Friday, May 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
GOP already got there claws out
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Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Presidebt at Notre Dame
http://news.aol.com/article/protests-await-obamas-appearance-at/486476?cid=9
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Michelle Obama brings hope 3:08
Creative students at University of California, Merced lobby the White House and get Michelle Obama to their graduation.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Why we torture
August 2002
Abu Zubaydah is tortured by the CIA.
March 2003
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is tortured by the CIA.
June 2004
“The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al-Qaeda is because there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda.” — George W. Bush
June 2004
This administration rejects torture. … I don’t think it’s productive, let alone justified.” - John Ashcroft
November 2005
“We do not torture.” — George W. Bush.
October 2007
“This government does not torture people … We stick to U.S. law and international obligations.” –George W. Bush
April 2009
A former senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with the interrogation issue said that Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld demanded that the interrogators find evidence of al Qaida-Iraq collaboration.
“There were two reasons why these interrogations were so persistent, and why extreme methods were used,” the former senior intelligence official said on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity.
“The main one is that everyone was worried about some kind of follow-up attack (after 9/11). But for most of 2002 and into 2003, Cheney and Rumsfeld, especially, were also demanding proof of the links between al Qaida and Iraq that (former Iraqi exile leader Ahmed) Chalabi and others had told them were there.”
It was during this period that CIA interrogators waterboarded two alleged top al Qaida detainees repeatedly — Abu Zubaydah at least 83 times in August 2002 and Khalid Sheik Muhammed 183 times in March 2003 — according to a newly released Justice Department document.
Yesterday
“What I have learned is that as the administration authorized harsh interrogation in April and May of 2002–well before the Justice Department had rendered any legal opinion–its principal priority for intelligence was not aimed at pre-empting another terrorist attack on the U.S. but discovering a smoking gun linking Iraq and al-Qa’ida.
So furious was this effort that on one particular detainee, even when the interrogation team had reported to Cheney’s office that their detainee “was compliant” (meaning the team recommended no more torture), the VP’s office ordered them to continue the enhanced methods.” — Lawrence Wilkerson
–WKW
Abu Zubaydah is tortured by the CIA.
March 2003
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is tortured by the CIA.
June 2004
“The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al-Qaeda is because there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda.” — George W. Bush
June 2004
This administration rejects torture. … I don’t think it’s productive, let alone justified.” - John Ashcroft
November 2005
“We do not torture.” — George W. Bush.
October 2007
“This government does not torture people … We stick to U.S. law and international obligations.” –George W. Bush
April 2009
A former senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with the interrogation issue said that Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld demanded that the interrogators find evidence of al Qaida-Iraq collaboration.
“There were two reasons why these interrogations were so persistent, and why extreme methods were used,” the former senior intelligence official said on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity.
“The main one is that everyone was worried about some kind of follow-up attack (after 9/11). But for most of 2002 and into 2003, Cheney and Rumsfeld, especially, were also demanding proof of the links between al Qaida and Iraq that (former Iraqi exile leader Ahmed) Chalabi and others had told them were there.”
It was during this period that CIA interrogators waterboarded two alleged top al Qaida detainees repeatedly — Abu Zubaydah at least 83 times in August 2002 and Khalid Sheik Muhammed 183 times in March 2003 — according to a newly released Justice Department document.
Yesterday
“What I have learned is that as the administration authorized harsh interrogation in April and May of 2002–well before the Justice Department had rendered any legal opinion–its principal priority for intelligence was not aimed at pre-empting another terrorist attack on the U.S. but discovering a smoking gun linking Iraq and al-Qa’ida.
So furious was this effort that on one particular detainee, even when the interrogation team had reported to Cheney’s office that their detainee “was compliant” (meaning the team recommended no more torture), the VP’s office ordered them to continue the enhanced methods.” — Lawrence Wilkerson
–WKW
Obama to revive terror tribunals, with more rights
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will restart Bush-era military tribunals for a small number of Guantanamo detainees, reviving a fiercely disputed trial system he once denounced but with new legal protections for terror suspects, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Obama suspended the tribunals within hours of taking office in January, ordering a review but stopping short of abandoning President George W. Bush's strategy of prosecuting suspected terrorists.
The military trials will remain frozen for another four months as the administration adjusts the legal system that is expected to try fewer than 20 of the 241 detainees at the U.S. naval detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Thirteen detainees — including five charged with helping orchestrate the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — are already in the tribunal system.
Cheney Shocker! Not really, we knew.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Obama, Comic Wanda Sykes Headline D.C. Correspondents' Dinner
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama mocked his own administration and gave playful jabs at his critics and Republicans at a black-tie dinner attended by a mix of politicians, celebrities and journalists.
