New Developments III

taki15
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Post by taki15 »

The single fact that the voters of Alabama and Oklahoma voted to sent these two lunatics to represent them at the Senate, should be reason enough to expel these states from the Union.

Too bad Inhoffe isn't a member of the Judiciary comitee. That would have upped the entertainment value to eleven.
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Post by Mister Tee »

The Sotomayor hearings are of course a foregone conclusion, but they still have entertainment value as far as watching the GOPers continue along a this-will-destroy-us-with-Hispanics-but-we-can't-help-ourselves path.

Yesterday Jeff Sessions (and what a clever move, having a widely-accused racist lead the party attack!), after pretending multiple times to not understand Sotomayor's benign explication of the "wise Latina" remark, quoted another female judge as having a better philosophy. Sotomayor gently informed him this other judge was her friend and there at the hearing to support her. This moment was instantly and widely analogized to the famous Marshall McLuhan moment in Annie Hall.

Then, today, Sen. Coburn (R-Outer Space) managed to throw in you "You'd have some 'splainin' to do!" in his best Ricky Ricardo voice. Who will be the first to ask the judge if she thinks every Puerto Rican's a lousy chicken?

As Craig Crawford said today, the Pubs are coming off as a bunch of white guys livid that someone not their kind could have any power in this world. This'll surely pay off next Election Day.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Does anyone else think this sounds a bit like the Harding administration where Warren G gave power to his subordinates and took an almost blind, don't ask, don't tell policy regarding sticky matters...




AP sources: Cheney told CIA not to discuss program

By PAMELA HESS, Associated Press Writer Pamela Hess, Associated Press Writer – Sat Jul 11, 9:15 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Former Vice President Dick Cheney directed the CIA eight years ago not to inform Congress about a nascent counterterrorism program that CIA Director Leon Panetta terminated in June, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

Subsequent CIA directors did not inform Congress because the intelligence-gathering effort had not developed to the point that they believed merited a congressional briefing, said a former intelligence official and another government official familiar with Panetta's June 24 briefing to the House and Senate Intelligence committees.

Panetta did not agree.

Upon learning of the program June 23 from within the CIA, Panetta terminated it and the next day called an emergency meeting with the House and Senate Intelligence committees to inform them of the program and that it was canceled.

Cheney played a central role in overseeing the Bush administration's surveillance program that was the subject of an inspectors general report this past week. That report noted that Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington, personally decided who in Bush's inner circle could even know about the secret program.

But revelations about Cheney's role in making decisions for the CIA on whether to notify Congress came as a surprise to some on the committees, said another government official. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the program publicly.

An effort to reach Cheney was unsuccessful.

A former intelligence official, who was familiar with former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden's tenure at the CIA, said Hayden never communicated with the president or vice president about the now-canceled program and was under no restrictions from Cheney about congressional briefings. The official said Hayden was briefed only two or three times on the program.

Exactly what the counterterrorism program was meant to do remains a mystery. The former intelligence official said it was not related to the CIA's rendition, interrogation and detention program. Nor was it part of a wider classified electronic surveillance program that was the subject of a government report to Congress this past week.

The official characterized it as an embryonic intelligence gathering effort, and only sporadically active. He said it was hoped to yield intelligence that would be used to conduct a secret mission or missions in another country — that is, a covert operation. But it never matured to that point.

The government official with direct knowledge of the Panetta briefing and the former intelligence official said the CIA has numerous efforts ongoing under its existing authorities that have not yet been briefed to Congress. He said they are not yet known to be viable for intelligence gathering.

The Cheney revelation comes as the House of Representatives is preparing to debate a bill that would require the White House to expand the number of members who are told about covert operations. The White House has threatened a veto over concerns that wider congressional notifications could compromise the secrecy of the operations.

That provision, however, would have no effect on programs like this one.

The former intelligence official familiar with Hayden said Congress has a right to contemporaneous information about all CIA activities. But he said there are so many in such early stages that briefing Congress on every one would be too time consuming for both the CIA and the congressional committees.

