Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
by John Cole| 17 Comments
This post is in: Foreign Affairs, War on Terror aka GSAVE®
Live reporting from the elections in Iraq can be found at PJ Media, and for the record, this is the type of thing I thought PJ Media would be really good at- gathering on the ground reports from bloggers, bypassing the MSM.
Another comprehensive run-down can be found at Memeorandum.
by John Cole| 24 Comments
This post is in: Politics, War on Terror aka GSAVE®
On the heels of the vote yesterday in the House of Representatives to adopt the McCain torture amendment, MSNBC is reporting that the White House has backed down and is now agreeing to support the bill, should it pass.
I will have more later as it becomes available. I don’t know what the agreement is, and I do not know how the rush to rewrite the regs will play out.
*** Update ***
Here is the first write-up I have found:
After months of resistance, the White House has agreed to accept Sen. John McCain’s call for a law specifically banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign suspects in the war on terror, several congressional officials said Thursday.
The congressional officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt an expected announcement later in the day at the White House, possibly by President Bush and McCain.
These officials also cautioned the agreement was encountering opposition in the House from Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
The White House at one point threatened a veto if the ban was included in legislation sent to his desk, and Vice President Dick Cheney made an unusual personal appeal to all Republican senators to give an exemption to the CIA.
But congressional sentiment was overwhelmingly in favor of the ban, and McCain, who was held and tortured for five years in Vietnam, adopted the issue.
He and the administration have been negotiating for weeks in search of a compromise, but it became increasingly clear that he, not the administration, had the votes in Congress.
More as it becomes available.
ANother write-up here.
by John Cole| 37 Comments
This post is in: Foreign Affairs
UN haters wil love this American Prospect piece on John Bolton at the UN:
The European way of doing things, in the weeks preceding the mid-September 2005 United Nations World Summit, could not be stretched to include the 35-hour workweek. For days, frantic negotiations on the substance of far-ranging UN reforms dragged on from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. But the one UN ambassador who generally arrived earliest and stayed latest always looked more upbeat than his bleary-eyed counterparts. “All night — all right!” quipped John Bolton to a press stakeout.
***The rumor mill at the Vienna Café has suggested that Bolton must have bypassed Rice and received support for holding the UN budget hostage from the president himself — a view widely held as the truth among UN diplomats. Regardless of the accuracy of this rumor, Bolton’s move is paradigmatic of his self-defeating approach to the UN: Instead of banding together with powerful allies, he alienates them. And in doing so he empowers adversaries like Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and other spoilers content with a UN that is tied in knots. Critics feared that Bolton’s tenure would be problematic for American interests. The evidence suggests it’s been even worse.
***After listening to a tirade from Bolton against inefficiency, corruption, and supposed anti-Americanism at the UN during a private dinner, a Sunday Telegraph reporter in the audience asked him what he enjoyed most about the UN, to which Bolton replied, “It’s a target-rich environment.”
Two quick thoughts:
1.) It appears maybe I was wrong about Bolton not being a problem- after all, as I mused, the UN survived Jeanne Kirkpatrick.
2.) A Machiavellian might note that having the international governing body tied in knots might be EXACTLY what this administration wants. Or at least what they think they want.
by John Cole| 31 Comments
This post is in: Politics, Republican Stupidity
Why would he even get involved in this (video here):
President Bush said yesterday he is confident that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is innocent of money-laundering charges, as he offered strong support for several top Republicans who have been battered by investigations or by rumors of fading clout inside the White House.
In an interview with Fox News, Bush said he hopes DeLay will be cleared of charges that he illegally steered corporate money into campaigns for the Texas legislature and will reclaim his powerful leadership position in Congress.
“I hope that he will, ’cause I like him, and plus, when he’s over there, we get our votes through the House,” Bush told Fox News’s Brit Hume. DeLay was forced to step down as majority leader after he was indicted in the fundraising case, and he is seeking a quick trial in hopes of returning to power early next year.
Why would he even comment on this? There is nothing to be gained.
by John Cole| 17 Comments
This post is in: Popular Culture
Finished season 1 of Lost. Loved it. Would it be a bad idea to start season two midstream, or should I just wait for the DVD next summer?
by John Cole| 61 Comments
This post is in: Domestic Politics
My cat is now doing new weird things with his water bowl.
For years, I have used the PetSmart Water Fountain, and just recently Tunch has started throwing his food in it. I would wake up, and all of his dry food would be in the basin of the fountain, in a sludgy mess. He did this every night for two weeks, so I just got tired of cleaning it every morning and put up a regular water bowl.
Now, for the last three mornings, he has simply flipped his water bowl. I almost died the first morning, walking in to the kitchen in my slippers and stepping in a puddle of water on the linoleum, sliding across the kitchen. At any rate, the bowl has been flipped over every day, and the cat almost knocks me over in the bathroom trying to drink out of the sink whenever I turn the water on.
I thought maybe he had a tooth problem, and wanted soft food. Checked his teeth, and they are fine. He also does not have a urinary tract infection.
Any ideas, or should I just chalk this up to ‘cat being nuts like cats always are?’
by John Cole| 19 Comments
This post is in: Humorous, Blogospheric Navel-Gazing
Check out the comments to this thread by Brad at Sadly No! (the comments, not the post).
Hehe. Looks like JadeGold has a new nom de guerre.
PS- I cop to the arrogant jackass charge.