Monday Morning Newsbucket

9 Comments

1. 

   ask on May 21, 2007 at 8:46 am

   Israeli minister issues death threat to Hamas leaders

   All Hamas leaders should be killed to end rocket attacks from Gaza, a senior Israeli cabinet official said today, as Israeli planes carried out new air strikes in the territory.

   “I don’t distinguish between those who carry out the (rocket) attacks and those who give the orders. I say we have to put them all in the crosshairs,” said Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, the national infrastructure minister, on Israel Radio.

   The comments from Mr Ben-Eliezer, a foreign policy hawk, came one day after Israeli jets struck the home of a Hamas politician, Khalil al-Hayya. He was not there but hospital officials said eight people were killed in the deadliest attack since Israel started retaliating to rocket salvos from Gaza last week.

   That will help!

2. 

   ask on May 21, 2007 at 9:04 am

   Nigeria attack sends oil over $70

   Oil prices have risen above $70 a barrel after a fresh attack on oil installations in Nigeria belonging to France’s Total.

   A spokesman for Total said the oil well that had been sabotaged was disused and that there had been no injuries.

   The attack followed the kidnapping by gunmen at the weekend of two Indian employees of a petrochemical company in Port Harcourt.

   London Brent crude oil peaked at $70.29 a barrel in early trading.

3. 

   ask on May 21, 2007 at 9:12 am

   Gonzo’s got his pride!

   WASHINGTON – Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will quit before the Senate slaps him with a historic vote of no confidence this week, a top Republican predicted yesterday.

   A resolution ripping the nation’s top lawman as a failure is the brainchild of New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who believes Gonzales bungled the firings of eight U.S. attorneys and may have tried to improperly influence the previous attorney general, John Ashcroft.

   “I have a sense … that before the vote is taken that Attorney General Gonzales may step down,” Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said yesterday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

   “I think, historically, that is something which Attorney General Gonzales would like to avoid.”

   I dunno about his pride, Arlen; what I do know is that the man has no shame!

   • 

     CabinGirl on May 21, 2007 at 10:28 am

     No shame…something many members of the GOP have in common, including Snarlin’ Arlen.  Remeber when Gonzo testified in front of the GOP-controlled jusdiciary committee, and Specter (who was chair at the time) didn’t even bother to swear him in?  What a joke.

   • 

     dada on May 21, 2007 at 2:13 pm

     Arlen’s blowing smoke…Abu’s going nowhere. aWol’s got his back:

     “I stand by Al Gonzales”

     With the Senate moving toward a no-confidence vote on Alberto Gonzales — and with more than a half-dozen Republican senators calling on Gonzales to resign — the president was asked today whether he plans to keep his attorney general on the job no matter what the Senate does. His answer:

     “He has got my confidence. He has done nothing wrong. There’s been enormous amount of attention on him, that there has been no wrongdoing on his part. He has testified in front of Congress.

     “And I, frankly, view what’s taking place in Washington today as pure political theater. And it is this kind of political theater that has caused the American people to lose confidence in how Washington operates.

     “I stand by Al Gonzales, and I would hope that people would be more sober in how they address these important issues. And they ought to get the job done of passing legislation, as opposed to figuring how to be actors on the political theater stage.”

     Salom: war room

     yessir, that’s the deciderer…a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

     William Shakespeare

     and a similar opinion from Steve Soto:

     Yesterday on “Face the Nation”, Arlen Specter predicted that Alberto Gonzales would resign before a no-confidence vote was taken in the Senate. This demonstrates that over six years into the Bush Administration GOP senators still don’t understand and therefore don’t know how to deal with this administration. Gonzales will not resign because he is serving a purpose to Bush: as long as Congress keeps its fire on him, they are not firing at Bush, and to W, that is all that matters. He willingly offers up a long-time friend to act as a shield.

     […]

     And lastly, even a wounded Alberto in nominal control of the Justice Department in a severely weakened state is better to Bush than having to return Justice back to a person of some independence who can get confirmed by this Senate.

     via: leftoaster

     expecting gonzos resignation will result in nothing but further heartache and outrage.

     lTMF’sA

     

4. 

   CabinGirl on May 21, 2007 at 10:25 am

   the WH sticks their fingers in their ears and sings “nana na nanana I can’t hear you” with regard to Carter’s criticism: AP/Yahoo

   In a biting rebuke, the White House on Sunday dismissed former President Jimmy Carter as “increasingly irrelevant” after his harsh criticism of
   President Bush.

   Carter was quoted Saturday as saying “I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history.”

   The Georgia Democrat said Bush had overseen an “overt reversal of America’s basic values” as expressed by previous administrations, including that of his own farther, former President George H.W. Bush.

   “I think it’s sad that President Carter’s reckless personal criticism is out there,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded Sunday from Crawford, where Bush spent the weekend.

   “I think it’s unfortunate,” Fratto said. “And I think he is proving to be increasingly irrelevant with these kinds of comments.”

   Of course, Bush’s increasing irrelevance in the world community must go unmentioned.

5. 

   hens teeth on May 21, 2007 at 12:00 pm

   Delhi reacted angrily this week to a letter sent to Indian IT companies by two US senators, alleging fraud and abuse in the H1-B programme. Charles Grassley and Richard Durbin, members of the Senate subcommittee on immigration, said the visas were being used to undercut US workers with lower-paid foreign employees.

   In a letter to Susan Schwab, US trade representative, seen by the FT, Mr Nath said that the approach, which was not made through the office of the US trade representative, was surprising and unwelcome.

   “Such direct intervention by US senators would only create uncertainties in the minds of these companies and undermine business confidence, especially in the current negotiations on services,” the letter said.

   http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1780e47a-0495-11dc-80ed-000b5df10621.html

   And David Sirota’s blog says that Inside U.S. Trade reports is reporting that the “Democrats in on the deal delegated the responsibility of drafting the final language to the Bush White House all while rank-and-file Democrats have not been given any potential drafts of the legislative language to review.”

6. 

   ask on May 21, 2007 at 1:04 pm

   America — the world’s arms pusher

   THEY DON’T CALL US the sole superpower for nothing. Paul Wolfowitz might be looking for a new job right now, but the term he used to describe the pervasiveness of U.S. power back when he was a mere deputy secretary of Defense — hyperpower — still fits the bill. Consider some of the areas in which the United States is still No. 1:

   •  First in weapons sales: Since 2001, U.S. global military sales have totaled $10 billion to $13 billion. That’s a lot of weapons, but in fiscal 2006, the Pentagon broke its own recent record, inking arms sales agreements worth $21 billion.
   •  First in sales of surface-to-air missiles: From 2001 to 2005, the U.S. delivered 2,099 surface-to-air missiles like the Sparrow and AMRAAM to nations in the developing world, 20% more than Russia, the next largest supplier.
   •  First in sales of military ships: During that same period, the U.S. sent 10 “major surface combatants,” such as aircraft carriers and destroyers, to developing nations. Collectively, the four major European weapons producers shipped 13.

   ..snip..

   Why do officials in Turkey, which already has 215 fighter planes, need 100 extras in an even higher-tech version? They don’t, but Lockheed Martin, working with the Pentagon, made them think they did.

   We don’t need stronger arms control laws, we need a global sobriety coach and some kind of 12-step program for the dealer-nation as well.

7. 

   idredit on May 21, 2007 at 4:05 pm

   Paris calls off festival of US culture after threats – Guardian, UK.

   “A festival due to be held in Paris this weekend to celebrate American music and culture has been called off after death threats from an anti-US group claiming links to al-Qaida.”