Justice is served

Judge Finds Duke Prosecutor in Contempt [link]

DURHAM, N.C. - The prosecutor [Mike Nifong] who led the now-discredited rape case against three Duke University lacrosse players was held in criminal contempt of court Friday for lying to a judge when pursuing charges against the athletes.

So, just as did the town drunk Otis Campbell of Mayberry, Nifong will spend a day in jail. His career as a lawyer is over. And, deservedly so.

Maybe he will be able to get a job cleaning up after the elephants during a Barnum and Bailey circus parade. That would be more befitting of his conduct in the Duke Lacrosse case.

Tag: Nifong
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More incompetence from the U.N.

IAEA: Iranian Cooperation Significant [link]

So, what is the substance of this "cooperation?"

Drawn up by IAEA chief doofus Mohamed ElBaradei, much of the confidential report obtained by The Associated Press focused on the already publicized Iran-IAEA cooperation plan, restating progress in some areas and time frames for Iran to respond to additional questions.

Time frames? What is this about time frames?

In that plan, Iran agreed to answer most questions from agency experts by November.

Most questions?

This is nothing more than a stall tactic. And, the U.N., for inexplicable reasons, accepts it.

With the wool firmly pulled over his eyes

IAEA Deputy doofus Director-General Olli Heinonen highlighted the importance of Tehran's cooperation…

Tag: Iran
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How do you spell relief...

I spell it: h.e. i.s. g.o.n.e.

Gonzales quits [link]

Attorney General Gonzales finally stepped down after months of inept handling of the firing of eight federal prosecutors.

President Bush, Gonzales' most dogged defender, told reporters he had accepted the resignation reluctantly. "His good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons," Bush said.

That is certainly true. But, if you are going to be the Nation's chief lawyer, you need to recognize your authority under the Constitution. Gonzales seemed to not understand that.

Instead, he responded to the Senate witch hunt as though he was a defendant guilty of some crime.

Gonzales' honesty is not in question here. His competence is.

The President seems to have a blind spot when he nominates certain people for high office and he pays the price. Maybe it is time to question the appointment of this Robert Gates guy…

Tag: Robert Gates  George Bush  Gonzales Trackposted to Blue Star Chronicles, Rosemary's Thoughts, Big Dog's Weblog, and Right Truth, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe and OTA Monday.

Sen. Zazue's blind spot

Mexico Senate Takes Up Migrant's Cause[link]

A committee of the Mexican Senate wants Presidente Calderón to send a note of protest to the U.S. over the deportation of Elvira Arellano.

"We cannot remain quiet in view of this injustice and must ask for firm action from our authorities," Mexican Sen. Humberto Zazue said.

Injustice?

Arellano was in the country illegally. Where is the injustice?

Your emphasis is misplaced, Senator Zazue. Rather than asking el Presidente to protest the actions of the U.S., why don't you do the right thing and protest the conditions that caused Arellano and her countrymen to migrate out of your country in the first place.

Tag: Mexico illegal immigration
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al-Maliki's government

Iraqi PM Lashes Out at U.S. Critics [link]

DAMASCUS, Syria - Iraq's prime minister lashed out Wednesday at U.S. criticism, saying no one has the right to impose timetables on his elected government and that his country "can find friends elsewhere."

Well, PM al-Maliki, you should choose your friends carefully. Cozying up to the sunni, al-Assad, could be your undoing.

But, more to the point: Yes, you were elected. But, how long must we wait for you to make a move? From all appearances, you have been incapable of providing the leadership your country needs.

You were elected to form a united, pluralist Iraq. Is that the goal of your administration?

Or, is it to establish a shia dominated government in which the kurds and sunnis are the inferior part?

Show us that you are trying to establish the former so that we may embrace your administration.

Tag: al-Maliki
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Right and Wrong

Obama: No Military Solution in Iraq [link]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday the recent increase in American troops in Iraq may well have helped tamp down violence, but he insisted there is no military solution to the country's problems and U.S. forces should be redeployed soon.

Wrong!

The assessment is right. The conclusion is wrong.

The right conclusion is to give the al-Maliki government a swift kick in the butt.

Tag: news
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Crappy headlines

Written by crappy writers: Dean Bears Down on Mexico's Oil Industry [link]

So, who is this 'Dean' anyway?

And, what's all this about him bearing down on poor Mexico's oil industry?

There oughta be a law...

Tag: news
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Junk Science

Study Finds Virus Contributes to Obesity [link]

WASHINGTON - In the buffet of reasons for why Americans are getting fatter, researchers are piling more evidence on the plate for one still-controversial cause: a virus.

Someone sneezed on me!

