Thursday News Bucket

28 Comments

1. 

   CabinGirl on November 9, 2006 at 6:29 am

   KFed is after Brit’s cash, and happy to use the children to get it.  What a loser: AP/Yahoo

   A day after
   Britney Spears filed divorce papers, Kevin Federline counter-filed court papers Wednesday seeking sole custody of the couple’s two children.

   The former backup dancer and aspiring rapper is also seeking spousal support. He says the couple’s community assets are “uncertain,” though Spears said in her divorce papers there were none to speak of, suggesting the two had a prenuptial agreement in place.

   “Kevin is prepared to go the distance in order to do what he feels is necessary to protect and safeguard the children and will not be intimidated or dissuaded from pursuit of those goals,” said Michael Sands, spokesman for Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan.

   Get ready for re-runs of all the times she drove without a carseat, dropped the baby, and whatever else.  

   • 

     BooMan on November 9, 2006 at 6:58 am

     I think you can change your sig now.  Maybe this diary might give you an idea.

     • 

       CabinGirl on November 9, 2006 at 7:06 am

       Is that better?

       • 

         Connecticut Man1 on November 9, 2006 at 8:46 am

         Nice new signature there! lol

       • 

         idredit on November 9, 2006 at 9:40 am

         Love it.

         President Pelosi.  

       • 

         Man Eegee on November 9, 2006 at 10:28 am

         although the thought of Cheney “gooeing” made my breakfast want to have an encore  🙂

2. 

   CabinGirl on November 9, 2006 at 6:34 am

   About Rummy: video at ThinkProgress

   Last week, President Bush unequivocally told a group of reporters that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney would “remain with him until the end of his presidency, extending a job guarantee to two of the most-vilified members of his administration.” Bush said, “Both those men are doing fantastic jobs and I strongly support them.”

   Today, he announced Rumsfeld is resigning and being replaced by former CIA Director Robert Gates. At the press conference, Bush said that “the only way to answer that question, and get it on to another question, was to give you [the reporters] that answer.” Bush admitted that he had talked to Rumsfeld about resigning and was actively searching for his replacement at the time.

   • 

     rba on November 9, 2006 at 10:33 am

     Joe Galloway/McClatchy:  A defense to-do list for the new Congress.  “The nation’s voters have spoken, and it’s reasonable to expect that the Congress finally will begin to exercise some oversight of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after five years of serving as rubberstamp and doormats.

     Closing graph:  “They all deserve what’s about to descend on their heads. They deserve every subpoena. They deserve every indictment. Most of all, they deserve a reserved place atop the ash heap of history.“

     Good list, worth the click.

3. 

   CabinGirl on November 9, 2006 at 6:40 am

    sees the election results, according to the NYT

   As word of the American midterm election results and, later, the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld spread across the globe, criticism of the United States turned less shrill, less gloating, more textured than in the past. But no one seemed to feel that the vote was about anything but Baghdad.

   “This was the bill to the White House for their disaster in Iraq,” said Jürgen Trittin, deputy leader of Germany’s Green party.

   It was not, of course, a presidential vote — though some thought it should have been. But the tone of criticism seemed more conciliatory than on previous occasions when President Bush has stumbled, in part because his power is now seen as waning irrevocably.

   “Before, Bush wasn’t looking to be liked” by the Europeans, Giovanni Sartori, an Italian political analyst, said in a telephone interview. “For Europe, it’s good news, because America will be forced to be less of a solitary aggressor.”

   Note to NYT and the world:  It’s not just Iraq.  It’s the hubris, the corruption, the ineptitude, the arrogance, the lawlessness, the spying, the corruption, the pederasty, the hypocrisy, the…uh, sorry.  I got carried away for a minute there.

4. 

   BooMan on November 9, 2006 at 8:34 am

   Israelis are worried the Democratic power swing in Washington curbing President Bush’s power will lead to less decisive action on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which they consider an imminent threat.

   Still, Israelis interviewed Wednesday said they don’t think the U.S. election results _ giving Democrats control of the House and erasing the Republicans’ Senate majority _ will diminish American support for Israel.

   Bush is popular among Israelis for aggressive policies toward Islamic extremism and his steadfast support for Israel, even as much of the world criticizes the Jewish state for its policies toward the Palestinians.