The Republican Party was a favorite target for Obama, speaking at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday night.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney couldn't make the dinner, Obama joked, because he was writing his memoir, "How to shoot friends and interrogate people." It was a reference to Cheney's support of harsh interrogation and his accidental shooting of a hunting companion
The president directly addressed Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who was in the audience.
"Michael for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset, I'm sorry," said Obama, referring to recent economic steps of the White House and the conservative radio commentator's public criticism of the Republican party leader.
But Obama targeted his own miscues as well.
"No president in history has ever named three commerce secretaries this quickly," Obama said. The president's two top choices for the position dropped out.
He playfully ribbed his frequent use of a teleprompter and Vice President Joe Biden's knack for speaking off the cuff. And about the Democratic Party, he said his administration has helped in "bringing in fresh, young faces — like Arlen Specter." The 79-year-old Pennsylvania senator, a former Republican, switched parties last month.
Obama noted that he and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had been political rivals, but he assured the audience "these days, we could not be closer."
"In fact the second she got back from Mexico, she pulled me into a hug," the president said, playing off the threat of a spreading swine flu virus that has targeted Mexico the most.
Obama also turned serious and talked of the financially struggling media industry, praising journalists for holding government officials accountable. "A government without newspapers, a government without a tough and vibrant media of all sorts is not an option for the United States of America," he said.
The president wasn't the only one to tell jokes.
Tart-tongued comic Wanda Sykes, the dinner's entertainer, poked fun at Obama giving the Queen of England an iPhone during a recent visit. "What are you going to give the Pope, a Bluetooth?," asked Sykes, referring to the hands-free cell phone device. And she questioned first lady Michelle Obama having patted the queen on the back "like she just slid into home plate — way to go, queen!"
The $200-per-ticket dinner attracted plenty of VIPs from outside the Beltway.
Among those attending were Eva Longoria Parker, Ashton Kutcher, Christian Slater, Natalie Portman, Sting, Mariska Hargitay, Steven Spielberg and Jon Bon Jovi. Also there was Richard Phillips, the captain who was held hostage by Somali pirates after his cargo ship was attacked.
Proceeds from the dinner, $98,000, will help feed the hungry and fund journalism scholarships.
Those honored at the dinner are several journalists:
—Sandra Sobieraj Westfall of People magazine and David Greene of National Public Radio, the Merriman Smith Award for presidential coverage under deadline pressure. Westfall won for her election night reporting. Greene won for digging into candidate Obama's speech that addressed the country's racial divide.
—Michael Abramowitz, formerly of The Washington Post, the Aldo Beckman award for his coverage of the final days of the Bush administration.
—Michael J. Berens and Ken Armstrong of the Seattle Times, the Edgar A. Poe Award for excellence in coverage of news of national or regional significance, for a series exposing the failure of Washington state hospitals and others to handle the rise of the MRSA staph infection.
The White House Correspondents Association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the press and the president. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
The White Shadow|Sports
Season 2 : Ep. 10|48:52||Closed Captions available
Coach Reeves has a hard decision to make when a high school basketball superstar, who is unfortunately also illiterate, transfers to Carver High.
Coach Reeves has a hard decision to make when a high school basketball superstar, who is unfortunately also illiterate, transfers to Carver High.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Kieth Olbermann & Prince Charles???
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Dave Bing, NBA Great, Elected Detroit’s Mayor
DETROIT — Basketball legend Dave Bing was elected Tuesday as Detroit’s mayor through the end of the year, sweeping the incumbent from office in the city with myriad problems.
“The real work starts now,” Bing said to loud cheers during his victory speech.
“What we will bring … is efficiency, transparency, honesty and integrity back to the mayor’s office,” he said.
With all but two of 629 precincts reporting, Bing had 52.3 percent of the vote, or 48,951 votes, to 47.7 percent, or 44,703 votes, for Ken Cockrel Jr. Both are Democrats.
Bing, 65, will be mayor through 2009, serving the balance of the term that belonged to Democrat Kwame Kilpatrick, who resigned in September and went to jail after admitting he lied during a civil trial to cover up an affair with his chief of staff.
Bing must run again in the regular Aug. 4 nonpartisan primary and win the Nov. 3 general election to hold the mayor’s seat for a full four years.
The founder of steel manufacturer The Bing Group announced his run for mayor the day after Kilpatrick stepped down as part of pleas to two criminal cases.
Cockrel, 43, was City Council president before Kilpatrick’s departure automatically promoted him to the mayor’s office. He’ll go back to that job now.
May the city heal from the exploits of the Trifling, Hip-Hop Mayor.
Congratulations, Mr. Bing.