The New York Times initially reported about Cheney's direction not to tell Congress of the program on its Web site Saturday.
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Post by Heksagon »

Any thoughts on Obama's visit to Africa?

From The Independent:

Obama tells Africa to end tyranny and corruption

AP

Saturday, 11 July 2009

An American president who has "the blood of Africa within me" praised and scolded the continent of his ancestors today, asserting forces of tyranny and corruption must yield if Africa is to achieve its promise.

"Yes you can," Barack Obama declared, dusting off his campaign slogan and adapting it for his foreign audience. Speaking to Parliament in Accra, Ghana, he called upon African societies to seize opportunities for peace, democracy and prosperity.

"This is a new moment of great promise," he said. "To realise that promise, we must first recognise a fundamental truth that you have given life to in Ghana: Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long."

The son of a white woman from Kansas and a black goat herder-turned-academic from Kenya, Mr Obama delivered an unsentimental account of squandered opportunities in post-colonial Africa.

And he reached back to an older legacy, that of slavery, as he toured the cannon-lined redoubt where people were kept in squalid dungeons then shipped in chains to America, through a "Door of No Return" that opens to the sea.

"It reminds us of the capacity of human beings to commit great evil," he said from the stark white stone fortifications of Cape Coast Castle, converted to the slave trade by the British in the 17th century.

He spoke with the ramparts and the sea behind him and in the company of his family. Mr Obama said his girls, in their privileged upbringing, needed to see that history can take such cruel turns.

In his speech to Parliament, the first US black president spoke with a bluntness that perhaps could only come from a member of Africa's extended family.

"No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or if police can be bought off by drug traffickers," he said.

"No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20% off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery.

"That is not democracy, that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there," he said, "and now is the time for that style of governance to end."

He added: "Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions."

Mr Obama was on a 21-hour visit to the West African nation to highlight that country's democratic tradition and engagement with the West. His visit, his first to sub-Saharan Africa as president, was greeted as a "spiritual reunion" by Ghanaian legislators.

He, his wife Michelle, their daughters and the first lady's mother toured Cape Coast Castle as a festive crowd of thousands milled outside, pounding drums and dancing in the streets. Mr Obama smiled and waved, pausing after he exited the motorcade, before disappearing with his family and entourage into the courtyard. Michelle Obama is the great-great granddaughter of a slave who lived in South Carolina but whose African origins are unknown.

Earlier, people lined the streets, many waving at every vehicle of Obama's motorcade as it headed toward a meeting at Osu Castle, the storied coastline presidential state house, before his speech to Parliament. "Ghana loves you," said a billboard.

The Obama administration sought a wide African audience for the president's speech, inviting people to watch it at embassies and cultural centres across the continent.

The 33-minute address was in part a splash of cold water for Africans who blame colonialism for their problems.

Mr Obama spoke of the indignities visited upon Africans from the era of European rule. He said his grandfather, a cook for the British in Kenya, was called "boy" by his employers for much of his life despite his being a respected village elder. He said it was a time of artificial borders and unfair trade.

But he said the West is not to blame "for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants". Nor for the corruption that is a daily fact of life for many, he said.

"Africa is not the crude caricature of a continent at perpetual war," he said. Yet for "far too many Africans, conflict is a part of life, as constant as the sun. There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes.

"These conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck."

Mr Obama started his day with typical calm. Wearing a grey T-shirt and gym pants, he walked through the lobby of his hotel almost unnoticed at 7:30am local time on his way to the downstairs gym for a workout.

A short time later, his motorcade left the hotel, passed under hovering military helicopters and arrived for a delayed welcome ceremony with President John Atta Mills.

"I can say without any fear of contradiction that all Ghanaians want to see you," Mr Mills said. "I wish it were possible for me to send you to every home in Ghana."

Mr Obama avoided scheduling large public events, wishing to keep emotions in check in a singular moment in African-American diplomacy.

Mr Obama flew to Ghana after the G-8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, approved a new 20 billion dollar food security plan. It aims to help poor nations in Africa and elsewhere to avert mass starvation during the global recession.