   Most Israelis also see Bush as a strong ally against Iran’s hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said repeatedly that Israel should be destroyed. Israel sees itself as the primary target of a nuclear-armed Iran.

   “Most Israelis understand that the Israeli interests, at this point, rest on future decisive statesmanship and decisive action in relation to the nuclear threat of Iran,” said Menahem Blondheim of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

   “Without the political support at home and in his party and among the American public, a decisive military or diplomatic move (by Bush) against Iran seems less and less likely,” he said.

   Blondheim said the Democrats may open the door wider for European nations, which many Israelis see as pro-Arab, to engage in Middle East diplomacy.

   “Some Israelis are worried about the notion that the Democrats tend to be oriented toward multilateral diplomacy. For many Israelis, having European powers and other countries join the Middle Eastern conflict is bad news,” he said.

   Jacob Kay, a Web designer in Jerusalem, said he expected a Democratic majority to be less attuned to Israeli interests.

   “If the House has gone Democrat, obviously that’s worse for Israel because the supporters of Israel and freedom in the Middle East tend to be Republicans,” said Kay, who said he was worried about any relaxation in America’s policy toward Iran. link

   • 

     idredit on November 9, 2006 at 10:52 am

     Clearly concerned to nervous, as Daddy’s men come to the rescue…the Baker-Hamilton report, especially.

     one Israeli online resource is reporting the White House is hinting to Israel PM Olmert that his visit on Monday, November 13th “would be untimely”

     […]According to this official, the Baker-Hamilton panel is charting drastic changes in administration policy on Israel, whose speedy implementation is recommended as the key to extricating the US from its imbroglio in Iraq.

     Hinging the solution of Middle East problems as a whole on the Palestinian-Israeli issue has always been the Democratic way. It is favored in particular by Nancy Pelosi of California who, as her party’s candidate for next Speaker of the House of Representatives, will become one of Washington’s most influential politicians.

     This was also Baker’s line under George Bush senior in the 1980s, when he dragged prime minister Yitzhak Shamir to the Madrid Peace Conference against his will.[..] (emphasis added)

     Also, it appears we need to keep wide open eyes on Israel-Lebanon stand-off. They’ve ignored repeated warnings from the UN, the French and Germans, to cease their Lebanon overflights. The French peacekeeping troops (came within )seconds away from firing on IAF jets.

5. 

   Connecticut Man1 on November 9, 2006 at 8:43 am

   Some interesting stuff in this article:

   WASHINGTON – Emboldened by their congressional election triumph and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s resignation, Democrats say they will use their new clout to force a change in Iraq policy and demand that President Bush start bringing troops home.

6. 

   Knoxville Progressive on November 9, 2006 at 8:47 am

   A study of Apollo-era and recent spectral data suggests the moon may have produced interior gas eruptions more recently than thought. Brown University geological science Professors Peter Schulz and Carle Pieters note conventional wisdom suggests the Earth’s moon has seen no widespread volcanic activity for at least 3 billion years. But now they say the data point to much more recent events.

   China’s pollution problems have damaged 10 million hectares, or one tenth, of the country’s arable land, said an environment watchdog Tuesday as it called for expanding grass-roots monitoring staff in the rural areas.

   German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that Berlin would make the fight against global warming a centerpiece of its European Union presidency and press the United States to join the effort and share the burden.  In another EU climate change development, The European Commission will present a proposal by the end of this year to include all flights into and out of the European Union in its carbon trading scheme, rejecting US concerns, an official said on Wednesday.  Lars Muller, an official from the Commission’s environment division, said “We know the US is lobbying against this. We are not inclined to give in.”  [Bwahahahaha]

   Greenland and Antarctica are at opposite ends of the planet but their climate systems appear to be linked by a remarkable ocean current, according to a study appearing Thursday. The paper, coincidentally published as a key UN conference on climate change unfolds in Nairobi, also sheds light on man-made climate change, for it implies that Antarctica’s ice could eventually start to melt because of localized warming in the far North Atlantic.

   Tuesday’s election results were generally good news for science and science education, but a few problem spots remain.  An analysis is here.

   Scientists have found that even moderately sized volcanic eruptions can create mini-holes in the ozone layer.