Jack&Jill News
Monday, May 4, 2009
When Reporters Rise For The President
Some people noticed that many reporters rose from their seats last Friday when President Obama unexpectedly entered the White House briefing room, but the same courtesy was not always extended in the past when President Bush would make an appearance.
Comparison videos were even posted on YouTube.
It’s a long-standing practice for reporters to rise when the president enters the East Room for a news conference, but that hasn’t been the case in the briefing room.
I checked with two colleagues who served as senior wire service reporters during the Bush Presidency and who, in matters of press protocol, the rest of us followed.
“The briefing room is always a more informal place,” says Steve Holland of Reuters.
But the principal reason reporters remained in their seats, he said, was not to block the shot of TV cameramen and still photographers in the back of the room who were trying to make a picture of the president’s walk-in.
No disrespect was intended for President Bush and to the best of my knowledge none was taken.
In addition, it only takes about three steps for the president to reach the lectern from the press room door. He’d be ready to begin and many reporters would barely be out of their seats, which used to be further complicated by swivel desks that had to be shifted out of the way.
When some reporters stood up for President Obama last Friday, they forgot about the needs of their colleagues in the back of the room as well as the less formal atmosphere of the briefing room. Certainly it was a sign of respect for the president, but not one of disrespect for his predecessor.
It was President Obama’s first time at the briefing room lectern since taking office and for some new members of the White House Press, it was their first time seeing a president enter the room as well.
By:Mark Knoller
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Edwards Under Federal Investigation
A story in Sunday's Raleigh News & Observer reports that Edwards, a Democratic senator from North Carolina from 1999 to 2005, has acknowledged that officials are looking into whether any donations to his 2008 campaign were diverted to his mistress, Rielle Hunter, to keep her from going public. Diverting funds from a campaign non-profit for any personal expenditure would be a violation of federal law.
Hunter, who had no previous experience as a filmmaker, was paid $114,000 to film a series of campaign "webisodes'' that mainly showed him flirting with her; her intended audience seemed to be the candidate's wife.
After he was photographed by tabloid photographers running away from them in the Los Angeles hotel where he was visiting Hunter and her baby, Edwards admitted to the affair last summer.
But he said in a statement released to the News & Observer that the Feds wouldn't find anything illegal in the campaign records he has turned over: "I am confident that no funds from my campaign were used improperly. However, I know that it is the role of government to ensure that this is true. We have made available to the United States both the people and the information necessary to help them get the issue resolved efficiently and in a timely matter. We appreciate the diligence and professionalism of those involved and look forward to a conclusion."
Among several Edwards nonprofits that investigators are looking into is the Alliance for a New America, which according to the News & Observer received a $3.48 million check in 2008 from 98-year-old Rachel "Bunny'' Lambert Mellon. Though not a regular political donor, she told relatives she had been moved by Edwards' "Two Americas'' anti-poverty campaign.
A new book by Elizabeth Edwards, due in stores on May 12, says her husband met Hunter at a campaign event in New York, where she opened the conversation by telling him, "You're so hot.''
Friends of Hunter's have said that their affair began that night. The former candidate told ABC News last summer that it began after she had gone to work for his campaign.
He also told ABC that he'd been visiting Hunter in Los Angeles hotel where he was chased by photographers only because he feared that she would go public if he didn't meet with her: "I wanted her not to tell the public what had happened. Very simple. That's the reason I went."
Did he also pay for her silence? The Feds aren't the only ones who'd like to know; disillusioned former supporters would, too.
In the interview with ABC News last summer, Edwards said, "I think my family is entitled to every detail. They've been told every detail.'' Yet in her book, his wife said that even when he did tell her about the relationship, he "left most of the truth out,'' and insisted that it had been a one-night stand.
Edwards' close friend Fred Baron told ABC at the time that he had been sending money out of his own pocket to Hunter and to the former campaign aide who had claimed paternity of her baby, at his own instigation: "[I] decided independently to help two friends and former colleagues rebuild their lives when harassment by supermarket tabloids made it impossible for them to move forward on their own. I did this of my own volition without the instruction or suggestion of anyone, and made a conscious decision not to tell anyone, including John Edwards, that assistance was provided. The assistance was offered and accepted without condition. This is now and shall always remain a private matter between these individuals and me." That much did turn out to be true; Baron has since died of cancer.
At a recent Dallas event honoring Baron, the only mention of Edwards was from Baron's widow, Lisa, who noted ruefully that their foray into presidential politics had not exactly turned out as planned.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Arlington: Field of Honor
National Geographic Specials
Feature Film|54:53|
Tour one of America's most sacred places and explore its hallowed history in this powerful portrait.
Feature Film|54:53|
Tour one of America's most sacred places and explore its hallowed history in this powerful portrait.
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