Thursday edition - January 18, 2007

It sure seems as though we are surging towards a nuclear mushroom cloud.

"Bush admitted to making mistakes in Iraq and said that he has learned from these mistakes and will do better in Iran. So -- I don't know."  - David Letterman"

www.internetweekly.org

The-World-Is-A-Safer-Place-Without-Saddam News

• U.S. military deaths in Iraq hit 3,028 AP

• www.iraqbodycount.org

• Car bombs kill at least 17 people in Baghdad International Herald Tribune, France

• American Woman Was Killed After Visit to Sunni Office at The New York Times (reg. req'd)

• Iraq says UN death tally unrealistic AFP

• Iraqi PM: 400 Shiite fighters detained AP

• Maliki calls on US to better arm Iraqi army AFP

• Gates May Seek More Afghanistan Troops Forbes

• Rice cool to temporary Palestinian state AP

• U.S. criticizes China over missile test AP

• Iran warns it's ready for nuke standoff AP

• Russian forces on high terror alert AP

• Moroccan boy latest victim of deadly Saddam game Reuters

Yippee, The Doomsday Clock is on the march toward midnight! (You know, like freedom.) - Grant Gerver, www.seriouskidding.com

CEO of the Iraq War

"It (Iraq) is the kind of conflict that's going to drive our policy and our government for the next 20 or 30 or 40 years. We have to prevail and we have to have the stomach for the fight long term," - Dick Cheney on Jan.14, 2007in a FOX NEWS interview.

Comment here on the AHNC blog

"And in the interview President Bush said that popularity is not his goal. Popularity is not his goal. And I thought well, mission accomplished." - David Letterman

Disturbing News

• Rising violence in Darfur threatens relief effort Houston Chronicle

• East Timor appeals for aid to help 100,000 displaced by violence AFP

• Blast of snow, sleet hits Texas, Okla. AP

• Snow in southern California as cold snap grips US AFP

Lobbyist Love

 As the Senate works on sweeping new ethics rules this week, Majority Leader Harry Reid and other leading Democrats are resisting changes that strike close to home.
A proposal by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., that would ban senators' spouses from lobbying the chamber has triggered intense debate with key senators such as Reid and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., promising to oppose it if it affects senators already married to lobbyists.
 

 "You know, there's actually ice on the ground here in Los Angeles? Ice. Man, people are slipping more than President Bush's approval rating." - Jay Leno

Republican Shenanigans

• Bush Seeks To Tamp Down GOP Revolt U.S. News & World Report

• The GOP in a Quagmire Washington Post

• Partisan dispute derails Senate's ethics reform bill Houston Chronicle

• Smearing Islam and singing "Dixie": Will media report full story ... Media Matters for America, DC

• First lady: Do more to stop child porn AP

• No-fly list checked for accuracy, cut AP

• Summary of Supreme Court actions Tuesday AP

• Court won't hear eminent domain case AP

• Court blocks widow from collecting $5M AP

• NBC News chief takes swipe at O'Reilly AP

REALLY IMPORTANT NEWS: Attorney General Claims All Federal Judges Are Unqualified!!!

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales rapped federal judges Wednesday for ruling on cases that affect national security policy. Judges, he contended, are unqualified to decide terrorism issues that he said are best settled by Congress or the president.

Comment here on the AHNC blog

Bush Pacman game

My score was an abysmal 120.

David Letterman: "Top Ten Surprises In President Bush's '60 Minutes' Interview: 10. Interview was conducted in the Camp David hot tub. 9. President refused to talk about anything except Jennifer Hudson's performance in 'Dreamgirls.' 8. Announced his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election. 7. While walking through the woods, constantly ducking Cheney buckshot. 6. Vowed in the future he'll make much better mistakes. 5. All the Heineken empties. 4. Paused for a CIA briefing about likely Golden Globe winners. 3. His Andy Rooney-esque rant about hard-to-open ketchup packets. 2. Bush's tearful admission he bet entire United States budget on the Chargers. 1. Just like Britney -- no underpants."

Rock-The-Voter News

• 1 bill left on Dems' 100-hour agenda AP

• Tancredo forms panel to explore presidential run Los Angeles Times, CA 

• Candidates and voters relying more on Internet San Francisco Chronicle 

• Reporters swarm Obama after announcement AP

Attorney General Has Decided

The Bush administration said Wednesday that it has agreed to disband a controversial warrantless surveillance program run by the National Security Agency, replacing it with a new effort that will be overseen by the secret court that governs spying in the United States.

The change -- revealed by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in a letter Wednesday to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- marks an abrupt reversal by the administration, which for more than a year has aggressively defended the legality of the NSA surveillance program and disputed court authority to oversee it.

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Another Bush Miracle: Afgoneistan  - Grant Gerver, www.seriouskidding.com

Biz-Tech News

• Arab Stock Markets Recover From Slump Even as Oil Prices Tumble Bloomberg

• Saudi Arabia will increase crude supply to India Monsters and Critics.com

• Iraq readies law aimed to draw investors AP

• Dems poised to roll back oil subsidies AP

• Halliburton "overweight," target price reduced newratings.com

• More families sue News Corp's MySpace: attorney Reuters

• Terrorists Take Over Google Earth TechWeb

Senator Al Franken?

Comedian Al Franken has reached out to Democratic lawmakers from Minnesota in recent days, seeking advice on a possible Senate run against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman .

Bush-Prison-Torture News

• Guantanamo is a US torture camp Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates

• Detainee’s lawyers take their case to YouTube PopMatters, IL 
   

I'm Sorry Because I Didn't Mean What I Said

A senior Pentagon official publicly apologized Wednesday for criticizing lawyers who represent terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and for suggesting their firms be boycotted.

Charles "Cully" Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said his criticism of the lawyers on a local radio program last week did not reflect his "core beliefs."

Go-F***-Yourself News

• Libby seeks jurors who trust Cheney AP

• Selection of Libby trial juror questions AP

• Mary Cheney will speak at McKendree Belleville News-Democrat, IL

• Bird Hunting With Cheney? Not This Juror CBS News

"Hey, the New Orleans Saints...beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-24 on Saturday. And once again, New Orleans did it without any help from FEMA. How about that?" - Jay Leno
 

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Odd News

• Senate May Cut Rates on Student Loans Forbes, NY 

• Iraq, Katrina, environment on Sundance film festival menu AFP

• Pitt and Jolie settling in French Quarter Ireland Online, Ireland 

• Pilots in Kentucky crash called dark runway 'weird' Los Angeles Times

• Big Brother row spreads to India The Age

• Peru ruin find may hold clues to lost civilization Reuters

• Handbags a health hazard, women warned Reuters

• Parking fines for diplomats nears $18M AP

• Nicotine in cigarettes rising: Harvard study Reuters

The Pappagallo winds have been fierce here in Costa Rica the past week.  I estimate up to 50-60 mph gusts.

The top photo is from my balcony looking west at the Pacific. The other photo is looking south. The palms are bending as far as they can. The good news is that I am producing the site now via high speed sat connection - the bad news is it gets knocked off signal with these incredible winds. At least I was able to produce a new edition today! Photos/AHNC

Peace.