Category: long story short

“Nobody is taking Sadr at his word,” [US national security advisor Condoleezza Rice said]. “He’s someone from whom you have to see action. He said lots of words before. He has never followed through on them. And I don’t think you’re going to see an Iraqi government that’s going to take his word.” Sadr “can’t…

Conflict in Najaf Dominates Iraq Political Meet, Reuters, 8/16/04 “Residents said the holy city was tense as Shi’ite militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr roamed the streets….” “Roaming the streets.” What is it with them? They’re always doing that! Why can’t they be like Americans? We just walk around.

Sites Could Face Shortage of Cleanup Money, NYT, 8/16/04 Around the Omaha Lead site…there are thousands of house yards where lead contamination is suspected to be two or three times greater than the level considered safe…; delaying financing is likely to mean delaying the sampling of yards and identification of hazards. Do you want some…

Columnist Roland Martin recently asked George Bush about preferential treatment in college admissions. (Article) Martin: “If you say it’s a matter of merit and not race, shouldn’t colleges also get rid of legacy?” Bush: “If what you’re saying is, is there going to be special treatment for people – in other words – we’re going…

To my ear, this whole article from the NYT gives the overall impression of a clean slate for higher ups at Abu Ghraib. At Abuse Hearing, No Testimony That G.I.’s Acted on Orders NYT 8/06/04 “Witnesses…,have described…[p]risoners were left naked for long periods as punishment and were at least occasionally abused, in one case leading…

Ridge Defends “Three-Year-Old” U.S. Terror Alert Reuters 8/3/04 “I don’t want anyone to disabuse themselves…” disabuse To free from a falsehood or misconception

U.S. Shifts Stance on Nuclear Treaty White House Resists Inspection Provision Washington Post 7/31/04 “In a significant shift in U.S. policy, the Bush administration announced this week that it will oppose provisions for inspections and verification as part of an international treaty that would ban production of nuclear weapons materials…. “Administration officials…. declined, however, to…

Bush Plans Flextime Proposal Washington Post 7/30/04 “President Bush plans to announce Friday that he wants to make flextime more available to the nation’s workers…. “His aides did not give details about what he will propose beyond saying that he wants to give parents more chances to participate in their children’s lives by letting workers…

CNN Top Stories: U.S. seeks extradition of one-eyed, hook-handed cleric –That’s going to be so hard to find! I think we should say either one-eyed or hook-handed or both.

Young voters are being courted nationwide Scripps Howard 7/20/04 (My italics) “Both parties are trying to capture the nation’s largest voting bloc. Comprised of about 43 million people between the ages of 18 and 30…” I hear the voting bloc between the ages of 18 and 31 is slightly larger. One of the smallest is…

‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ Making GOP Nervous Article “…Republican operative Joe Gaylord said. ‘It’s a problem only if a lot of people see it.’” -DKo: If the projections below are anywhere near accurate, the Republican “problem” will be immense. “…through last weekend, theaters already have sold an estimated 12 million tickets to ‘Fahrenheit 9/11.’ “A Gallup survey…

Bush: U.S. Looking Into Whether Iran Involved In 9/11 Article [My italics] The commission has found more al Qaeda contacts with Iran than with Iraq, officials said. [But] White House spokesman Scott McClellan said there was “no evidence that there was any official involvement between Iran and the Sept. 11 attacks.”…. Bush noted McLaughlin had…

NASA Denies Funding for Key Satellite, Washington Post. 7/19/04 NASA is allowing a highly successful satellite to fall out of Earth’s orbit by refusing to fund it….NASA…did not order a planned firing of its rockets…to hold the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite in orbit….Without periodic assists from its thrusters, atmospheric drag will send the satellite’s…

Count the I’s in this one.

NYT “Sarkozy….has acquired a reputation as a man of action…who speaks his mind on controversial issues, while Chirac is often seen as reigning more than ruling, speaking obtusely and saying little to offend.” In this case, the word they meant to use is anybody’s guess. Mainly obscurely, I’d think, with some mix of abstrusely, opaquely,…

There have been a lot of complaints that our system of color-coded terrorism alerts does not provide enough useful information. When Ridge or Ashcroft issues a new threat alert, they never specify the targets. Will it be kidnapped prisoners? Random bystanders? Home invasion sprees? Wedding parties in the desert? Well, give me a break! Obviously,…

Is A Housing Bubble About To Burst? Business Week “If 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rise just one percentage point, to 7.2% from their current 6.2% … house prices would have to fall 11% to keep new buyers’ monthly mortgage payments from rising. If fixed rates went to 8%, prices would need to fall 20% to keep…

Statling new evidence suggests that sugar-pills may be the answer to some of humankind’s most dreaded diseases, however scientists are at a loss to think of ways to rigorously test them.

Cheney as Grand Vizier (from Brad DeLong’s Webjournal) …lazy summer hammockblogging has apparently resumed now i just need a chron job to update the sidebar, plus maybe reorder a tad to reflect who updates most often.

Listening to the talking voices on McLehrer in my car today, discussing how Ken Lay is going to put all the blame for Enron’s failure on his CFO, Andrew Fastow (who has already pled guilty and turned state’s evidence, I believe), it occurred to me that perhaps Fastow is American for Faust.

This is one of the most critical issues facing our nation today — and few are paying much attention. The fact is, for all their talk about ‘security’ the Bush Administration has, in fact, made the US LESS secure in almost every possible way. They have alienated our allies and created hatred for us around…