He also had a cordial first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. In their half-hour private audience at the Vatican, the two reviewed Mideast peace and anti-poverty efforts, aides reported. They also discussed abortion and stem cell research at length, subjects of disagreement between them.
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Post by Greg »

It sounds like Newt Gingrich is planning on running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, as he is calling on the US to go to war with Iran; although, right now, he is only calling for "sabotage not bombing."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news....79.html
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Post by Greg »

Panetta Tells Lawmakers CIA Misled Congress Post-2001

James Rowley

July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Six Democrats on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee said that CIA Director Leon Panetta told lawmakers the agency has misled Congress since 2001 about “significant actions.”

In a letter to Panetta, the six legislators said he had “recently” testified that “top CIA officials have concealed significant actions from all members of Congress” and “misled members” from 2001 until this week.

The letter, released by the lawmakers yesterday, didn’t describe what Central Intelligence Agency actions were at issue.

The agency went to the panel with the new information, CIA spokesman George Little said in a statement last night. “As the letter from these six representatives notes, it was the CIA that took the initiative to notify the oversight committees,â€

The House committee’s chairman, Democrat Silvestre Reyes of Texas, said in a statement last night that “in rare instances” CIA officers “have not adhered to the high standards” that the agency sets for “truthfulness in reporting” to Congress.

Reyes, who wasn’t among the six lawmakers who signed the letter to Panetta, praised the CIA chief’s “recent efforts to bring issues to the committee’s attention” that “had not been previously conveyed” to it.

Reyes Letter

Reyes was blunter in a July 7 letter to the panel’s top Republican, saying that the CIA had lied to the committee at least once.

Information Panetta gave the panel June 24 “brought to light significant information on the inadequacy of reporting to the committee,” Reyes wrote to Representative Pete Hoekstra of Michigan.

The information provided by Panetta “led me to conclude that this committee has been misled, has not been provided full and complete notification and (in at least once case) was affirmatively lied to,â€

The CIA’s revelations “may well lead to a full committee investigation” of the agency’s conduct in reporting information to Congress, Reyes said in the letter.

The CIA is required by law to notify Congress of covert intelligence operations.

Reigniting Debate

The disclosures concerning Panetta’s testimony may re- ignite a debate between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republicans over her claim earlier this year that the CIA misled Congress in 2002 about harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists.

At the time, CIA Director George Tenet was leading the U.S. intelligence effort against al-Qaeda in the wake of the terrorist group’s 2001 attacks on the United States. Tenet was appointed director of the CIA by President Bill Clinton in 1997 and continued to serve until 2004.

The letter from the Democrats called on Panetta to “publicly correct” his May 15 statement, following Pelosi’s claim, that “it is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress.”

The letter was signed by Democrats Anna Eshoo of California, John Tierney of Massachusetts, Rush Holt of New Jersey, Mike Thompson of California, Alcee Hastings of Florida and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois.

Misleading Information

Pelosi, a California Democrat, charged in May that when she was a member of the House intelligence panel, the spy agency gave her misleading and inaccurate information about whether it had waterboarded suspected terrorists. The CIA has acknowledged that it used the interrogation technique on three detainees suspected of being al-Qaeda operatives to simulate the sensation of drowning.

House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio challenged Pelosi to either produce evidence to support her claim or retract her assertion that the CIA “misrepresented every step of the way” its use of harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists.

As criticism by Republicans of Pelosi over her statement escalated, she said at a May 22 news conference that she stood be her comments and, “I won’t have anything more to say about it.”

She has adhered to that position. Since then, Boehner and other Republicans periodically have taken to the House floor to call for a bipartisan investigation of Pelosi’s charge.

‘Other Deceptions’

The letter from the Democrats said Panetta’s recent testimony disclosed concealment by the CIA that is “similar to other deceptions of which we are aware from other recent periods.” The intelligence committee regularly receives private briefings from U.S. officials.

Little said in his statement that Panetta “stands by his May 15 statement” because “it is not the policy or practice of the CIA to mislead Congress.” Little also said, “Director Panetta’s actions back that up.”