   Researchers found that 202 industrial chemicals have the capacity to damage the human brain, and they conclude that chemical pollution may have harmed the brains of millions of children.  They call on the US to adopt the “precautionary principle” approach to chemical regulation that is being implemented by the EU, and point out the urgent need for additional research.  The Guardian has specific actions you can take to reduce risks, and reminds us to remember the example of lead poisoning in ancient Rome.

   And speaking of lead poisoning from pipes in imperial capitals, newly obtained documents (via FOIA request) detailing house inspections performed during Washington, D.C.’s 2004 lead crisis contradict statements by public officials of the D.C. Department of Health that the water supply was not causing lead poisoning in children.  “During and after the crisis, D.C. officials repeatedly said that there was no public-health threat from the lead contamination,” Eric Olson of the NRDC says. “The stunning thing is that they obviously had data to show that children’s health was harmed in some cases, but they hid it.  The difference between what the assessments say and how public officials summarized them is `shocking’.”

7. 

   idredit on November 9, 2006 at 9:36 am

   The morning after the morning after. The known knowns.

   Laura Rozen and Mauren Dowd ‘knew this was coming:’ “A come to Daddy Moment…..The defense chief got hung out to dry before Saddam got hung.”

   Andrew Sullivan reveals he’s been blackballed  by Hannity and Bill O’Reilly but, undeterred, he has no sympathy for LIARS including Rush Limbaugh who sees the light

   Realty sets in: Travelling a hard road as

   Bush’s Hell begins

   “Indeed, a seriously rattled Iran came forward offering pre-emptive concessions in early 2003 when America was preparing its Iraq armada.

   The bitter truth for George Bush is that he has unleashed the very Axis of Evil he aimed to contain.[..]

   And all against the backdrop of a housing market crash, with the risk of recession in 2007 rising by the day.
   The price of new homes was down 9.7pc in September from a year earlier, the worst fall since the slump of 1981. The US Federal Reserve now talks of “ghost towns” to describe the bust flattening the once red-hot markets of Arizona and Florida.

   The army of estate agents, surveyors, builders, and the like, made up 55pc of the 2m jobs created by the US economy from 2000 to 2005. Cash withdrawn from home equity reached 6pc of GDP last year.

   If you believe the US economy can hum along briskly for another two years as this prop is smashed away, I’ve got an ocean-front property in Arizona that I could sell you.

   For better or worse, the perfect storm is gathering with malevolent intensity right above the Oval Office.

   On Iraq, we’ll be disappointed. Beyond Vietnam II. File for bankruptcy.

   Not to mention the ultimate cost in national treasure, the Monetary Cost is not sustainable, the “$2 TRILLION we estimated in January was too low.”  

   Stem-cell breakthrough

   Cell transplants restore sight in mice.

8. 

   Omir the Storyteller on November 9, 2006 at 12:00 pm

   CNN is reporting that Iowa governor Tom Vilsack is officially throwing his hat into the ring for the 2008 Presidential race.

   No, I really didn’t care either, I just thought I’d pass it along.

9. 

   Man Eegee on November 9, 2006 at 12:26 pm

   Ravenous giant snails that emerge from the ground by night are thriving on the tropical island of Barbados, destroying crops and prompting calls for the government to eliminate them.

   A nocturnal survey last weekend found hundreds of thousands of African snails — which are often about the size of a human hand — swarming the central parish of St. George, the country’s agricultural heartland, where farmers complained of damage to sugar cane, bananas, papayas and other crops.

   “We saw snails riding on each other’s backs and moving in clusters,” said David Walrond, chairman of the local emergency response office that organized 60 volunteers for the expedition. “You’re just crunching the shells as you’re walking through.” – linkage

10. 

    Man Eegee on November 9, 2006 at 12:42 pm

    John Bolton’s troubled nomination as U.S. ambassador to the
    United Nations is “going nowhere,” a key Democratic senator said on Wednesday after Democrats scored big in mid-term elections.

    Sen. Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record) of Delaware, who is expected to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if Democratic control of the U.S. Senate is formally confirmed, told reporters:  “I never saw a real enthusiasm (for Bolton’s nomination) on the Republican side to begin with. There’s none on our side. And I think John Bolton’s going nowhere.” – linkage

    The nightmare is ending villain by villain.

    • 

      idredit on November 9, 2006 at 4:00 pm

      Never mind all that making nice lunch with Pelosi, word is they’ll attempt to push Bolton vote before 110th Congress is seated in January.