Yeah, that's it.

That's my story an' I'm stickin' to it.

Tag: junk science
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Idle minds at work

Group Launches Plan to Save 189 Birds [link]

By "189 birds" I suppose the headline writer meant 189 species of birds.

Oh, well. Here is the bottom line:

U.K.-based BirdLife International is calling on environmental groups, corporations and individuals to contribute the $37.8 million needed for what it is dubbing the Species Champions initiative.

According to their press blurb they have a plan to

…raise tens of millions of dollars to save 189 endangered birds over the next five years by protecting their habitat and raising public awareness about their plight.

Millions. To protect habitat. And raise public awareness.

Do you believe that? With all that money, what are they going to do? Chain themselves to caraiba trees in the Brasilian interior to save the Restinga Antwren? Or junipers in the tiny forest Forêt du Day in Djibouti to save the Djibouti Francolin?

I don't think so.

But, can you see a bunch of elitists flocking together near the U.N. issuing press releases, with a paycheck certain for several years?

Tag: species champions
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Hillary takes a poke

White House Criticizes Clinton Ad [link]

At the White House, that is.

So spake her Clintoness:

"If you're a family that is struggling and you don't have health care, you are invisible to this president," the New York senator says in the ad. "If you're a single mom trying to find affordable child care so you can go to work, you're invisible too. The ad also argued that U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are "invisible" to Bush.

The White House spokesman rebutted the statements. Somehow, the Clinton campaign took this as a 'debate enjoined':

Happy to be in a debate with the White House, the Clinton campaign quickly linked to the official transcript of [White House deputy press secretary] Perino's comments on its campaign Web site, http://www.hillaryhub.com, with the headline, "White House Attacks Hillary's New Ad."

To the contrary, the White House spoke out because you, Hillary, are a carpet-bagger opportunist that will say anything until you are called on it.

Tag: Hillary
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ABA committees off their paper

ABA Criticizes Bush Terror Policies [link]

Two Bar Association committees are calling for the overturning of an executive order on the treatment of prisoners by the CIA:

SAN FRANCISCO - President Bush's recent order on CIA interrogations of terror suspects should be overturned because it still allows harsh treatment in violation of international treaties, two American Bar Association committees say.

According to the ABA committees, the order

… leaves undefined what methods are acceptable.

Others have analyzed this gap and have concluded including a list of proscribed methods would still be open to criticism because it would allow for individuals looking for a loophole. In addition, a list of prescribed methods would allow our adversary to train against it:

National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell has said revealing what techniques are allowed would help people who might be subjected to them.

The ABA committees also maintain the position that

The CIA should follow the same rigorous standards adopted by the military that are intended, in part, to ensure that captured U.S. soldiers are extended the same protections…

This criticism fails because it does not recognize the fact that our al Qaeda adversary does not share the same sensibilities.

My opinion: The ABA should keep their fuzzy-headed group-think to themselves and go find something useful to do.

Tag: executive order, ABA
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Alarmist media and the revised FISA

Warrantless Surrender
Congress is stampeded into another compromise of Americans' rights.

The thrust of the article is that Congress caved in to the administration allowing

…warrantless surveillance of the phone calls and e-mails of American citizens, with scant judicial supervision and no reporting to Congress about how many communications are being intercepted.

This a problem, according to the editorial, because

Instead of having the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court ensure that surveillance is being done properly, with monitoring of Americans minimized, that job would be up to the attorney general and the director of national intelligence. The court's role is reduced to that of rubber stamp.

The implication is the Federal Government has unfettered license to trample on the rights of citizens.

This argument has been raised at various times through history about one thing or another. But, in the absence of proven abuse by the Feds, this argument is hard to accept at face value.

There is a balance that needs to be struck between unfettered freedoms on the one hand and necessity in times of crisis on the other. The Congress, by arguing the case, has fulfilled it's role in striking that balance.

And, the revised surveillance legislation notwithstanding, our system of laws always provides relief to citizens whose rights have been unjustly abused by the government.

Tag: FISA
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Space: The next phase

Shuttle Launches With Teacher Aboard

Eventually the current generation of shuttles will be retired.

Designed to carry crew and cargo, the existing orbiter is complicated because of it's dual role of crew transport and cargo transport.

As an alternative, the next generation shuttle should be a smaller reentry vehicle designed only to carry the crew. The job of launching cargo should be assigned to an unmanned heavy-lifter similar to that used by the Russians to resupply their Mir space station. Both vehicles would be recoverable. The main advantage of this design is enhanced crew safety as their launch vehicle would require less energy.

NASA: Are you listening?

Tag: NASA
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