The release of the lawmakers’ letter came on the eve of a scheduled House debate today on an intelligence spending measure. The bill would expand the number of lawmakers who must be notified of covert intelligence operations from eight congressional leaders to more than 35 members of House and Senate intelligence panels.

The White House opposes the expansion and yesterday threatened a veto if the final version of the bill contains the provision.

Panetta, 71, was named to head the CIA by President Barack Obama and confirmed for the job in February. A former Democratic House member, he served as budget director and White House chief of staff under Clinton.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net .

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090709/pl_bloomberg/avp991mwyfpe
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Post by Big Magilla »

Rumors are rampant that she is just one step ahead of a federal indictment on all sorts of charges stemming from contracts she awarded the guys who built the bowling alley or whatever it is in Visalia who supplied free of charge the building materials for her house - the one she can see Russia from!

McCain and anyone else who is continuing to say positive things about her is just digging their own grave. On the other hand, unless something unforeseen occurs, whoever the Republicans put up against Obama in 2012 is destined to lose so Romney and anyone else who may be coerced into running cant be too enthused about not having her around as the sacrifial lamb.
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Post by Sabin »

Palin's speech is weird.
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Post by Sonic Youth »

Somewhere in South Carolina, a man breathing a sigh of relief.

There's no way this is a campaign strategy. Her rambling, bizarre speech and her body language suggest something bad is coming down the pike and she knows it. Stay tuned.

And maybe her political career is over - we'll see about that - but the Palin's are here to stay. No way will such a compelling, fascinating family be allowed to fade into obscurity. She's a celebrity, she's always wanted celebrity status, and she'll find another way to get it. And the people who hate her want to see what happens next as much as the people who love her. So long as she's not in public office, we may as well enjoy it.




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Post by OscarGuy »

Let's hope this is the end of Sarah Palin and not just some attempt to get into the contiguous to begin campaigning for president.

Then again, you don't make a prominent announcement like this on a Friday because of the dead-end news cycles on weekend, so she's probably hoping it drifts out of public notice quickly. And if it really were an attempt to campaign for president, it would be stupid not to finish out her term as she'd have plenty of time to campaign at the end of it.

So, more implosions for the Republican party would be great!
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Post by Mister Tee »

I suppose someone should say something about Sarah Palin, but, honestly, she just leaves me speechless.

The bright side for the GOP is, something keeps coming along to knock the latest GOP-in-turmoil story off the top of the news. Unfortunately, with the exception of Michael Jackson, it always seems to be another bad Republican story.

Lots of speculation there's another shoe to drop on Palin. Her speech -- I use the term loosely, given the series of non sequiturs in which she spoke --- didn't feel like the work of someone who's come to a careful decision; it had an "I've got to get out of Dodge fast" vibe.
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Post by taki15 »

Mister Tee wrote:Is anyone going to tell Mark Sanford to just shut up? Next thing, he'll be telling us about when he first started masturbating.
The guy always seemed a little shaky to me (with his pig stunt, etc. ). On one hand I feel sorry for him. It's pretty obvious that he is in full mid-life crisis mode and his public meltdown is a sad spectacle.

On the other hand, his hypocrisy is so astonishing and so emblematic of the Republican party at large, that the whole thing seems like poetic justice.

I think in the end he will follow Foley's route and he will resign to live with his mistress in Argentina, the woman he clearly loves.
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Post by Mister Tee »

Is anyone going to tell Mark Sanford to just shut up? Next thing, he'll be telling us about when he first started masturbating.
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Post by Mister Tee »

Given the creative math Limbaugh showed yesterday -- somehow spinning a 5-4 decision as unanimous -- he ought to have no trouble seeing this as a Coleman victory.
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Post by taki15 »

I remember Ann Coulter saying the day after the election that the only silver lining for the Republicans was Franken's defeat. Well, I guess now they don't have even that.

By the way, I'm curious to see how Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh are going to spin this. But then again, after saying today that Obama plots to repeal the 22nd amendment in order to run for a third term at 2016, I'm not holding my breath.
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