       Steve Clemons posted the press release but says it’s a DEAD DEAD DEAD duck. Lincoln Chafee joined in opposition today, has called a press conference.

11. 

    Man Eegee on November 9, 2006 at 12:49 pm

    Celebrating the first day after securing a second term in the Navajo general election, Shirley began thinking about how a Democratic-controlled House would help the tribe.

    “We’re going to have a lot more friends in Washington,” Shirley said. “I’m very much looking forward to continuing on with my quest as president and for more funding for our hospitals, for our schools, for our social services, for our health services, for the different things we get help with (from) the federal government.”

    Shirley said working with a Republican-controlled House has been an uphill battle and compared it to “trying to get blood out of a turnip.” – linkage

12. 

    Connecticut Man1 on November 9, 2006 at 12:50 pm

    In honor of the banner at the top of the page… And CabinGirl’s new signature:

13. 

    boran2 on November 9, 2006 at 1:05 pm

    Sickening.

    Link

    Jews, Muslims join to fight gay parade
    Jerusalem event sparks anger, riots
    By Thanassis Cambanis, Globe Staff  |  November 9, 2006

    JERUSALEM — Ultra-Orthodox Jewish pop singer Benny Elbaz was so angry about the gay pride march planned for tomorrow that he joined forces with a Muslim man he normally would consider an enemy, to sing a duet he composed denouncing the event.

    “Jerusalem Will Burn!” Elbaz croons in Hebrew on the single, released the week before the parade. “There will be no gay march!”

    Religious Jews and Muslims are on the opposite ends of the political spectrum on most issues, especially over who should control the contested city of Jerusalem, which Israelis and Palestinians both claim as their capital. But Jews, Muslims, and even some Christians have formed a common front against Jerusalem’s gay community, whose planned march they say besmirches the city.

    “Only this onslaught of homosexual radicalism could bring together such disparate voices,” said Rabbi Yehuda Levin, an anti gay activist from Brooklyn, N.Y., who has traveled to Israel several times this year to rally opposition to the gay pride parade.

    Yeah, great time to get together.

    • 

      chocolate ink on November 9, 2006 at 2:09 pm

      I’m thinking that maybe we should form some sort of huge penal type colony and every last homophobic rat bastard who ‘besmirches’ my idea of basic human rights for all of us should be shipped off to live with one another in isolation and all their hate filled glory.

      • 

        myriad on November 9, 2006 at 6:12 pm

        that suffered severely (and it lingers on) from homophobia, can I just say, so not in favour of this idea. 😉

        Interestingly, one of the reasons Australia has been so homophobic is because ‘sodomy’ and genuine loving relationships amongst the almost entirely male convict population was rife.

        It’s formed the unspoken part of Australia’s ‘convict stain’

    • 

      Teach313 on November 9, 2006 at 2:18 pm

      Nothing brings people together like hate. It’s so much more difficult to bring people together with reason and/or appeals to our better nature. But it is also crucial to keep using reason and appeals to our better nature, because hate destroys everything. There must be a reason why hate is so much more motivating than respect. That’s another reason I often feel that humans are an evolutionary mistake.

    • 

      idredit on November 9, 2006 at 4:08 pm

      Ethiopian Jews face the same prejudices. They donated blood, it was dumped.

14. 

    AP on November 9, 2006 at 3:16 pm

    Good riddance, CA confederate!!!!

    Maybe you can go to Monument Avenue and sob before Lee’s statue for the rest of your life.

    THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

    • 

      CabinGirl on November 9, 2006 at 3:57 pm

      And the Democrats are now the offical majority in the Senate as well as the house.  Sweet.

15. 

    diane101 on November 9, 2006 at 5:36 pm

    http://www.ceasefirecampaign.org/
    Just got this in my email, check it out….

    Sign the petition below, and we will run ads in the US and UK publicizing the message and number of signatures.

    The pursuit of a Coalition military victory in Iraq is driving the country to ruin and a vicious civil war. Thousands of Iraqi civilians are dying every month. The Coalition must accept that there will be no military victory in Iraq, and that it long ago lost the legitimacy necessary to bring peace. We call upon the Coalition to accept a larger role for the international community in bringing peace and stability, and to implement a phased withdrawal of all Coalition troops from Iraq.