For the record – warning: disclaimer alert -- I ... more »
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Thursday, August 30
Having fun with Wikipedia Scanner
by
margieburns
on Thu 30 Aug 2007 11:27 AM EDT
As a Wikipedia fan, I was delighted
when CalTech grad student Virgil Griffith came out with his Wikipedia Scanner, a way to find out
who produced which ‘edits’ on what entries, for what self-serving or
embarrassing purposes. U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms, here we come.
Wednesday, August 29
Larry Johnson: Stopping the new war before it starts
by
margieburns
on Wed 29 Aug 2007 10:22 AM EDT
The following discussion of administration designs against Iran by former CIA officer Larry C. Johnson is re-posted in its entirety from his web site, NoQuarterUSA.net. All of the writing is Johnson's, unedited:
Stopping the New War Before It StartsBy Larry Johnson on
Aug 29, 2007 in Current Affairs "America and the world are entering an extremely dangerous and volatile period and it will be up to senior U.S. military officials and members of Congress to stop the rush to a new war with Iran. The evidence is alarming and disturbing and today’s speech by President Bush before the Veteran’s ... more » Tuesday, August 28
Quoting from that WashPost article on Bush's 'loyalty': I stand by what I wrote
by
margieburns
on Tue 28 Aug 2007 05:13 PM EDT
After the previous blog entry was re-posted at www.smirkingchimp.com, I was surprised by a few claims that the WP article mentioned was actually about Gonzales' loyalty rather than the president's.
The article, again, is titled "In the end, realities trumped loyalty," on the front page of today's Post. Here are excerpts from the article, all of them following the WashPost line of the past six or seven years about Bush's 'loyalty': "Yesterday's resignation announcement by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales underscored once again the damage that can be done when loyalty becomes paramount in presidential decision-making." ... more »
Washington Post still propagandizing about Bush's 'loyalty'
by
margieburns
on Tue 28 Aug 2007 10:08 AM EDT
The big local-national news item du jour is Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation, and nobody is a mind reader. It is impossible to say with certainty whether Gonzales resigned or was forced out, although I lean toward the former view.
I admit that I cannot help sympathizing with Gonzales personally, even though I opposed most of the policies he supported from early on. Partly, I was influenced by a book: while waiting in a DC library one day last spring, for one of those wonderful tax-aide volunteers to help me with my only-too-qualified-income IRS return, I picked up a recent ... more » Sunday, August 26
Why are prominent media personalities so threatened by the Edwardses?
by
margieburns
on Sun 26 Aug 2007 11:34 AM EDT
Hearing John Edwards speak is always a reminder of what other candidates could be saying to the public. Listening to Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, speak together introduces a better world in which it is transparently obvious that the public could be receiving a better quality of discourse from all the candidates running for the White House.
Edwards and Mrs. Edwards were hosted this morning on Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer. To Schieffer's typical effort to associate removing from Iraq with 'failure,' Edwards responded matter-of-factly and succinctly that "I think we maximize our chances of success if we start ... more » Saturday, August 25
One change that could help Iraq: end Iraqi executions
by
margieburns
on Sat 25 Aug 2007 07:50 PM EDT
The United Nations has a modest appeal for the Iraqi government: diminish the bloodshed by refraining from executions.
In late July, representatives of the U. N. Secretary General appealed to the government of Iraq" to cancel the death penalty and refrain from carrying out further executions." Given the conditions of the large combat zone that is the nation of Iraq at present, it seems like a sensible way to reduce some problems; no one in his right mind could argue that either the rule of law or due process or airtight resolution of questions of individual identity are in ... more »
Sad emails from Iraqis
by
margieburns
on Sat 25 Aug 2007 06:28 PM EDT
Occasional firsthand accounts more than confirm the glimpses of Iraq revealed through the large media outlets and the headlines about the daily vehicle bombing or marketplace bombing. Following are excerpts from two emails sent by Iraqis to other Iraqis, posted in a Middle East compendium of often fragmentary sources.
1. from Baghdad: "Good morning, my dear lady: At last I managed to get out of the house. In the last four days [July] there were daily clashes in Al-Adamiyah, causing most secondary streets to close down, as for the main streets, they are almost always closed, and most people who ... more » Thursday, August 23
Texas Republicans against the war
by
margieburns
on Thu 23 Aug 2007 07:36 PM EDT
HOUSTON -- You haven't lived until you've heard lifelong Texas Republicans call Bush & Cheney "war criminals." Not to imply that that's the only thing Bush and Cheney get called by some people who at one time voted for them. Good strong comments about lack of competence, intellect, attention span and general information also float around the pathetic spectral remnants of what some pundits used to call Bush's "aura of invincibility." None of this is the shock it might be; I've gotten word of similar discourse, to use the polite term, from Mississippi Republicans and related country-club apolitical types. If Bush ... more » Thursday, August 16
Lack of choice, and idiot Maryland governors
by
margieburns
on Thu 16 Aug 2007 09:24 AM EDT
Kicking off a one-week window of opportunity to visit ailing family before fall work starts, I get to fly to Houston tomorrow. Oddly, to get from DC to Texas, one has to go by way of Chicago, cooling the proverbial heels for a few hours in O'Hare. -- As the nice man at United's ticket counter said, "the world [of flight] revolves around Atlanta and Chicago."
It's probably a mistake to post or write anything in discouragement. The oligopolistic marketplace is a feature of our time, probably the defining feature of our time, and anyway at least the airports have ... more » Wednesday, August 15
Half the Iraqis who have fled their homes are children, UNICEF says
by
margieburns
on Wed 15 Aug 2007 09:00 PM EDT
The news about the youngest, smallest and most helpless of the Iraqi people is not getting better.
On-the-spot firsthand reports detail some of the calamity faced daily in Iraq by young children and minors: Orphaned and vulnerable children are used as child labor. Mentally handicapped children have been reported used in attacks. Begging is a way of life for children in Baghdad. Relatives already overburdened by trying to take care of their own families take in the orphans of parents killed in the conflicts. They desperately need what we would call social services or child protective services -- but ... more » Saturday, August 11
Conditions for Iraqi children worsen sharply, says UNICEF
by
margieburns
on Sat 11 Aug 2007 09:13 AM EDT
In yet more news from Iraq to cause despondency, the United Nations via its UNICEF sector reveals that conditions for Iraqi children have gone again from bad to worse.
According to UNICEF, only two-thirds of Iraqis have access to clean water. A dearth of electrical power has already been widely reported, along with the paradox that Iraqis, sitting atop the world's second-largest recoverable oil reserves, have to stand in line for fuel. Local Iraqi markets and the ordinary, everyday commerce of food, clothing and other necessities have been jeopardized by ongoing violence -- notwithstanding highly publicized tours by visiting ... more » Friday, August 10
Handicapping the Iowa ‘straw poll’
by
margieburns
on Fri 10 Aug 2007 09:46 PM EDT
If a candidate’s positions on the big issues actually mean much
in the Thursday, August 9
Monzer al Kassar followup . . . is Mogilevich in Virginia?
by
margieburns
on Thu 09 Aug 2007 12:03 PM EDT
Following up on the Monzer al Kassar posting from day before
yesterday . . .
By coincidence, a little less than two weeks before Tuesday, August 7
The arrest of Monzer al Kassar
by
margieburns
on Tue 07 Aug 2007 12:01 PM EDT
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia announced that “Monzer al Kassar has long been one of the most prolific arms dealers in the world. He has supported terrorists and insurgents by ... more » Saturday, August 4
What 'Wall'?
by
margieburns
on Sat 04 Aug 2007 08:40 AM EDT
Of all the rightwing canards, few have had more longevity
than the notion of a ‘wall’ between federal agencies that somehow prevented, on
well-intentioned moral grounds, any communication between domestic
anti-terrorism and overseas anti-terrorism.
Every time I hear or read a ref to that complaint, my
instantaneous reaction is the same: what ‘wall’? This enlightened skepticism should be the instant,
gut-level, skilled response of every American who loves his or her country,
which is the overwhelming majority of us. For a good rational overview, start with a simple process: just state the above proposition to yourself, clearly, in the ... more » |
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